europenut

Five of us (4 adults+12-yrs old) would like to drive from LA to BigSur/Monterey and to SFrancisco along the coatal highway northbound and back to Santa Barbara on US101 or Interstate
Highway 5 southbound.

We can depart LA on Tues AM and must be back to Santa Barbara on Friday evening for a
wedding rehearsal dinner.

Big Sur and Monterey are the highlights of this trip. We're planning to spend Tues night at Big Sur, Wed night at Monterey and Thurs at SFrancisco before heading back to Santa Barbara on Fri AM.

I'd like to skip SFrancisco since we've been there before and I'm not sure we have enough time for Big Sur and Monterey but my husband insists on including SFrancisco.

1. Does this sound doable? I'd appreciate any advice on where to go/what to see on each day.

2. Also, we'd like to camp in Big Sur but my brother and his wife will likely be staying in a hotel. I'm thinking we can drop them off at the hotel after dinner before heading back to our camp site but not sure about the driving condition in Big Sur in the evening. Big Sur River Inn has 1 night logding available for them. Any suggestion on camp site that is convenient to this place?

3. Is it possible to stay north of Big Sur and make it a day trip visit?


Thanks in advance

TripleSecDelay

Answer to 2.

Reservations are difficult on short notice for weekends. Midweek is much easier. I recommend Pfeiffer campground while in the Big Sur area.

Great showers, river side campsites, good for RVs and Tents.

http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=570

http://www.reserveamerica.com/jsp/co.../newindex.html

J_Correa

This is definitely a doable trip, but I agree with you that without going to SF, you would have more time in Big Sur and Monterey - esspecially if you want to camp. Going to SF is doable, you will just have less time in each place. I would work on cutting SF out of the trip. I think once you get into this trip, you will wish you didn't rush yourselves to get to SF.

I would leave Tue Am as early as you can and head up the coast. Morro Bay and Cambria are nice places to stop - about 2.5 hours out of SB.

Hearst Castle is just north of there and is definitely worth a stop, but it will take a couple hours to do a tour, so you may not want to spend that much time. If you decide to do Hearst Castle, I would make reservations ahead of time to make sure you can tour at the time you want.

Driving through Big Sur you want to allow maximum time for stops. I don't know much about the camping around that area. We have hiked and picnicked at Pfiffer-Big Sur SP and it is nice - along the river, in the woods. I think it is the Big Sur River Inn that is right near this park. With such a short trip though, I think I would stay in a motel so I wouldn't have to spend time setting up and breaking camp. Ripplewood has rustic cabins - sort of a compromise between a motel and camping.

Driving at night is fine - it is dark because there isn't much in the way of civilization in Big Sur, but the car has headlights, right?

If you choose to spend 2 nights in Monterey area rather than 1 in Big Sur and 1 in Monterey, you can see Big Sur on your trip north. Obviously you wont get an indepth look at the area, but you can get a taste. You can plan to spend the entire day on the drive and get to Monterey around dinner time, which will give you maximum time. This would give you a whole day in Monterey to wander around. Point Lobos, which is just south of Carmel is absolutely beautiful.

SF will be about a 2-2.5 hour drive from Monterey. There are plenty of places to stop along the way if you want, but that will leave you less time in SF. As it is, you will have at most 3/4 of a day there if you get going early that morning.

The trip back to SB, I would head down Hwy 280 to San Jose and then Hwy 101 the rest of the way back to SB. You could take Hwy 101 all the way south from SF, but for the section between SF and SJ, they 280 is MUCH nicer - good scenery, good quality road. I wouldn't head inland to I-5 - that drive is very boring and I don't think it would be any faster because you have to go so far inland.

JBC411

I'd recommend Big Sur Campground and Cabins, where both couples could enjoy their own type of accommodations on the same site. In addition to smaller cabins, I have fond memories of stays at their almost luxurious A-frames in which one couple can enjoy a traditional bed while one or two other couples can climb ladders to cozy lofts. Might be satisfactory for you all, since the cabins here are in a densely wooded canyon next to the campsites and have a campsite feel. This is a very nice campsite in any case.

http://www.campingfriend.com/BigSurC....asp?file=Home

Riverside Campground is also very pleasant, and I think they may have cabins too.

Ripplewood resort has no campsites, but some very quaint cabins right on the river, another of my favorites.

Glen Oaks Motel is a conventional older motel, very pleasant. If the cabins above don't appeal to them, I still think they would find this place more appealing than the River Inn.

I think the River Inn is delightful as a restaurant and bar, but I would steer your brother and his wife away from the accommodations there. Drab, right on the highway, overpriced, noisy. Any of the cabins or the motel I've already mentioned would be preferable.

All of the places I've mentioned above, including the River Inn, are grouped together within walking distance or a 2 min. drive.

A little further away: Ventana, both Inn and campground on the same property, both beautiful. Campground is reasonably priced, Inn priced way, way above any of the other places mentioned, but if you can afford it. Outstanding restaurant and bar here, fantastic views, fairly reasonably priced at lunch.

There is also another combination of accommodations and campground in the area called Fernwood, which I strongly recommend against. I have heard the campground is crowded and noisy, and from sad personal experience I can tell you what I said about the accommodations at River Inn applies triple there.

You might want to read the reviews of all of these places at Tripadvisor.com, especially of the River Inn before booking your brother there.

Also you may wish to sample the reviews of Deetjen's Big Sur Lodge, a very special not-for-everyone sort of place that I love but not everyone does. Check out their website too at www.deetjens.com to get a feel for it. More expensive than most of the other places mentioned, but not approaching the Ventana Inn level.

The best midpriced breakfast and dinner restaurant in the area is at Deetjen's. River Inn, which I really do like a lot as an eating and drinking spot (don't miss the chairs in the river for toe-dangling), is second.

The famous Nepenthe, down the road, is an absolute must stop-and-linger for drinks or snacks on its fabulous view outside terrace, but the meals are run of the mill and overpriced in my opinion.

Write us a trip report afterwards, please. It's our "payment" for our guidance. I'd love to hear what you chose and what your experiences and impressions were.

europenut

Thank you so much for your advice. I'll certainly try to remeber to post a report of the trip afterward.