Hi...Going to California in February, flying into LAX and out of SFO. We have 7 nights, 6 full travel days, so we are hoping to get a brief taste of each city. We are undecided if we are going to do the drive all in one day (would most likely take 101 since that what was recommended to us for that time of year) OR if we want to do 3 nights LA, 1 night in between, and 3 nights SF.
If we did stopover, where would be a good place that would be approx. in between the two? I see people post about Carmel and Monterey, would that be a good stop? Any recommendations on hotels or restaurants for dinner if we decide to do a stopover?

Big Sur, Morro Bay, Carmel, Cambria--these areas are even better than LA and San Fran. in my opinion. San Fran. and LA have lots of things to see and do, but 2 nights in each big city may be enough and spend the rest in the above mentioned beautiful cities.

I would definitely suggest a stopover if you take the coastal route, and I think San Luis Obispo (SLO) is pretty much at the halfway point. It's a college town on the central coast - plenty of places to stay.

Be aware that if you want to maximize your time in LA and SF, it only takes 5-6 hrs to drive I5. However, this is an ugly, inland, boring strech of road. 101 and 1 are much more scenic, but it's a much longer drive. I haven't done it in one day but I would guess at least 9-10 hrs. Plus, if you're driving near the coast, you should probably stop once in a while to see things (Santa Barbara, Big Sur, etc.).

I don't mean to suggest you take the inland hwy. You should just know it's an option. Since you're flying out here to see CA, I'd probably take the extra day to see the coast.

Monterey is about 2.5-3 hrs from SF, so it would mean one longer day of driving, but it might be a better place to stay, simply because you might want to stop there anyway.

I would stop in San Luis Obispo or even take Hwy 1 as far as Cambria and then cut back over the Hwy 101 on Hwy 46 (I think that's the number of the highway) or stay in Monterey, which is pretty convinient to Hwy 101.

Cambria!! We live in Santa Cruz, and just found Cambria around 2 years ago. It has very charming motels, many of which serve free continental breakfasts. Be sure to go to the Moonstone Beach area- you'll be right across the street from the ocean- we went to a small casual restaurant that had a "bar" to eat at which faced the beach- the street is quite quiet, since it only services the hotels.

I agree with the others about staying in Cambria. It is such a relaxing, quaint town and would make the perfect stopping point along the coast. Ialso agree with that it would be better to spend the majority of your time in southern California and along the Central Coast (Cambria, Big Sur, Monterey, Carmel.) THere is so much spectacular scenery in that part of the state. During the winter time in SF it can rain most every day during Decmeber and February, so skipping it this time around makes the most sense.

Gee, during the winter time it rains a lot in Cambria too, and even more so in Big Sur. Winter is rainy season for CA. Even when the storms are on a steady track, though, you usually get a dry day for every wet one. I think Cambria could get a bit dreary in the rain - in that area, SLO would also be an option.

While it is rainy season along the central coast, it always seems to rain more in northern CA north of Monterey than it does south of there in Big Sur, Cambria,etc.

And if there's heavy rain while you're driving Hwys. 1/101, you will have to drive very slowly and with great care. No matter what time of year, you should avoid this drive on weekends when the traffic is worse.

I agree with a previous post- Cambria would be an excellent place to stop for a day. I've done the car trip up the coast. It's exactly 3 hours north of Camarillo, which is 45 min to 1 hour north of L.A. (depending on traffic). It's a cute town and you can visit the Hearst castle. There are several small inns right on the beach, which I recommend. From there it's probably another 2 hours (3?) to Carmel, which is also a wonderful place to stop. Lots to do there.