Santa Barbara to Santa Cruz

[Cindy fan]

As part of our week plus trip to California we will be spending a day traveling from Santa Barbara to Santa Cruz on a Thursday in Feb without two kids. We were looking at stopping to see the seals, seeing Hearst castle, Julia Pfieffers park, and 17 mile drive to see the golf course. Is this doable in a day? Are there other places you would recommend stopping? Where should we eat lunch? Is there one standout winery along our route with good medium dry wines? We could only do one with kids. Thank you

 

[usnuzuloose]

I highly doubt all of that in one day. I don't do wineries. But Hearst Castle is on a the windy highway and it does take time to drive there. 17 mile drive is awesome and going out to see the 18th hole is great and for taking pictures. I think the price for getting in Pebble Beach is 10.50 or maybe a little more. And the drive toward the ocean can get foggy as well at certain times which could slow your drive down.

 

[StageTek]

SB to SC is 4 hours. Return trip another 4 so you're looking at 8 hours right there.
Doing nothing.

SB to SC - 4 hours. 30 minutes watching the seals.

SC to Monterey is 45 minutes. It's suggested that one spends 3 hours on the 17 Mile
Drive. Cut that to just driving with only a couple of stops to take pictures and you
can do it in an hour. Say 90 minutes for discussion.

Monterey to Hearst Castle – 2 and half hours.

So a straight shot to Santa Cruz without a winery stop a quick look at the coast and
on to Hearst Castle with a quick run along the 17 mile drive will be about 7 hours.
One hour there, then almost 3 hours back to SB and you've got an 11 hour day.

Can be done. Keep in mind that Hearst Castle closes at 4PM.

 

[lennon2004]

If you have time, I'd recommend stopping in Carmel. It's a lovely little town full of charm, right by 17-mile drive. Speaking of time, I would think you'd enjoy the journey much more if you could add another day--it's a gorgeous drive and you'll want to spend some time taking it all in, especially if you plan to take photos.

 

[endy]

Agree, it's a full driving day even without stops. Hearst Castle is a couple of hours and worth it. We did an evening tour last year and loved it. The elephant seals hang out on a beach 5 minutes north of the castle also worth a quick stop.
I really like Morro Bay and the drive along the water to the rock. Same for Pismo it's worth a drive thru. And the beach at Carmel is beautiful. So is the 17 mile drive also worth wondering around the shops at Pebble Beach Golf course at the south end, the houses in here are out of this world. Oh really it's all beautiful and worth seeing.

There's a really cool waterfall around Julia Pfieffers park or maybe nearby (McWay maybe, something like that). You have to park and take a short trail to see it. Most amazing little beach and no way to get down to it unless you're a rock climber. I'll try to figure out how to post pictures.
If you can squeeze in and overnight stop it makes the drive much more enjoyable. It also gets dark fairly early.
Can't help with wineries.

 

[kapicka]

There are so many incredible things to see along that drive that you could spend days or even a week taking it all in and exploring. I would suggest NOT trying to do everything and maybe even not trying to go that far. You could fill up a day with incredible things to see and do and probably go half that far along the CA coast. Use Google Maps (or your preferred map site) and check drive times to things which seem the most interesting to decide.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I recommend you make two plans - plan for nice weather, and plan for rainy weather. If it's raining, the 17-mile drive might not be as enjoyable, but I think Hearst Castle would still be a good visit (I've never been there, so the experts can let you know if it's worth it in the rain or not).

 

[PerfessorZ]

I found the 17-mile drive to be over-rated. There are plenty of beautiful views to be had on local roads they don't charge you an arm and a leg to drive on.

That said, I agree with the previous posters saying this is a *lot* to cram in to one day. The drive is slow because there are no places to pass traffic and you're bound to get stuck behind a truck or an RV slowing working their way along the winding road.

I know there's probably no way to adjust your schedule, but my advice would be to take 1 day to drive all the way up to San Francisco, stopping here & there along the way like at the Monterey Bay aquarium and Pidgeon Point lighthouse, spend a day in San Francisco, then drive back the day after. But if you have only one day, I recommend you just drive up to Monterey with a few stops along the way.

 

[Cindy fan]

Thank you all for your responses/advice. I thought I had posted again last week, but I guess it didn't.

I retread my initial post and found a couple of errors. First we are traveling with kids. Also, we will be going from family in Santa Barbara to friends in Santa Cruz That is between flying in/ time with family in San Diego and flying out/time with family in San Francisco.

The main day I am struggling with is the drive up the coast and timeframe so I appreciate everyone's feedback. My biggest question mark is Hearst castle with the kids.

Mary Jo thank you for your advice. I love listening to your podcasts and I appreciate that you would take the time to respond to my post. Do you have any suggestions if it is raining, would you take the coast route or go inland. We have to go from SB to SC either way. It would be nice to have some indoor options to get the kids out of the car along the way if it is raining.

If the weather is good, what stops would you recommend from SB to SC? I was originally thinking Hearst castle, seals, Julia Pfeiffer park for the waterfall and 17 mile drive to see the golf course. The other two things we would sub out is if there is a good winery or lighthouse to stop at.

 

[jeast]

Carmel is a cute, rich, touristy town. There probably won't be all that much for kids. I doubt if younger kids would like Hearst Castle, but never having seen it, I don't know for sure. Julia Pfeiffer is a great stop and the walk to the lookout over the cove with the falls is easy and quick. A beautiful stop. I've taken visitors along the 17 Mile Drive about 15X so far. It only takes us about an hour to go through and make a few stops. You really don't need to stop at all of them. If you are heading north, right after the 17 Mile Drive is the Monterey area. Go ahead and plug in Asilomar State Park. It will take you to a road along a rocky stretch of coastline. There are lots of parking places. The waves are crashing on huge rocks and the tide pools are amazing. My kids love to go there. It is one of their favorite things to do here in California. It is breathtaking and fun to hop along the rocks and play. Monterey is nearby with some lovely restaurants for dinner. Then Santa Cruz is less than an hour away, depending on traffic. Just as an FYI, the Big Sur portion of your trip along CA1 is a doozie for carsickness. My daughter doesn't like to go there anymore because the roads make her sick. We let her sit in the front seat.

 

[jeast]

Oh, and odds are good you will see seals somewhere along 17 Mile Drive or Asilomar State Park.

 

[Cindy fan]

Good to know we don't need to make a special stop for seals. I think we have decided that if we want to spend anytime with our relatives in Santa Barbara we either need to cut the Reagan library the day before or Hearst castle on our way north. Which do you think would be the better site/use of time with an 11 and 13 year old?

 

[jeast]

Haven't been to either, so can't say. I WILL say that I'm guessing kids would rather be hopping over rocks and tide pooling than doing either.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I haven't been to Hearst Castle, but I've been to Reagan Library. If you're kids like museums I think they'll like the Reagan Library, and they'll learn a lot about that time in US history. They have an excellent exhibit regarding the cold war, and have a real piece of the Berlin Wall. They also have a good exhibit regarding the assassination attempt. In addition to these and other exhibits, there is an Air Force One inside the building that you can walk through, and the limo cars and motorcycles that show what the presidential cavalcade looks like. My kids at that age would have found it interesting.

As for driving up the coast in the rain. I would possibly take the 101 because it is also scenic (though not along the coast), but I wouldn't recommend Hwy 1 in the rain - cloudy-yes - rain-no. I think that drive is lovely, but it is long, and rain would add so many more hours.

 

[Cindy fan]

Again thank you for all the advice.

So if it is raining we will go inland. Are there any good places to stop and get out for an activity on the inland route?

Is there any good place to stop for fresh fruit and veggies between the Reagan library and Santa Barbara or Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz. I think you mentioned this in your podcast Mary Jo?