The Pacific Coast Highway is one of the most legendary road trips in the world. The route hugs the California coastline and is renowned for it’s rugged coastal scenery, especially the dramatic stretch of coastline known as Big Sur.

A one month trip around the USA & Canada was the perfect time to finally take a road trip in the USA. I’d never been to California before, so driving the Pacific Coast Highway from San Francisco to Los Angeles fit the bill for a perfect summer road trip. We did the trip in two days, driving through Northern California on the first day and staying overnight in San Luis Obispo, and then driving through Southern California the next day on our way to Los Angeles. There is so much to see here, you could definitely add a night or two – I’d recommend staying in Big Sur and doing some hikes if time allows.

Related: The Most Beautiful Places in California to Visit

Itinerary: Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip

• Day 1 : San Francisco – San Luis Obispo (incl Monterey, 17 Mile Drive, Carmel, Big Sur & Natural Bridges State Park)
• Day 2: San Luis Obispo to Los Angeles (incl Santa Maria Valley, Solvang, Santa Barbara & Malibu)

We drove along the famous Big Sur coastline, stopped in small towns that ranged from quaint to quirky to obscenely wealthy, and stumbled across a beautiful wine region I’d never even heard of.

This road trip highlighted for me once again the regional diversity of the United States, which is one of the reasons I love travelling in the USA so much. There is so much to discover, it blows my mind every time I visit!

San Francisco

We’d spent three days in San Francisco, trying to spot the Golden Gate through the fog, admiring the Mission’s murals and also taking a day trip to the Napa Valley & Sonoma wine regions. On our final day, we left our hotel bright and early in the morning to start our road trip. I have to admit, I did start the day a bit grumpy, due to copping $100 in international card fees as we checked out of the Mystic Hotel, because they didn’t have proper EFTPOS facilities. Their USB card reader couldn’t read our travel cards, which we’d used everywhere else, so we had to pay using our Australian credit cards and wear the cost. The guy on the desk wasn’t apologetic at all, so we left on a sour note which was a shame.

When we got to Avis to collect our car rental, our fortunes reversed. When the lovely lady at the desk heard we were going on the Pacific Coast Highway, she offered us an upgrade from the standard sedan we’d booked to a convertible Mustang for just $30 extra a day – less than half price of the usual fee. She seriously made both of our days, and made the trip even more memorable – cruising down Highway 101 with the roof off (when we finally escaped the fog) is something I’ll never forget.

We were hoping to leave San Francisco’s fog behind once we left the Bay Area, but it clung to the coastline during the entire stretch of the Northern California, til we reached San Luis Obispo that night. We had planned to make our first stop in Santa Cruz, but as we approached we found that it was blanketed in thick fog, and due to an amusement park along the waterfront, parking was scarce. Neither of us are fans of amusement parks and the fog killed the atmosphere a bit, so we decided to keep moving.

Natural Bridges State Beach

Our first stop at Natural Bridges State Beach was brief. There’s a pretty view of the Natural Bridge from the car park, but the beach was blanketed in fog which made it very cold – not really swimming weather!

As you can see in the second photo, we were really soaking up all that California sunshine! Our stops got more fruitful from here on in.

Monterey

Our second stop was in Monterey, just under an hour from Natural Bridges. Monterey is a small seaside community once famous for it’s fishing industry, which was immortalised by John Steinbeck’s novel Cannery Row. The fishing industry collapsed in the 1950s from overfishing, and today it’s more famous for being the setting of the Reese Witherspoon’s HBO TV Series Big Little Lies (based on the book by Australian author, Liane Moriarty!).

There were still hints of a fishing industry at the pier, with a few fishermen working at the end of the jetty, as well as some hobbyist fishermen.

We parked the car on the jetty, and were stretching our legs when we heard the barks of a sea lion close by. There was a herd of seals on a big rock jutting out of the water just offshore, but this sounded much closer. We walked over to the edge of the jetty, and spotted a beautiful big sea lion sunning himself right below us on the pier. I love spotting wildlife in the wild, so we stopped for a while to watch the sea lion and another spotted seal play in the water.

Observing wildlife always reminds me how blissfully simple life can be, and that how simple or complicated my life is is a choice. Once I was finished taking life lessons from a sea lion, we hopped back in the car and hit the road again.

Side note: I’ve since started bingeing Big Little Lies and it’s so much fun recognising all the places we went around Monterey and the coast. I’m also comforted to know that they live in fog pretty much 24/7, and it wasn’t just some bad luck on our trip!

17 Mile Drive

Our next stop was technically still in Monterey. 17 Mile Drive is what it says on the box – a 17 mile road – which winds through an exclusive gated community at Pebble Beach. You have to pay an entry fee, which comes with a map with the best spots to stop. It was still overcast as we drove through, so the landscapes were pretty but I imagine the water would be stunning on a clear day.

Part of the attraction of 17 Mile Drive is gawking at the Pebble Beach mansions, but for the most part they’re surrounded by high fences – and besides, we’d already spent the day before hiking around Pacific Heights in San Francisco, where each house is more extravagant than the last.

Our first stop was at Spanish Bay Beach, named for the Spanish explorers who camped out here in 1769, when they were looking for Monterey.

Next up was Bird Rock, which is home to birds (surprise!), harbour seals and sea lions. We were there in July, but if you visited from November-March you can sometimes spot migrating grey whales pass by. I didn’t know that whale watching for grey whales was a thing, so now Grey Whale Watching is on my list if I’m back in California in the season. I actually do regret a little bit not forking out for the humpback whale watching tour in Vancouver, I think had we known about it in advance we would have purchased tickets for sure. I love whale watching!

My favourite stop in 17 Mile Drive was at the Lone Cypress, which has stood out on it’s rock for more than 250 years.

There is also a resort, golf course and an equestrian centre, none of which we stopped to see. There are lots of stops inside 17 Mile Drive, and how many you stop at really depends on how much time you have and what you’re interested in. Some of the stops, like the ghost tree and some of the Cyprus Groves, didn’t look that interesting so we didn’t stop – if you stopped at all of them you could probably spend 2-3 hours here, but I was keen to spend more time elsewhere.

Carmel By The Sea

I was expecting to be charmed by Carmel-by-the-sea, the fabled former artists colony turned holiday & retirement hot spot for Northern California’s elite. It’s famous for it’s one-term Hollywood mayor, Clint Eastwood, and it’s desire to stay small – measures like having no street lights, footpaths outside the downtown area and no house numbers are designed to keep the town more like a village than a city.

Naturally, in July the small town is overrun with tourists (hi!) and so finding a park within the town’s limits took nearly twenty minutes.

Carmel-by-the-sea is charming, but it’s a little bit twee – it was hard to tell whether this was genuinely quaint and just well preserved, or whether it was a little bit like a coastal Disneyland for rich retirees.

I imagine it would be a very relaxing place to spend a few days, and it’s probably drop dead gorgeous when there’s a lull in the crowds. I’d be really interested to hear from a local about whether Carmel feels like a resort these days or whether it still beats to the march of its own drum.

By this point in the trip, I was feeling a little bit guilty about how much money we’d wasted on eating out – I say wasted, because I never regret splurging on a fantastic meal, but there were so many times when we couldn’t find a grocery store or a healthy takeaway place, so we’d end up dining in at cafes and restaurants – with the bill to match. These desperate dining meals would usually be pretty forgettable, so it would feel like a waste of money. Three weeks of an unfavourable exchange rate and added tax and tips were really adding up, and as we didn’t have time to linger over lunch, we weren’t keen to spend a bomb.

If we had time for a long lunch I would have 100% gone to La Bicyclette, but instead we went to Mulligans Public House for a quick bite. I kind of love American sports bars, dive bars, etc as long as the glasses are clean and there’s something I’ll eat on the menu (hello tater tots my favourite food group!), so an American Irish pub was a fun place to get a hearty meal before hitting the road again. The service was really friendly, which was refreshing after a few weeks in New York and it seemed like a community haunt, with locals breezing in and out to chat to staff. I tried my first Beyond Burger – a vegan burger pattie that is the closest thing on the market to tasting like the real deal.

I’m not vegan, but I have been eating pescatarian for the past year (except for when I had to try and In & Out Burger in San Francisco and paid for it dearly in crippling stomach cramps). Juicy beef burgers loaded up with pickles are the only thing I miss. It’s not the same, but it’s pretty close. Before we left, we stocked up on some essential snacks at Carmel Bakery.

Big Sur

Big Sur rugged section of the Northern California coastline, which is regarded as one of the most scenic undeveloped stretches of coast in the United States. Big Sur is the major drawcard for driving the Pacific Coast Highway, but apart from the famous Bixby Bridge I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I was delighted to find that there is SO much more to Big Sur than one scenic bridge, and that we found ourselves stopping nearly constantly at the lookouts along the road, to take in new beautiful views around every corner.

Due to rain and landslides, much of the road has been closed for the past 18 months, but we were really lucky that the road re-opened not long before our trip! While it wasn’t great weather for hiking, we were able to admire the beautiful Saint Lucia Mountains along the way and find plenty of lookouts along the road, as well as stopping at the famous Bixby Bridge.

I’d read that it was easy to miss the Bixby Bridge, and that once you had driven past was very difficult to turn around (being a winding road along the edge of a cliff and all). We were so careful not to miss it, that was were a bit trigger-happy and pulled over early, at a lookout from which we could see a bridge. It wasn’t until after we’d spent ten minutes taking photos and admiring the view that we realised it wasn’t the Bixby Bridge – but it was a pretty spot!

We eventually made it to the real Bixby Bridge, which is scenic but there were so many other less famous spots we stopped at that I found even more beautiful.

If anything, the fog only added to the dramatic scenery. The coastline of Big Sur actually reminded me a lot of the Great Ocean Road, which is the most scenic drive in Australia. Since Big Sur was very foggy (and mostly very cold) while we were there, we put our hiking aspirations on the back burner (probably not a bad idea, since these too, were half-baked plans). I’d love to go back to Big Sur and stay overnight, do some hikes and also explore more of the wine regions in the area, like Pasa Robles, Santa Ines, Mendocino and more of the Santa Maria Valley.

Morro Bay

We took one final rest stop in Morro Bay, a small seaside town which is reported to have a beautiful sunset over the water. Since Morro Bay was blanketed in fog, we couldn’t see the sunset so we stopped in at a sports bar called Legend’s. The bartender kindly gave David his Sprite on the house, when he realised we were on a rest stop from driving down the coast.

San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo is a college town, so finding cheap accommodation was relatively easy. We didn’t make much time for SLO, as locals call it, and we took advantage of the free breakfast at our motel, the Lexington Inn, so we didn’t try any eateries in the area. Our room was easily the biggest we’d had on our entire trip, and it was simple but comfortable. After eating out 24/7 for nearly a month, the free breakfast was very appreciated!

On the morning we left, we did a few laps around the downtown area before heading off. San Luis Obispo has that charming small town feeling, with quiet, wide streets, heritage buildings and, on a weekday morning, the gentle hum of everyday life.

As an architecture nerd, I particularly loved the pastel pink Fremont movie theatre, which was built in 1942 and opened on the eve of the US entry into World War II. The theatre is built in a streamline moderne style, which is a late form of art deco architecture from the 1930s & 40s. I love vintage theatres – they really capture the excitement and magic of early cinema. The extravagant architecture of original movie theatres reminds me a bit of the way people used to design churches and cathedrals – read into that what you will.

One of my favourite finds in San Luis Obispo was a blackboard in the downtown area, full of people’s hopes and dreams. I loved reading other people’s dreams, some where cute, some were inspiring, some made me laugh and some were sad. Can you spot mine?

Santa Maria Valley

We peeled away from the coast after leaving San Luis Obispo and headed inland towards Solvang. On the way, I realised we were passing through Santa Maria Valley, a Californian wine region I’d never heard of before this trip. I love visiting wineries, so we made a stop at Presqu’ile Winery, a beautiful family-owned winery that is regarded as one of the best in the area. The tasting room is beautiful, and has gorgeous views over their vineyard – I wish we could have stayed for lunch!  Presqu’ile Winery  was my favourite of our trip – sorry Napa!

I really enjoyed our tasting, but once again was disappointed that they don’t ship internationally. Australia has a very strong wine industry, so it’s not often that I see many American wines at bars or restaurants back home. I’d love to taste my way around more American wine regions on my next trip.

Solvang

On a map of California, where the cities and towns are named after Spanish people & places, Solvang stands out like a sore thumb.

Danes left Denmark in droves between 1890-1920, escaping poor economic conditions and mostly settling in America’s Midwest. In a bid to escape the Midwest’s brutal winters, in 1911 a group of enterprising Danes founded the colony of Solvang in Southern California. I feel that!

It feels like a Disney-fied version of Denmark. The original buildings were built in the popular American and Mexican styles at the time, but it wasn’t till the 1940s when people became interested in seeing a Danish style village, that the buildings were remodelled in “Danish Provincial” style, and the first of the tiny town’s four decorative windmills were built. Solvang reminded me a little bit of the buildings in Montville, in Australia in the mountains inland from Noosa, and also of a town I’d like to visit in South Australia called Hahndorf, that proudly celebrates its German heritage, but on a grander scale. I loved photographing the quaint architecture here, even if it wasn’t strictly authentic.

Other nods to Denmark include a bust of Hans Christian Anderson and a replica of Copenhagen’s Little Mermaid statue, numerous bakeries and other shops named after lots of “-sens” – Mortensen’s, Olsen’s, etc. True to America’s melting pot history, the Little Mermaid Restaurant served dishes like mole poblano over fried chicken drumsticks. Only in America!

Situated in the Santa Ynez Valley, one of California’s many wine regions, Solvang is also full of wine tasting rooms. I would have loved to stop in for a wine tasting, but we’d already done one that morning, so David wouldn’t have been able to do a second wine tasting and drive. Watching someone else do a wine tasting is NO fun, so I didn’t suggest going to any of the tasting rooms. I love touring wine regions and trying local wines, and now that I know that there is so much more to California’s wine regions than the Napa Valley & Sonoma, I’m dying to do more wine tours around here! I started researching SoCal wine regions, once I knew they were a thing, and the movie Sideways keeps popping up – one I will definitely have to check out so I can do some armchair travel until I get back to do the real thing.

Neither of us can resist a good bakery, so we dropped into Olsen’s Bakery to try their Danish-style pastries. While pastries aren’t a regular feature of my diet at home, I love scoping out local bakeries almost as much as I do local wineries when I travel. Olsen’s Bakery is owned by a third-generation Danish Master Baker, I was impressed by the range of pastry shapes and designs, but I wish I’d asked for our pastries to be warmed up before serving.

Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara is stunning, with white Mission revival architecture, iconic Californian palm trees and a long, wide stretch of sandy beach hugging the downtown waterfront, all set against a backdrop of the Santa Ynez mountains. Bigger and more polished than a beach town, Santa Barbara is the American Riviera.

By the time we reached Santa Barbara, we were very hungry for lunch and also well behind schedule. In hindsight, I wish we’d stopped even more briefly in Solvang so we could have spent more time wandering around beautiful Santa Barbara, and waited to have lunch in Malibu.

We ate at Fish House, which was so-so. We didn’t have much time to linger sadly, because the day had got away from us a bit and we were dropping our car back at 5pm, which is when Avis closes for the day.

I’m glad we stopped briefly in Santa Barbara, and if I was to return to Southern California, I’d love to base myself here or in Malibu.

Malibu

Malibu was our final stop of our Pacific Coast Highway road trip, before we reached Los Angeles in the evening. Less than an hour from LA, Malibu is famous for being home to the rich and famous, and for it’s many great surf beaches. On our way to Malibu, we drove past the famous biker hangout, Neptune’s Net seafood shack, but sadly, we only need one lunch per day, so didn’t really have a reason to stop and go inside.

The Pacific Coast Highway cuts right through Malibu, keeping the beachfront busy with traffic and making finding a car park a nightmare. We cheekily parked in a spot you weren’t supposed to for fifteen minutes or so, while we stretched our legs and walked down to the Malibu Pier. The water here is the clearest that I saw anywhere along the Pacific Coast Highway, and I wish we’d had enough time to go for a swim – and a car park we wouldn’t get towed from!

As I mentioned earlier, I’d recommend waiting for lunch until you get to Malibu so you can eat overlooking the water Malibu Farm Café, a gorgeous restaurant perched on the pier with a menu full of fresh, veggie-led dishes. Eating lunch or dinner over the water here is high on my priority list next time I’m in Los Angeles!

Los Angeles

We were cutting it very fine, to get our rental car back on time, but what sort of road trip would it be if you were finished early?! There was so much to see on our last day, we practically had to drag ourselves to Los Angeles.

David and I have our navigator-driver relationship down pat, especially after two days of road-tripping, but the mean streets of LA still tested us. There were a few wrong turns, but we got to Avis in the nick of time and returned our car drama-free. Our final stop for the day was our hotel, The Standard in West Hollywood. My first visit to the city of stars was both exactly what I imagined and yet full of surprises.

Road-tripping the Pacific Coast Highway was an incredible introduction to California, especially with three days in San Francisco and Los Angeles tacked on to either side. I’m completely smitten with America’s golden state! There is so much more of California I’d love to explore, like Palm Springs, Joshua Tree National Park and hikes in the Bay Area’s redwood forests and in Big Sur, as well as a handful of wine regions. It’s safe to say, I’ll be back for more!

Have you driven the Pacific Coast Highway? What’s the best road trip you’ve ever been on?

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