We will be in CA in October. Our first trip West. My husband has a conference in San Diego. Thought we would fly into San Francisco on Friday Oct 6 and then we have to be in San Diego by Thursday Oct 12. Would like to spend two days in San Francisco and then head south on the Pacific Highway. Is this reasonable with some nice stops Maybe Carmel - any suggestions would be greatly apprecaited.

What time on Thurs (am or pm)? I am going to assume you have to be there Thursday morning.

If you leave SF on Monday morning then you have a couple of options...

Mon & Tues - Spend in Carmel / Monterey
Wed - Drive all the way to SD (probably 8 hours if you stay on CA-1)

or maybe

Mon - Carmel
Tues - Santa Barbara
Wed - Spend the day at Laguna Beach then head to SD at night (about 1.5 hours).

Of course there are many more ways to slice up the drive...it just depends on your interests.

Your trip is doable.

CARMEL AREA: Get reservations at the Martine Inn in Pacific Grove. Great B and B that overlooks Monterey Bay.

This is a nice drive. Big Sur is beautiful. If it were me, I wouldn't spend anytime in L.A. area but plan to drive from Santa Barbara straight through to San Diego, about 6 hours if you time it right.

I would drive down to Monterey/Carmel on Sunday afternoon/evening, spend two nights there, leave early Tuesday morning heading for Santa Barbara. There are a lot things to see and visit on that drive, including Hearst Castle if that interests you. Here's a link that gives you lots of detail about Big Sur:

http://tinyurl.com/l5g2d

After your night in Santa Barbara, drive down the coast to Santa Monica, then head inland on I-10 to the 405S, the Toll Road (73?), then 405S again which will take you to San Diego. The drive from Santa Barbara should take you about three and a half hours, plus time to stop and take pictures, have lunch, etc. that will get you to San Diego on Wednesday. I'm not sure if you meant you have to be in San Diego on Thursday, or you can arrive here on Thursday. If the latter, then you can spend another night somewhere, perhaps Cambria or somewhere in that general area.

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for their help. The Carmel Monterey area is a must see. Maybe Cambria and Santa Barbara.Can anyone give me suggestions on where to stay in the Santa Barbara area and what are good sights?

That weekend is Fleet Week in San Francisco. That means the Blue Angels will be flying over the Bay (practice on Friday, airshows on Sat. and Sunday). Also it means that traffic and parking will be an issue.