California Travel Forum

From SF to LA...
Posted: Mon June 29, 2009 03:01 PM UTC

I am going with my family to California in August, and we will be driving from SF to LA, taking Highway 1. How many hours does it take? We dont want to stress, and thought of booking a hotel on the way, 2-4 hours from LA. Any recommendations for a hotel?

ChristinaC

13 replies

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Re: From SF to LA...
Posted: Mon June 29, 2009 03:26 PM UTC

I previously drove from LA to SF and took 2 days deliberately to stop and take in the breath taking scenery.

try and stay in a little coastal town called Morro Bay whihc is aboiut half way between the two cities. i stayed overnight in amotel and we managed to negotiate the price. there are lots of lovely fish restaurants by the harbour. It is a peaceful and beautiful town on the coast. The distance I think is aboiut 400 miles and could be done in a day but the northern half of route 1 is a ling winding road with plenty of great places to stop and take in the view. I also stopped in Monterey and carmel en route which are worth stopping.
Enjoy your trip this is a great journey.

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angryclanger

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Re: From SF to LA...
Posted: Mon June 29, 2009 03:37 PM UTC

Yep as the previous reply - take 2 days to fully appreciate the scenery. Also I'll second Morro Bay - ideal place for an overnight stop. I got a very good deal at the Days Inn there.

Have a good trip!

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johngayton

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Re: From SF to LA...
Posted: Mon June 29, 2009 03:52 PM UTC

Morro Bay also has my vote. It is located on the central coast, 202 miles from Los Angeles. It is a quaint little town with inexpensive motels and restaurants with lots of character. Also San Luis Obispo is a small and very vibrant town just a few miles south of Morro Bay. San Luis Opisbo has a Spanish Mission which was built in 1793. There are many nice restaurants in San Luis Obispo. This website will provide you with information on both towns, including hotels and motels. This is my favorite part of California. Enjoy the beautiful Pacific Ocean!
http://www.sanluisobispocounty.com/

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wabIV

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Re: From SF to LA...
Posted: Mon June 29, 2009 04:21 PM UTC

I did this in April but started in San Luis Obispo and overnighted in Monterey. Monterey or Pacific Grove is a great place to overnight, but it would only make sense if you were doing this in 3 days. If you're doing 2 from LA, then Morro Bay or Cambria is probably your best choice, but you'll still be a bit rushed, especially with Santa Barbara on your first day and Big Sur/Monterey on your second.
If you do overnight in Monterey, where you stay depends on your budget. There are some very decent and reasonable (under $75) motels just south of the Downtown area. The place I stayed at had a fireplace and ran $55.
Just a route suggestion: cut west to Santa Cruz (great town, and another reason to do this in three days) and take CA 9 up to the Bay Area instead of CA 17. Much, much less traffic, and it's a spectacular route with a little redwood grove on the way. Not the dramatic redwoods you see up by Eureka, but still definitely redwoods.
hth

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bocmaxima

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Re: From SF to LA...
Posted: Mon June 29, 2009 04:26 PM UTC

We stayed at a lovely B&B in Cambria which is very close to Morro Bay, I don't think we went into Morro Bay but we did stop in the Danish town of Solvang (worth the stop just for the baked goods) on our way up to Cambria before we headed to San Simeon where the Hearst Castle is. Some people say that's a tourist trap but I thought the story of how Hearst built it and the buildings themselves were fascinating. We also made a stop at Apple Farm in San Luis Obispo, a little kitschy but good food.

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Dabs

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Re: From SF to LA...
Posted: Mon June 29, 2009 04:42 PM UTC

I have done this trip twice and both times I stayed at a small roadside motel just a mile or so north of Cambria. The place is right on the side of the road and the beach sits 200 yards behind the hotel. There are several motels right in this area and I suspect any of them would be good. This is a breathtaking ride so allow yourself plenty of time for stopping and taking in the stunning scenery

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groover101

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Re: From SF to LA...
Posted: Mon June 29, 2009 05:48 PM UTC

Just 3 miles south of Hearst Castle is the Best Western Cavalier Resort which has Ocean frontage so you can get your toes wet and of course is close to the famous Hearst mansion. It is a little costly but you pay for the location. It is 100 miles from Monterey and about 240 miles from Los Angeles City Hall. That's around 6 hours plus stops on the way.
http://www.cavalierresort.com/

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puerto_lover

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Re: From SF to LA...
Posted: Mon June 29, 2009 09:09 PM UTC

From SF, head to Santa Cruz (73 miles and about 1 hr 20 minutes)past coastal farmland then take Cabrillo Hwy to Carmel by the Sea. (another hour). Next door Monterey has a wonderful aquarium, From Carmel, it is 2 hours on down Hwy 1 to Cambria, but you will want to stop as there are many photo ops along the way. You are 20 minutes from San Luis Obispo. I prefer SLO to Morro Bay. SLO is a college town and even though it is August will have more things going on in the evening. My recollection is that Morro Bay closes up after 8 PM. About another 1 hour/20 minutes S is Santa Ynez, just North of Santa Barbara. There are many very good wineries. From Santa Ynez you are another 2 hours plus to get to LA. By taking the Coast roads (you won't be by the coast all the time) it will take you 7.5 hours of actual drive time. At any point traffic can raise its ugly head. Karl

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Roadquill

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Re: From SF to LA...
Posted: Tue June 30, 2009 12:19 AM UTC

It would be sort of lop sided, but I would go to Monterey to overnight and try to get in early enough to visit the aquarium and have dinner on fisherman's wharf. Hang out on cannary row and visit some of the great places there.

If you leave Monterey early, but not to early due to the fog, drive Hwy 1 down to San Luis Obispo and then stay on Hwy 101 to LA. The best part of Hwy 1 south of SF is the part from Monterey to Cambria so after that just stay on Hwy 101 into LA.

Monterey to LA via Big Sur and San Luis Obispo is a little over six hours with no stops; so a pretty easy one day drive. Monterey has so much to see it would be a shame to not see it.

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Jamesr3939

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Re: From SF to LA...
Posted: Tue June 30, 2009 07:08 AM UTC

I recently made this trip, and we stayed the night in San Luis Obispo, in the Peach Tree Inn http://www.peachtreeinn.com/
Nice rooms, good breakfast, and cheap as well!

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crazypaws

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Re: From SF to LA...
Posted: Tue June 30, 2009 03:04 PM UTC

Thank you all!! has been a great help! I think we are gonna take a night in SLO, and then drive to LA in the morning, or would it be too much to go all the way to Santa Barbara?
Anyone know what time would be the best to avoid rush hour in LA?

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ChristinaC

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Re: From SF to LA...
Posted: Tue June 30, 2009 05:53 PM UTC

Usually the freeways clear out by 9:30 AM and start getting busy again at 4:30 PM which can last until 7 PM. Fridays generally suck all day, especially in West LA (by the 405 and 10 intersection)

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Roadquill

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Re: From SF to LA...
Posted: Tue June 30, 2009 08:54 PM UTC

San Luis Obispo is a great choice. The Madonna Inn in SLO would be a fun place for lodging or just checking out their awesome coffee shop and enjoying a slice of their world famous cake.
http://www.madonnainn.com/
Be sure to visit the mission and stroll through downtown.
If you leave SLO at 0600 you will miss rush hour traffic.
Have fun!

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