Hi there,

We are touring the area...doing a night or two in the Carmel area and then heading further south to Cambria area...how long of a drive is this? Plus, any recommendations as to where to stay (on a budget)...we are looking at Munas Lodge in Monterey...Cambria??? Have not decided.

Thanks

Hi pfx

There is A LOT of information here on this drive if you do a search for big sur or cambria. You can go down two ways either highway 101 or highway 1. 101 might be a little faster 1 is a lot more scenic. We drove down 1 this spring from Monterey and I want to say it is only about 100 miles to Cambria. It took us 5 or 6 hours but we were not in a hurry. We did the tourist thing. Stopped for lunch and hikes and photos. If you are in a hurry go 101 otherwise plan for a good part of the day taking in all the beauty on 1. If you can only make one stop make it Pt. Lobos. If you are on a tight budget you might want to try Morro Bay rather than Cambria.

Have fun
GP

PS
if your going in winter make sure that 1 is open. Sometimes it is closed due to landslides.

Hwy 1, plan on several hours - curvey road, lots of places to stop.

Hwy 101, I believe will be about 2 hours - not nearly as scenic, freeway most of the way. I believe it is Hwy 33 that cuts back over to the coast.

thanks...we were planning on taking hwy 1 down and then heading back up to Sonoma via 101.
Will look up hotels in Morro Bay and take a look at Pt. Lobos.
We are not in a hurry and want to take our time and see all we can. First time to California. Thanks for the tip on Hwy 1...will make sure we check road conditions. Coming for Christmas...

As J Correa said, lots depends on the weather. When are you traveling to this area? We went last December and Highway 1 was washed out by the rain. So we took 101 from Carmel and we headed inland on Highway 46 to Cambria. It's about 115 miles from Carmel to Paso Robles and then another 25-30 miles on Highway 46 to Cambria.
I would just be prepared for the alternate route depending on the weather.

After spending the night in Cambria, we took Highway 1 through Morro Bay and connected with 101 in San Luis Obispo. I loved staying in Cambria but rooms are a little more expensive there so depends what your budget is.

Last Sunday we left Monterey at about 9:30 and arrived in Cambria about 3:00 and we had stopped for lunch at Ragged Point.

We had stopped for pictures two or three tmes.

We have done SR1 many times and will continue to do so because each trip is different.

If you call 1 800 427 7623 you can get information on the state of the road.

Have a great trip.