Route 1 - PCH trip help

[tefrench]

We are going to be flying into San Francisco, spending the night, then taking the next two days to travel Route 1 to Anaheim. What are some things/hotels/places to eat you would recommend? We have two teenagers and probably don't want to stray too far away from the main road. I did travel it myself, many years ago as a teenager, and am greatly looking forward to being back. Thanks for your help!

 

[GrandBob]

Starting south from SF (and there are too many things to list for SF itself, but search previous threads), you can hit:

http://beachboardwalk.com/ Santa Cruz beach boardwalk would be a big hit with teenagers

Monterey/Carmel/Pebble Beach, including 17 Mile Drive, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Cannery Row, Pacific Grove, Asilomar, etc, etc.

Just south of Carmel, Point Lobos state park is a real gem -- beautiful views, great hiking.

About 20 miles south of there is where the Big Sur coast really begins. Mostly, you'll want to ooh and aah at the scenery, and stop at a lot of turnouts. But for lunch/dinner, I can recommend Nepenthe's. Definitely pricey, but worth it for the views alone. For a less pricey meal, you can get take-out at the general store in the town of Big Sur, or for something in between, a sit-down lunch at Big Sur Inn.

Lots of places to see along the Big Sur coast. Then, just as the coast scenery is winding down, you'll run into Hearst Castle. It's an amazing site, but if you want to see it, you'll have to book tickets in advance. Preferably at least a couple of weeks in advance. And if you're short on time, know that it will take several hours.

South of there, you'll run into San Luis Obispo and Pismo Beach, Solvang (cute little Swedish tourist town), Santa Barbara, and Ventura. After that, PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) starts. Note that north of there is NOT called PCH, it's Highway 1 (officially Cabrillo Highway). PCH is beautiful through Malibu, though not nearly as breathtaking as Highway 1 through Big Sur. After Malibu, you get into LA.

Hope that helps,
Bob

 

[tefrench]

Thank you so much, Bob! I appreciate your info!

 

[Stacy's a freak]

We did the opposite of this last summer and did a very similar route (in reverse). There was much fog on the coast in July due to the warm temps more inland which made the lower half not so fantastic for viewing. But we loved the Monterrey/Pebble Beach part and would do that again if we were up there. Solvang wasn't all that exciting for us - but that's just us. We wanted more coastal views and less cutesie town views.

 

[rangermom]

I'm thinking of doing this with the kids this spring break but south to north. We have always wanted to do this. Great tips!

 

[bwang123]

We are doing the reverse in 2 1/2 weeks. Looking forward to it.

 

[PrincessBelle39]

We are looking at doing this in the same direction in June/July. I'm having trouble allocating time for the trip. We only have the two days/two nights. We are limited for time and need to arrive in Los Angeles the following morning as we only have two nights there too before heading to Anaheim. So wherever we stay on our last night, we need to be able to arrive in Los Angeles by 10ish the next morning. I can see us spending a bit of time in Monterey which is going to eat up a big part of our first day. We also want to be able to stop at the beach etc. I don't want it planned to the minute but need to be mindful so that we can maximise our time.

 

[only1mouse]

We are looking at doing this in the same direction in June/July. I'm having trouble allocating time for the trip. We only have the two days/two nights. We are limited for time and need to arrive in Los Angeles the following morning as we only have two nights there too before heading to Anaheim. So wherever we stay on our last night, we need to be able to arrive in Los Angeles by 10ish the next morning. I can see us spending a bit of time in Monterey which is going to eat up a big part of our first day. We also want to be able to stop at the beach etc. I don't want it planned to the minute but need to be mindful so that we can maximise our time.

Depending on the day will dependon how long it will take to get to LA. Mon - Fri this is an alternate route for commuters therefore it does get backed up in Santa Monica, the 10 and Lincoln Blvd. I lived in Camarillo (Just north of the north end of Malibu), and it's easily 2 hours using this route on a weekday and that is 50ish miles.

 

[PrincessBelle39]

Thanks for the info. Definitely something we need to take into account. We don't want to be sitting in traffic for hours when we have such limited time. It might be worth changing our itinerary around a little.

 

[bwang123]

We just finished this trip in opposite direction. We took almost 2 1/2 days on purpose because we wanted to stop at scenic spots and we ended up not really ever driving at night.

Kids loved the elephant seals near Hearst Castle
Pffier Beach was nice (especially at sunset)
We stayed in the Pismo Beach area and went to the beach
Santa Barbara was beautiful (we ate there and went on the pier)