Sf7307- I was not suggesting an itinerary for them- just mentioning what I had enjoyed doing recently ! I have been to San Francisco many times and agree that San Francisco deserves more than just a few hours. I would say a full day and that would just scratch the surface.

All depends on what you like to do!

janisj, do you have to insist you're right every single time you post? Do you say that anyone who disagrees with you "attacks" you? This may be a sign that you need to find a hobby other than making yourself the Know It All of Fodor's.

You are still offering anecdotal evidence about a stretch of road millions of people enjoy driving. So I would still advice disregarding your posts.If you choose to see this as an attack, knock yourself out.

>> do you have to insist you're right every single time you post?<<

Pot / kettle . . .

Anna72,
I think it all depends on what your mother means when she thinks of the coast, what is she looking for? Is she happy to skip sf, would she feel seeing the Golden Gate would be enough?

I agree it would be a good idea to fly out of Santa Barbara but having looked into this last year for my 80 year old aunt I can say it can be very expensive, though it's a great use of a one way frequent flyer ticket. You'll already be paying a premium for the one way car rental.

I'd definitely skip Paso Robles. It's not that it isn't worth seeing it's just that given the time you have I wouldn't come off the coast road to see it. After all if you want to wine taste you can do this in the Carmel valley or close to Santa Barbara.

My mother very much liked Hearst Castle, a short walk at Point Lobos, the Mission at Carmel and the town itself. She wasn't interested in Monterey or the Aquarium - too many people, she'd prefer the more laid back places like Half Moon Bay or Pacific Grove. But then she isn't an American who grew up reading Stienbeck and others love Monterrey.

I think one way to look at this is to plan what it is you want to do with your mother. For example lots of these places are popular for various reason but the question is what will be simple and easy for you two to do and what will she enjoy?

Some 70 year olds I know are into hiking and that would be the attraction on the coast. For my mother it's about not too much fuss, a short walk, a lovely view, somewhere quiet to stay and somewhere nice to eat.

Hope this helps!

Consider flying into L.A. and driving northbound. If you can get a flight arriving noonish-1pm, traffic will be light. 50 minutes out you can stop for lunch, and 50 minutes after that you'll be in Santa Barbara. Night one in Santa Barbara. Day two lunch in Solvang/see the wine vineyards/Ranches/Santa ynez wine country and spend the night up in Cayucos or Cambria which is in total just under 2 hrs from Santa Barbara. (Note you're on east coast time so mom will probably rise early 5am, and retire early like 8pm?) Day three is the coastal drive up to Monterey/Carmel and spending the night and half the next day there. You could drop the car in San Jose and continue by train up to San Francisco if you don't want to deal with traffic hours up around Silicon Valley. (the train takes you to Emeryville, then a transfer bus takes you across the Bay Bridge into San Francisco. A good idea if you want a break from driving and want to be able to look around). Night 4 and Night 5 in San Francisco. (Depends if you'd rather have 2 nights Monterey/One night San Fran or the other way around. )

Although driving northbound gets you away from the drop-off side, I prefer southbound. It is easier to do pullovers and of course you see more.

Another place I like to say in the Monterey Bay area is Pacific Grove. Asilomar does not require multiple night stays and has refundable rates. Might be worth booking a night now at a refundable rate, sign up for their emails specials and maybe something better will pop up closer to the trip.

The OP only has 4 nights.

No it's 5 nights including arrival night.

Someone pointed out that there are hefty drop off fees for one way rentals. This is correct, they can be as much as $200 to $250.

So if you don't mind driving, and tickets are still open, an option is to round trip to SFO. End the trip south of Big Sur and head back up to SFO (the 101 Freeway takes about 4 hours, but allow 5 ). You can stay Cambria, Morro Bay, SLO, etc. Or even Paso Robles (but I wouldn't).

You could switch up the route between Monterey and SF, go down US 1 and back up via Watsonville, Santa Cruz, and Hwy 17.

<janisj on Oct 12, 15 at 2:09pm
>> do you have to insist you're right every single time you post?<<

Pot / kettle . . .>

Not hardly! I don't perceive every disagreement as an "attack", nor set out to discredit everyone who disagrees with me by labelling them an attacker.

I know I should ignore you, but your schtick--"I live in California, so take it from me, Napa isn't worth doing, Hwy 1 is too scary to drive, and also avoid LA"--just gets my goat!

Mlgb has a good plan.

<i>No it's 5 nights including arrival night.</i>

I thought the initial post was a mistake.

"Consider flying into L.A. and driving northbound. If you can get a flight arriving noonish-1pm, traffic will be light. 50 minutes out you can stop for lunch, and 50 minutes after that you'll be in Santa Barbara"

Clark - I'd really like to know which way YOU go!! 50 minutes out from LAX could be Camarillo or it could be you've just merged onto the 405. I've been traveling back and forth to LAX/la area a lot lately. 62 miles one way and the fastest it's ever been was 1 hr 10. Usually it's minimum 90-100 minutes whether PCH or 101, and as bad as 2 hr 45.

Maybe you meant to say "miles?"