From Carmel to LA

I'd recommend staying in Cambria as your home base for Morro Bay, Paso, and wineries. You could easily spend a week here, but to hit the highlights, I'd think you'd need about 2.5 - 3 days. Some recommendations:
- Cambria Christmas Market
- Hearst Castle tour
- Elephant Seals
- Harmony Headlands State Park (fantastic hike)

For accommodations, The Cambria Pines Lodge or any of the hotels along Moonstone Beach.
Don't miss The Brown Butter Cookie Company (in Paso, San Luis Obispo, and Cayucos), Main Street Grill, Linns, Robin's, Moonstone Beach Bar and Grill in and around Cambria. Dorn's is delicious and worth the drive for dinner in Morro Bay.

Another great stop between the Central Coast and Santa Barbara is Montana de Oro State Park and Avila Beach, just outside of SLO. In SLO, visit the farmers market and the mission.

Weather should be lovely. Cool in the mornings and evenings, but nice (mid-60s or so) during the day.

Enjoy!

Highway 1 is closed. Has been, and won't reopen for years. The only way to get to Santa Barbara from Carmel is 101. And if you think Santa Barbara hotels are expensive you're not going to like Carmel or Paso Robles. I seriously think you need to revisit the order of places you want to visit.

I’ll be in Carmel this weekend. I’m staying at the Carmel fireplace inn . I can report back when I get there. But there’s no breakfast included. I think that free breakfasts are pretty unusual in Carmel. I think there’s a best western close by and they usually have a free breakfast.

smrtannie,
The farmer's market in San Lius Obispo on Thursday nights is a fun place to have dinner and enjoy the street entertainment, plus buy some yummy produce. If you spend that night in a hotel/motel there, there is a free shuttle bus covering some areas and near many hotels. We (from SoCal) often plan our road trips to coincide with the Thursday evening festivities. There will be lots of places to taste wines, as well as olive oil tastings around Morro Bay, Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo......that whole section of central California. To be honest, you can find wineries in just about every nook and cranny in California. Okay, to begin in Carmel.....

Your drive south from Carmel will bring you inland to Hwy 101 from Hwy 1. Carmel is an upscale town so hotel prices can be high. But depending on when in December you go, you may find some bargains. Get a paper map and look around the area for nearby towns to stay in. By the way, the Mission in Carmel is lovely and is where Fra Junipero Serra is buried. They have a nice little garden. You could spend about an hour there. And some coastal streets in Carmel provide beautiful views of the ocean.

Cambria comes before the Morro Bay area. Just north of it is Seal Beach, where the elephant seals give birth. It makes a nice half-hour stop if the seals are around. (They are really ugly and big!) The Cambria Pines Lodge is very nice place to stay and they have a good buffet breakfast. They also have a restaurant with good food, but last time there our server was horrible (drunk, I think). I would still stay there again. The town is small but nice. On the way there on 101 the Moonstone Beach Bar is a nice place to watch the sun set with a cocktail. It's pretty close to Cambria, so a doubling back for a drink is not unreasonable. 2-3 days in Cambria is too much, IMO, and I would head south. But you can spend another day there to visit Hearst Castle, which needs a reservation, I believe. It is worth seeing once, but if you don't have enough time, about 4 hours, I wouldn't feel bad. It is basically a copy of a European chateau, beautiful, but still cobbled together from European parts. Interesting back story, however.

On the way south from Cambria, all of the central Calif. towns you mentioned are great to visit....laid back, not a lot of museums but lots of natural beauty and a good ambience. (BTW, it is spelled Morro Bay). As mentioned above, try to schedule a Thursday night for the area and the SLO market in town.

Montana de Oro is great for a nature walk and exploration. I would give this area 2-3 days, minimum. Paso Robles and Atascadero are near lots of wineries. Spend one night in Paso Robles and one in SLO (not too far apart), esp. if the SLO night is a Thursday. Then a brief drive to the coast to stay in Morro Bay, Grover Beach, Arroyo Grande, Pismo Beach, Cayucos, all close to each other. Cayucos, dolphins frolicking in the surf. Pismo Beach, Monarch butterflies migrating.

Part of your trip will be on Hwy 101, a drive we always enjoy. The section to the north of Santa Barbara has some great views of the coast. Then it cuts inland to go around Vandenburg Air Base and takes you through Lompoc, a small, basically agricultural based town that has some interesting murals to see as you drive through. (Of course you will be coming from the north.) Also, near Lompoc is La Purissima Mission State Park, where they try to simulate the old mission sways of agriculture. Sometimes there are docents to guide you around. (Check the tourist website for Lompoc). Not far along the road is Hitching Post II, the restaurant featured in the movie"Sideways". Yummy and terrific for carnivores! Solvang is close by here. There is another mission to visit in Solvang, Mission Santa Inez, still an operating church. IMO Solvang is a bit touristy/tacky, but interesting to see once, briefly. (Too many souvenir shops)

Out of space....oops!

Re Hwy 1 closure. Only a section around the 17 Mile drive is closed (landslides). But a good part of the unavailable coastal drive is unavailable because it is part of Vandenburg Air Base. You have always had to go inland for part of this drive.

Once you hit the coast again (after Solvang and Lompoc, the drive along the coast is lovely. There are some nice state parks and beaches to stop for a beach stroll or a picnic lunch (north to south are Gaviota State Park/Beach, Refugio State Beach, El Capitan State Beach.....then, Santa Barbara, not as pricy (or snooty) as Carmel, but very popular year-round. Carpinteria is just south, a beach town, but sometimes cheaper, yet popular also. I have no specific recs for where to stay or eat here. Do check out the Moreton Bay fig tree near the pier and the mission here is beautiful and still an operating church.

Closer to LA county are Ventura and Oxnard. Good beaches in both towns. Ventura had a mission church. Oxnard has a military presence and a large marina. We have visited both towns, and I prefer Oxnard (small and off the tourist beat). There are the US Navy Seabee Museum, the Channel Islands Maritime Museum, and a Carnegie Art Museum, all worth your time (not huge, but interesting). It's more of a working class/retiree type of town...low key and with a good beach.

I hope you have a great road trip. California has so many things to see and do, both big and little, you can find something around almost every turn. Enjoy!

Re Hwy 1 closure. Only a section around the 17 Mile drive is closed (landslides). But a good part of the unavailable coastal drive is unavailable because it is part of Vandenburg Air Base. You have always had to go inland for part of this drive.

I don't think this is quite correct:
a) the 17 Mile Drive is on the Monterey peninsula, is not part of Hwy 1, and is not closed (at least not that I can see). The closure is much further south - south of Big Sur. Your travel around the Monterey peninsula will not be affected;
b) there is also no closure around Vandenburg SFB. Hwy 1 goes right by the base.

The Big Sur closure is disappointing as this is an astounding highway, but you can still see lots of great things. You'll just have to take 101 from the Monterey area to Paso Robles / Morro Bay / San Luis Obispo, instead of 1. Then south of SLO, its 101 you want anyway.

Watch the movie Sideways before going to Buellton / Solvang!

Darren, I apologize for not making myself clear. The coastal road I refer to near Vandenburg is the drive next to the coast. One has always had to go inland to skirt the base. If you are lucky you may be in the area when a rocket is launched from there. It is quite the sight! And yes, I realize the closure below Carmel isn't exactly on the 17 mile drive. BTW, be aware that here is a fee to take the 17 mile drive. It is private land belonging to Pebble Beach Resorts, and the fee is for maintenance they say. About $12-$13 per car per day. If you spend $35.00 at one of the Pebble Beach retail establishments, the fee is refunded. Having driven up and down along the entire California coast (except at Vandenburg), multiple times in the 67 years I have lived in California, I can say that the view from the 17 mile drive is gorgeous, but no more so than many other places along the coast. However, for a one time visit, it is okay. Just very expensive with funds going to an already expensive location. Like Hearst Castle, a one time visit is worthwhile, but not worth a repeat. You may feel differently.

That's a great time of year to see the elephant seals north of Cambria. We love staying at Moonstone Beach but there are more affordable options closer to Hearst Castle. If you stop at Morro Bay, walk on the boardwalk and/or drive out to the rock to see otters.

I’m in Carmel now, staying at the Carmel Fireside Inn. Quite comfortable located on the north side of the downtown area. About a block south is a Best Western that seems to provide breakfast. Most of the hotels are small quirky inns of 10-15 rooms. There are hotels that have full restaurants but they are pricey. The Fireside Inn is running about $300/night for a random day in December.