A 10-day anniversary road trip down California’s Pacific Coast Highway delivers redwoods, “wow” moments, quirky beach towns and money-saving tips.
Highlights
- Drive north to south, take at least a week and build in time for spontaneous stops.
- Budget more than you think you’ll need; gas, parking and dinners add up quickly along the California coast.
- Travel in early fall for fewer crowds and better value.
The 1,650-mile PCH goes along the Pacific Ocean between Seattle and San Diego. We drove a 400-mile stretch, from San Francisco to Los Angeles, to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary.
You’d think 10 days would be enough to see and do everything, but it was not. Things like a winery tour, a whale watching trip and kayaking in the Channel Islands got axed from our itinerary because we ran out of time. But we still had time for spontaneous fun, like buying cheap, last-minute tickets to a 49ers game or dancing on an empty beach at sunset.
Based on our October 2025 road trip, here are activities I’d recommend on a Pacific Coast Highway roadtrip, plus do’s and don’ts to help you plan and save money.
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Best Things to See and Do on a Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip
- Sunsets at the beach every night.
- Bike through Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, and along the oceanfront bike paths in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara.
- Walk/hike through any redwood forest. Doesn’t have to be Muir Woods.
- Stop at the incredible, scenic overlooks near Big Sur.
- See a show at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles.
- Watch hundreds of massive elephant seals goof off on the beach in San Simeon.
- Visit the Academy Awards Museum in Los Angeles.
- Ride in a Waymo (driverless rideshare car) in San Fran or LA.
- Tour the opulent and interesting Hearst Castle.
- Peruse the massive Amoeba Music store in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood.
- Get cheap, last-minute tickets to a sporting event at one of the legendary stadiums in San Francisco or LA.
Pacific Coast Highway Do’s and Don’ts
DO drive north to south.
You’ll be on the ocean side of the road, making it easy to pull over at one (or many!) scenic roadside vista points.
DO save money with one-way flights.
We saved more than $100 per person by buying two one-way airfares (Chicago to San Francisco, then LA to Chicago) instead of a round-trip “multi-city” ticket.
DO budget conservatively.
California is expensive. During our trip, gas was $5.50/gallon. Going out to dinner — not even at fancy restaurants — was around $150 for the two of us (including tip). We had to pay to park just about everywhere. Leave room in the budget for these hidden expenses; they add up quickly.
DO pack wind/rain jackets.
The weather can change quickly, especially up north. Fog suddenly rolls in and a nice sunny day becomes chilly, foggy and drizzly. Plus, beaches can be very windy!
DON’T rush.
How many days do you need to drive the Pacific Coast Highway? I recommend taking at least a week to enjoy this stretch. If you’re a want-to-see-everything traveler like me, you’ll be tempted to make lots of half-day stops to pack it all in. Don’t. You’ll enjoy the trip more — and soak in the vibes of these great coastal towns — if you pick, say, 4 or 5 places and stay a night or two in each town.
DON’T expect to rent a convertible.
I pictured us driving the coast with the wind blowing through our hair, so I was crushed to learn no car rental companies offer one-way convertible rentals. Small luxury companies have rental cars like BMW convertibles, but the rates are $4,000+ a week.
DO go in early fall.
I believe the best time of year to drive the PCH is when the weather is still warm enough for the beach but the summer crowds have thinned out and hotel prices are a little more affordable.
DON’T hesitate to get on Highway 101 between San Simeon and Santa Barbara.
In this 3-hour stretch of the drive, the PCH moves inland through farmland. Stay on it long enough to see these active farms (plus little roadside stands selling fresh pistachios, artichokes and more). But you’ll save time, and won’t miss much, if you hop over to Highway 101 for most of this stretch.
Best Tips for the San Francisco Area
DO try a Waymo driverless car.
They’re everywhere in LA and San Fran! It’s a fun and futuristic experience. We hailed our car with the Waymo app, the door automatically opened, and we were nervous for the first 30 seconds. Then we marveled at the technology and decided it was safer than a human-driven rideshare.
SheBuysTravel Tip: Waymos are slightly more expensive than Ubers, but the experience is priceless.
DO walk through a redwood forest.
Less than an hour’s drive outside San Francisco are multiple forests of massive redwood trees. While Muir Woods is the most popular, it was closed during our visit because of the government shutdown. We ended up at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park and what a hidden gem! Magnificent redwoods, no crowds, friendly state park volunteers and it cost just $20 (versus $60 at Muir Woods).
SheBuysTravel Tip: If you must see Muir Woods, make reservations before you go. They’re required.
DO rent e-bikes.
San Francisco is a bike-friendly city. E-bike rentals and marked green bike lanes are everywhere. Just be ready for urban biking conditions and STEEP up and down hills. For a flat ride, we loved biking through Golden Gate Park. We stopped to watch/attempt swing dancing, went to the ocean, saw a waterfall, walked through a Japanese garden and more.
SheBuysTravel Tip: Save money by renting Lyft bikes across the street from the park, rather than from the vendors in front of the park.
DO visit Amoeba Music.
Just a few blocks from Golden Gate Park, we loved sifting through all the movie and music merch at Amoeba Music, the world’s largest independent record store. Afterward, we strolled along Haight Street and saw a few remnants of the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood’s hippie heyday, including stores that sell healing crystals, incense and Grateful Dead items.
DO ride a cable car – once.
San Francisco’s cable cars are novel, fun and a cheap way to get around. But in my experience, they rarely run on schedule and are always packed. Odds are, you won’t be dangling carefree from an exterior pole; you’re more likely to be squished in the enclosed middle of the car.
DON’T rent a car.
Driving and parking on San Francisco’s famously steep hills is difficult and parking (especially at hotels) is expensive. Rideshares, Waymos, trains and cable cars are easy to use and will save you money. You can even take a train from San Francisco Airport to Powell Street Station in Union Square, a central location with many hotels (we loved our Union Square hotel, Hotel Nikko).
Best Tips for Santa Cruz
DON’T spend more than a night here.
There’s not much to do in Santa Cruz other than the beach and the boardwalk (which has shops and an amusement park). But it’s worth a stop in this iconic town, famous for its surf and skate culture (unofficial motto: Keep Santa Cruz Weird).
DON’T expect the boardwalk to be open if it’s not summer.
Even though it’s their most popular tourist attraction and the weather was nice, it was closed during our midweek, mid-October visit.
Best Tips for Monterey, Carmel-By-The-Sea and Big Sur
DO stop at the vista points.
I can’t find the words to describe how beautiful this stretch of the PCH is. Photos don’t do it justice. The cliffs, the ocean, the mountains … I was saying “WOW!” out loud at every turn.
DO eat at this restaurant in Big Sur.
After driving across Big Sur’s iconic Bixby Bridge, we stopped for a lovely lunch at Nepenthe, which had gorgeous views, delicious food (they’re famous for their homemade pies) and a cute gift shop.
DON’T go to Carmel-By-The-Sea if you’re on a tight budget.
This city is beautiful and not touristy, but it’s bougie: mostly high-end designer shopping and expensive, fancy restaurants. The neighboring town of Monterey is more affordable.
DO go to these restaurants in Carmel-By-The Sea.
We loved our order-at-the-counter breakfast at the century-old Carmel Bakery, with delicious cinnamon rolls and breakfast sandwiches. And we were charmed by the Doris Day memorabilia in the historic Cypress Inn, which houses Terry’s Restaurant & Lounge, named for her music-producing son. Our lunch BLT sandwiches were $30 each, but they were delicious.
DO go to Carmel-By-The-Sea’s public beach for the sunset.
It’s uncrowded and filled with large driftwood logs you can sit on. Gorgeous.
Best Tips for San Simeon and Santa Barbara
DO dine and drink in Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone and along State Street.
Block after block of restaurants and bars — and they were all hoppin’!
DO bike along the Santa Barbara beach.
The oceanfront bike path is lined with tall palm trees. We parked our bikes and watched some competitive frisbee football, then ate ice cream and watched boats sail in and out of the harbor.
DO tour the Hearst Castle and, afterward, visit the elephant seals in San Simeon.
The magnificent hilltop castle has an interesting history (the iconic movie “Citizen Kane” is based on Hearst) and an enjoyable tour. At the base of the hill, and a short drive down the road, there’s an overlook area where you can watch hundreds of noisy, funny and massive elephant seals (some weigh 5,000 pounds!).
Best Tips for Los Angeles
DO bike along the ocean.
Ride past Santa Monica Pier, Venice Beach, Will Rogers State Historic Park and more … all in a flat, easy and beautiful bike ride.
SheBuysTravel Tip: Beware of the tricky stretch of bike path south of Venice Beach; the path veers onto car-filled roads.
DO eat at these LA restaurants.
I sat next to lime trees in a lovely outdoor garden while eating my fresh avocado toast at Superba Food + Bread in Hollywood. I also loved my massive acai bowl at Dialog in West Hollywood, a bakery/cafe that’s great for breakfast and lunch. In-N-Out Burger is a fast, cheap and tasty meal.
I encourage fellow fans of the reality show “Vanderpump Rules” to get a delicious sandwich at Something About Her and a refreshing Pump & Glory cocktail at TomTom (both owned by stars of the show). You can skip the SUR’s goat cheese balls and Pumptinis, which are “meh” and very overpriced.
DON’T stay at a hotel along the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
It’s fun to walk along the boulevard and see all the celebrity names, and the hotel prices are less expensive here. But the area is VERY touristy and kinda yucky. I wish we would have spent a little more money and stayed in a hotel in Beverly Hills.
DO visit the Academy Awards Museum.
We posed for photos at the desk where Marlon Brando sat in “The Godfather”; went to special exhibits about the movies “Jaws” and “Barbie”; and saw costumes, video clips and more.
SheBuysTravel Tip: Don’t leave without seeing a cool demonstration of how they did the animation for “Toy Story.”
DO see a show at The Comedy Store.
Famous comedians frequently pop in and do sets at this legendary stand-up comedy theater. We bought tickets for a “Best of” show and had no idea who we’d see. It ended up being a 2 ½ hour show with six different comedians, including Bobby Lee and Pauly Shore (whose parents founded the theater).
DO plan to sit in traffic.
I am from Chicago, so I know bad traffic. LA traffic is terrible. It took us an hour (or longer) to get everywhere. Zig-zagging to places across the city will waste a ton of time.
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