While I agree with Mark in that I, too, would probably take two days for the drive you have envisioned if it were my first time seeing the coast road, and it is true that as a matter of course the 'regulars' here recommend two solid days for the drive from San Francisco to Los Angeles following the PCH, neither of those exactly fits your situation. And then of course we don't know your travel style. So let's lay out the logistics and let you decide.

In your favor (for a shorter drive) you don't have to clear San Francisco or get into Los Angeles, so those are two major traffic headaches and time sinks that you don't have to worry about. If, in addition, you'll have already seen the sights around Monterey before setting off on this segment of your trip, including 17-Mile Drive, Point Lobos, and Garrapata State Beach, then you might want to consider making it a one-day drive to Santa Barbara.

The driving itself would take about five hours. Making a few beach stops on the way including, say, Julia Pfeiffer Burns Sate Park, Limekiln State Park, and a sea lion rookery or two would add another two or three hours. Toss in a couple of hours for one of the shorter (but still quite informative) tours of San Simeon and an hour for lunch and you're looking at a 10-12 hour day. But that's a fairly well paced day with a good mix of hiking, driving, sight-seeing, and relaxing. With a reasonable start, say 9:00 AM after a good breakfast, you'd still arrive in Santa Barbara at a reasonable time in the evening, say around 8:00 PM.

In the end, the choice is yours.

AZBuck