StuDudley

Living on the east coast - libragal may have spent some time at Disney Florida. If that's the case - I would certainly discard Disney and SB for Alcatraz and a full day in San Francisco. Especially on arrival after a 27 hour day and a 6+ hr flight. For 4 people!!! I would not want to retrieve the car and head out early after an exhausting prior day. But there's lots of things I don't like about her itinerary - this is just one...

Stu Dudley

janisj

>>But there's lots of things I don't like about her itinerary - <<

I don't like most <i>anything</i> about the itinerary really . . . but TravelBuff8 is there to reassure them.

(BTW -- this plan would be very difficult w/ one person traveling solo who could press on w/o stopping or make changes on the fly, but for <u>four</u> people it is nearly impossible)

StuDudley

>>I don't like most anything about the itinerary really . . . but TravelBuff8 is there to reassure them.<<<

"Man hears what he wants to hear, and disregards the rest".

The Boxer
by Paul Simon

Stu Dudley

Barbara

I would skip Santa Barbara too, drive straight through to San Diego. You'll miss the Mission in SB, but you'll go right by the Getty Museum in LA and that's a great place not to miss. It's a perfectly doable drive, but the traffic in LA is heavy and you will have to be prepared for stop-and-go traffic. Use the carpool lanes when available.

Buy your tickets for the Monterey Bay Aquarium in advance, then you don't have to stand in line. You're going to have to be very disciplined not to spend a lot more time than you can spare there.

I understand that you want to see as much as you can, but the others are correct in telling you this is a big State and Highway 1 is not a fast drive. If you stick to the SF-SD drive, you will get a quick overview of many areas and, hopefully, you'll be able to come back to a smaller area where you can see everything.

Enjoy our State, it's beautiful!

jayne1973

We did the trip in a week a couple of years ago--doing that coastal highway was on our bucket list and it was fabulous. To me, this is more of a "the journey is the destination" type of vacation.

I suggest deciding which sites of interest are most important and planning your days around those. We did Hearst Castle but honestly I could have done without it-- rich man built a big gaudy house and celebrities came to party-- not particularly fascinating to me.
Lodging reservations are important. The Vagabond Inn chain proved to be a good budget choice for us in a couple of places.

You are going to have a blast!

Barbara

"rich man built a big gaudy house and celebrities came to party-"

LOL! So true, it's the definition of conspicuous consumption. I think it's well worth a visit though.

mlgb

I don't even want to read all the negative posts..Of course you can do most but not all of it in a week.

Arrival day and night in SF
Day 2 Book your Alcatraz tix in advance

Night 2 After you're done w Alcatraz, drive the coast road Hwy 1 through Golden Gate Park, along the coast, to end somewhere in the Monterey Bay Area. I like Pacific Grove.

Day 3 is for seeing the Monterey Bay area, the Aquarium, Point Lobos, Carmel Beach or Asilomar State Beach. You COULD do the drive between Monterey and Cambria in about 4 hours with a few quick stops. So if you leave by lunchtime, you'll be in Cambria that night.

Day 4 See Hearst Castle, quick stop in Santa Barbara and Pismo Beach, and head toward Anaheim. You may want to time this to hit LA after 7pm to avoid rush hour, unless it's a weekend.

Night 5 Anywhere from about Long Beach to Anaheim.

Day 5 Your Disneyland Day, all day. Night 6 in Anaheim.
Some people do see both parks in one day (Park hopper ticket).

Day 6 is for San Diego. Night in San Diego.

Day 7, wasn't clear if this was a full day or day of departure so left it open.

If Day 7 is a full day you can juggle the last few days, eg don't drive all the way to Anaheim for Night 5 (stay in Santa Barbara instead, and then a day and a half in Disneyland if you want.

janisj

And do plan on most places along the coast requiring a two night minimum on weekends.

sf7307

The only problem I see with mglb's itinerary (which is similar to the one I suggested) is that the entirety of your stay in Monterey is between breakfast and lunch, and that includes visiting the aquarium. I think that might be tough. If you plan to JUST do the aquarium and maybe a stroll down Ocean Avenue in Carmel, and then leave, stopping at Point Lobos and maybe at Nepenthe for the view) on your way south, you could do it. We were at Point Lobos last weekend, and it's well worth the stop. As are the views from Nepenthe (the food is okay, nothing to write home about, but the views are awesome).

StuDudley

>>Day 3 is for seeing the Monterey Bay area, the Aquarium, Point Lobos, Carmel Beach or Asilomar State Beach. You COULD do the drive between Monterey and Cambria in about 4 hours with a few quick stops. So if you leave by lunchtime, you'll be in Cambria that night.<<<

How can you accomplish all that by 11:00???

Aquarium opens at 10am. I would budget 3 hrs there. If you don't visit ANYTHING (shame) in Carmel, PG, Spanish Bay, Monterey, except for Pt Lobos (2 hr visit Min) you are leaving Pt Lobos around 4PM with a "fast lunch" somewhere. Now it is 3-4 hrs to Cambria with some stops (no time for Nepehthe). That will get you to Cambria & checked in & "ready for dinner" around 8PM. This day isn't a "visit" - it is a "mad dash" through some of the most interesting towns, sites, & coast in the US.

Followed by:
>>Day 4 See Hearst Castle, quick stop in Santa Barbara and Pismo Beach, and head toward Anaheim. You may want to time this to hit LA after 7pm to avoid rush hour, unless it's a weekend.<<

And get to Anaheim & checked in around 10PM or later. Big Day.

Remember - this is two couples. With more people - more delays.

Stu Dudley

curiousgeo

I hope the OP takes some of the great advice given here to heart, No one is trying to rain on your parade, simply giving practical advice but many times people hear what they want to hear.

mlgb

You could go to Carmel for breakfast, no? And do the Aquarium after?

Try to think outside the box occasionally, people.

janisj

>>You could go to Carmel for breakfast, no? And do the Aquarium after?<<

But then you have them that evening in Cambria. If one does the Aquarium after breakfast in Carmel, there is no time for Point Lobos or much of anything in Big Sur except a few quick photo ops.

Your plan is totally 100% doable as a <u>road trip</u> -- I've done variations several times. That is a road trip - where the driving the coast is the whole reason for doing it. But it is not a 'sight seeing trip' because there is not time to see sights.

StuDudley

>>driving the coast is the whole reason for doing it. But it is not a 'sight seeing trip' because there is not time to see sights.<<

Especially for the couple in the back seat of the car - who probably won't see much of anything at all for "days on end".

Stu Dudley

mlgb

They did say "see all the highlights".

Driving the coast and stopping for overlooks IS the highlights. No reason the couple in the back can't get out too.

And btw, they actually didn't say they wanted to see Point Lobos. I would chose that over the Aquarium, personally, but they said they wanted the Aquarium.

The actual drive time from Monterey to Cambria is actually only about 3 hours. People make it out like it is soooo long because they are mostly leaving from the Bay Area, or north of there and ending in LA. So leaving after a quick lunch (or waiting to have lunch at one of the expensive places along Big Sur) gives them a fair amount of time for stops.

They could also stay in San Simeon, and save some drive time both there and in the morning. But there are only a few lodgings there and not many places to eat. I've taken advantage of the Motel 6 which has double queen beds and does allow a one night stay.

www.motel6.com if OP isn't familiar with the chain. Very generous cancel policy...if you are familiar with Accor they own them now, I think.

Another good resource for lodging along the coast is Moonstone Hotels, a local chain, www.moonstonehotels.com

The Fireplace rooms in the old part of Cambria Pines Lodge are big enough for two couples, if you luck out and they are available on your dates.

Definitely book lodging ahead of time, btw.



They could also

StuDudley

They will be driving in the evening from Golden Gate Park, down Hwy 1 through Pacifica, Half Moon Bay, Santa Cruz, to Carmel. That's about 3-4 hrs. How many times is the couple in the back seat going to "get out of the car" at twilight or in the dark so they can see something? Next morning, breakfast and immediately the Aquarium (opens at 10). Then on the road again for a 3-4 hr drive down Hwy 1. So in 6-8 hrs in the car, the person on the drivers side in back maybe sees "coast" for about 30-45 mins??? Not much fun for me & if I was the person in the back - I would be pi..ed.

Now you have about 4-5 hrs of driving through LA to get to Anaheim at twilight & in the dark. The couple in the back will probably be sleeping. Not my idea of a fun time!!!

Stu Dudley

janisj

>>The actual drive time from Monterey to Cambria is actually only about 3 hours. <<

About 3.5 hours . . . w/o a single stop.

janisj

. . . and w/ at least some in the back seat car sick . . .

mlgb

I didn't tell them to drive in the evening to Monterey. I told them to leave after they are one with Alcatraz. One would hope that they get a morning reservation and should be on there way by 2pm easily. I think I have about 4 hours of drive time per day? Most people under the age of 40 might find that reasonable.

I do think it's amusing that you concoct scenarios to try to prove you are 'right'.

As someone who spent much of my youth in the back seat of cars on road trips (faster than this one) I can assure you I saw plenty.

mlgb

Here are some ideas for between SF and Monterey

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...santa-cruz.cfm