Expert: Ernest Tufft - 7/10/2007

Question
QUESTION: We are planning a road trip down the coast of CA.  We would like to arrive in SF in the evening on 9/20 and head to Sonoma/Nappa for 2 nights the morning of 9/22.  That will give us a night and a day in san fran (been there twice so that should be plenty of time).

We would like to end up in San Diego.  I have been doing some research and found some places we might want to stop - Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, LA, Laguna Beach & San Diego.  We will have 9 days.  I am not sure how long to spend in these places or if there are other highlights we should hit.  We also want to see the redwoods and are not sure of the best place.  Do you have any recommendations on places to see/stay and how long to spend in each?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

ANSWER: Hi Kristen.  Sorry for the delay as I've had technical problems with the All Experts system.  Nine days is plenty of time for a quick trip in this route.  .  Napa and Sonoma are two different valleys, and I'm confused about your time spent here.  It looks like you could use another day there.  You will want to be based in Saint Helena or Calistoga in Napa Valley, and likely in the town of Sonoma, for the Sonoma tour.  From Napa take hwy 680 to get to the south bay faster.  I would spend a beach day and night in Santa Cruz (go to downtown Santa Cruz at night), then stop at Moss Landing (watch for the tall power plant chimneys) for a fresh fish lunch on the way to Monterey.  Monterey would be another night, and a visit to the aquarium there is worthwhile--it may be the best in the world.  Google Monterey Bay Aquarium.  Leave early, drive along the coast through Pebble Beach and have an early lunch in Carmel before taking Hwy 1 down to San Luis Obispo.  Hearst Castle is worthwhile, but prepare to spend a half-day there, and then arrive at San Luis Obispo in the evening.  There are good restaurants in the quaint downtown there.  Actuall, in the area are good wineries too, and Solvang is a popular stop on the way to Santa Barbara.  In LA, the Getty Museum is a must see place not only for the art collection, but for the live music and great view across the city.  The restaurant there is expensive but worth the price.  I like the Natural History museum in LA because the La Brea Tar Pits--a sort of oily lake--are right there.  They still pull asphalt preserved bones from there.  Venice Beach, Lagunda Beach, and San Diego will be still pleasant in late September, but you won't want to climb into the water.  It will be too cold.  Same may be true at Santa Cruz, actually, but their shouldn't be any fog at least.  The Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego is great at night.  La Jolla nice during the day.   For full details and photos on some of these places, check out my pages virtualtourist.com  My member name is atufft.  Check Napa, Santa Cruz, or Moss Landing, and you will easily find me listed at the top of the contributors.  Other contributers are better than me for parts south of San Luis Obispo.  Have fund, and again, sorry for the delay in responding.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks so much for the information!  2 more questions:
Is Santa Barbara a day trip or is it better to stay over night?
Can we hit Laguna Beach/Venice along the way to LA?  

Answer
Santa Barbara is certainly worth a stay overnight.  The city is beautiful, has a lot of classic Spanish revival architecture, and plenty of restaurants.  The historical museum there has an excellent collection of early California stuff.  Check the map on Laguna Beach and Venice, these are within the LA metro area.  But, choose your hotel location in LA carefully, as the freeways are a real hassle.  Taking "surface streets" through LA when convenient provides the visitor the real LA feel.  The LA forum at virtualtourist.com will provide better information that I can give at the moment.  Have fun:-)