Barry Smith

We will be travelling from LA to SF in Jan 98 by car and are planning on doing the coast route and seeing the sites. We will be leaving LA around midday on a Monday and want to get into SF sometime around late afternoon on the Wednesday. This leaves us with two stop-overs. I was planning on stopping the first night around Santa Barbara, then driving through to Carmel for the following night. Is this possible? We want to do the touristy things, but also spend a good deal of time at Carmel and Monterey, as we have heard they are quite impressive. Does anyone have any suggestions for making our trip memorable, as well as suggesting accommodation sites? Thanks

Stefanie Hall

I did the coast trip in 5/97, but spent 7 days. 2 days is a very short time to drive the coast and spend any time. Try to extend the trip if possible. In Santa Barbara, I highly recommend the Simpson House B & B, excellent accomodations. In Carmel, eat at Casanova, good food, great ambience, enjoyed by the locals. If you want a real treat, stay at the Ventana Inn in Big Sur, expensive, but worth every penny. Big Sur is approx. 45 minutes south of Carmel. If you don't stay there, at least stop in at the restaurant to take in the view, although the weather in January may be questionable.

Marty

My wife and I drove from San Francisco to Los Angeles by the coastal route this Summer and you are definitely smarter than we were to drive northbound rather than southbound! The scenery is breathtaking, especially between Montrerey and San Simeon. Plan to fill your tank BEFORE you begin this section, we didn't and had to pay $2.29/gallon! (regularly about $1.79/gallon in California). Touristy things we did along the way: Don't miss Solvang for shopping and a good meal, a Danish village with great shops. Tour Hearst Castle in San Simeon (if you like touring houses, make reservations in advance), we had a great Lunch at a restaurant in Cambria (Old Stone Cafe?), a few miles South of San Simeon. There are lots of reasonably priced motels in the Cambria-San Simeon area, this is where we stayed. Another great Tour is the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, about an hour south of San Francisco. This has to be the wierdest house in the Country, over a hundred rooms, 8 kitchens, skylights in the ceiling and floor, 80+steps to get from the first floor to the second floor, etc. Have a GREAT time!

[email protected]

My husband and I did the coastal drive from San Francisco to LA on our honeymoon is October. We left SF late on a Monday afternoon and drove to Monterey where we stayed at the Arbor Inn, which was small and clean. Tuesday we did the 17 mile drive had lunch and Carmel and then continued on and saw Hearst Castle late Tuesday afternoon. We stayed at the Apple Farm Inn in San Luis Obispo, which I highly recommend. It's a beautiful inn with an excellent staff and wonderful restaurant. We wished we could stay another night. We ended up reaching LA around 1 p.m. Wed. afternoon, but we did not to the coastal route after San Luis Obispo. It was a really special trip for us and I'm sure you'll enjoy.

JPK

I lived in Big Sur for years and let me tell you that Big Sur is spectacularly beautiful. One of the most scenic places on this planet. Much, much more appealing than Carmel or Monterey. The drive is breathtaking...but you need to stop (and pull over......some people actually stop *on* the road..I've seen it!) to enjoy the view often. If you want to stay in that area and expensive lodgings are your style the Post Ranch is better than Ventana.

Sally

I have driven both ways and northbound *is* wiser... otherwise you are next to the drop off. We've stayed at the Inn at Morro Bay. Wonderful views. Very fine restaurant. I think it was about 5 hrs north of LA. On another trip we stayed at the Cambria Beach Motel. This was cheaper... and the views were just as wonderful! In Cambria itself there was an excellent wine store/cafe which, if it still exists is *wonderful*. It's right on the main street. Further north in the Big Sur be sure to stop for lunch at Nepenthe and in Monterey we enjoyed the Green Gables Inn. South of Carmel don't miss Point Lobos State Park. In any case enjoy!

Dave

While on the Monterey Peninsula, be sure NOT to miss a drive onto the tip of the peninsula itself to visit PAcific Grove. Many fine restaurants and a quaint "village" atmosphere.

Joyce

Santa Maria is a little north of Santa Barbara and the Santa Maria Inn is terrific. Has been famous for years. We stayed there last week and went over to the Far Western Restaurant in Guadalupe, 9 miles away, for the most unforgettable dinner ever. The Santa Maria area is famous for its barbecues, and I had heard of the Far Western in Guadalupe for years. Get there before 6 p.m. and you get the greatest top sirloin steak you have ever tasted for $9. When you arrive you wonder how anyone could have sent you to this place. You enter and have even more misgivings as you are in a lonely bar with a few tables. Then they show you to the big dining room in back and it's a different world. Cow hides for drapery treatment. But it's the food that makes it all much more than worthwhile.

At the Santa Maria Inn, we called ahead for reservations and were quoted $59 as a special for a double in the old section. I think it is normally $79. Our room, 236, was, as the AAA book said, "small but charming." Perfect description. Looked out on beautiful planting, complete with fountain and was very quiet. The bathroom had a jacuzzi tub, hair dryer and telephone. I don't know who you could call, but it's there.

kimberly

I agree with the info posted about Big Sur. We were there last week and it was fabulous. If you are looking for more "budget" type accommodations in Big Sur, we enjoyed the Big Sur Lodge in the state park. Rates range from $89 and they have a website. I think it is bigsurlodge.com. The cabin was clean and functional. Make sure you go to Pfieffer Beach in Big Sur and Pt. Lobos State Park just south of Carmel. In Big Sur, the food was much better at Ventana than Nepenthe, but we found the staff more friendly at Nepenthe. Monterey, Carmel, and Pacific Grove are all beautiful.

Dan

In Carmel (actually a few miles south) is The Highlands Inn - we didn't stay there but had a late lunch in its restaurant, the Pacific's Edge - the food and the view were spectacular. Don't forget to drive the Seventeen Mile Road in Monterey - going north you'd enter it not too far after Carmel. Where are you staying in SF? My wife and I stayed last year at the Archbishop's Mansion, a B&B of about 10 or 15 rooms in a converted - you guessed it - archbishop's mansion, built around 1900 (survived the earthquake in '06). It was terrific - and since you'll have a car, you won't mind that it's a 5-10 minute drive from the Civic Center and downtown. You should really check it out.