California--Coastal Route or Interstate? About This Page:

[mickeyfans]

We are planning our (almost) annual trip to San Diego this summer. We will be starting up the coast, however, around Monterey. To break up the trip we will spend a day or two at Universal Hollywood (the views from the escalators built into the hills are breathtaking!!!!). For those of you familiar with that part of the California coast, would you drive down the Pacific Coast Highway or swing back to I-5? If the PCH, how long would it realistically take from Monterey?

[zacksmom_1993]

If you're in Monterey, it takes some serious backtracking to get to I-5, and that drive is hideously boring. But, if you wanted to go the whole way on PCH, it would probably take about 8-9 hours. A good compromise is to take Highway 101. From Monterey, you'd take the road to Salinas and get on 101 there. The first part of your drive would take you through the Salinas Valley. It's agricultural, but beautiful, especially if you're a Steinbeck fan! Then you cross into San Luis Obispo and briefly follow the Pacific Ocean around Pismo Beach. The drive then travels through the Santa Maria wine country before you get to Santa Barbara and again follow the ocean. You stay with the ocean to your right until you're in Ventura, and then it's less than an hour to Universal Studios. Universal is actually just off that freeway. I'd guess the drive would take about 5 hours, and I could recommend some great lunch spots along the way in Pismo Beach. It's a really beautiful introduction to a number of different California geographies on Highway 101, and probably the most direct route to LA from Monterey. Feel free to ask away if you have any other questions.

[mickeyfans]

Thanks!!!! Lunch spots along the way would be great to know. Our daughter will be about 16 months old at the time we travel, so something that is family-friendly would be ideal. My wife is a great photographer, and especially loves landscapes, so this route sounds terrific. When we visited SF in 2002, we stayed in San Mateo, and drove both north (Sonoma) and south (Monterey / Carmel). We cannot wait to return!!!

[mitchg]

We drove from Monterey to LA about 10 years ago, and took the coastal route down to about San Luis Obispo, and then switched to the 101. It was a nice compromise - we didn't take forever to go the whole way along the coast, but we were still able to experience it.