Driving LA to SF
 

My boyfriend and I are going to LA, and have decided to take the week off and drive up the coast to SF. We want to see some of the coastal views, but would also like to experience wine country. What is the best way to do this? Mind you, we have 5-6 days for the drive. Thanks!

There are wineries all over California particularly in the Central Coast area. Heading north out of LA and just a little past Santa Barbara is the Santa Ynez Vallery wineries. These are close to the town of Solvang.

www.sbcountywines.com There are lots of wineries listed on this website but I think only around 15-20 have their own tasting room.

About an hour north of Solvang is San Luis Obispo where you can visit wineries in the Edna Valley and other areas. www.slowine.com/

Thirty minutes north of SLO is Paso Robles where there are more wineries.
www.pasowine.com

So as you can see, you can visit many California wineries without even going to Napa or Sonoma. You could spend one night in Solvang and another night in Cambria for the Paso Robles wineries. From Cambria take Highway 1 through Big Sur to Monterey or Carmel for a night and then on up to SF.

As a Central Coast resident I reccomend:

1. Staying in Los Olivos or Santa Ynez to tour that wine region including the many wineries on Zaca Station Way. Los Olivos Cafe and Patrick's Sidestreet Cafe are fabulous.

2. Many nice wineries between San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles (I like Justin).

3. Alapay cellars in Avila Beach is not a winery, but a very fun seaside tasting room. There is another small, but good tasting room above Alapay in the round building (can't remember the name)

4. Cambria is a nice town to stop for a meal and shopping

Many of the local town's restaurants are "Wine country" oriented and there menus and ambiance reflect that....

take the long scenic route along the coast and stop at the very least in Monterey/Carmel/Hearst Castle and then Santa Barbara.

Hint: If you decide to stop at Hearst Castle (a definite highlight of the coast), do NOT eat at the concession stand there which is your standard fare...plan to eat a 5-10 min. drive south in Cambria which has many charming restaurants with excellent food. A couple of favorites are Robin's (the BEST salmon bisque) and the Sow's Ear...there are dozens of restaurants, shops & galleries. Cambria is a wonderful town to explore.

Even better, you can spend a night in one of Cambria's charming B & Bs (or one just north of town ocean front on Moonstone Drive) and book the sunset/evening tour at Hearst Castle. Being a combination of the daytime tours it is a little longer and docents are in period costume providing and authentic atmosphere (what it would be like during the castle's heyday of visiting celebrities). Seeing the castle at night is a completely different experience than during the day and is absolutely magical!

Here's what I would do in 6 nights:

Day 1: Leave early and stop in San Luis Obispo for lunch (pick Avila Beach, Avila Valley, or downtown San Luis Obispo). Check in to a hotel in the town of Cambria or just north of town on Moonstone Drive. Take the sunset tour of Hearst Castle (book ahead online)

Day 2: Explore downtown Cambria in the morning and the coast around San Simeon. After lunch drive up to Big Sur and spend the night there (there's camping plus all levels of accomodations from very rustic to 5-star)

Day 3: Explore Big Sur. Drive to Carmel in the afternoon and spend the night in Carmel.

Day 4: Explore Carmel/Montery. Drive to San Francisco via Half Moon Bay (spend the night here or continue up to SF if you want to spend the night there)

Day 5: SF

Day 6: Drive back down via hwy. 101 and spend the night in the wine country in Paso Robles. Wine tasting in the afternoon (I like Justin and J. Lohr)

Day 7: Drive back to LA. If you have time you can stop at wineries in San Luis Obispo (Edna Valley) or in N. Santa Barbara County near Los Olivos (take Zaca Station Way exit off of the 101). This is the area they used to film the movie "Sideways")

Just an idea..... :-)