Hotel between San Francisco and San Diego

I am wondering if anyone knows of a good hotel between San Francisco and San Diego. We are driving down to catch our cruise in San Diego and would like to take it in two days. But are not familar with any hotels on Highway 5. Any info would be very appreciated. It takes 8 hours and some minutes so would like a hotel or motel half way.

There's a Motel 6 off the 5 in Buttonwillow. BUT, you are driving direct, near some extraordinary scenery (a little inland), and places to see (Santa Barbara?!) between both cities. If you have some time, might be worth a little excursion, especially if you've never been :-)

We just traveled up the 5 up to San Francisco and honestly, there is not much 'of interest' up or down the 5. There are some huge motels on both sides of the Grapevine. For a break we like to stop at Fort Tejon. You could stay in Pasadena or LA.

Another idea is to take the 101. For something funky there is the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, not high class but very kitschy. Or you could stay somewhere in Santa Barbara.

I am wondering if anyone knows of a good hotel between San Francisco and San Diego. We are driving down to catch our cruise in San Diego and would like to take it in two days. But are not familar with any hotels on Highway 5. Any info would be very appreciated. It takes 8 hours and some minutes so would like a hotel or motel half way.

The only reason to take I-5 is speed. There is literally nothing to see until you hit the Grapevine and Tejon Pass. If you are going to take 2 days anyway, take US 101. It is a freeway, fast, a bit longer but much more scenic. Break in SLO or Santa Barbara. You will have a much more pleasant trip.

The 101 is very long and windy. It's a little exhausting, but it is gorgeous. Cambria is a beautiful seaside town and has lovely B&B's, look online. Big Sur, Hearst Castle, and of course L.A. all along the way. So many options!

I drive SF to santa barbara all the time...kid in school there. it takes just about 6 hours give or take to drive the 101 south. it is pretty...you go along the mission route...and not windy. you could stay in paso roblas or pismo beach...

hiway 1 goes down past carmel, big sur, etc...takes a lot longer...like 12 hours.

so get out the maps and decide what you want to see on the way.

I-5 is boring and there is nothing to see but farm fields.

The 101 is very long and windy. It's a little exhausting, but it is gorgeous. Cambria is a beautiful seaside town and has lovely B&B's, look online. Big Sur, Hearst Castle, and of course L.A. all along the way. So many options!

That is Highway 1 you are referring to, not 101. Hwy 101 is a standard highway.

We take 101 all the time. It doesn't add much time - about an hour. We stop in San Luis Obispo regularly, great college town. Next choice would be Santa Barbara.

Pretty nice beach town.

Oops! You're right, it's the 1 that is windy and long. But beautiful! 101 way better than the 5 - agreed! Paso Robles is wonderful but wine tasting and road tripping, are not the ideal mix & it's a little far inland, unless you stay the night. As I said, so many great options :-)

Take hwy 101, it's a nicer drive and stay in Paso Robles at the Adelaide Inn. It's a great little motel that has been redone a couple of years ago. http://www.adelaideinn.com/.

Or drive a little farther south to Buellton and stay at the Days Inn( same hotel they used in the movie "sideways") http://www.daysinnbuellton.com/.

If you stay in Buellton it is about half way between San Fran and San Diego. Both motels are just off the 101.

Have a nice trip

The 101 is very long and windy. It's a little exhausting, but it is gorgeous. Cambria is a beautiful seaside town and has lovely B&B's, look online. Big Sur, Hearst Castle, and of course L.A. all along the way. So many options!

You are talking about California 1, not US 101. US 101 is a freeway.

I am wondering if anyone knows of a good hotel between San Francisco and San Diego. We are driving down to catch our cruise in San Diego and would like to take it in two days. But are not familar with any hotels on Highway 5. Any info would be very appreciated. It takes 8 hours and some minutes so would like a hotel or motel half way.

If you have the extra time, I would definitely take HWY 1 and Hwy101 down. I5 is a long hot deadly boring drive with nothing scenic. HWY1/HWY101 follows along the coast with breathtaking beach and rocky cliff and ocean views. Wonderful trip! We live in the central valley and our daughter lives in SD. We always prefer to shoot over to the coast first. It's a little longer because HWY1 is 2 lane (I5 is anywhere from 4 to 8 lanes) but sooo much better!

I am wondering if anyone knows of a good hotel between San Francisco and San Diego. We are driving down to catch our cruise in San Diego and would like to take it in two days. But are not familar with any hotels on Highway 5. Any info would be very appreciated. It takes 8 hours and some minutes so would like a hotel or motel half way.

I agree with most of the others that 1 or even 101 would be preferable if one has time to do the trip at a leisurely pace...HOWEVER...Let's assume that perhaps you DO want to just drive through quickly and not take the time to sightsee...and that you have other reasons for taking 5--but just don't want to drive 10 hours in one day and just want to break it up and relax in between...

The first NICE hotel somewhere in between (and, trust me, along I-5, "nice" is stretch) would be Harris Ranch Inn in Coalinga...

http://harrisranch.com/stay.php

Great restaurtants (assuming you are not a vegetarian)...Biggest problem I have with the area is the odor...

Problem is that it is, for you, less than "half-way"...Only about 200 miles out of San Francisco, still a little over 300 left to drive to San Diego...

Aside from and after that, for a NICE hotel, you would have to veer off the I-5 over to the 99...to Bakersfield...

Everything else on the I-5 is like a Motel 6 or worse...

Bakersfield has a few nice hotels:

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/bflmc-bakersfield-marriott-at-the-convention-center/

http://doubletree3.hilton.com/en/hotels/california/doubletree-by-hilton-hotel-bakersfield-RLBK-DT/index.html

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/fourpoints/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=822

...and lots of other chain hotels of various sorts...

This would put you a little more than half-way...

The 101 is very long and windy. It's a little exhausting, but it is gorgeous. Cambria is a beautiful seaside town and has lovely B&B's, look online. Big Sur, Hearst Castle, and of course L.A. all along the way. So many options!

Although the 101 is long, it is pretty straight. You may be thinking of hwy 1.

Need to take into account rush hour(s) in the L.A. area when deciding where to stop. Even if you assume 8 hours (which would be fast, IMHO, since it doesn't account for traffic, which can be heavy from L.A. south at any hour), that doesn't mean all of it will be at the same speed. The first part, once you leave the Bay Area, will be fast. The last part, from the north part of L.A. south, will be slower even if not during rush hour.

If you really want to take I-5 and do it in two days, somewhere north of L.A. may make sense. Buttonwillow, Kettleman City, even Gorman.

One crazy idea, more miles but avoiding most L.A. traffic, an important consideration if this is not on a weekend: First day to around Buttonwillow or Kettleman City or, Lebec, or poissibly as far as Gorman (you'll see several hotels/motels along the way) for overnight, then Hwy. 138 to I-15 and south to SD. More miles than I-5 but less urban driving, largely bypassing most of the L.A. area. Fewer possibilities of big traffic jams, though fewer doesn't mean none. If at least the second day is on a weekend, I'd stick to I-5 unless you want a somewhat more scenic detour.

If you're a devoted carnivore you may want to stop for a meal at the Harris Ranch restaurant near Coalinga the first day. A few miles past the huge cattle stockyards next to I-5 (you may smell it before you see it). The hotel at Harris Ranch looks nice enough (not cheap), but you may want to stay further south.

If I was taking the 5, I'd stop at Harris Ranch, even though it is less than halfway, it is great and worth it. Do plan your day so you are not sitting the LA area at rush hour. Also if I was taking the 5 Freeway, as I was coming down the Grapevine in the LA Basin, I'd take the 210 Freeway East to the 15 Freeway South. That skirts you around the worst of LA traffic. It is longer by maybe 20 miles, but potentially an hour or two faster depending on traffic.

Play with the map below and you can even check traffic patterns, both real time at average at various times of day.

http: //goo. gl/maps/9iwz

However, after all that, I'd take the 101 from SF to LA and then the 405 to the 5 to get to San Diego. It is potentially an hour longer than the 5, but you can not imagine how mind numbingly boring the 5 is. I's stop at SLO at the Apple Farm or Madonna Inn.

See that route here.

http: //goo. gl /maps/4eOK

Which ever route you take, avoid the 5 Freeway once you get to LA proper, coming out of the Grapevine area, choose the 405 Freeway.

EDIT: CC doesn't like my Google Maps links so take out the spaces and paste in your browser.

If I was taking the 5, I'd stop at Harris Ranch, even though it is less than halfway, it is great and worth it. Do plan your day so you are not sitting the LA area at rush hour. Also if I was taking the 5 Freeway, as I was coming down the Grapevine in the LA Basin, I'd take the 210 Freeway East to the 15 Freeway South. That skirts you around the worst of LA traffic. It is longer by maybe 20 miles, but potentially an hour or two faster depending on traffic.

 

Play with the map below and you can even check traffic patterns, both real time at average at various times of day.

 

http: //goo. gl/maps/9iwz

 

However, after all that, I'd take the 101 from SF to LA and then the 405 to the 5 to get to San Diego. It is potentially an hour longer than the 5, but you can not imagine how mind numbingly boring the 5 is. I's stop at SLO at the Apple Farm or Madonna Inn.

 

See that route here.

 

http: //goo. gl /maps/4eOK

 

Which ever route you take, avoid the 5 Freeway once you get to LA proper, coming out of the Grapevine area, choose the 405 Freeway.

 

EDIT: CC doesn't like my Google Maps links so take out the spaces and paste in your browser.

FYI--the 210east is horribly backed up starting around around 2pm til 7pm on weekdays.

FYI--the 210east is horribly backed up starting around around 2pm til 7pm on weekdays.

It can be really busy in parts, but it has car pool lanes and is still better than the 5 all the way through LA and Orange counties which would be worse between 2PM to 7PM for a longer time.

We are staying at Best Western at the Buttonwillow Exit. The rest of the hotels are marginal at best, but this one is ok.

OregonDuck, Instead of staying in Buttonwillow try driving 87 miles farther south to Valencia and stay by Magic Mountain. It's alot nicer area. You can get off the I-5 at Magic Mountain Parkway or Pico Canyon/LyonsAve exits, there are nice hotels right off the freeway.

It can be really busy in parts, but it has car pool lanes and is still better than the 5 all the way through LA and Orange counties which would be worse between 2PM to 7PM for a longer time.

NO freeway is good onbound in the morning and outbound in the afternoon in the greater LA area.

The 210 has gotten much much worse since it has been completed. Even the carpool lane crawls, many times it is slower than the slow lane.

I would recommend San Luis Obispo anytime. We almost always stop there when traveling between SF and LA (where we live). Dinner is always at The Big Sky. Great town, with plenty of motels just off the freeway. Lots of night life because of the university.

http://www.bigskycafe.com/

We love, when we have time, to stop in Nipomo at Jocko's for dinner and then stay in that area. You can go over to the coast to Pismo, a funky beach town with a wide variety of lodging options.

Jocko's is OLD school steak house. The have HUGE wood charcoal grills and do the steaks outdoors. They are all about the meat. Plan on the steaks and a loaded baker. The rest of the food is really dated. The place is really dated. The waitresses are really dated ; -)

Go early, reservations are a good idea, but go early anyway, have a drink while you wait, chat up your waitress and she will warm up to you. Dig into the beautiful hunk o'meat on your plate and take the leftovers to have as a picnic the next day.

Leaves Harris Ranch's in the dust.

And 101 is a nicer drive.