I LOVE Jalama as mentioned above. One of my favorite spots on the coast.And perfect for a camper van.
It’s a Santa Barbara county beach,They have lovely little cabins that require reserves months ahead of time.but I believe the spots are still first come first serve and if you get there on a weekday you should be fine. ( BTWgreat hamburgers served at the little shop there)
@notelling The camper van rentals start at $35/night, and have a little propane stove and icebox and sink (or actual refrigerator in the fancier ones.) We used to live on a sailboat, so this will be like that. We won’t have to spend money at restaurants because we can cook our own dinners. And -ideally- we’ll be a bit more free about where we can go instead of making reservations or worrying about finding a room… It was D’s idea, really (she wanted to rent a vintage VW bus, of course, but those are like $180/night!)
You guys have given so much helpful advice here, thank you!!!
Our current plan is to fly into San Francisco (the flights are actual round trip to LA, but we change planes in SF so we’ll just get off there… cheaper than a multi-city flight.) We would take public transportation into SF and visit VERY briefly -just so D gets the flavor- before picking up the campervan in the Fishermans’ Wharf area. Drive over to visit my college best friend in Alameda Friday night.
Then just head south! Although I am a planner by nature, D really likes to just take things as they come, so I think I will compile all of these suggestions and get a California Camping book and we’ll see what the weather and our whims dictate for Sat, Sun, Mon, Tues, Weds. We fly out of LAX at midnight on Thursday.
If it’s chilly, we’ll probably just do the Big Sur/PCH thing as a long drive down to warmer Santa Barbara/LA/ (maybe even further south?) area with quick scenic stops. If it’s nice, stop for the night a couple of times along the way. Joshua Park is a great idea, I hadn’t thought of that. (I went to school at UCSB and visited a lot of CA but don’t think I ever went there.) We’ll just play it by ear.
This is a very low budget trip… we’ll treat ourselves to tacos at La Super-Rica in Santa Barbara and maybe a breakfast or lunch here and there and one cheap dinner in LA at the end, but mostly we’ll be cooking our own food. Unfortunately, no shopping or tourist activities that cost a lot. I’ve already ruled out the campgrounds that are more than $35/night, and would hope to stay at cheaper ones more often than not. A couple of friends have offered their driveways, too.
Thanks again for all the ideas!! keep 'em coming!
oooh, my heart is hurting. I always thought the drive south is more spectacular than the drive north. And you can stop at Nepenthe. Even if all you do is park and go look at the views. A winery stop is free. Sounds like an awesome bonding trip.
If you get off in SF, the rest of your itenerary will be cancelled for your flight (including your return trip). You do realize that, right? Getting off before the ticketed destination only works if there is nothing else on that ticket you care about.
Redwoods National Park, north of Arcata, beautiful drives and fun little Victorian towns and fishing towns. Go north, few crowds, less expensive, really unique. My D still says it was her favorite vacation ever.
If Carpenteria or El Capitan are booked and if Jalama is too remote, consider a private campground called Ocean Mesa (just north of Santa Barbara. )They have spots on a bluff over looking the ocean. www.oceanmesa.com/accom.html
AND BTW…those vintage VW vans are not a good idea for a trip down highway one. We have rented from the most highly recommended of those companies and both times, the vans were a little akin to rattling tin cans and scary at best on the open highway. On both occasions we had to get jump started multiple times. A little too much like the old days.
My H and D were having a hard time finding an available site near Big Sur and Ventana Campground was suggested to them. It is private but looks pretty low key. Not cheap but at least no booking fee.
OP, post # 24 is correct! Could be a costly choice…
YES - look at post #24.
Oh, wow, that’s a great price on the camper! I thought they’d be something like $100-$150 a night! Sounds like a great trip!
And La Super Rica – yum! (Julia Child’s favorite Mexican food, for those of you who don’t know it!)
Oh, dear. Well thanks for the heads-up, @HImom. We did not know that. What a bummer. So that means that we either need to do a round-trip drive up to SF to see my friend, or just not see her. Waaaaaaa! I have not seen her in 15 years. I was really looking forward to it 
Good thing I did not book the campervan yet. Just the flights at this point. I guess more research is needed…
@notelling Here are the campervan companies I looked at. They seem to me mostly (all?) run by New Zealanders or Australians. Seems a really great idea!
http://www.lostcampersusa.com/
http://www.escapecampervans.com/?lang=en
http://www.jucyrentals.com/
throwing out a few other points for consideration:
- The mileage limitations, which I believe are 100/day. LA to SF on the coast is 450 miles...one way. You will pay a premium if you go over at the end...I think $.25/mile. You can buy additional mileage--but must be done at beginning of rental.
- IF you only do one way with camper, that will generate a $150 drop fee, correct?
- 6pm is the latest to pick up and return camper.
fwiw…
Maybe your SF friend can fly or drive to visit you somewhere. The bus and train also runs between SF and LA.
We’ve always preferred inexpensive lodging and meals and a regular car. We did catch the train up LA to Seattle and then drove back down to LA, stopping at a lot of great national parks.
I don’t think anyone has mentioned Montana de Oro State Park, a beautiful place along the the central coast, just south of Morro Bay. They have a decent campground, and it’s absolutely beautiful. I love a lot of locations along the central coast, including Cambria, Cayucos, and the Pismo Beach area.
I can second the Montana de Oro suggestion. Went there last summer and I’m eagerly planning my next trip. The entire Morro Bay area is gorgeous.
Can you change your airline ticket so that it is like 2 one way tickets…into SFO and out of LAX?
I agree that the drive south on PCH is even more spectacular than north on PCH.
Thanks, all! I did look into changing the tickets to one-ways. I booked with Amex (and paid most of the flight with my points!) and they have a grace period for free changes, which is nice. But the flights would have been $170 more. That, factored in with the $150 one-way fee from the rental car (which we’d already budgeted for, but still) plus the fact that we’d lose a half-day because the flights were different… we decided to just fly into and out of LA, and hopefully get up to SF but not stress out if we didn’t want to. (If we do that, @gosmom, we’ll definitely be paying the mileage overage… but it’s still cheaper than other options such as motels/restaurants!)
I’m thinking, though, that if the weather is decent we might just head up the 5 on Friday, stop a few hours up for the night, and get to SF by noon on Saturday. Explore for the afternoon. Dinner with my friend, then head down the coast Sun/Mon/Tues/Weds/Thurs.
We’ll see…
Thanks for the Montana de Oro suggestion! We definitely intend to go to the Morro Bay area.
Is the drive south on PCH more spectacular because you’re on the west side of the road? Or some other reason?
I realize some of you don’t think the campervan idea is a good one, but my daughter is really excited for the adventure of it. I love that she came up with it on her own and that’s its a viable option for us… Plus, we used to live on a sailboat so it’ll feel familiar. Plus, even with the mileage overages and gas, it’s going to be a lot less expensive and hassle-free than renting a regular car, staying in motels, and eating in restaurants, I think.