how long drive San Diego to LA
Nov 19th, 2005 | 09:14 AM
#1
Original Poster
Joined: Oct 2005
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how long drive San Diego to LA
Hello my new friends, and thank you for those who responded to me, ok think i am getting the idea..here are my questions, how long of a drive from san diego to LA? should i have LA as a base to go to the hearst castle and up big sur? should I book a room by San Simeon, and then drive back to LA. Trying to see the coastline from san diego and up in about 3-4 days...thanks so much for any tips ...c
Nov 20th, 2005 | 04:58 AM
#3
Joined: May 2003
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If it's just for the coastline, you might want to reconsider staying in L.A. at all.
The drive up the coast from S.D. to about Long Beach alone will take approx. 2.5 hours (with mandatory detour on the I-5 from around Oceanside to San Clemente).
If you want an overnight stop in the L.A. area, I would consider looking at hotels in either Marina del Rey or (even better but likely to be pricier) Santa Monica (which certainly is in the L.A. area, but not part of the city of L.A. proper).
Another option for a three- day schedule might be to drive up all the way to Santa Barbara. Do not necessarily stay on PCH while crossing town from Long Beach to Santa Monica. There are some not so nice areas there.
Santa Barbara would be another 2.5 hours (at least with no traffic involved, which using the I-405 would be highly unlikely).
Hearst Castle would be a drive of at least 2 hours from Santa Barbara, I would estimate.
The drive back from up there to San Diego would thus easily be a daytrip.
The drive up the coast from S.D. to about Long Beach alone will take approx. 2.5 hours (with mandatory detour on the I-5 from around Oceanside to San Clemente).
If you want an overnight stop in the L.A. area, I would consider looking at hotels in either Marina del Rey or (even better but likely to be pricier) Santa Monica (which certainly is in the L.A. area, but not part of the city of L.A. proper).
Another option for a three- day schedule might be to drive up all the way to Santa Barbara. Do not necessarily stay on PCH while crossing town from Long Beach to Santa Monica. There are some not so nice areas there.
Santa Barbara would be another 2.5 hours (at least with no traffic involved, which using the I-405 would be highly unlikely).
Hearst Castle would be a drive of at least 2 hours from Santa Barbara, I would estimate.
The drive back from up there to San Diego would thus easily be a daytrip.
Nov 20th, 2005 | 10:02 AM
#5
Joined: Sep 2005
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Suggestion (check a map to follow): Drive north on the 5, after Mission Viejo take the 405 all the way past Century Blvd and ignore all the airport exit signs, take the 10 west to Santa Monica, get off at Olympic and turn right into Lincoln, left into Broadway, and turn into the big parking structure on the left just past 4th street. It’s free for a few hours.
Walk down Broadway to Ocean Avenue (it’s not down by the ocean), turn left then right out onto the pier. Amuse yourself looking at the quaint scene and take in the view from the tip. Get back to the Third Street Promenade, have a stroll and maybe lunch, get your car and drive north along Ocean Avenue, after 4 blocks turn left into California and down the ramp to join Highway 1 down at the ocean level.
Keep going for an hour or so, all the way through Malibu, sometimes with gorgeous ocean views - watch your speed, the limit keeps changing and the Malibu Sheriff knows it...
When houses get real sparse, you’ll have Neptune’s Net come up suddenly on your right - a funky landmark seafood restaurant catering to a mix of Malibu celebs, beach bums, and everything in between.
Keep going, through Oxnard, eventually you’ll reach the Ventura Freway 101 heading west (signed north but running due west at that stage), hop on until you get to Santa Barbara where you could stay the night.
The next day I suggest you take the road (I think 154) to Pacheco Pass - on the other side the landscape looks so totally different, almost like a moonscape for a while, until you descend into greener pastures and end up in the wine country.
Hang a left to Solvang and you’re in Denmark for a pastry-and-coffee stop. Drive on to pick up the 101 again, and turn off as you get almost into San Luis Obispo, towards Morro Bay to take the Highway 1 coast road to Cambria where you can settle in, or at nearby San Simeon, for your Hearst Castle visit that you should have prebooked long ahead.
Next is a stretch of twisting and turning coast road, on a good day with awesome views, past famous Big Sur. When you see the ranger information kiosk on your right, stop and ask about beach access - the weather plays tricks, sometimes one dirt road is manageable, sometimes another.
Eventually you come to picturesque Carmel and Monterey (check out the Aquarium up in the very touristy Cannery Row area), and as you keep going you get to Santa Cruz and then - past Half Moon Bay - into San Francisco. What a trip!
Use maps and www.viamichelin.com to get a sense of intermediate distances and times so that you can fine-tune this to your own liking.
Have fun!
WK
Walk down Broadway to Ocean Avenue (it’s not down by the ocean), turn left then right out onto the pier. Amuse yourself looking at the quaint scene and take in the view from the tip. Get back to the Third Street Promenade, have a stroll and maybe lunch, get your car and drive north along Ocean Avenue, after 4 blocks turn left into California and down the ramp to join Highway 1 down at the ocean level.
Keep going for an hour or so, all the way through Malibu, sometimes with gorgeous ocean views - watch your speed, the limit keeps changing and the Malibu Sheriff knows it...
When houses get real sparse, you’ll have Neptune’s Net come up suddenly on your right - a funky landmark seafood restaurant catering to a mix of Malibu celebs, beach bums, and everything in between.
Keep going, through Oxnard, eventually you’ll reach the Ventura Freway 101 heading west (signed north but running due west at that stage), hop on until you get to Santa Barbara where you could stay the night.
The next day I suggest you take the road (I think 154) to Pacheco Pass - on the other side the landscape looks so totally different, almost like a moonscape for a while, until you descend into greener pastures and end up in the wine country.
Hang a left to Solvang and you’re in Denmark for a pastry-and-coffee stop. Drive on to pick up the 101 again, and turn off as you get almost into San Luis Obispo, towards Morro Bay to take the Highway 1 coast road to Cambria where you can settle in, or at nearby San Simeon, for your Hearst Castle visit that you should have prebooked long ahead.
Next is a stretch of twisting and turning coast road, on a good day with awesome views, past famous Big Sur. When you see the ranger information kiosk on your right, stop and ask about beach access - the weather plays tricks, sometimes one dirt road is manageable, sometimes another.
Eventually you come to picturesque Carmel and Monterey (check out the Aquarium up in the very touristy Cannery Row area), and as you keep going you get to Santa Cruz and then - past Half Moon Bay - into San Francisco. What a trip!
Use maps and www.viamichelin.com to get a sense of intermediate distances and times so that you can fine-tune this to your own liking.
Have fun!
WK
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