San Fran to LA Coast Road - Where to Stop/Stay

[Chilly]

We are planning to drive from San Fran to LA along the coast raod and spend 2 nights at hotels along the way. Any suggestions on where is nice to stop and stay?

Thanks for your help

 

[GrandBob]

Definitely one night in my neck of the woods -- Monterey or Carmel. Tons to do here -- the Aquarium, 17 Mile Drive, Cannery Row, Carmel, and tons more. Unless, of course, you want to keep going and stay at Big Sur. Beautiful scenery, though the lodging there tends to be a bit pricey.

If you don't stay in Big Sur, make sure you leave plenty of time to explore the Big Sur coast. IMNSHO, it's the most beautiful drive in the entire US!

For the second night, you'll want to stay somewhere south of the Big Sur coast. If you want to visit Hearst Castle, you can stay directly in San Simeon or Cambria. Make sure to make reservations on-line for your tour, though! They sell out.

If you don't want to see Hearst Castle, then I'd stay further south. Morro Bay, Pismo Beach, and Santa Barbara are all good choices. They're all wonderful beach towns. Santa Barbara, in particular, has lots of stuff to do.

Enjoy!

-Bob

 

[Chilly]

Thanks Bob, any hotels you can suggest?

 

[GrandBob]

Thanks Bob, any hotels you can suggest?

You know, living here, you don't get to sample many hotels. So I can name many, but have no direct experience with them.

In downtown Monterey, the biggest are Marriott and the Portola.

On Cannery Row, you have the Intercontinental/Clement, Monterey Bay Inn, and lots of other smaller properties.

Pacific Grove has lots of quaint B&B's, and they tend to be situated near the water in very scenic locations. Seven Gables, Green Gables, Martine come to mind.

Carmel has lots of motels and B&B's, mostly very pricey.

There are cheaper motels along Munras Ave in Monterey. Those are mostly average quality. Stay away from motels in Seaside, mostly on Fremont St. They tend to be seedy.

HTH,
Bob

 

[Chilly]

Thanks Bob

 

[tiferetsix]

About halfway between SF and LA there is the rather fabulous Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo. We, unfortunately, didn't have a spare night to stay here but we did stop to eat (and admire their toilets!).

 

[mrsxsparrow]

My family and I love love love Cambria. We vacation here at least twice a year. We usually stay at the Fog Catcher Inn, though they are probably better places (its our tradition). They have a great little town and a beautiful walking path all along the cliffs overlooking the beach. There's also the greatest barbecue place ever in the town (Main Street Barbecue -- there's also one in San Louis Obispo if you don't stop in Cambria). Hearst Castle is also there and there's beaches with tons of elephant seals -- great to watch.

If you wanna stop in San Louis Obispo I'd suggest the Apple Farm Inn. Great place, good food, lots of apple cider

ETA: Santa Barbara is also a great place, a little further south. Again, great beaches, great hotels, some good shopping and eating, wineries, and a cute zoo. I've always wanted to stay there but its close enough to do a day trip for us.

 

[mamacatnv]

It's been 5 years but the Monterey Bay Lodge was a great find. Its walkable to Cannery Row and Fishermans Wharf, directly across the street from Dennis the Menace park and also very near the ocean. The linens were luxurious for a small motel

 

[Chilly]

Thanks everyone

 

[Chilly]

Thanks for everyones help, we are now booked into 3 hotels.

 

[medicjch]

Just checking in on this one.........trying to plan a similar trip in May.

 

[Muddy Rivers]

Are there any Hyatt Hotels in the Monterey/Big Sur area that anyone would recommend?

 

[skiingfast]

Are there any Hyatt Hotels in the Monterey/Big Sur area that anyone would recommend?

There is a Regency in Monterey. South of Monterey is Carmel but it's just a few miles south and beyond that is Big Sur.

Big Sur has small motels, and inns peppered along it but you won't find major chains type hotels, or even a hotel associated with Best Western until you reach San Simeon or Cambria on the south end of Big Sur.

Keep in mind that this is about 100 miles that you won't find much besides wonderful vistas and it takes about 3 hours to travel. The Coast south of Cambria is much less spartan.

 

[taaren]

Contemplating doing this drive in reverse for our October trip - Disneyland to the Bay Area. Thinking about stopping in Santa Barbara and Monterrey as we usually have just driven up and down the 5 when we lived there, and would probably stay at Marriotts. Our friends that Disney with us most years live in Lompoc, and I've spent some time in Santa Cruz but never Monterrey, so any restaurant recommendations would be great.

 

[xipetotec]

Contemplating doing this drive in reverse for our October trip - Disneyland to the Bay Area. Thinking about stopping in Santa Barbara and Monterrey as we usually have just driven up and down the 5 when we lived there, and would probably stay at Marriotts. Our friends that Disney with us most years live in Lompoc, and I've spent some time in Santa Cruz but never Monterrey, so any restaurant recommendations would be great.

Nothing to ADD except we are doing this next month. Stopping in San Jose to see The Winchester House, driving up rte 1.

 

[GrandBob]

I've spent some time in Santa Cruz but never Monterey, so any restaurant recommendations would be great.

Best seafood restaurant is The Fishwife. They have two locations -- go to the Pacific Grove location right off Asilomar - much more scenic than the Seaside location. When DW & I lived in PG, we'd go often to get their Sea Garden Salad. Great value, huge huge salad with a big piece of fish (of your choice) across the top. Best seafood value on the peninsula.

-Bob

 

[Muddy Rivers]

 

[mellers]

You know, living here, you don't get to sample many hotels. So I can name many, but have no direct experience with them.

In downtown Monterey, the biggest are Marriott and the Portola.

On Cannery Row, you have the Intercontinental/Clement, Monterey Bay Inn, and lots of other smaller properties.

Pacific Grove has lots of quaint B&B's, and they tend to be situated near the water in very scenic locations. Seven Gables, Green Gables, Martine come to mind.

Carmel has lots of motels and B&B's, mostly very pricey.

There are cheaper motels along Munras Ave in Monterey. Those are mostly average quality. Stay away from motels in Seaside, mostly on Fremont St. They tend to be seedy.

HTH,
Bob

For Pacific Grove, this is the best: http://www.lhls.com/

In addition to being a nice hotel, it also has a light dinner (BBQ burgers and salad) included.

 

[mellers]

We are planning to drive from San Fran to LA along the coast raod and spend 2 nights at hotels along the way. Any suggestions on where is nice to stop and stay?

Thanks for your help

Solvang is a fun stop between San Francisco and LA:

http://www.solvangusa.com/

 

[mikeyas]

I did the exact same drive a couple of years back and agree with spending the night in Monterey and Cambria.

A couple of other stops we made along the way

Point Lobos State Reserve

Just north of Cambria and Hearst Castle is an elephant seal rookery. Also highly recommended. It's just a quick turn off and can be completed done in less than half an hour. Not to be missed, especially if your trip is during the birthing season.

oops. I just realized that I can't link yet so both can be found in yelp. You can find the rookery by entering elephant seal and cambria in yelp.