Have been wanting to visit Hearst Castle for years- it turns out that DH and I will be able to stop there on our way to the SF Bay Area from Southern California.

So what's the low-down- best tours, logistics, where to spend a night, optimum anount of time to allow for a visit, etc... thanks!

Hi N,

You need to get on their web site immediately and see if you can get tickets. The tour bus companies book up the tours far in advance and weekends are especially busy! Good luck!

it's been forever since I was there and things may have changed. But the best tour was the one that took you through the house, and you also got to see the outdoor and indoor pool. It was always the most popular one as well. Like I say - things may have changed.

I've actually been there twice. It's well worth the visit.

good point about the tickets- I had checked online and all time slots are availible- probably because end of Sept, and the kids are back in school? Anyway, where to stay- in Cambria, and drive to the castle? Anyone done the evening tour?

We went on Tour 1 this summer and it was very interesting. I also think that the movie would be interesting.
The pools are amazing. I was tempted to jump in and go for a swim!
One thing is that they read you the rules at the beginning of the tour; you will feel like you are back in grade school on a field trip!
Enjoy the trip!

Spend the night in Cambria in one of the places on Moonstone Drive. Have dinner at the Sow's Ear. Take the basic tour or tour #2.

Hi again N,

I've been to Hearst Castle more times than I can remember, and really all the tours are very interesting. Tour #1 is what most people do. It takes you through some of the main rooms in the castle, parts of the grounds and both indoor (gold) and outdoor (Greek) pools.

Another tour takes you though the gardens and one of the "guest houses".

The last one I did was #2 (I think). It goes through some of the upstairs rooms, Hearst's bedroom, bathrooms, library. Very interesting!

Truly an amazing place with lots of history.

Did you know that the Hearst fortune came out of the silver mines in my town - Park City, UT?

I was watching an episode of Deadwood last night on DVD - we are into season 2 now - and they were just talking about the origins of the Hearst fortune

I like tour #2 - the one that goes upstairs through some of the private rooms.

I did both tour 1 and tour 2. Tour 2 I liked much better because the group was smaller so the tour guide was able to make small talk with the people, which made it more fun. Plus as the other posters have said it takes you to the upstairs room which are very interesting. You get a better sense of what kind of person Hearst was.

We were there in June and spent the whole day - glad we did. Took Tours 1,2, and 4. All worthwhile. Tour 1 always has a much larger group than others, but you get to see many highlights you probably don't want to miss. Don't skip the movie. Strongly recommend you try to take Tour 2 (or maybe 3) in addition to get a more intimate feel with a smaller group. We did Tour 4 - garden tour - at end of the day. Glad we did as it was novel experience since we were very familiar with the grounds having been there all day by that point.

Stayed the night before at Cambria Pines (Moonstone lodging - previous poster mentioned as well). Very close by and convenient. Newly renovated so very clean. Fairly typical rooms. Some signs of construction still evident on grounds, but fine for a nice bed and shower and quick stay. Restaurant very good. Very unique outside eating area in little "stone houses". Gotta see them even if seating not available. Town of Cambria is a darling spot if you have the time - cute shops to spend an afternoon strolling.

Night after Hearst, we drove north about 15 miles to Ragged Point Inn. http://tinyurl.com/mgs8d.
Older 60's vintage motel so showing a bit of wear, but worth it (IMO) as rooms sit right on top of cliff over ocean. Open the sliding door and listen to the surf all night! We had 2nd floor room so the little balcony felt like you could cliff dive into surf 300 ft below. Couple of overlooks from motel property so nice sunset view if the fog cooperates. Restaurant on grounds was very adequate.

Don't miss the elephant seals on the way to Ragged Point at Piedras Blancas. Check http://www.elephantseal.org/ for info. May not be much going on this time of year, but it's right on the way so worth a stop just in case.

Suggestion for further North - Great spot for lunch or dinner - Nepenthe in Big Sur. Pretty prominent sign right on Route 1 on the ocean side. Indoor and outdoor seating with great ocean views. We settled on several appetizers for lunch and were quite satisfied. Desserts looked simple but very ample (alas, no room).

Hearst Castle: I've only been on tour 1 which was great but I have heard very good things about tours 2 and 4. The tours are not cheap, BTW. The movie at the visitor's center is a bit cheesy, but actually kinda good if you are interested in the place's history at all.

I second the recommendation of the Sow's Ear in Cambria. Have eaten there several times; it's been great each time. Stayed at a B&B there once, Ollalieberry Inn I think, which was very nice. But honestly there are plenty of good quality motels there too.

Make sure you stop at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park on Hwy 1 south of Big Sur to see the cove and McWay Falls - extremely picturesque.

Someone mentioned Nepenthe. It has a fabulous location with great views down the Big Sur coastline. Unfortunately it is expensive and the food is mediocre.

I prefer to stop at one of the little store/delis in Big Sur 'town', pick up some sandwiches or something, and then drive down to Pfeiffer Beach and eat there. The beach is at the end of Sycamore Canyon Road off Hwy 1, about 1/4 south of the Ranger Station (the road can be hard to spot).

And I also highly recommend Point Lobos State Park up near Carmel Highlands. Just beautiful broken rocky shorelines with Monterey cypress on them, plus good sea lion and sea otter spotting.

great suggestions regarding the various tours- that was helpful. Yes, I was just reading in an old AAA article about the fortune starting in the silver mines, not the newspaper business as I had thought.

Am still thinking about staying at a B&B vs a motel on Moonstone- the B&Bs seem to be more, but are nicer I guess? Will look into some of the lodging mentioned here. thanks!