South LA (Huntington Beach) to Cambria

We%26#39;re going to be setting off on an October Tuesday morning to get to Cambria. How long do you think it should take? (assuming LA morning traffic is to normal standard)

We want to take the scenic route as much as possible (ie Route 1), but we%26#39;ll be spending 4 more days around Cambria/Big Sur and on up to Monterey before a couple of days in Yosemite, so if it%26#39;s worth missing about on a bit of coast further south then we%26#39;ll do it.

Alternatively are there good reasons why we should take more time over this stretch and perhaps stop overnight further south (one reason for Cambria stop is Hearst Castle proximity)

thanks in advance for your input

South LA (Huntington Beach) to Cambria

Hi adhart: I take the coast every time. It sounds strange, but the look and attitude of the coastline changes a lot as you drive north, and it%26#39;s fun to experience it all.

Everyone has their favorite stops, but some of the highlights seem to be:

Santa Monica

Malibu

Santa Barbara

It%26#39;s a beautiful trip -- Have fun!

South LA (Huntington Beach) to Cambria

Splitting hairs a little here but just as you wouldn%26#39;t refer to Kent as ';East London';, Huntington Beach is, well, Hungtington Beach!

I would suggest aquainting yourself with one of the online mapping programs like Mapquest.com or Google Maps.

Here is the route from Huntington Beach, CA to Cambira, CA as mapped by Mapquest:

http://tinyurl.com/2y4m6n

The mapping program automatically selects the quickest route which is not route 1, of course. If you travel as mapquest suggests, the site states that the ride is 4-1/2 hours. But, that ignores the rush hour traffic which, if you drive through it, will make your trip longer. You don%26#39;t indicate what time you plan to depart but if it%26#39;s before 9am, add about an hour to the above estimate. If you take route 1, add 50% more time since it is a slower route with local traffic and traffic signals. Of course, fi you stop to sightsee or eat, that will add more time. So, it%26#39;s not unreasonable to spend 8 hours or more driving route 1 to Cambria.

BTW, the portion of Route 1 that is north of Huntington Beach and passes through Long Beach and much of Los Angeles is a heavily-traveled commercial corridor with only occasional views or sites of interest to touists. I would drive the 405 and 5 interstates (motorways) to Santa Monica and begin your coastal trip there.

Have a great time!

To echo HSJ above - absolutely take the 405 North freeway to the 10 West, which ends at PCH heading north, to begin your coastal trip in Santa Monica.

Traffic is heavy from Huntington Beach to Santa Monica during rush hour, so I suggest waiting until 10AM to leave Huntington Beach, or else set off about 6:00 AM.

I recommend stopping overnight in Santa Barbara, one of the loveliest cities in the world.

You might consider adding more time to Monterey and Yosemite and dropping a day or 3 from the Cambria portion. You really only need to overnight it in CAmbria to get your fill of the town and visit Hearst Castle early the next morning. Then take your time getting through Big Sur and stop for an overnight or 2 in Monterey. You%26#39;ll want to spend more than just one overnight in Yosemite. Just the travel time to and from Yosemite will take up much of 2 days.

Or add a night on the southern end in Santa Barbara so that you don%26#39;t have to speed by the southern portion.

While Cambria is a lovely town, it will become boring to you after 2 days. I agree that ,1, maybe 2 nights here is plenty. Instead, spend more time in the Monterey area where there is much more to see and do.

I live by Disneyland in Anaheim and I drive to the central coast to stay in Morro Bay and/or Cambria several times a year. I love it there.

It takes me 3 and a half hours to drive to San Luis Obispo where

we usually have lunch, then another 45 minutes to drive to Cambria.

I take the 5 freeway to l0l North, then in SanLuis I switch over to

Hwy 1 to get to MB and Cambria.

Thanks for all your comments / hints, and point taken about LA / HB...

Still not decided whether to do HB to Cambria in one day or to go slowly and take 2.

We will only stay the 1 night in Cambria, followed by 3 in Big Sur, driving over to Yosemite (4 hours?), 3 days there and then back to SF