Itinerary Advice

I know this has been addressed before on here and I%26#39;ve read some of the threads but I would like advice on our specific itinerary:

Day 1 (sunday - noon): arrive SFO

Day 2: SFO

Day 3 (tuesday - morning): Drive to Napa

Day 4: Drive to Sonoma %26amp; Mt. St-Helen (sleep in Napa)

Day 5 (thursday - morning): Drive Highway 1 Monterey - Carmel - Big Sur - Point Lobos (sleep in Monterey)

Day 6: San Luis Obispo? Or where to sleep? Santa Cruz? (confused)

Day 7 (saturday): Santa Barbara (sleep in SB)

Day 8 (sunday): Santa Barbara ?

Day 9 - 14: LA visiting family and will have time to go to nearby places such as Malibu, Santa Monica, etc. so the point is we have to be in LA on Day 9.

I%26#39;d love advice as to where to stay longer or less... what I can do in one day. I know that SF to LA on highway 1 can be done in a 5 - 6 hours but we%26#39;d like to do it in 3-4 days and don%26#39;t want to rush through it.

As you can see Day 7 %26amp; 8 are in SB. I think that may be too long. We can play around with all the days as no hotels have been booked yet. Only the flight. So the only thing frozen is Day 9 in LA and of course Day 1 in San Francisco.

Things we must do off of the highway 1 drive:

Napa Valley

Mount St-Helen

Any input would be appreciated!

Itinerary Advice

We did this trip 2 years ago. I suggest you stay overnight in one of the great bed%26amp;bfasts on Moonstone Beach (close to Cambria) from where you can visit Hearst Castle. Access to Moonstone Beach is a right turn off Hwy 1 just north of Cambria.

More things you must do off of the highway 1 drive:

You must also do the 17-mile drive, through Pacific Grove and Pebble Beach in the Monterey/Carmel area. Just put ';17-mile drive'; into Google and you will get lotsa details.

Itinerary Advice

Will try that thanks!

Hi caramela

Your Thursday morning drive to Monterey worries me. That%26#39;s a good 5-6 hours (at least) since you%26#39;ll have to contend with commuter traffic through San Francisco. Unless you plan on leaving between 5-6 am, this will be a long frustrating drive. Once you get on Hwy 1 through Pacifica, it will help release any tension from driving through the city.

You%26#39;ll be passing through Santa Cruz on the way to Monterey. It doesn%26#39;t make sense to double back to it on day 6. Once you arrive in Monterey, plan on spending your time in this area. In fact, I recommend 2 nights here, since you%26#39;ll probably be arriving late on day 5. Save Big Sur for the drive on day 6 or 7 (if you stay in Monterey that second night).

I concur on the Cambria suggestion. However, since you want to see Santa Barbara, I recommend staying in Pismo Beach instead. That will put you an hour ahead on the road. The drive down Hwy 1 to Pismo Beach is a 4 hour drive. That gives you some time (if you leave early enough) to enjoy some time in Big Sur and even Cambria. The drive to SB from Pismo is approx. 1 1/2 hours. Plenty of time to visit the Danish village of Solvang before arriving in SB.

I think 1 night in Santa Barbara is plenty. Take one night away from Santa Barbara and tack it on to Monterey instead.

wow. Thank you all for your input. I%26#39;m going to revise my itinerary and put more details and also verify distances and vicinities and will post back a new itinerary to get opinions and suggestions!