haleyjoy

We are flying into San Fransico and flying out of San Diego nine days later. There are 5 of us. 2 fifty year old parents and 3 children, ages 22, 19, and 6. We need help deciding where to stay while driving down the PCH. We are thinking of the following:
San Fransisco- 2 nights
Carmel/Big Sur ???- 3 nights
Los Angeles-2 nights
San Diego-2 nights
We are trying to break up the drive to LA but don't want to loose scenery, hiking time. Is it best to stay in Monterey/Carmel/Big Sur area and then drive to LA in one day or stay a night along the way?
Also any ideas regarding which area is best to stay in (Monterey or Carmel or Big Sur or mix them). We would like to hike and picnic during the day and have someplace to walk around at night.
Thanks for your help!!

Supercilious

Again, Hwy 1 is not designated the "PCH" except in Southern California. But it is a very scenic highway in Central California.

9 days is the bare minimum for this trip. 2 weeks would be better or leaving from LA instead of SD would give you more time along the Central Coast.

Are you folks interested in seeing the Hearst Castle? If so, then 2 nights in Monterey and then a night in San Simeon or Cambria with a castle tour the next morning would be my recommendation for that part of the drive. I like Monterey over Carmel for lodging because there are a number of hotels with fine waterfront views and many offer Aquarium packages. I would also suggest a night in Santa Barbara but with your schedule that probably is not possible.

What you do in LA depends on your interests - whether you want to see the coastal towns like Santa Monica and Malibu or if you want to explore Hollywood or visit the great museums like the Getty or the Huntington Library in Pasadena.

I think you really need about 4 days each in LA and San Diego to do them justice.

ksucat

3 nights in Carmel/Big Sur..I would do two nights max..I would stop in Santa Barbara for the night..extremely gorgeous town and you can stay there after Hearst Castle and then head to LA after lunch in SB.
I'm not a fan of LA so I would only stay 2 days.
San Diego is where you and your kids are really going to enjoy..beautiful city with lots to do.
3-4 days would be ideal in SD.
Great deals on expedia.com on 4-5* resorts right now.

SF..St Francis hotel in Union Square
Carmel..Hyatt Highlands or Tickled Pink
Santa Barbara..Inn of the Spanish Garden/Canary hotel/Hampton Inn in Goleta.
LA..Shutters/Fairmont Miramar/Loews Santa Monica
SD/La Jolla/Coronado..Omni.Grand Hyatt/Grande Colonial/Hotel Del Coronado

I don't know your budget and with 3 kids, it adds up.
Hampton Inns, La Quinta Inn and Suites are great budget hotels with free breakfast and wi-fi with good beds.

Big Sur has a really cool place called Treebones resort and you stay in yurts and this is different but I think might be something all might enjoy!


www.treebonesresort.com
www.spanishgardeninn.com
www.hoteldel.com
www.lq.com

LSky

What are you planning to do in LA? Is it important to you?

haleyjoy

Thank you so much!
No, LA is not a priority at all. This may be too much moving but what does anyone think of:
San Fran 2 nights
Monterey 1 night
Big Sur 1 night
Cambria 1 night
Santa Barbara 1 night
LA 1 night
San Diego 2 nights
I wish we had more time. I am going to try to add a day but we're using frequent flyer miles and probably cant.
Thanks for all your help. I am going to start looking at those hotels.
Also every car rental that I've found has a $300 charge for dropping in a different location. I guess there aren't any that don't have this charge.

onemoneygirl

I would change it to two nights in Monterey and two nights in Santa Barbara. There is so much to see in the Monterey... tons of CA history with the Mission, Point Lobos, Aquarium etc... and Big Sur can be a day trip from there if it has to be. Cambria just has so little to it... you can see it in an hour.

Santa Barbara has a beautiful beach, many nice restaurants and is warmer than the central coast near Cambria. You can also day trip tp Los Olivos for wine tasting if you wish... Rose Garden at the Mission and many beautiful hikes.

Do you have a budget for hotels? I can help with that in Sb if you need spedifics. And what time of year are you coming? Many places in Carmel/Monterey and Santa Barbara have two night minimums on the weekends... FYI.

Welcome to California!

LSky

The drive from Santa Barbara to San Diego is pretty easy, if you plan on skipping LA altogether.

barney25

You are trying to do too much in too short a time. I would skip LA altogether and combine it for your next trip with Palm Springs. I would do:
SF 2 nites
Monterrey 2 nites
Big Sur 1 nite
Santa Barbara 1/2 nites
San Diego 2/3 nites.

haleyjoy

That sounds like a great idea. We are coming on June 9th which puts us in Monterey on Sat and Sunday which may be a problem. Santa Barbara should be OK. Any help regarding hotels would be awesome. We cant afford very expensive but would love a view or a walkable location if possible.

onemoneygirl

In Santa Barbara,for a group of your size I would try Fess Parkers Doubletree. It is close to a wonderful market where you could walk to purchase drinks and fruit, you can walk to the pier, the zoo and the bus stop to head up State Street or to the Mission. You just might be able to park your car for the whole time unless you choose to go wine tasting!

The rooms are not fancy but the rooms with two beds and bringing in a bed for your little one would work well (the rooms are quite large) and the pool is incredible! They also have a large patio if you get the ocean view... great for wine and cheese watching the sunset. I know on their website they have lower rates if you pay upfront. The room I stayed in was in the Eucalyptus building... I liked it a lot. Santa Barbara isn't cheap but this would be worth a splurge if you want the California Coastal ocean view complete with palm trees!

Barbara

In LA, or close to anyway, you might find the Reagan Presidential Library interesting. it's not very far from the freeway, in a lovely location. The Getty is right beside the 405 and shouldn't be missed.

San Diego is, of course, the star!

onemoneygirl

www.travelzoo.com has great rates for San Francisco hotels... sometimes for Monterey too!

1JAR

One thing to add, the drive thru LA to San Diego will have loads of traffic: pick your route carefully as well as your time:

avoid rush hour no matter what or you will be wasting precious time on the freeeway.

ksucat

Barbara nailed it..San Diego is the star!

I would do only 1 night in Monterey and no night in Cambria and add that to 3-4 nights in SD and 2 SB.
Fess Parker in SB is a good call and they had great deals on expedia when I was looking for rooms in SB a couple of months ago.
Maybe one night in Santa Monica.
Think about stopping on the way down from LA to SD to Laguna Beach..maybe have lunch.
From SB to LA you want to hit up Malibu..maybe have lunch at Neptune's Net on PCH..classic seafood dive but filled with all the celeb's that the kids might enjoy seeing.

haleyjoy

Thank you so much! It seems like most of the hotel deals on expedia are not in La Jolla/Coronado. Is this the best area to stay in San Diego? The Hotel Del Coronado looks beautiful and it has a special for the 3rd night free. Thanks for all the help!

ksucat

what's your hotel budget?

haleyjoy

We usually try to stay in hotels that run about $150/n or less. We vary between 1 and 2 rooms depending on price. We have done alot of bidding on priceline. We could probably afford up to $300-350/nt total for some of the nights. Thank you!

ksucat

good rates for 4* resorts at around $150..
what are your dates?

haleyjoy

Arrive June 16 depart on the 19th. Thanks.

ksucat

checked expedia and I would suggest the Loews in Coronado with 2 rooms at $129 a night..that is a great deal and down the street from the Hotel Del..rates usually go for triple that..great resort for the kids..4 is the max per room but so cheap that you get 2 rooms.

Hyatt Mission Bay is $149 a night and central to SD.
They allow 5 to a room.