The Pacific Coast Highway is California’s most popular road trip, and possibly the most popular road trip in the United States. Highway 1 stretches the entire length of the west coast of America. It winds its way through major cities, along beautiful beaches, through eerie forests and more. Pack you car and get going on your very own Pacific Coast Highway road trip with this 12 day itinerary. Keep reading for all the information you need to plan your own road trip.
Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip Itinerary
Highway 1 stretches from Los Angeles to a few hours north of San Fransisco. From here it becomes Highway 101 until it reaches the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state. There also is a small stretch of Interstate 5 along the coast from San Diego to Los Angeles. So for the sake of continuity, we’re calling all of these roads the Pacific Coast Highway: from San Diego to the Oregon border. Portions of these roads are designated state scenic byways and some are even National scenic byways.
This itinerary stretches along this Pacific Coast Highway from San Diego to the Oregon border. We started in San Diego because that’s where we started. But you could complete this itinerary in reverse or you could complete only a chunk of it. However, many people do recommend driving in the southbound direction so you are on the side of the ocean for better views and easier pullouts. But I’m scared of falling off cliffs so I prefer the northbound direction. You choose – the world is your oyster – and there are plenty of oysters to eat along this road trip 😉
Where To Stay
For each night, we suggest a location to stay in. California has a large tourism industry, but also a large number of tourists. So we recommend making reservations for each night. For camping, most reservations in public campgrounds open up, and fill up, about 6 months in advance. For boutique hotels, about one month out is suggested for reservations.
Day 1 & 2 – San Diego
San Diego is one of my absolute favorite cities. Spend two days exploring this active city by the ocean. While it is one of the biggest cities in America, it doesn’t feel like it. It feels like a chill seaside town.
The San Diego Zoo is a popular destination, and we think it is worth a stop. We spent an entire morning at the zoo and we think you should definitely set aside time for a stop.
Stay two nights in San Diego.
Day 3 – Orange County Beaches
Spend the day driving to Los Angeles and stopping at the plethora of beaches along the way. Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, and Long Beach are some of the best stops. Additionally, each of these towns has a bustling beachside district of shops and restaurants catering to the the road trippers and weekend beach goers.
If beach laying and swimming isn’t your idea of fun. Consider getting out on the water with a kayak or paddle board. Rentals are easily found in this area.
Continue driving on to Los Angeles so you can stay three nights in Los Angeles.
Day 4 & 5 – Los Angeles
Spend two days exploring the hopping city of angels. Los Angeles is a popular international tourist destination with plenty to do. We spent our first day here doing a hop-on-hop-off bus tour to get to explore the more touristy parts of the city, like the Hollywood stars.
Another popular stop, and one along the Pacific Coast Highway is Venice Beach. While this is a beach, it’s a better people watching destination.
Where ever you decide to go in Los Angels, make sure you plan you stops. Traffic in L.A. is brutal and the town is sprawling. So having a plan ahead of time of what areas you plan on visiting will help minimize your time spent waiting in traffic. Also, don’t worry about sticking to Highway 1 as you travel through Los Angeles – this stretch is NOT scenic.
Day 6 – The Santas, Barbara and Monica
I’m calling this the day of the Santas.
First, start your day in Santa Monica. The Santa Monica Pier is a famous tourist attraction. And it definitely is touristy but the fresh seafood and fun of the pier/beach/people watching is still worth a stop.
Next, drive along the Santa Monica mountains to Malibu. This is one of the prettiest stretches of the Pacific Coast Highway and also one of the busiest. The traffic here is notoriously bad. There are a few public beaches that you can stop at but a majority of this drive is purely scenic in nature. If you do stop, most of the beaches aren’t for swimming. Instead you walk along them looking at all the beautiful multimillion dollar mansions on the shore. If you’re a fan of Zillow stalking, like we are, you’ll enjoy this portion of the drive.
The next stop you’ll get to is Santa Barbara, the second Santa of the day. Santa Barbara is a charming town along the coast. There is plenty of history and “tourist charm” here. It is another very popular stop but the town is cute, classy and fun.
Stay overnight in Santa Barbara.
Optional extra day:
If you’re looking to extend your vacation, consider spending one extra day exploring the Santa Barbara area, which has plenty of wine tasting options. Consider adding on a bonus wine tour day to take a break from driving and do some drinking instead.
Day 7 – Big Sur
Big Sur is thought by many, including us, to be the most beautiful section of the Pacific Coast Highway. There are numerous State Parks and State Beaches along this section of the drive. Most of these are best for scenic viewpoints. However, there are a few hikes along this section of the drive that may be of interest to you as well. Make sure to stick around on a beach, any beach, to watch the sun set over the Pacific Coast.
While this section should only take 5 hours to drive, it will likely be one of your longest days. This is because you will be stopping every few minutes to pull off and see the sights. However, don’t let your day get away from you and be mindful of where you need to be at the end of the day.
A non-beach stop and recommendation for the day is the Hearst Castle. Basically, an over-the-top replica castle built by an eccentric rich dude. But if you love walking through homes you could never afford, like us, you’ll enjoy a tour of the house and grounds. Tours tend to book up in advance often so make sure to make your reservations ahead of time.
Stay overnight in Monterey. This area is the most limited area for overnight accommodations so make sure to book these far in advance.
Optional extra day:
Spending two days driving this section of the Pacific Coast Highway. It is considered by many to be the most beautiful stretch of the scenic road and there are plenty of viewpoints to stop at. If you have an extra day slip it up by staying overnight in San Luis Obispo. This extra time will give you the opportunity to explore more of the norther towns like Carmel-by-the-Sea and Pebble Beach.
Day 8 & 9 – San Francisco
Before leaving Monterey, consider visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium. This is a world class aquarium and definitely worth a stop, especially if you are road tripping with kids! Or if you just like fishies.
Next, drive to San Fransisco. Spend two days exploring San Francisco. Spend your first day taking a tour of the city. From hop-on-hop-off bus tours (can you tell we like those) to walking tours of neighborhoods to foodie tours (we also really like those), San Francisco has them all. We love starting our exploration of any city with a tour to give us a good overview. Then we can dive deeper into what piques our interest.
Whatever else you do in San Francisco, make sure to book your tour of Alcatraz ahead of time. The tour is an award winning tour that is so interesting. It was our favorite thing to do in San Francisco.
Stay two nights in San Fransisco.
Day 10 – Point Reyes and Muir Woods
Next, leave San Fransisco for two beautiful sections of wilderness. You also will get to drive over the Golden Gate Bridge as you leave San Fransisco so that is a fun experience!
First, stop in Muir Woods National Monument. You do need a timed ticket to visit Muir Woods because it is so busy. Make sure to purchase your ticket ahead of time as they often sell out. Explore the Redwoods here before heading to the coast. Don’t worry about spending too much time here, you’re continuing on to Redwood National Park so you’ll get even more trees later.
Next, stop at Point Reyes National Seashore. This peninsula is home to migratory birds, sea lions, seals and coastal vegetation. It is the perfect first visit to a northern beach! This is a detour off of the Pacific Coast Highway that takes several hours. But the stunning views and variety of stops makes this worth the extra time.
Continue driving a bit farther north a stay one night in one of the seaside towns. We stayed in Bodega Bay which was a really charming town.
Day 11 – Coastal Driving
This day will be mostly filled with driving. But we can’t really complain because it’s beautiful shoreline driving where you’ll be greeted by one rocky beach after another. Time on this day really got away from us. Make sure to keep in mind how long your drive is and limit your stops accordingly.
You will eventually have to make your way inland as The Pacific Coast Highway juts inland to connect with Highway 101. Next, you’ll drive through Humboldt Redwoods State Park. Make sure to stop and explore the Avenue of the Giants, the most scenic redwoods drive, in our opinion.
Continue on to Eureka and stay overnight.
Day 12 – Redwood National Park
Explore the giant coastal redwoods in their full glory in Redwood National Park. By this time in our Pacific Coast Highway road trip, we were oceaned out. So we were so happy to trade the windswept coast for the dense coastal forest. Spend your day taking small hikes through the forest to see giant after towering giant.
As you exit the numerous parks that make up Redwood National Park, you’ll find yourself at the Oregon border. From here, you can continue following the Pacific Coast Highway north or make your way home. Eureka has a domestic airport with connecting flights to larger airports.
Want To Adjust The Itinerary?
Many Pacific Coast road trip itineraries only extend from San Fransisco south to San Diego. However, we think the northern portion of California is just as beautiful. Our Pacific Coast Highway road trip starts in San Diego and extends to the Oregon border. You can do it all or you can pick a portion to complete. It is also worth noting that we like to pack lots into each day and this itinerary is no exception. We love seeing all that there is to offer in an area and save the sleep for when we come back from vacation. So if you are a busy traveler like us, you’ll like this. However, if you like slower paced travel, you should add extra days in to slow the pace. Enjoy the open road!
While we’ve added suggested extra days into the itinerary, this Pacific Coast Highway itinerary can also be shortened. We’ve included two days in each of the larger cities so you can adequately explore the city. However, if you aren’t interested, you can just spend one day in each city, bringing this trip down to a 9 day Pacific Coast road trip. If you have even less time than that, I would suggest choosing only a portion of the drive. The Los Angeles to San Fransisco stretch of this road is considered to be the most beautiful, and we can agree. So make sure that is in your itinerary if nothing else is.
When To Visit?
The best time to drive the northern California section of the Pacific Coast Highway is in the late summer and early fall, from August-October. This time of year offers the warmest weather and the clearest weather. As you’ll be driving along the coast, you want the beautiful expansive coastal views and fog can be a problem in northern California. August-October is the clearest time of year. However, this is also wildfire season which can be a problem as they pop up unexpectedly and can be disastrous.
Early summer can also be a great time to visit the California coast as it is wildflower season. This is when we last went and there were a surprisingly large number of wildflower enthusiasts out and about spotting flowers. Early summer is also when you’ll see lots of amazing sea life like seals, sea lions and migrating whales. We think that this is the best time of year to go.
And then of course, the southern portion of this road trip is popular in the winter months when the rest of America is experiencing colder weather and people are looking for a warm weather escape. The San Fransisco to San Diego portion of this trip can be great in the winter and early spring.
Getting There And Around
You will need a car for this road trip, ya know for the road bit. However, all of this road is well maintained and paved so you don’t need any particularly fancy vehicle. Additionally, you will want to make sure to get a one way vehicle rental. You will not want to drive all the way back to your starting point when you’re done so get a rental that you can pick up at the start of your drive and drop off at the end.
We rented our car in San Diego, drove north on the Pacific Coast Scenic Byway and then looped inland and drove the Volcanic Legacy scenic parkway before dropping the car off in Sacramento.
What To Pack
Coastal California is so much colder than you may expect. With the cool ocean breezes, you’ll want to make sure you pack layers, especially for the cool morning. Rain is also pretty common throughout the day in Northern California so make sure to pack a rain jacket.
Also, make sure you pack plenty of clothes suited for outdoor activities, like hiking. While you will spend some time in cities, you will find more casual active wear useful for most days. And don’t forget comfortable walking shoes!
Lastly, we love spotting wildlife. And the best wildlife you’ll see on this road trip is the ocean and air creatures. Migratory birds here are really cool along with seaside creatures like whales, otters and seals. Binoculars are a great addition to this trip which will give you the advantage of getting to actually see them.
We hope this has help you to plan your own Pacific Coast Highway road trip. It really is one of the best road trips in the United States.
