Lots of great advice here. I suspect that when jamcat was talking about avoiding children, he/she was probably referring to accomodations. Having said that, the Monterey Bay Aquarium is one of the must sees along the Central Coast. Also, heading to SF from the Central Coast is really out of the way. SF is best saved for another trip. There is so much to see and do along the Central Coast.

Great! I have made one of the simple decisions and taken your advice. I am flying into LA and out of San Jose. Is the LA airport a pain? What do you think? Santa Barbara the first night? Is that pretty reasonable. Jamcat

jamcat, When I have gone to Southern California I flew into Orange County (SNA) which is very convenient. The only disadvantage with SNA is that it is south of LA, and it will therefore be a somewhat longer drive to Santa Barbara (45min-1 hr.) LA is a busy airport but I would go with whatever is less expensive. Which airline are you flying? If you have not already done so, you may want to check with Southwest, they usually have good fares. Of course, you can't beat American for the legroom.<BR><BR>Staying the first night in Santa Barbara seems like a good idea. I would plan on about a 2-2.5 hour drive from the LA area depending on the traffic.

Depending on the day, time, and presence or absence of accidents and other traffic impediments, LAX can be anything from really easy to next-to-impossible to get out of. If you want to use an outlying airport, considering the trip you are taking, Burbank would be a much better choice than John Wayne-Orange County (SNA). Have a great trip.

I will look into the other area airports. Thanks!. Tentatively I am looking at flying into LA area. First stop at Santa Barbara if there's something nice to see &amp; do there. Then on to maybe Cambria. Then on to Big Sur area - spending a night in each? Then to San Jose area and maybe drive over to Yosemite or make some day trips from there. Does that sound reasonable?? Am I shorting the coastal area? Jamcat

I would also spend a night or two in the Monterey area also. There's alot to see and do there as well. <BR><BR>If you are also going to Yosemite, I would make reservations ASAP. (www.yosemitepark.com) Staying in the Valley is much more convenient than outside the park, in order to eliminate a 40 mile drive each way. Bear in mind that Yosenite is about a 4-5 hr. drive from San Jose. It might be better to focus more on the Central Coast.

Hi! When you say focus on Central CA, do you mean leave out Yosemite? I looked at the Website you recommended and I can only get a room w/bath at Wawona. And its in the middle of the week. They do have severl Canvas Tent type but I'm not sure of that. Thanks for mentioning the reservations...they are almost all gone! Not sure what to do. I love the mountains and I hate to miss the area. But it sounds like maybe I should spend most of my time on the coast. What about Santa Barbara??? Is it as beautiful as Cambria/Carmel/Monterrey? Jamcat

Santa Barbara is beautiful. Got a bunch of shots in an album at http://community.webshots.com/user/bookhall . Great views from the top of the easily-accessible courthouse. My wife decided she wants a house up in the hills....<BR><BR>We were delighted by Santa Barbara. It was our first west-coast trip, and only made a reservation there because of its convenience on our northbound LAX-SFO journey. Wish we'd stayed a second night--it's a great city!

jamcat, Yosemite is very nice, but in order to get the most out of your time there, I'd suggest at least 2 or even 3 nights there. If I were you I would focus more on the Central Coast. Santa Barbara is a great town. You may want to spend one night there. I personally like Monterey and Carmel alot, but Santa Barbara would be a worthwhile sidetrip.