Central coast, need help please!

Our travel dates are 7/28-8/2..or 8/1-8/7 depending on hotel availabilty,car etc.

We were thinking of flying into San Jose renting a car and driving to the central coast. Not to familiar with anything there but Monterey and Carmel. We would like to go south a bit further to wade in the warmer beaches,( are there any that we can do this?)and visit Hearst Castle. Can anyone please tell me how long it takes to drive from San Jose down to the central coast area? and also which tour of Hearst Castle my family should take. I have a 16 yr old and 8 yr old...both girls.I know there are so many towns along the pacific coast highway and am a bit overwhelmed on choosing a place that fits our budget..I dont want to go above around 120.00 a night.and also making sure we have enough time do do everything we want to. We will be staying 4 nights in the area.Ending our last night in Santa Cruz because we also want to visit Winchester Mansion and Santa Cruz boardwalk. Thanks for the help!

Central coast, need help please!

It%26#39;s about an hour from San Jose (via 101) to the outskirts of Monterey. It%26#39;s probably 2 hours from there to Hearst Castle via Highway 1 (beautiful drive). You will probably need to/want to stop along the way, so add maybe another hour.

I guess warmer is a relative term, but all of the California coast is too cold for me to swim in. To wade around it doesn%26#39;t make that much difference to me if the temp is 63 or 68 and there%26#39;s lots of spots you can do that. Check out this water temp chart:

http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/dsdt/cwtg/spac.html

Keep in mind that the air temps on the coast are usually cool as well and be sure to bring warms clothes to layer. Inland areas (like San Jose) can be very warm.

I haven%26#39;t toured Hearst Castle in many years, so can%26#39;t help with which one to choose. I think your hotel budget is a little low for summer, but hopefully you can find something.

Santa Cruz/Boardwalk is fun and worth a visit. Are you talking about the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose? If so, skip it. Not worth the time or price of admission.

Central coast, need help please!

The drive from San Jose to Monterey takes about 90 minutes. The drive from Monterey to Hearst Castle, along the coast, takes 2 hours or so. The drive from Hearst Castle to San Luis Obispo is another hour from there. The drive directly from SJ to SLO takes 3 hours.

You%26#39;ll probably want to make a loop out of your trip, using SR (state Route) 1 south and US 101 for your return north. If you%26#39;re leaving San Jose in the afternoon, I suggest overnight stays in Monterey, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Cruz (in that order). Morro Bay and Pismo Beach offer equally affordable alternatives to SLO.

If you are leaving from San Jose in the morning, you could drive down the coast to San Simeon Acres, which is near Hearst Castle, and spend the night there. Then you could visit Hearst Castle the following morning and spend the night in Pismo Beach, which is south of SLO.

Do not expect to find budget accommodations in Carmel, Big Sur, or Cambria/Moonstone Beach. There isn%26#39;t much to see or do along US 101, so I suggest focusing your time along the coast. Consider camping in Big Sur if you all are nature lovers, but like everything else, book ahead!

As for Hearst Castle, take Tour 1. It is the introduction tour. If, for some reason, you aren%26#39;t interested in Tour 1, then consider Tour 4 (the gardens). Tours 2 and 3 are focused house tours and won%26#39;t be as interesting without having first taken Tour 1.

To expand upon what has been said, you will be disappointed in the Winchester Mystery House after you visit Hearst Castle. You won%26#39;t know any better if you visit Hearst Castle AFTER it, but you%26#39;ll look back and scratch your head at the admission price, which if I remember correctly is higher for Winchester.

If you are looking for a silly tourist attraction, consider the much cheaper Mystery Spot, which is on the outskirts of Santa Cruz. The Mystery Spot also has the advantage of not being ';another house tour';--save the ';house tour'; for Hearst Castle!

As for water temperature, there won%26#39;t be much improvement in warmth until much further south, say around Santa Barbara. However, the beaches at Avila Beach and Pismo Beach WILL be warmer than the beaches at Monterey, Carmel, Big Sur, San Simeon, and Morro Bay. But not by much.

Do come to Santa Cruz. The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is celebrating its 100th anniversary and there are all kinds of fun and free things going on. The Moscow Circus is here several nights a week, there are free concerts, and on Monday and Tuesday, prices are rolled back. There is no admission to the Boardwalk, you just pay for what you ride, eat and games you may play.

I, too, would discourage Winchester Mystery House...it is way overpriced and not a ';mansion';, just a very eccentrically built Victorian House, with a fabricated story to go with it.

If you are interested in the ';Mystery Spot'; mentioned above, I will describe it. It is one of those places touted as a mysterious spot where gravity seems to have gone haywire. It is in a redwood forest. A ball seems to roll uphill, people seem to change height depending upon which end of a board they are standing on, etc. This is all, of course, tricks in perception, but fun. Admission $5 (as opposed to $22 to $30 for Winchester House, depending upon which tour you take.) Oh, and if you have just one night here you can%26#39;t make both the Boardwalk and Winchester Mystery House. Winchester is in San Jose, some miles away.

Mystery Spot has tours every half hour from 9am to 7pm. To find it, take Water Street to Market Street and follow it out 2.5 miles. There are big yellow signs to guide you. It is a pretty drive.

I think you should make your Santa Cruz hotel reservations just as soon as you know your dates. This is a popular summer. In your price range I might suggest the Carousel Motel, which is near the Boardwalk, has a complimentary continental breakfast and has Boardwalk ride packages. (Also has high speed and wireless Internet if you are traveling with a laptop.) Go to santacruzmotels.com. There are also other choices on that site.

In Pismo Beach, look at the Kon Tiki Inn or Oxford Suites. You can wade in the water here, but it is cold. There are even a few places where you can rent boogie boards and wet suits.

Avila Beach (just north of Pismo) is the areas most popular beach, as it tens to be sunnier and warmer. Just don%26#39;t swim too far out from the beach. White Sharks are attracted to the seals that make Avila their home.

Pismo is only an hour away from Hearst Castle and would be a great early start before making your way up Hwy 1 to Santa Cruz.

I also recommend tour number 1at Hearst, it will cover most of the things you want to see and gives you a good general overview. (Look around on the bus ride, we met Meredith Baxter- Birney on our tour!)

Also in that area, go to the William Randolph Hearst Memorial State Beach, can swim and walk in the sand and can get snacks and picnic stuff at Sebastians General Store (1852) Just a fun place to see witth lot%26#39;s of old fishing and whaling stuff inside. My kids were fascinated.

In Cambria, kids like the tin soldier store, and the pottery store in nearby Harmony. Also a beach there where you can collect Moonstone.

Enjoy your trip and time with your girls!!!

Everyone..Thanks for so much valuable information! We visited Monterey and Carmel last year and loved this area. I can%26#39;t wait to make the drive along Big Sur and head further south. Sounds like we should stay in Morro Bay area as it is central to Cambria, and other small places and not far from SLO. We want to get away from this heat in Phoenix! Sounds like if we get an early flight, it will take us around 4 hrs with the drive and some pulling over to see sights.

reptiles