Cambria (Hearst Castle) to Santa Barbara

[disneycrazycatlady]

Hi- We will be driving down the coast from San Francisco and ending up at DL. We are going to take a few days to do that and are stopping in Cambria(Hearst Castle) on Sunday, July 9 ( we have tour reservations at Hearst Castle at 3PM). How feasable is it to wake up early on Monday morning and drive to Santa Barbara to make a 10:00 AM departure time for a whale sighting tour? How long will the drive take? Thanks for your input.

 

[xmelissax]

Depending on traffic it could take anywhere from 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours. If you left by 7 I would think you'd be alright, but a little earlier might be better just to be safe than sorry. So basically, it is possible but would require waking up really quite early.

 

[CA_Stitch]

Leaving Cambria at 7am as recommended should be fine. Luckily there are no big city between Cambria and SB. The only "large" town is Santa Maria but you don't go through the town just on the outskirt...

It is quite a pleasant drive.

 

[travelgirl06]

I would try to allow a little over 3 hours for the drive. You can deffinately do it that morning, and there shouldn't be too much traffic you'll only pass Santa Maria and San Luis Obispo, neither of which is too big). It's a beautiful drive and very easy in the mornings.

Be sure to check out the elephant seals near San Simeon... they are lots of fun to watch.

 

[disneycrazycatlady]

Thank you all for your reponses- I'm looking forward to the trip.