LA to Sanf Francisco Itinerary.
 

How does this sound. I have to go to LA for work in early February and I'm turning it into a little vacation with the wife.

Mon. night: arrive in LA.
Tues - [boring convention for work all day]
Weds-Thurs - Enjoy LA
Fri - Drive to Santa Barbara in the morning. Stay overnight.
Sat - Drive to San Simeon in the morning. Tour Hearst Castle. Depart for Pebble Beach in the early Evening.
Sun: Golf at Pebble Beach
Mon: Enjoy Carmel.Monterey
Tues - Drive to SFO for flight home.

How does that sound for a general plan? Doable or overly ambitious?

It's certainly doable, but what I'm worried about is the drop-off fee for your rental car. It could be a fee of several hundred of dollars to pick up a car in LA and drop it off in SF. Have you shopped around for One-Way rates? Or do you have deep pockets and don't care about this expense?

I figured the car rental would be a little extra for the drop off fee, but as long as it's not ridiculous, I don't mind. A couple hundred dollars extra for a great vacation will be worth it. And I don't know any way around it.

Might I suggest that you do a search online?

I just went into Travelocity and put in some arbitrary dates for February for pickup LAX and drop-off SFO. It looks like right now Budget has the best rates (including no drop off fee) on Travelocity.

If it were me I'd check and make sure there is no drop off fee and reserve with Travelocity or Budget right away. You can always cancel if you find something better.

There are also other mega-search sites like Kayak/Sidestep. Myself, i don't like Expedia nor Orbitz and so don't use them.

If you pick up and drop off other than at the airports, you can also save a considerable amount on not paying the airport fees.

The part of your itinerary that stands out as a red flag is your plan to depart the San Simeon area in the early evening for your drive to Carmel. Between San Simeon and Carmel is the Big Sur coast, which is some of the most beautiful coastline in the world - it is also a narrow, windy road. This drive should definitely be done in the daylight. Also, this will be February, so winter storms are a consideration.
- another factor against going at night.

If you take a late morning tour of Hearst Castle, you can do the drive to Carmel in the afternoon. Plan on about 2.5-3 hours from Hearst Castle to Carmel. It is only 90 miles or so, but speeds are between 25 and 45 mph much of the way.

On the otherhand, if you wanted to skip the Big Sur coast, you can head back south from San Simeon to Cambria and cut over to Hwy 101 there. Hwy 101 is freeway for much of the way, so it is much faster.

Oh - one more thought. If you haven't already made your flight reservations, consider flying out of San Jose rather than SFO. San Jose is about 45 min to an hour closer to the Monterey area than SFO.

RolandFan,

I suggest one modification. You should plan to drive from Hearst Castle to Pebble Beach in the afternoon. The views are breathtaking, and the drive can be tough in the dark. I would leave Hearst Castle no later than 1pm.

You haven't noted what days you are traveling. If it's Sunday February 14, be aware that the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am takes place February 8-14, with the grand finale at Pebble Beach Golf Links on Sunday February 14. Golfing at Pebble Beach Golf Links would not be possible on 2/14 (unless you're playing in the tournament and make the final cut). However, you might be able to get a tee time at Spanish Bay.

Other than those two potential adjustments, your itinerary looks very doable.

Nicole

I agree with the others about the Big Sur Coast, except I would spend even more time there than they suggested. This is one of the most scenic sections of coastline that you'll likely see, IMO (I've seen a lot of coastlines).

I've watched lots of ATTs/Crosbys with heavy rains - so I would not plan any schedule around playing golf. Also, the AT&T is likely to make hotel options and tee times scarce around that period.

Personally, I would skip Santa Barbara and try to make it to Cambria or San Simeon on Friday. Santa Barbara is a nice medium sized city - but it is still a city (like LA, although not nearly as interesting or unique as San Francisco). Take the first tour of Hearst Castle, then dawdle up the coast. Stop at Nepenthe for lunch, explore Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park & Pfeiffer beach. Then continue on to the Carmel area, spending the afternoon or next morning exploring Pt Lobos State Park - some of the prettiest coastline along the coast. Stay in Carmel and visit the shops, coast, beach, Monterey, Pacific Grove etc.

Fly home from San Jose.

Stu Dudley

We took this drive in November. The drive from Cambria (near Hearst Castle) to Nepenthe took 2 hours, with a 20 min stop for coffee and a few scenic overlooks. This is the most important stretch which will need your full attention to the slow, winding road as well as the most awesome scenery on the coast. Make sure this part of your drive is in the daylight. The rest of it does not matter as much.

Trying to drive around Pebble Beach during a golf tournament is a really bad idea. It's a traffic nightmare. Not only will you not get any tee time, you probably wouldn't get any tea time either.

I'd try to fly out of San Jose, or else add time so you have a night to see San Francisco. Seems funny to go that extra distance just to return a rental car.

We've tweaked the itinerary a bit. I think we will skip Pebble beach and try to spend a little time in San Francisco. So Saturday is an early drive from Santa Barbara to San Simeon for a morning tour, then a drive through Big Sur coastal area. Thinking of spending Sat. night at Carmel (Tickle Pink Inn???) then checking out Carmel (maybe Monterey Acquarium) on Sunday morning/early afternoon then driving to SF for Dinner and staying until we head home on Tues.

Just a note of caution: Most hotels in Carmel have two or three night minimums if you are there over a holiday weekend ( like Valentines Day) and if you are going to be there during the Crosby ProAm, you may not be able to find a room at all. Since you haven't given us dates, I can't be sure...

If traveling during that time, I'd take Stu's suggestin of heading up to San Simeon for the night, the 9 Am tour and then heading to SF.

Good luck!_