mykidsdad

We will be in Monterey Bay area for 3 nights, with plans to drive south to LA, arriving in Santa Monica on a Thursday by late afternoon. We want to tour Hearst Castle.

The advice I need is this: Do we leave early in the morning, drive Monterey to Hearst Castle, do the tour then drive to, say, Santa Barbara before going to Santa Monica the next morning? Or do we drive to San Simeon in the afternoon, stay in the area, do an early tour, then drive down straight through to Santa Monica?

gigib

Perhaps you could leave Monterey early in the morning, take your time on the drive, see San Simeon in the afternoon then stay in the area. Then, the next day you could take your time from San Simeon to Santa Monica. Beware the afternoon traffic in Santa Barbara, you'd probably want to be passing through no later than 3:00. Take highway 1 instead of the 101 once you get south of Oxnard (don't go THROUGH Oxnard), when you are in Camarillo there is a road, Las Posas I think, that takes you from the 101 over to the 1. You'll then be on the scenic Pacific Coast Highway all the way thru Malibu and into Santa Monica.

traveldawg

I agree with the above poster. We live on the Monterey Peninsula. We recently took friends to San Simeon. We left in the morning and had a nice drive down for a 12:30 tour. I was driving and can tell you that the drive is beautiful, but taxing on the driver. You have to watch what you are doing and the other passengers get to enjoy the scenery.

mykidsdad

Well, we are now thinking we can do the following: Leave Monterey Bay at 7:30-8 am, do a Hearst Castle tour at 11, then drive down to Santa Monica in the afternoon. If we leave at 3, what time do we arrive?

Also, where to stop along the way for a light but nice dinner?

gigib

The distance is about 240 miles, which may be around 4 hours. Santa Barbara is close to 1/2 way, there are a couple of good places on the beach. A bit farther along in Ventura, there is a nice seafood restaurant out on the pier with a great view, Eric Ericcson's. You can't miss the pier, it's the only one there and visible from the freeway. Look for a tall Holiday Inn, it's right there. Ventura to Santa Monica is about 45 mins. Or, there are a few places along Highway 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) through Malibu: Geoffreys (view, big $$), Beaurivage (no view, $$), Allegria (no ocean view, Italian), Moonshadows (view), Gladstone's (view, fun, kinda $$). By the time you get to Gladstone's, though, you're almost to S.M. Have fun!

SAdamsrec

I will just report that we had the most awful drive from San Simeon to Santa Monica a few weeks ago on a Friday. We left San Simeon area about 11 am, were fine until just outside of Santa Barbara where we sat on the highway for more than an hour and a half. We looked for Highway 1 near Oxnard and got onto Alternative 1 which was awful, got back on 101 and got in the worst traffic way outside of LA that we thought we would never set foot in the state again. Of course, once we got into our hotel and went out on the Santa Monica pier we were willing to discuss going back to California again. On a related note. If you have time to go to the Getty it is so worth it.

mykidsdad

These are great notes! Thanks!

Was Geoffrey's worth the $$?

So if I could ask, what would you have done differently if anything? And, by the way, what time did you finally arrive in SM and where did you stay?

Also, what was your favorite beach while there?

gigib

I apologize for our horrendous traffic! We are all quite sick of it. Friday is the WORST - mykidsdad, I think you said you'll be coming down on Thursday? The cutoff from the 101 to Pacific Coast Highway (hwy. 1) is Las Posas Road. Look for the exit as you pass thru Camarillo, it will take you to the west (right) around the mountains. If you find yourself going up a huge hill, you've gone too far. PCH dumps you right into Santa Monica,it's pretty and you are going AWAY from rush hour traffic on this road. You do NOT want to be on the southbound 101 thru Woodland Hills, because you will then have to get on the dreaded 405 to get to Santa Monica.