My husband and I will be traveling the california coast in July. We are starting in San Francisco and ending in the l.a. area. We are looking for approximate driving times between our destinations so we can make some kind of plan. Does anyone know of a web site that can give approximate driving times between distances (except Yahoo which doesn't seem right) or have any experience on how long it would take to drive the following destinations? We plan on stopping and enjoying the scenery throughout the trip.

San Francisco to Pacific Grove

Pacific Grove to Cambria

Cambria to Los Angeles

Try using mapquest.com
Keep in mind that LA is a big city, so you're not going to have a very accurate time estimate without a specific location and it also totally depends on the day of the week and time of day.

Hi, All of these depends on what time you leave and the route you choose to take: SF to Pacific Grove 2-2 1/2 hours via 280 to 101 (depends on what's going on in San Jose) Pacific Grove to Cambria +/- 4 hours via Hwy 1 depending on traffic or a stop in Carmel. Cambria to L.A.: To Santa Monica leaving in the morning and arriving before 2 pm I would think about 4 hours via 101 and then PCH through Malibu. I'll be curious if Mapquest agrees, but I find that sometimes they go for the shortest distance and don't factor in the time of day etc. All of these drives could use up a whole day with the stops you'll surely want to make to sightsee and eat lunch. Take it easy and leave lots of time--you'll enjoy it more that way.

thanks for the input so far - i'll check out mapquest

traveling to pacific grove on wednesday, but it's July 4

to cambria on a friday

to l.a. on a saturday

we plan on taking our time on those days but don't want to be stuck in traffic for hours (we deal with enough traffic in new york), so we were just looking for input from native californians. thanks again

Hi, confused, is the Wednesday July 4th? If the weekend is July 4th, you need to be out of SF on Thursday before heading down the coast. Once you are out of the cities, it should be OK. Again, take your time and allow plenty of time so you can enjoy the trip. Happy travels.

sorry to confuse. we will be traveling from san francisco to pacific grove on wednesday, july 4th. Not sure when july 4th will be celebrated in most places since it's in the middle of the week but hope we won't hit too much traffic getting out of san francisco on that day.

You ought to be okay getting out of SF on the 4th (celebrated on the 4th, always.) State parks, the Santa Cruz amusement park (you ought to visit it - the last (?) traditional seafront amusement park on the west coast) and similar destinations will be packed.

It's always been our experience (and we live here) that it's easier to travel on the holiday than on the days before it. So, I think you will be just fine on Wednesday, the 4th. Fireworks in SF are almost always a disappointment because the fog rolls in so don't plan to stick around in the city to see the fireworks. Go instead down to Monterey and enjoy Pacific GRove. Would recommend two restaurants there--the Old Bath House and the Fish Wife. Sounds like a great trip. Just leave yourself enough time to enjoy and not feel pressured if you do meet up with the inevitable traffic.

A great place for casual dining is the Fishwife, in Pacific Grove. The prices are good and the food is great. Good fresh fish, healthy air fried potatoes, great keyline pie. Locals like the restaurant. Another restaurant with creative dishes is the Passionfish.

Have fun.