Ultimate SF to LA Road Trip - Best Stops Along California's Pacific Coast Highway - My Ticklefeet (2024)

Last updated on December 23rd, 2023 at 02:02 pm

Named as one of the most scenic drives in America, California’s State Highway 1 or the Pacific Coast Highway road trip is well worth the hype. After years of dreaming about this drive from San Francisco to Los Angeles, I finally checked this off my bucket list. And in this itinerary blog post, I’ll share all the must-see places along Highway 1 from San Francisco to LA.

This trip can be easily reversed with the same stops on your LA to San Francisco drive. Either way, you must add this America’s most romantic road trip on your bucket list. I, however, did things differently. I chose to drive this stretch on a girls weekend getaway. My girlfriends and I started from Half Moon Bay near San Francisco ending at LA.

Also Read: How to Save Money When Visiting USA For the First Time

We not only experienced a variety of coastal landscapes but also explored several small towns, surfers paradise, wine countries, and delicious food as we drove south on Pacific Coast Highway. Perhaps next time when I drive this stretch with Gaurav, I’ll choose LA to San Francisco road trip.

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How Many Days for This Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip?

If you are looking for how far is San Francisco to LA, then the short answer is about 6 hours if you take the main Highway i.e. I5. But if you want to make this road trip epic then drive the entire stretch on Highway 1 which is along the coast. I would recommend giving yourselves at least 2-3 days for this stretch if you want to take a lot of stops. A weekend or a long weekend would be perfect for this drive. TIP: If you are driving from the north then fly into San Francisco or San Jose airports and fly out of LAX (or vice versa).

Don’t forget to check out the weather and the best time to visit Californiawhen planning this trip.

Car Rentals in California

We rented the car from San Jose and returned it at LAX since we flew in and out of those respective airports. You can find more information on cheap car rental resourceshere.

If you are looking for an alternative to car rentals, try renting a car from Turowhich is like Airbnb for cars.

Must see places on Pacific Coast Highway (Between San Francisco to LA)

Depending on how many places you stop at, your total duration may have to be adjusted so plan accordingly. Last spring was one of the most beautiful times to be on the road in California as it set a record year for wildflower blossoms. Wildflowers in California were even seen from space captured by satellites.

Below are the 12 gorgeous stops we made during our highway 1 roadtrip from San Francisco to LA.

1. Half Moon Bay

A quick stopover at Half Moon Bay to grab a coffee but there wasn’t much going on at the beach. Only other people there were surfers and campers. This definitely had to be surfers paradise in the North.

2. Monterey

I can never get enough of Monterey. Even though I have driven the 17-mile scenic drive thrice in the past, we drove through pebble beach again to revive memories. A must-see if this your first time in Monterey! Consider taking the Whale Watching tour if you stay overnight here.

3. Carmel By The Sea

We spent our first night in Carmel by the Sea as this was a town I hadn’t explored much. Carmel has a bunch of cute restaurants in the main town center. After an evening stroll and popping into a few restaurants, we finally dined at the one that took us in without reservations. Food was great and wine was even better. For all my pet loving friends, here is a dog-friendly guide to Carmel you must check out.

Accommodation (End of Day 1)

We ended up staying the first night at Hofsas House Hotel in the beautiful little tourist town of Carmel by the Sea. Another perfect stop for the first night on this road trip would be Monterey.

4. Bixby Bridge & Big Sur

Next morning ideally we should’ve been driving down south to Big Sur. I had dreamt of seeing the postcard views of Big Sur for many years. But unfortunately, we could only drive till Bixby Bridge as the main highway passing Big Sur had been closed due to landslides. We missed out on McWay Falls and Pfeiffer Beach.

This highway remained closed for the majority of last year as well as this year. But the good news is, the Big Sur is open to the public again. Which means I must drag my husband on a romantic road trip to finally see my wish list, right? 😉 TIP: Mudslides are very common in this area so definitely check the conditions of the roads before you go.

It’s funny that the bridge right before Bixby i.e. Rocky Creek Bridge looks exactly like it i.e. if you are driving South. We stopped at Rocky bridge thinking it was Bixby and totally skipped stopping at the real one since there is no sign at Bixby. Google maps weren’t exactly helpful, good thing we were turning back anyway.

5. Morro Bay

As I mentioned above there were road closures in Big Sur for the majority of last year, we had no other option but to leave Highway 1 and jump on Highway 101 to bypass that stretch. We drove on I-101 up till Morro Bay where we joined Highway 1 again.

I highly recommend stopping here to get a glimpse of this volcanic Morro Rock that gives this town its name. TIP: Sunset is a beautiful time to photograph Morro Bay and Morro Rock.

Related Read: Arizona itinerary for a long weekend

6. San Luis Obispo

In order to fill the vacuum created by Big Sur in our Pacific Coast Highway 1 road trip, we decided to add two new stopovers – San Luis Obispo (SLO) and Solvang in Central California. More on Solvang later but SLO ended up being our choice of stay for the second night.

SLO is a big college town and if you want to see the nightlife head to Higuera Street. We had dinner at this restaurant with gorgeous open seating in the back called Novo Restaurant and Lounge. A popular attraction here seemed to be the Bubblegum Alley (right in front of Novo) and no, I wasn’t grossed out to stop by here.

If you are into such funky stuff then, by all means, leave your mark… I mean your gum on these walls. If not, then head to Mission San Luis Obispo, which is an 18^th century Spanish Mission. We went there the next morning. The gardens of the mission were neatly manicured and a baptism ceremony was going on inside the mission so we didn’t disturb them much.

Accommodation (End of Day 2)

For the second night we chose to stay at San Luis Obispo (SLO) after gauging how far along we’d reached by early afternoon. Since day 2 involves driving through the picturesque Big Sur and you might take plenty of stops, SLO will make for a perfect overnight stay. Morro Bay and Pismo Beachare other alternatives for accommodation on day 2 since they only 20 mins from SLO in either direction.

7. Pismo Beach

Driving further south on this Highway 1 road trip we stopped at Pismo Beach which was full of people enjoying their weekend. Pismo Beach was a stark contrast from the NorCal beaches, a laid-back and warmer version. TIP: Next to the beach are the sand dunes in Pismo, do check them out and perhaps jump on an ATV ride there.Who knew there will be a desert right next to a beach, only in California!

8. Solvang

Solvang was my favorite part of the trip. Especially because it was such an unplanned addition which turned out to be a gem. I had a faint idea of what this trip would look like but never expected to explore a Danish town on a California road trip. TIP: Highly recommend adding Solvang to your Pacific Coast Highway road trip itinerary. Getting to Solvang was an easy detour on Highway 1 as we drove south from Pismo Beach.

The town of Solvang is located in Santa Ynez Valley in Central California which is a famous wine country after Napa and Sonoma in the North. Solvang has a deep-rooted Danish lineage and nothing can explain this better than the food and drinks here. I am glad that we were starving because the Danish brunch we had that morning at Paula’s Pancake House was outstanding. Brunch was quickly followed by indulgence in Danish cookies as we all decided to pack some to take back home as a souvenir. Talking about priorities! And during my time in Solvang, I had momentarilyforgotten I was in America.

9. Santa Ynez Valley Vineyard

The town of Solvang may have several breweries and wine tasting rooms but we wanted to hit a vineyard in Santa Ynez Valley. Sunstone Vineyard came up closest in distance on our Google search and did not disappoint us.

If I was dreaming about Denmark in Solvang then at Sunstone Vineyards I was certainly transported to Italy. What a fabulous setting for this place. It goes without saying that weindulged in wine tasting, all but one who volunteered to be the designated driver from this point. Never drink and drive my friends!

10. Santa Barbara

Since we were already in Solvang, we had two ways to get to Santa Barbara i.e. either get back on Pacific Coast Highway or take highway 154 and cut through the mountains. To change things up a little we chose I-154 through the mountain stretch. This added some unplanned pitstops like below.

We had already been toSanta Barbara before so didn’t spend much time here. Grabbed a cup of coffee and walked around the streets for a few minutes before hitting the road again to catch the sunset in LA.

11. Point Sand Dune, PCH

The stretch of Highway 1 between Santa Barbara to LA is more commonly called PCH or Pacific Coast Highway amongst the locals. Driving on the PCH you will instantly notice the change in landscape from Northern California Coast to South. And I have to say last spring had a magical spell here. While normally the mountains in Southern California can be somewhat barren and brown, last spring they were covered completely in green. What a stunning transformation!

Have I mentioned some of the best sunsets in the world happen in Southern California? We were lucky enough to be at the right spot at the right time. TIP: Point Sand Dune is the perfect spot to see a sunset on Pacific Coast Highway. As the name suggests there is a small sand dune across the street from the beach which gives a higher vantage point.

12. Los Angeles

This ultimate San Francisco to LA road trip ended at Santa Monica beach witha nice dinner at Pier followed by checking out the nightlife in LA. For my gay friends, here’s a list of some of the best Hollywood gay bars to choose from.

A good portion of our next morning and last day in LA went in unwinding from a long drive at the Paradise Cove Beach Café in Malibu. We had earned this day to do nothing at all but to eat, drink and laze at the beach. Although it took a long time for us to get seated, I wouldn’t have gone anywhere else in LA.

All of us were scheduled to fly back to our respective homes later that evening. However, if you guys are spending more time then check out this Southern California weekend getaway ideas.

Where to stay on Pacific Coast Highway Drive?

If you are doing this drive between LA and San Francisco over a long weekend i.e. 3 days then here is what we recommend –

• Day 1: Carmel By the Sea (or Monterey)
• Day 2: San Luis Obispo (or Morro Bay)
• Day 3: Los Angeles

Here you go, these were our favorite pit-stops on Pacific Coast Highway road trip in California. Don’t forget to pack some basic road trip essentials with you.

Want more road trip ideas on the west coast?

• The Best Day Trips from Las Vegas
• The Perfect Oregon Road Trip Itinerary
• 13 Incredible US West Coast Road Trips That Should Be On Your Bucket List!
• Bucket List Arizona Road Trip

Have you driven this stretch before? I would love to hear where you stopped differently. If you haven’t, then this should give you inspiration for the next adventure.

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Happy Traveling!