Planning to drive up from LA to SF along highway 101. Should I book my lodgings in advance?

Thanks for any advice!

This drive can be done in one day, about 6 hours. Do you want to stop along the way somewhere? If so, what do you want to see? What time of year will you be travelling?

Oh, I just saw your other post, you are coming in October and plan to see the coast along the way!

October is a beautiful time for this area, clear warm weather and no fog. With the recent fires, the Big Sur area has had NO visitors lately, but perhaps by October people will go back. You should contact a couple of places that look nice and see if they are booked up for Oct.

Dear Gigib,

Thanks for advice. Yes My husband and I did the drive in 1 day last november and we seemed to have missed out all the other nice places the literatue has mentioned. We zipped past towns like pebble bay, half moon bay, big sur, cambria. We had a glimpse of the beautiful coast, unfortunately, it was very foggy too We thought it may be a good idea to drive more leisurely this time round to see the sights in these towns. Or are they worth the time? What do u say from your experience to these places?

The Big Sur coast is DEFINTELY worth your time - it would be a shame to come to California and not spend time there.

One thing to mention - if you take Hwy 101 all the way up, you will miss Big Sur. You need to take Hwy 1 between San Luis Obispo and Monterey.

I would take 3 days for this drive if you have it, stoping overnight in Pismo Beach/Morro Bay/Cambria area and then again in the Monterey area. If you can take longer, then I would - maybe 2 nights in Monterey so that you can see the area there as well.

Thanks for reminder about highway 1. I'll probably give myself 5 days for the coastal experience

we are just back from SF and coastal drive on hwy #1. We preferred driving north to south, having our road line closer to the coast with a bit better view. From SF we stopped 2 days in Monterey for the Aquarium, the 17mile drive and Carmel. Then, heading south we had to detour to hwy 101 as hwy 1 was closed south of Big Sur due to the fires. We then entered again hwy 1 in Cambria and spent one night there. The next day we drove north to see the part of coast that we had missed not coming south on hwy 1 from Big Sur and it was a very nice drive with high coastal views. The road closure on the previous day was 47 miles north of Cambria, but that day, in the meantime, hwy 1 had reopened below Big Sur.We decided to skip Hearst Castle, near San Simeon. On the way back south we stopped on a viewpoint between San Simeon and Cambria to see the elephant seals !! Really very big compared to otters, seals and sea lions !!
Two of them were fighting agaist each other. It was a spectacular view. The next night stop was Santa Barbara and the last was L.A. before flying back home.
We had not book any lodging in advance and we had no problem although being the second week of july. You should have no problem at all in october, as well !!
If you are looking for shopping, consider a stop at the premium outlets in Camarillo, between L.A. and Santa Barbara and Gilroy, north of Monterey (www.premiumoutlets.com). We did both stops and thanks to our strong Euro currency and lots of sales we shopped till we dropped !!

I think you should try to see as many of the California Missions as you can on your drive. They are all different, and are part of California history. Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Carmel, San Juan Batista.. The drive from Carmel to the Hearst Castle is only about 90 miles. Its a slow drive, but doesn't take all day by a long shot.

If we are staying in Santa Barbara and want to see the Hearst Castle and other sights in the area such as the elephant seals can we do this in one day? We were planning on doing 1 tour at the Hearst Castle.

You're gotten some great advice for hwy 1. Morro Bay is wonderful. They have some of the best tide pools on the coast at Montana de OroState park. The Rock at Morro bay is great, home to the peregrine Falcon. Lots of sea otters. The locals love to eat at the Bayside Cafe at the Marina, 10 State Park Road.If I remember right, cast only. By the way, if you do take hwy 101 we have enjoyed stopping about half way at Harris Ranch Restaurant. Looks like a great place to spend the night. Gas was cheaper in Westly north near where the 101 turns towards Sacramento.

Bennnie,

Yes you can do it in one day but I would suggest two. If you are traveling up the coast, consider an overnight in Cambria, near Hearst Castle.

"if you do take hwy 101 we have enjoyed stopping about half way at Harris Ranch Restaurant"

Harris Ranch is on I-5, so don't spend too much time looking for it on your trip up the coast.

SummerRouge - you have so many posts going it's hard to keep track. Maybe you should consolidate them into one. Giving your itinerary and dates would be very helpful in just one post. Also, some looking at the map and getting the routes straight would be helpful.