San Fran to LA - Where to Stay In Between?
Jun 4th, 2002, 01:02 PM
#1
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San Fran to LA - Where to Stay In Between?
The girlfriend and I are heading to San Fran on Sept 22(Sunday) and have to be in LA by the 27th(Fri). I figure hang out in the San Fran area Sun, Mon, Tues...and hit the road Weds and stay overnight somewhere(this is where I need the help) where we can see some sights on Thurs. Than hit the road again Thurs and stay somewhere else further south Thurs night(help again please!). And we head on into LA Fri...need to be there by early afternoon. From reading some of the other posts, I figure head down Rt 1, visit Monterrey, and somewhere near Big Sur might be a good pitstop for the first night(how far from San Fran is that?) I figure visit Hearst Castle Thurs at some point also.
Jun 5th, 2002, 05:19 AM
#2
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Glenn,
I would suggest that you pick up highway 1 at in Santa Cruz(northern Monterey Bay Area). From San Francisco your best bet would be the scenic 280 freeway down to San Jose then 17 south to Santa Cruz and 1 south into Monterey(www.monterey.com). I would recommend leaving San Francisco after 10AM as the traffic heading out of SF toward the city can be monumental on a weekday morning. Definitely make reservations for Hearst Castle(www.hearstcastle.org). You should stay the first night in Monterey and check out the Monterey Bay Aquarium, 17 Mile Drive, and the quaint town of Carmel. The second night I would suggest staying down in Santa Barbara.
I would suggest that you pick up highway 1 at in Santa Cruz(northern Monterey Bay Area). From San Francisco your best bet would be the scenic 280 freeway down to San Jose then 17 south to Santa Cruz and 1 south into Monterey(www.monterey.com). I would recommend leaving San Francisco after 10AM as the traffic heading out of SF toward the city can be monumental on a weekday morning. Definitely make reservations for Hearst Castle(www.hearstcastle.org). You should stay the first night in Monterey and check out the Monterey Bay Aquarium, 17 Mile Drive, and the quaint town of Carmel. The second night I would suggest staying down in Santa Barbara.
Jun 6th, 2002, 03:15 PM
#5
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Unfortunately, the Redwoods are just North of San Francisco (not South). It may be a good short day trip to drive up to the Woods (it's only about 1/2 hour away from the City).
Also, when you are in the City and you want Chinese (not too authentic), try "Alice's" on Potrero Hill, awesome food and great decor!
Also, when you are in the City and you want Chinese (not too authentic), try "Alice's" on Potrero Hill, awesome food and great decor!
Jun 6th, 2002, 03:17 PM
#6
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Here is a copy of a response I made to an earlier post...
Message: We just did the exact same trip in reverse in July and LOVED it. I envy you...Here is what we did: Left LA and SF for another time, you really need a week for each city. Flew to LA and drove same day to Santa Barbara. We stayed just south of Santa Barbara at the Cliff House Inn in Mussel Shoals. Fabulous hotel, inexpensive, and right ON THE OCEAN! Good restaurant there also. Spent a few days there exploring around the area of Santa Barbara. I recommend Andersen's Danish Bakery for breakfast in Santa Barbara -full menu & great food. Then went to Hearst Castle, which we loved. I would definitely go back and take a tour again. Photos do NOT do it justice, wow! We stayed in San Simeon one night at a cheap hotel ($89?) which was nothing much, but clean-it was the San Simeon Lodge. Since all we did was sleep there, it was fine. Then we drove to Monterey and stayed there a few days at the Monterey Bay Inn - not cheap but nice, right on the water. Stopped in Cambria along the way, cute little shopping town, ate at the Sows Ear-a nice restaurant but not cheap. Another place we ate in Cambria was a little place called Linn's Main Bin-excellent food very reasonably priced. The aquarium in Monterey is great, but get there when it first opens cuz it gets VERY crowded. Cannery row has some great nightlife. Many good hotels to to choose from there. Lastly we drove to Santa Cruz and stayed there a few nights (West Coast Santa Cruz Hotel-nice, on the beach, not cheap) before we left. Go to the surfer museum there and then there is the big outdoor amusement park, but it is kind of dirty. Then we drove into San Fransisco and flew out from there. Probably the best part of the whole trip was the drive up the coast. We drove Coastal Route 1 all the way, and it was gorgeous. Drove through Big Sur, stopped in Carmel. Too much to see in a week. So, I recommend saving LA & SF for another trip and enjoy the journey between the two cities. You need at least a week for that alone!
Message: We just did the exact same trip in reverse in July and LOVED it. I envy you...Here is what we did: Left LA and SF for another time, you really need a week for each city. Flew to LA and drove same day to Santa Barbara. We stayed just south of Santa Barbara at the Cliff House Inn in Mussel Shoals. Fabulous hotel, inexpensive, and right ON THE OCEAN! Good restaurant there also. Spent a few days there exploring around the area of Santa Barbara. I recommend Andersen's Danish Bakery for breakfast in Santa Barbara -full menu & great food. Then went to Hearst Castle, which we loved. I would definitely go back and take a tour again. Photos do NOT do it justice, wow! We stayed in San Simeon one night at a cheap hotel ($89?) which was nothing much, but clean-it was the San Simeon Lodge. Since all we did was sleep there, it was fine. Then we drove to Monterey and stayed there a few days at the Monterey Bay Inn - not cheap but nice, right on the water. Stopped in Cambria along the way, cute little shopping town, ate at the Sows Ear-a nice restaurant but not cheap. Another place we ate in Cambria was a little place called Linn's Main Bin-excellent food very reasonably priced. The aquarium in Monterey is great, but get there when it first opens cuz it gets VERY crowded. Cannery row has some great nightlife. Many good hotels to to choose from there. Lastly we drove to Santa Cruz and stayed there a few nights (West Coast Santa Cruz Hotel-nice, on the beach, not cheap) before we left. Go to the surfer museum there and then there is the big outdoor amusement park, but it is kind of dirty. Then we drove into San Fransisco and flew out from there. Probably the best part of the whole trip was the drive up the coast. We drove Coastal Route 1 all the way, and it was gorgeous. Drove through Big Sur, stopped in Carmel. Too much to see in a week. So, I recommend saving LA & SF for another trip and enjoy the journey between the two cities. You need at least a week for that alone!
Jun 6th, 2002, 03:19 PM
#7
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Here is a link to our photos from our drive up the coast. There are 3 photo albums of California for the same route you are taking. Have fun! it was one of my favorite vacations ever!
http://community.webshots.com/user/setpics
http://community.webshots.com/user/setpics
