Trip to Santa Barbara in March
 

My husband and I are going to spend a week in SB and the surrounding area in mid-March and welcome ideas on things to do. We'll get a rental car, and I'm interested in driving as far north as Carmel to spend the night and see the scenery. Several messages on the forum recommend against driving on PCH/Cabrillo in winter. Is that still true in March? Is it worth driving up there if we don't drive along the coast? What are the highlights of the area that we absolutely shouldn't miss?

The weather in March can be unpredictable, but there is a good chance you will have gorgeous sunny days. If you can spend one full day driving, take PCH. It will be once a life time experience. If not, you can always take 101 little bit inland. It will take about 4 hours from Santa Barbara to Monterey and you will pass California Central Coast wine region near Paso Robles. Of course I think Monterey-Carmel region is absolutely worth driving 4 hours.I would spend 2 days up there. One thing I want to tell you is that you have to decide which highway to take by the time you get to Cambria because after that, you cannot change your mind. Don't be fooled if your map shows roads that cross between 1 and 101. They are so rugged that you will spend whole day somewhere in the middle. Don't even try. Route 46 is the last road that's decent enough. Also along PCH between Cambria and Carmel, there is only minimal convenience. Not much civilization so you can enjoy amazing amazing Pacific Coast.
Now, some day trip choices near Santa Barbara. First, enjoy everything in Santa Barbara. Very special town. I'm sure you have figured out what you want to do by now.Enjoy its restaurants, shops, beaches, hills and.. PLANTS! I also like to drive through the hills in Monecito to admire the scenary and the mansions. Next,there is a wine region just north of the city about 45 minute drive away where they filmed the movie 'Sideways'. In fact, you can take 'Sideways Tour'. The area is beautiful, much more low key than Napa or Sonoma, though. You can either take 101 or more scenic back road from the city. (I forgot the number.)
Then there is Heart Castle near the town of San Simeon, north of Cambria. A rich man's castle full of art collection. I think it's worth visiting and I recommend you make an advance reservation.
By the way, are you flying to SB? Or to LA? Or driving? If you are flying, have you considered open jaw? Start in LA and end in SF? Just wondering. Good Luck.

I echo all of those ideas, and second the Hearst Castle tour. It's one of the best guided tours in the nation. Make your reservation in advance. The basic tour is sufficient.
My husband and I took a similiar trip, spent two days in SB, then drove up through Big Sur. We never made it as far as Carmel. Big Sur was enough beauty and nature for us. March should be a great time for Whale watching in Big Sur. Enjoy. It's one of the most beautiful parts of the country.

If you're going for a whole week I recommend "The Insider's Guide to Santa Barbara", I think its from falcon press. Ebay/Amazon/or half.com might have some older editions very cheap.

If you do a tour at Hearst Castle, I highly recommend the night time tour and time it for sunset (weather.com), it's beautiful to watch the sun set from the outdoor pool and you get an overview of most of the property.

If you are interested in whale watching, you can do a boat trip out to the ocean near Channel Island National Park.
They depart from Santa Barbara water front.

So many good ideas! Thanks to all. I love the idea of whale watching and will definitely take the Channel Island tour. Hearst Castle also sounds like something we would enjoy. My husband and I have some family in Long Beach and we were thinking we might spend our last day/night in LA and visit Long Beach. Does anyone know of a good hotel well located for both? Are the Queen Mary and Catalina Island worth visiting?

Downtown Long Beach has been renovated and they have some great hotels there including the Hyatt Regency, Renaissance, Hilton and Westin. The whole downtown area is very nice and I'd think you'd enjoy being there where "the action" is.

You could actually stay on the Queen Mary, too. It's kind of neat. Some people may say the rooms are too small or not updated enough, but I think there is a charm to it and you could also take the ship tour, too (I think is used to be included in the room price but I'm not sure). Also, you can dine at Sir Winston's on the Queen Mary, which is very nice, too.

Regarding Catalina - I'm personally not a big fan of Catalina. Plus, to see it, you'd pretty much need a whole day to get over there, see it and then get back to the mainland (usually by boat).

If you want some restaurant recommendations for Long Beach, my favorites are Christy's (Italian), 555 East (Steakhouse) and Frenchy's Bistro (French). There are PLENTY of others, too. A few more favories include PF Changs, Parkers Lighthouse, Pine Avenue Fish House and Lasher's.

Have a great trip!

Hi moskowib, if you have time and are in the mood you can drive south of SB on 101 and take the turn off to downtown, old town, Ventura. Lovely city and there are some good restaurant and lovely shops to go through and interesting architect. You will be in a beautiful area.

Also, again going south on 101 from SB you can turn off of 101 on Hwy 33 (that is before the Ventura turnoff)and drive east on Hwy 33 into Ojai. About 20 minutes or so. A small artsy community which is always interesting to see. You could do Ojai and Ventura in the same day. Have fun!!

I'm getting excited about the trip now, but I think we have too many things planned: Long Beach for a day, wine country tour around Santa Barbara, Channel Islands/whale watching; Hearst Castle; two days for trip to Carmel and back; and down time to watch my daughter surf -- did I mention my daughter lives in SB? I'm thinking maybe we need to save at least one of these things for a later visit, and since Carmel is a two-day thing, that might be it. Anyone have any comments?

If you are in the Santa Barbara area, we absolutely loved the village of Solvang - quaint Danish town, great food, great shops, wine tasting rooms. There are also a couple vineyards in the area...Fess Parker was my favorite.

If you go up the coast, I prefered Monterey over Carmel...Carmel had some nice vineyards I really enjoyed, but Monterey was beautiful. We stayed in the Cannery Row area at a beautiful hotel with wood floors, wood burning fireplace and feather downed bedding, very reasonable rates...Spindrift Inn.

We visited Hearst Castle as well, it well north of Monterey and Carmel though (if I remember correctly).

Monterey...beautiful scenery (19 mile drive!), great restaurants, Monterey Aquarium was great, wine tastings, etc...

8-)