Best Time of Year for Cruising the California Coast in a Convertible
 

I am thinking of fulfilling a lifelong dream of renting a converible in Los Angeles and spending a week driving it up the coast to the Bay area. Naturally, I would want the weather to be as warm, sunny, and fog-free as possible. What is the best month to do this?

October

early to mid Oct - although it might not be warm. This year, the summer fog lingered late into Sept. Mid Oct was fabulous.

Stu Dudley

I recently drove the coast with my cousin, who had rented a convertible for this very idea. It was foggy in L.A. and through San Simeon and Big Sur. Didn't clear till we hit the Bay Area. Just goes to show, you never know!

We put the top down when we drove from Marin County to a Sonoma winery, but after just 20 minutes on the freeway, we put all the windows up to mitigate the blowing wind for those in the back seat. Then we put the top up entirely. We are wimps!

Thanks to everyone. I suspected October might be best because of the fog. I was out in Santa Ynez area two weeks ago and the weather was perfect.

We had a particularly spectacular October this year!

September or October would be my choice too. I don't care for a convertible on the freeway, but on secondary roads and highways, it is a fabulous way to travel.

Need I add- October!
But wow, what a difference a day makes around here.
When the weather changed the temperture dropped overnight and our late "summer" was over.

We did it a couple of years ago the third week of April and lucked out with great weather, no "marine layer" and fabulous views. We loved being able to see all around without the obstructions of a roof and supports. When we got to LA we had to put the top up because it was too hot, go figure.

Rub it in about a spectacular October while the NorthEast had a blizzard of all things...

Oops :-)

I am thinking one night in Santa Barbara, one night in Santa Ynez Valley, 2 nights in Cambria area, 2 nights in Big Sur, and somewhere in the bay area the last night.

No time in Carmel area??????

Stu Dudley

Unless you are really into hiking and the outdoors (or can afford one of the pricey places like Post Ranch), I would trade the 2 nights in Big Sur for 2 nights on the Monterey Peninsula. You can see Big Sur on the drive from Cambria to the Monterey Peninsula - absolutely spectacular drive, tailor made for a convertible - but it is pretty remote with only a few places for lodging and eating. The coastline is only 90 miles long, so if you take all day for the drive, you can see a lot.

But - if you are looking for a couple days of outdoor experience, then 2 nights in Big Sur is good, but a lot of people are really surprised at how little civilization there is along that coast. In that case, I think I would be inclined to take 1

... night from down south and spend it in the Monterey area. Monterey is great with a lot to see and do.

I agree: September or October. We did the same trip in September 2001. I'd reserved a Nissan Altima with Hertz. On the way to pick it up, I passed a red Camaro cnvertible. The extra hundred bucks was money very well spent. I've got three albums of the trip on Webshots, UID bookhall.

Our overnights were Santa Barbara, Morro Bay, Big Sur and Pacific Grove. When we got to the City, dropped the car off and used public trans. We were due to fly back to PA on September 12. I believe it was the 15th before we finally got out of there. We just extended our stay at the Sir Francis Drake (there are worse places.)

We have a convertible and do coast drives all the time and I strongly suggest that you do this drive in either, July, Aug. or Sept. October can be nice but frequently is too chilly on the coast.

another recommendation for September/October............

July and August can be extremely foggy, hence the reason that there were no other recommendations. But weather does vary from year to year.

We do not find July and Aug to be too foggy at the beach, but do find Oct. to be very chilly for cruising the coast.