Help me plan Pismo Beach/ Monterey days!!

[lovevacations]

I'm planning what has turned into a 17 nights California trip for July of 2008.
From July 10- 18 we will be in San Diego, DLR, Universal Studios

July 19th (saturday) we will check out of our hotel in Universal City and head to Pismo Beach in the late morning. We will stop in Solvang for lunch on the way. Hope to arrive in Pismo Beach late afternoonish.

I currently have us staying at Pismo Beach 3 nights and Monterey 2 nights, but I think I should do 2 nights PB and 3 nights Monterey. I guess our plans for PB is just checking the area our and playing on the beach. I want to leave PB very early (try for 8:30 tour) and go to Hearst Castle on our way to Monterey. We will also travel up the road a bit to see the Elephant Seals. We will backtrack to Hwy 101 and take that way to Monterey due to dd's car sicknesses issues. This wouldn't get us to Monterey until dinner time.

In Monterey, we want to go to the Aquarium and do the 17 mile drive. I'm not sure how or when to fit in the 17 mile drive. I'm looking for help on that!! My thought was do the 17 mile drive on our full day and on our departaure day go to the Aquarium at 10:00am and leave for San Fran around 2:00. This would get us in the San Fran area around 4:00pm on a Thursday. Would this be a problem traffic wise?

From Monterey we are heading to San Fran for 3 nights and flying back to Texas from there. We have never been north of Santa Barbara so planning this is tricky!!

Thanks for any help!!!!!!!!

 

[suzycute]

We're just back from a grand tour of the western USA (we're Brits) and don't know whether you were asking for suggestions for places to stay. We stayed at a great motel at Pismo Beach almost a week ago called the Kon Tiki Inn. It's a motel where all the rooms overlook the Pacific and it has it's own steps to the beach. It has its own pool and hot tub also overlooking the Pacific. It was very clean and friendly and is very popular so gets booked up very early - we only stayed one night as we drove from San Francisco to Los Angeles but wished we'd stayed longer.

 

[lovevacations]

Thanks!! I will check that out!!

 

[Claire L]

I would suggest 2 nights in Pismo Beach and 3 in Monterey/Carmel as there is alot more to do there. In 2003 we stayed at the Shore Cliff Lodge in Pismo and it had fab views from rooms which were cliffside to the Pacific Solvang is a great town and we had lunch in a restaurant recommended from the guide books called Paula' Pancake House We love California and hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Claire

 

[lovevacations]

Thanks!! I'm really looking forward to this trip!

 

[JustLorri]

I lived in Pismo Beach for about a year. In July it can be quite cold and foggy. We always felt sorry for the tourists who showed up in shorts and t-shirts and were freezing themselves on the beach. Make sure you bring jackets and are prepared for the fog not to burn off until mid-afternoon, if at all.

Traffic in and around San Francisco going to be bad, but you may luck out in that you're going into the City, not out, like most commuters. Expect thick traffic in San Jose.

Universal City is about 3-4 hours from Solvang (I used to live in Santa Barbara, too), Pismo is another hour away.

 

[travelgirl06]

Pismo is frequently foggy, but Avila Beach (just NW of Pismo, about a 10 minute drive) is sunny more frequently. Both are nice beaches which are pretty mellow during the week and a little more active on the weekends. There are lots of vineyards nearby if you are interested in wine tasting, and there are also lots of places where you can go hiking. If you are in the area on a Thursday, you might want to check out the farmer's market in San Luis Obsipo, it's a large market that's held downtown with lots of great produce, good food and live entertainment.

Monterey is nice, I have found it to be very crowded on the weekends though. The aquarium is a must-visit and Cannery Row is a fun area to explore, along with Fisherman's Wharf. Carmel is nearby and is fun to walk through, and Santa Cruz is less than an hour north and features a nice beach and the Boardwalk.

Let me know if you have any other questions and I will do my best to help out.

 

[lovevacations]

Thanks for the great advice! I decided that our DL/Universal time was going to be too busy, so I took the extra night from Pismo and added it to LA. Now Pismo will just be an overnight. I might change it to Avilla Beach. I know about the cool weather (a treat for us Texans) but I was surprised at how cool and foggy even July can be!! So basically, I'm looking for something on or near a beach at a good stopping point between Universal Studios (lunch in Solvang) and Monterey. We are going to Hearst Castle (kids will be almost 9 and 11) on our way to Monterey. Should we just stay in San Simeon instead of Pismo area? If so, any good family places?

This is the "Grand Plan"

Thursday: July 10, 2008- late flight from ORD to SAN

Friday: July 11 – San Diego (beach)

Saturday: July 12- San Diego (seaworld)

Sunday: July 13- San Diego (zoo)

Monday: July 14- Drive San Diego to Anaheim –GCH

Tuesday: July 15- Disneyland

Wednesday: July 16- Disneyland

Thursday: July 17- Disneyland

Friday: July 18- Check out GCH/Check in Hilton Universal

Saturday: July 19- Universal Studios

Sunday: July 20- Pismo Beach

Monday: July 21- Monterey

Tuesday: July 22- Monterey

Wednesday: July 23- Monterey (aquarium)

Thursday: July 24- Drive to San Fran –Hilton

Friday: July 25- San Fran

Saturday: July 26- San Fran

Sunday: July 27-Fly to Houston
Buy Southern California City Pass

 

[JustLorri]

You know, I'd rather stay in Pismo than San Simeon, just because it's famous. Pismo is pretty small, but you should enjoy it. As soon as 101 turns away from the beach, the fog burns off. Coming in from SLO, you can actually see the wall of fog. There's a good restaurant in Pismo, right off 101. For the life of me, I can't remember the name, Cattlemen's, maybe? You can't miss it. It's on your right while heading north. It's the only thing there.

 

[lovevacations]

Thanks! So maybe Pismo is the way to go!