California Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip
Some call it Highway 1, others the Pacific Coast Highway or PCH. No matter what you’re calling it, the route along the coast of California has long been a road tripper’s paradise.
It’s a journey filled with city, solitude, mountains, cliffs, and just about any kind of beach you can think of. People come from all around the country (even the world) to cruise the Pacific coast highway. The ultimate spirit journey, it can be completed in a day or over the course of a month, and anywhere between.
It’s perfect for families, spring breakers, motorcycle enthusiasts, solo travelers, and couples alike. I’ve made the journey multiple times, with countless adventures to areas along the way so I’ve put this guide together to help you navigate the ultimate southward Pacific Coast road trip.
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Why a road trip on the California Pacific Coast Highway Should be on your Bucket List
The Pacific Coast Highway (or PCH, or Highway 1) road trip takes you along the gorgeous golden coast of California. You’ll see major cities and deserted hidden gems, sandy shores and rocky cliffs, mountains and desert, wine country and party beaches – but the magic you’ll find on the road in between is what makes this the ultimate bucket list road trip.
How Long to Plan for the Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip
At an absolute minimum you’ll want to budget 2 days for the road trip with an overnight stay somewhere in the middle. GPS will tell you that you can make the trip in a day but you definitely don’t want to rush this one!
Better yet – budget a week or more for the trip so you can stop and enjoy things like a wine tour or beach day along the way.
Getting Started with a Pacific Coast Road Trip
Booking Flights
If you’re not from California, you’d likely be flying in. Because this journey is not typically completed in a loop (although that’s an intriguing option), you’ll likely need to book two separate one-way plane tickets rather than a round-trip. Because San Francisco is such an ideal place to fly into in Northern California, it’s the natural start for a southward Highway 1 road trip.
For your outbound flight, I recommend flying into SFO from your home as it’s a major hub for Northern California within San Francisco. As such, you can often find direct and reasonably priced flights. Oakland Airport (OAK) is another nearby option but less of a major hub so it doesn’t always have great flight times or prices.
As for your return flight, you’ll want to book from LAX in Los Angeles. As a major hub for the U.S. in general, you’re likely to find very affordable flights home from there.
Rental Car
Unless you already live in California, you’ll likely need to pick up some wheels before you start your Pacific Coast Highway road trip. Like most airports, you’ll find plenty of car rental options available for pick up in San Francisco. Keep in mind while booking that your drop-off location will be different than pick-up. This typically means ticking a separate box during booking and an additional charge because the rental facility is losing a car from their lot, but it’s usually not a huge price difference. For the best car rental deals, I recommend you start looking at prices early and compare. Rates are typically best in week increments as well.
If you’re willing to splurge just a bit and won’t have an enormous amount of luggage, I HIGHLY recommend upgrading to a convertible. I’ve made the PCH road trip in a standard car and in a convertible and can wholeheartedly confirm it’s worth the extra buck to get the convertible. Think all-day, panoramic, out-of-this-world ocean/mountain/cliff views plus the added simple joy of having a sweet ride for the week. Treat yo self!
Budget Tip: Consider skipping the car rental for your first few days!
Since the Pacific Coast journey begins in densely populated San Francisco, you could consider the option of waiting until the end of your adventures there to pick up the rental car. Particularly in the tourism-prone areas but true elsewhere, it can be difficult and expensive to park in San Francisco. Even if your hotel offers parking, it typically comes at a premium.
The great news is that many areas are extremely walk-friendly. For anywhere that’s not, public transportation and Uber/Lyft are readily available. Between the additional day rental costs, parking, gas, and stress, it is usually a savings to go sans-vehicle for the San Francisco part of your Highway 1 road trip (even if that means a long Uber ride from the airport).
The Pacific Coast Highway 1 Route
If you were to simply plug a Los Angeles destination into your GPS from San Francisco, the route would likely take you inland. This would effectively knock out the point of making your trek – a view of the coast. Because of this, you’ll want to navigate in steps and watch the recommended steps. The scenic route is not the fastest, so make sure you stay on the coast with Highway 1.
First stop: San Francisco Area
For your first stop of the California Pacific Coast road trip, I highly recommend heading slightly north to Tiburon to stay your first (or first few) nights for a few reasons:
- Tiburon is amazing, and you’ll thank me.
- You’ll get a mini-tour of San Francisco on your way from SFO, including a drive over Golden Gate Bridge, mountains, and your first view of the Pacific ocean
- Staying on main Street Tiburon gives you easy walk-abilty to restaurants and adorable shops, as well as the ferry to San Francisco.
- The ferry is clutch because -although you’ll have a car- I don’t recommend trying to drive around the touristy 1st day San Francisco stuff (no parking, impossible traffic, parking prices, etc.) Particularly Fisherman’s Wharf area there is little to no parking and in my experience it can be a headache even trying to take a cab/ Uber/ Lyft there.
Tiburon is a quiet little small town on the San Francisco Bay (although, “small town” is relative in California). I recommend staying at the boutique Waters Edge Hotel because of it’s location and amenities (free breakfast delivered to your room in the morning, deck overlooking the Bay, ferry is directly next to the hotel, free wine and cheese happy hour, free tea and cookies at 8).
But more than the practical notes, Waters Edge offers that California magic – you can watch both sunrise and sunset over the bay with sailboats coming in and out. There is a gorgeous walking path a few steps away that goes right along the Bay. It’s such a nice, lower key way to start the first part of your trip!
Day 2 in the San Francisco Area
If you decide to take me up on the Tiburon, CA stay, you’ll take the ferry to Fisherman’s Wharf the next morning. You can book tickets online prior. It’s a really nice alternative view of the Golden gate bridge and Alcatraz from the San Francisco Bay. It also gets you out of driving in the craziness, paying Golden Gate toll, finding and paying for parking, etc.
If you stay in San Francisco instead head toward Fisherman’s Wharf to start your second day of exploring.
From Fisherman’s Warf you’ll see the most well-known views of Golden Gate and Alcatraz. There are lots of shops, restaurants, and generally things to do/see within easy walking distance. From there you can also take a tour trip to Alcatraz if interested (or can do this via a ferry from Tiberon instead).
Other sites in San Francisco you may want to check out:
- Ghiradelli Square
- Chinatown
- Full House house (if you care or watched that show)
- Angel Island (if you want to do something outdoorsy or hiking related) – can take a ferry from Tiberon or SFO.
- Golden Gate Park – it’s large with lots of park “neighborhoods”. Within the park you’ll want to check out the Japanese Tea Garden area and Koret Playground & Carousel (there are enormous slides built into the San Fran hills)
Fun SFO fact: the fog in San Francisco has a name – Karl
Carmel-by-the-Sea
Moving on from San Fran area, you’ll head down Highway 1. Here and there you’ll start to get that coastal view. Your next overnight stay will be in the sunny, wine country town of Carmel-by-the-Sea.
Places you may want to stop for a quick look along the way in order of appearance:
- Grey Whale Cove State Beach – can often see whales from here
- Mavericks Beach at Half-Moon Bay- to watch some high-wave surfers
- Cowell Ranch Beach/ Cowell Ranch Beach Access – just pretty and has a cool stairway to climb down to the beach
- Shark-Fin Cove – cool rock formations
- Santa Cruz for lunch or dinner – recommend the Crow’s Nest. Great view of the water and sailboats so ask to sit outside. (note that Highway 1 goes inland around Santa Cruz here so you’ll have to navigate directly)
Carmel-by-the-Sea is a cute wine-country town to explore with lots of boutiques, candy shops, and really good restaurants. The beach is beautiful and there are some great hiking paths around.
While in Carmel be sure to drive through 17 Mile Drive. Bonus points if you time it for sunset!
Big Sur
This part of the Highways 1 road trip is a lot of just driving and enjoying the view, but you’ll want to budget a whole day to drive through this area. You’ll definitely want to stop – a lot.
While the view will lure you to pull off on the side of the road more than once, there are 3 official stops you have to make on this leg of the journey:
- Pfeiffer Beach – a beautiful, secluded beach that’s a little interesting to get to. It can be a little tricky to locate and GPS can get spotty if you miss the turn but it’s worth it! Set the GPS for ‘Pfeiffer Beach Parking’ before you leave Carmel. Be specific about this because there are some other sights in the area that use “Pfeiffer” in the name. You’ll look for Sycamore Canyon Road on your right off Highway 1/Cabrillo Hwy. Parking costs around $10 and admission is limited. It’s an interesting road down there, so be prepared to share the road… Again it’s all worth it!
- Hearst Castle – Castles in California? You bet! You can even take a tour through the castle if you like!
- Hearst San Simeon State Beach/ San Simeon State Beach – Thousands of sea lions gather on this beach! It’s really an amazing sight to see.
San Luis Obispo
While San Luis Obispo (aka “SLO”) is a cool city, I wouldn’t say there’s anything particularly amazing to see there. It just happens to be a really good spot to stop along the Pacific Coast Highway for the night because of location and timing in the journey. You’ll find plenty of great hotel or Airbnb options and restaurants near downtown SLO.
I’ve stayed with the same Airbnb host on two separate Pacific Coast Highway trips and highly recommend. Here’s a link to check it out this San Luis Obispo, CA Airbnb!
The LA Area Beaches
After leaving San Luis Obispo and continuing South, this part of the journey includes the most-known California beaches. The weather is typically much warmer here too – what you’d expect in a beach day.
Each beach has a unique vibe. In my road trips, I’ve always hit all these beaches in one day, but you could definitely stay a night or more at any one of them. Here are the beaches you can’t miss:
- Santa Barbara – You’ll navigate to Steams Wharf for boardwalk area. This is also a decent alternative if you don’t want to stay in San Luis Obispo.
- El Matador State Beach – a really beautiful cove beach with rock formations and a cool path to climb down.
- Malibu – For the rich & famous! The mountains make it a really beautiful view.
- Santa Monica – It’s a beach + theme park! This would be a good spot to stay the night if you want to break up this portion of the trip.
- Venice Beach – go for the boardwalk and famous skate park. Venice has a super beach-hippy/ grunge feel. Make a point to go to the skate park on the boardwalk to watch the skateboarders for a while. You’ll find there’s some “interesting” people watching on the Venice boardwalk as well.
Hermosa Beach
For the last leg of your Pacific Coast Road Trip, choose to stay in Hermosa Beach instead of the Hollywood neighborhood. It’s a cool beach town that’s not overly touristy and has a really nice boardwalk area with lots of restaurants. From there you can easily drive to see Hollywood the following day.
Hollywood
If you’re headed to Hollywood I’m sure you already have an idea of the stops you’ll want to make. It’s the classic movie biz mecca! Here are a few can’t-miss stops in Hollywood:
- Hollywood Walk of Fame
- Hollywood Boulevard
- Chinese Theatre
- Rodeo Drive
- Griffith Observatory
Looking to snap a pic of the Hollywood sign? Keep in mind that you can’t actually go up to the Hollywood sign (well, you technically can but it’s a little sketchy). For the best public view I recommend Griffith Observatory. You’ll see the Hollywood sign and even catch a pretty incredible view of Los Angeles.
The Pacific Coast Highway is truly one of my all-time favorite trips. I’d love to see your pictures! Tag me on Instagram @wherever.someday and let me know your favorite stop!
