We are planning a 5 night road trip at the end of February leaving round trip from La, making our first stop pismo beach. Then cambria, San simeon(Hearst mansion), then up the coast to Carmel and Monterey. Was just reading the PCH maybe closed at points. Here are my questions
1. Is the PCH DRIVEABLE FROM San Simeon North to Monterey?
2 how many nights in each spot? Was thinking either 1 night in pismo and 1 nt in cambria. Vs 2 nts cambria. 2or 3 nights in Monterey?
3. Any hotel/inn recommendations in Monterey. We typically like smaller more personal inns but don’t want to spend a small fortune. $300 or less range. Thanks in advance. Diane.

No, you cannot drive from San Simeon to Monterey on Highway 1. It is closed just south of LimeKiln State Park and just north of Lucia, CA (look on Google Maps). I would suggest spending one or two nights in Cambria to see Hearst Castle and the elephant seal rookery. Then take Hwy 46 to Paso Robles and continue on Hwy 101 to Hwy 68 to Monterey. The best of Big Sur is in the northern section so spending three nights in the Monterey area would be perfect. You can easily drive south on Hwy 1 to see the sights Big Sur has to offer. You can also visit Point Lobos, drive the 17-Mile Drive, see beautiful Carmel, go whale watching, and go to the Aquarium. Lots to see and do in the area.

Thanks. Just saw that on google maps. Any hotel / inn recommendation for Monterey?

Another question. Would it be better to stay in Carmel or Monterey?

Monterey (or Pacific Grove) provide better access to sights and are more open and airy, Carmel is tucked out of the way and jungly. So it depends upon what you want.

Carmel is a quaint storybook village with nice shops, restaurants, wine tasting rooms, and beautiful beaches. I can't say I have ever thought of it as jungly! If you have kids, you'll probably want to stay in Monterey, which is more touristy in my opinion. Pacific Grove is also a nice alternative. We stay in our camper van in Carmel Valley so I cannot recommend a hotel.

I would never stay in Monterey (many reasons why not). Either Carmel (my preference) or Pacific Grove. There are many Victorian B&Bs in Pacific Grove. We have often stayed at the Coachman's inn in Carmel (even on our honeymoon in 1971). Perfect location. https://www.coachmansinn.com/

Stu Dudley

All three (Monterey, Carmel, Pacific Grove) are great places to stay. Mostly depends on what sort of ambience you want -- and your budget.

Five days is not all that long for this trip since you want to do round trip LA to LA and want 2 nights in the Pismo/Cambria/San Simeon area and 3 nights on the Monterey Peninsula.

Be prepared with a plan B (and maybe plans C & D) in case there are winter storms.

BTW and a gentle FYI . . . PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) is a SoCal thing -- we don't call it that up here

I have stayed at the Sunset Inn in Pacific Grove. Its like an old time motel that has been updated. Short walk to the ocean, no restaurant, very quiet and secluded. Has good reviews on Trip Advisor

Wow. Thanks everyone. We are traveling without kids and typically like the less touristy areas, I’ll look into all of the suggestions.

my husband likes to “wing it” and book once we are in the area. Any thoughts?

Thanks for the info about US 1. Our son has lived in LA for the past 10 years so all we know is PCH.

BTW. STU DUDLEY. Went to Provence in Oct. I totally get why you keep going back, we could have used more time there!

We did a mini road trip from San Franciso to a friends place in Pasadena a couple of years ago (and loved it!) . We chose to stay in Pacific Grove and used that as a base for Monterey and Carmel. We rented bikes to ride to Carmel along the "17 Mile Drive" (or was it 19 miles.Either way it was a fantastic ride - we loaded the bikes on to the bus to take us back to Monterey.

We stayed at https://www.greengablesinnpg.com a traditional B&B and were very happy with our choice.

""We stayed at https://www.greengablesinnpg.com a traditional B&B and were very happy with our choice.""

That's one of the several Victorian B&Bs I was referring to.

We spent 4 weeks in the Luberon/Provence this past June. No itinerary - just "hung out".

Stu Dudley

Winging it in Carmel/Monterey/PG isn't really advised - however you are there well after the Pro Am so so it might be doable. But if there is a weekend involved I'd never wing it myself. Especially if you want a small Inns or B&Bs.

There are monarch butterfly groves near Pismo and in Pacific Grove. Check them out.

What is your budget and do you have a preference for B&Bs or hotel? Would not wing it on weekends. Many places also have a 2 day minimum on weekends

Also February is our rainy season and I would not want to drive the PCH in the rain so you might want to wing it in the sense of going or not going depending on the weather.

We will be traveling mid week the last week in Feb. we typically like b and b or smaller hotels/inns. Preferably in the $300 and under range. We are hoping to see the monarch butterflies in piano. If the weather is rainy since we will not have made reservations we will alter the itinerary. With the weather these days nothing is for sure! Thanks all.

The 7 Gables in Pacific Grove is quite nice and should be your price range

Its a lovely property -- but is quite popular so even on a Feb mid-week it might be prudent to pre-book.