driving the coast
 

thinking of driving the coast in February. How is this drive timewise, say from san diego to san fran or should we consider doing only partial and taking a flight the rest of the way....

It is a long ride. I assume you mean Route 1. It is beautiful, especially between Santa Barbara and SF, but it is slow and it is a two lane road.

We're taking Route 1 from San Francisco to San Diego in Feb. We've decided to overnight in Cambria (approx 3-4hrs from SF) then drive another 3hrs? and stay 2 nights at Laguna Beach (about an hour or so north of San Diego).
A rough estimate of total drivetime SF to SD would be 7+ hours maybe more due to weather and scenic photo stops etc!

Fly if time is an issue...drive if you want to see the coast (and hopefully whales and seals enroute!)but I'd recommend an overnight somewhere.

Alternately, take Highway 1 from Monterey (or SF if you like) to Santa San Luis Obispo and then move over to 101. You still catch some coast line and frankly Highway 1 can get tedious after awhile. You'll get the best of the southern direction coastal scenery in that segment. It is a gorgeous drive.

I'm sorry, make that San Luis Obispo (I started to say Santa Barbara and changed my mind but didn't delete far enough :-) ).

Thanks Grasshopper,

We're keeping our fingers crossed for good weather.
Any recs for lunch in and around San Luis Obispo? Or somewhere on Route 1 with a view? I've heard the view is good from Nepenthe? but the food is so-so....

I agree with your comments about Nepenthe. But the view might be worth the so-so food. Depending on where you are at lunch time, a favorite of mine is Rocky Point Restaurant, just south of Carmel. If the weather is good and you can eat outside it's so beautiful. they have a GREAT crab sandwich. Thinking about it, we caught a perfect day in early March last year so you might have good weather.

Call CalTrans to check on road conditions between Morro Bay and Carmel. Last week highway 1 was closed south of Lucia because of a mud slide.

Hi Fodorites
Apologies to Susan for hijacking this thread and thanks Grasshopper for the restaurant rec. A great crab sandwich with a view sounds perfect...at least to me and the rest of the family can fill up on dessert (if it's a seafood or starve restaurant!)
We will check that the roads are clear/open ...and hope to avoid the mud :(

To highflyer

SF to San Diego via highway one is not 7 hours. In Feb you would have a hard time getting to Santa Barbara from SF in 7 hours.

Have Fun
GP

The food at Cielo at the Ventana Inn & Spa is very good. In SLO check out Buona Tavola, www.btslo.com I haven't been to the SLO location, but we really enjoyed our meal at their Paso Robles place. Have fun! ***kim*** :)

Thanks for the suggestions Kim

I checked out the website menu and it all sounds soooo good.

My optimistic drive time estimate of 7+hrs is revised to 7+++hrs. (If I thought it was going to take longer than 10hrs I'd probably not get in the car LOL!)

>>>We've decided to overnight in Cambria (approx 3-4hrs from SF) then drive another 3hrs? and stay 2 nights at Laguna Beach (about an hour or so north of San Diego).<<<<

No way in the world can you drive from SF to San Diego in 7-8 hrs, and include the coast highway for much of that drive. I live just south of SF. I lived in Laguna Breach, and while there I worked just north of San Diego in Carlsbad. Plan on 10 hours at the least if you DON'T go the Coast Highway. I think I remember driving from Laguna to SF on the fastest route possible (Hwy 5) and it took me 8 hours AT NIGHT or on WEEKENDS. The drive to work in Carlsbad was about 1 hr, and another 45 mins or so to SD.

If you leave SF early on a weekday, plan on 3 to 3 1/2 hrs to Carmel with the commute traffic - and that's on 101, not the Coast Highway. If you leave on a weekend, it's 2 1/4 hrs if you drive fast. You do not want to drive fast down the beautiful Cabrillo Highway (Hwy 1), so plan on 4 hrs for Carmel to Cambria - that's 7 or so hrs right there.

I don't know how long a "normal" drive takes from Cambria to Laguna, but it took me 1 1/2 hrs to get from Laker Games to Laguna at night with no traffic. Last time I drove the 405 Freeway from the airport area (mid LA) to Laguna during a weekday, it was bumper to bumper all the way at rush hour - probably a 3-4 hr trip.

My Cambria & south experiences are almost 30 years old, but I suspect that the traffic is worse, not better, and they have not built any new ways to get there (except from 405 to Laguna).

Your biggest "questionable" estimate is from Cambria to Laguna - it is much longer than 3 hrs. It takes 3 hrs just to drive through LA most days.

Ask more residents about this. With SF & LA commute traffic, the range has got to be big - maybe 12 to 16 hours. If you drive at night when the traffic is lighter, you can make it in less time - but what's the point in that (except through LA). You are on a sightseeing trip, I presume???

Stu Dudley
San Mateo (San Francisco), Ca.

Without terrible traffic in LA, it takes about 4.5 - 5 hours to drive from Cambria to Laguna. We drive alot to SLO from Fallbrook which is about an hour south of Laguna and it takes around 5 hours. So if you take off one hour for Fallbrook to Laguna and add 1/2 hr from SLO to Cambria that's around 4.5 hrs. This is with some light traffic in Los Angeles but not during rush hour.

I actually drove home last Fri, Dec. 31 from Cambria. We left at 7:30 am and were at the 101 and 405 by 10:30 am. Being the holiday there was just no traffic around Santa Barbara and very light in the San Fernando valley. At that rate, we would have made it home by 12:30 (all the way to Fallbrook-which would be from Cambria in 5 hours). However then the rains came, what a mess. We made it through LA OK but then crawled down the 15 freeway (we took the inland route). Even so we made it in 6 hours with some very bad conditions.

I think if Susan plans right she can get from Cambria to Laguna in the time mentioned above. She does want to drive during the day to enjoy the view but also needs to plan to not hit LA during rush hour. I know those on this board can give her helpful hints on the best time to drive through LA and maybe the best route to take that takes advantage of the carpool lanes.

Thanks again for the drive-times.

Does the following sound reasonable....

After a 3night stay we leave SF on Sunday 8am and take the coast road (checking first for weather/road reports and barring mudslides...I almost feel intrepid!)
Allowing an hour or two for lunch and scenic views we hope to arrive in Cambria before dark (4-5pm)or at least in time for dinner at 7pm.

On Monday we intend to leave Cambria after breakfast (9AM) and need to arrive in Laguna Beach by 4pm with a lunch stop...hopefully this leg shouldn't be longer than 5hrs of driving..
Any lunch suggestions appreciated along this route.

We leave Laguna Beach on Wed (before 10am) and hope to arrive in San Diego for lunch
3 nights in San Diego and we fly home on Sat.

We hope this sounds more feasible and would appreciate restaurant suggestions between Cambria/Laguna and in San Diego ( we're staying at the Marriott on Coronado Is.)
We all like Thai/Indian/Italian/Mexican food,(we will have eaten plenty of Chinese food in SF as we are there over Chinese New Year period) 2 of the 4 of us don't eat red meat and the other 2 don't eat seafood !...

Thanks in advance!
V
PS We lost Susan after the initial posting but I hope she find this helpful!

7 hours? It's right about 500 miles between the two cities. Doesn't that work out to an average speed of about 70+ miles an hour?

While it's been some time since I've driven on the Pacific Coast Highway, I can't imagine you'll average 70 miles an hour on that road. Not even sure you could even average that on the Golden State Freeway.

>>On Monday we intend to leave Cambria after breakfast (9AM) and need to arrive in Laguna Beach by 4pm with a lunch stop...hopefully this leg shouldn't be longer than 5hrs of driving..<<<

If you NEED to arrive in Laguna by 4, you had better leave Cambria by 7 or pack a sack lunch to eat along the way. You will hit some commute traffic in LA & Orange Co. Don't know if the commute lanes start as early as 2 (doubt it)

Your SF ro Cambria portion is fine since it's on a Sunday. To bad you are not planning to stop in Carmel or Pt Lobos. Have lunch at Nepenthe in Big Sur.

Stu Dudley

Apologies to Stu, but I think his times are on the long side. (and I live next door to him and have done those drives many times).

Remember, it's the journey, not the destination (ok, well maybe you have to get there too). And it will be a very pleasant journey.

Hey we're on vacation! We'll enjoy the drive and have snacks on hand if traffic is toooo slow around LA.
We'd LIKE to be in Laguna Beach by 4pm and before 6pm at the latest as we are meeting friends for dinner that evening. Leaving Cambria earlier than planned will not be a problem... 8am sounds good.. 7am would mean skipping breakfast and one grouchy teenager in the backseat is one too many!

I still stick with my estimates. I just checked my AAA map. They said it takes:
2 1/2 hrs SF to Monterey. I make it in 1 3/4 hr from my house. Add another 1/2 hr from Union Sq to my house, or 3/4 hr from Lombard St hotels.

3 1/4 hrs Monterey to SLO. I'm assuming AAA is all driving time - no time to stop & look at the scenery. I would add 1 hr for viewing.

4 hrs SLO to LA, which is about Paula's estimate - I have no idea "where" the middle of LA is.

2 3/4 hrs LA to SD

That's 12 1/2 hrs without stopping. I said it was a minimum of 10, and perhaps plan on a range of 12 to 16, depending on the traffic. If you leave SF at commute time (add 1 hr), hit LA & SD at commute time (add 2 hrs), and stop along hwy 1 for 1 hr, that would make it about 4 hrs on top of the AAA estimate, for a total of 16 1/2.

Highflyer is leaving SF on a Sunday, but through LA around commute time so I think the 12-16 hr range is reasonable - perhaps low, if anything.

Stu Dudley

Susan - Your new schedule looks good. If you leave Cambria at 8am, you should make it to Laguna Beach by 4pm.
That gives you 8 eight hours to make the drive and since it is around 285 miles according to my map, you should be able to do it in about 5 hours.

This of course is all contingent on traffic in Los Angeles. If you leave Cambria by 8am, you should hit Santa Monica in 3.5-4 hours which would put you there around lunch time. A word of advice, I wouldn't really stop for lunch but try to get through Los Angeles as quickly as possible. You should be able to get from Santa Monica to Laguna in a couple of hours at the most if you do it between noon and 2. If it's after 2 pm, you will start getting rush hour traffic. Yes, it starts that early in the afternoon! I am a sales rep and drive all over So. Calif. It used to be that if you made it on the freeway by 3pm you were OK. The other day I left Santa Monica headed south around 3pm and the 405 was gridlock all the way to Orange County. If you want to stop for lunch then I would leave a little earlier in the morning. On my recent trip, I had two grumpy teenagers with me, they just got up and went back to sleep in the car!

Thanks Paula, that's the kind of advice I can work with. (BTW I'm Vanessa not Susan...'S' disappeared after the original post)
We'll eat lunch in the car to avoid getting stuck in too much traffic. Unfortunately grouchy teenager has a 7yrold sister so sleeping in the backseat generally isn't an option but as this part of the trip doesn't sound exactly scenic we'll let them watch a DVD.

Thanks to everyone and I've doubled my original optimistic drivetime to 14hrs.
I'll post a report at the end of Feb.

Sorry Vanessa-didn't realize the poster had changed after the first questions. Just to add one thing, the beginning of the drive is actually very scenic. When you leave Cambria, you take the Route 1 to SLO. It goes past Morro Bay and it was beautiful the other morning seeing the rock sticking out of the bay. Then around Santa Barbara you drive along the coast, again very beautiful. Once you get past Santa Barbara then you begin to go inland and start hitting the cities. So even if your teenager wants to sleep (which sounds like that will be hard to do!), there are some nice views until you get closer to LA.

Thanks again Paula!

We'll hold onto the DVD until we get past Santa Barbara.
I'm looking forward to the trip especially the coastal views and I'm pretty sure the weather will be better than icy Massachusetts!

One more question... I'm tempted to visit either Pfeiffer Big Sur Park or Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park (to see Redwoods and the waterfall respectively).
This would break up the journey a little more and stretch our legs.

Does anyone have a preference or suggestion for either of these 2 parks. (Ultimately weather may dictate our decision)
Thanks in advance,
V

If the sun is shining, suggest a stopover at Point Lobos State Reserve, which is 2 miles south of Carmel. It has wonderful easy hikes and gorgeous views.

Julia Pfeiffer Burns will offer you the only waterfall to spill into the Pacific Ocean. Very easy hike for 1/2 hour. Very much worth it.

Pfeiffer Big Sur has some easy trails where you can spend 1/2 to an hour just straining your neck looking upward at the redwoods. Easy in and out.

Would recommend all three as they offer three different views and aspects.

Enjoy California! :)

Thanks easytraveler!

Can't resist and hope to visit all 3 suggestions. :)

Is Point Lobos State Reserve the place to view seals?

One thing I have not seen discussed on this thread is the coast north of San Francisco. Some of the most spectacular views in the world can be seen in Point Reyes, Jenner, Marshall, Gualala, and Mendocino. The water is cold so you cannot swim but the views are spectacular. I ride my bicycle on the coast all the time. Have a great trip.

When you get near LA turn you radio dial to AM 1070 KNX radio and start listening for traffic reports.Since there are a couple of ways of traversing through the LA basin you might be able to aviod some of the worst traffic bottlenecks.Just make sure your navigator has a good map of Southern California to plot alternate routes.

Just a quick thankyou to everyone for your advice. We had a great time in SF, Cambria, Laguna Beach and San Diego.

Highlights in San Francisco included Alcatraz (on a beautiful sunny morning) and great views from Coit Tower. The Chinese New Year parade was very
colorful ,surprisingly noisy..those firecrackers are LOUD!..and a little damp at times!
Luckily the sun shone for our drive along the Cabrillo highway which was very picturesque and photogenic! We pulled in several times to photograph the stunning views only to go around the next bend and find more awesome scenery!
We stopped at Julia Pffeifer State Park and walked to the waterfall and had a late lunch at Ragged Point.
We left SF at 8am and arrived in Cambria before 4pm so had time to soak in the Fogcatcher's hot tub before dinner at Brambles.
We left The Fogcatcher at 8am after a quick breakfast and a brief walk on the beach. The rain had just stopped and started again just as we reached Lake Cachuma so this was a very brief stop and we ate our picnic lunch in the car!

We arrived at the Marriott in Dana Point before 3pm and had plenty of time to swim in the beautiful warm outdoor pool overlooking the coast before dinner at Javiers (Mexican at Laguna Beach). We loved both the hotel and the restaurant and were almost sorry to leave for San Diego after 2 nights.

San Diego was warm and sunny and we finally escaped the showers! Sea World was great fun and we went back for a second day. My kids loved the Atlantis ride and looped around several times until they were thoroughly soaked.

We stayed at the Marriott on Coronado Is. for 1 night but didn't like it so we transfered to the new Marriott in the Gaslamp District and loved this hotel.

A couple of restaurants in the gas amp area that we enjoyed were Monsoon (INDIAN) and The Royal Thai.

Oops I forgot to mention the wildlife! We saw the sealions at Fishermans Wharf and reckoned that since they've been there since just after the 1989 earthquake that maybe they'll act as an early warning system for the next one?! ...or not?!!

We also saw the elephant seal rookery at Piedras Blanchos (?)..not the world's most glamorous animals but my daughter was charmed for a short while and then feeding the dolphins at Sea World kept everyone entertained.

Our 3rd trip to California and now we want to go back for more...we LOVED it and are looking forward to seeing Yosemite next time.

Thanks again!
Vanessa

We make the drive on Highway 1 between Santa Monica and San Francisco at least once a year.

There are some nice towns between LA and San Diego, but the coast scenery is not as spectacular.

highflier - Sounds like you had a really great time.

Yes, thankyou J Correa we had an absolutely lovely time. We met up with some old friends in Laguna Beach and they apologised for the Californian weather but, hey we got wetter at Sea World on a sunny day than the rest of the trip put together!
Oh and on Monday night another 8" of snow fell here in Massachusetts! :)