One of my favourites is the drive from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon — the sites are awesome. And this road trip from Miami to Key West is pretty sweet too! Whale watching, sailing, kayaking, golfing and biking are also popular in Monterey. A gentle uphill drive from here takes you out to the Big Sur, where the fun really begins on your San Francisco to Los Angeles road trip.
If you want to spend two days in Monterey , check out this post from California Crossroads. The Bixby Bridge is feet long and feet high. If you have time, take a few days to relax along the route, soak up some of the scenery and just generally chill out. We tried to visit the Esalen Institute for the views and natural hot spring baths. Two of my friends were wearing baseball caps and I saw them eye them up before refusing our entry.
If not, just soak up the views and take your money elsewhere! If this is your vibe you might want to mark out a few nights on your San Fran to LA road trip to stay here. After a delicious dinner looking out over the Big Sur countryside we had a hot tub party and made the most of the mini bar.
This was a real luxury trip for us and this place was incredible! Lady Gaga filmed a video here, and you can explore the , acres of rooms, suites, cottages, kitchens and grounds.
All three are great stops on your California coastal road trip. Like, on purpose. You can go and add your mark on the world, if you like. The Fremont Theatre is also worth a visit, if only for the awesome facade in the evening.
Soda Lake is an awesome sight too, especially for anyone with an eye for design. Pismo Beach is a close enough walk and you can enjoy the tasty restaurants, ATV rentals, wine tasting, fishing, surfing, skydiving, bowling and mineral springs there. From the dramatic coastline to beautiful waterfalls to lush redwoods there is something for everybody at Big Sur. Spend a couple of hours hiking in Pfieffer Big Sur State Park and make sure to take advantage of the plethora of short coastal walks that you can access by pulling off Highway 1.
The coastal walks were the highlight of our time in Big Sur as watching the waves crash against the cliffs is infatuating! Located just north of Big Sur, Carmel is a town that deserves to be stopped at in its own right when driving from Los Angeles to San Francisco. The town of Carmel is quite charming to walk through and there are a number of artisan shops to check out. Similarly to Santa Barbara, Carmel is also a great town to stop at a wine tasting room to enjoy a glass or flight!
Nearby Point Lobos State Reserve makes for a fantastic sunset stop as well as a great place to enjoy a scenic drive as there are typically fewer visitors here compared to Big Sur. From Carmel, take the famous mile drive towards Monterey. The mile drive is a beautiful coastal road that has a number of lookout points to stop at. The drive gets extremely busy so I highly recommend doing the drive first thing in the morning before the tour buses arrive!
In Monterey, enjoy a walk down Cannery Row while spotting tributes to some of the literary greats that have come from this part of the world. You can also visit Monterey Bay Aquarium, which is considered one of the best aquariums in the world and has a number of great exhibits to explore or go on a whale watching tour to see sea ife in the wild.
From the months of October to February, thousands of monarch butterflies migrate here and you can walk through the sanctuary and see them flying around between trees and colourful plants.
Entrance to the sanctuary is free. Staying in Monterey or Carmel for a night or two is a great option for travellers taking their time on the Los Angeles to San Francisco drive. There are unique accommodation options such as this peaceful cottage in Carmel or this beachside house in Monterey.
Driving from Monterey to Santa Cruz will take approximately one hour and have you arriving in another quintessential California surf town! It has been significantly upgraded over the years and is now a great mix of old school charm and modern attractions. Entrance to the Beach Boardwalk is free and you pay per ride. After exploring central Santa Cruz, take a drive or walk along West Cliff Drive for another dose of spectacular views and watching surfers go about their day!
Located only 30 miles south of San Francisco, Half Moon Bay makes an excellent lunch stop before heading towards the big city! Half Moon Bay is a relatively small town and has a number of great little cafes and boutique shops to explore if you want to stretch your legs.
I recommend heading to San Benito House Deli for lunch where you can get enormous and delicious homemade sandwiches with a range of toppings for very reasonable prices. This will direct you to drive across the famous Golden Gate Bridge and towards Marin Headlands where you can enjoy several viewpoints of the bridge and the city of San Francisco!
There is absolutely no better first impression of this amazing city than seeing its most iconic site from the spectacular viewpoints of Marin Headlands! While we explored all of the stops in this article by driving from Los Angeles to San Francisco, it is arguably better to do this trip in reverse.
A San Francisco to Los Angeles road trip will see you driving next to the coast which has several advantages. The main benefit is that you can easily pull off Highway 1 when you want to stop and enjoy a viewpoint or take a photo. This is particularly beneficial when driving in Big Sur as the roads are narrow and it can be more challenging to pull into a car park from the other side of the road.
The other advantage is that the views are obviously better for the passengers if driving from San Francisco to Los Angeles! At the end of the day though, you should drive along Highway 1 whichever way makes the most sense to you! Regardless of whether you travel from San Francisco to LA or the other way around, the stops will be the same and you will still get to see all of the magnificent attractions in this beautiful part of California!
There are plenty of car hire options in both Los Angeles and San Francisco if you need to rent a car — browse on Rentalcars. While you can find accommodation anywhere along the Los Angeles to San Francisco drive, I recommend basing yourself in Santa Barbara and Carmel or Monterey out of all these stops along Highway 1. Both these areas have a number of attractions that can be explored over a couple of days while the other stops work better as pitstops when driving.
That being said, if you want to spend a couple of days surfing or breaking up your journey further than both Pismo Beach or Santa Cruz are also logical places to spend a couple of nights. Aside from hostels or hotels, it is also worth considering private rentals as there are a number of rooms available in the area such as this beachside cottage in Santa Barbara.
You can click here to see the best private rentals in California. Hollywood Inn Suites Hotel — Located in the heart of Hollywood, this hotel has a range of rooms to choose from and is centrally located making it an excellent base for exploring.
Click here to see their latest prices. Freehand Los Angeles — A modern hostel located downtown, it is a great place to stay for solo travellers or people trying to cut down costs. There are private rooms as well as dorms available.
Click here to browse other hotels in Los Angeles! They have a range of clean and comfortable rooms available and a friendly staff that will go above and beyond to ensure you have a great stay.
Cheshire Cat Inn — This quaint bed and breakfast is perfect for couples who want a romantic place to stay. A fantastic breakfast is included in the room rate. Click here to browse other hotels in Santa Barbara! Carmel Lodge — Another great place for couples who want a romantic hotel stay in Carmel. There are several rooms to choose from and breakfast and parking are included in the room rate.
Their guest rooms have private entrance making this a great option for people looking for more privacy. The Stevenson Monterey — If you want to stay in Monterey, then this motel is a great budget option and located just off Highway 1. They have a range of rooms available and their location is ideal for people that are only staying in the area for one night. Click here to browse other hotels close to Carmel or Monterey! Orchard Hotel — A boutique hotel, located in downtown San Francisco, they have several different types of rooms available and breakfast included in the rate.
Found San Francisco — One of the best-rated hostels in San Francisco, you can choose from dorms and private rooms and are known for their great atmosphere which is ideal for meeting other travellers.
Click here to browse other hotels in San Francisco! An LA to San Francisco drive along Highway 1 is undoubtedly one of the best road trips that we have ever been on! With so many different attractions to see, you will definitely be able to find something of interest for all types of travellers! We like WorldNomads and always use them for our trips — click here to get a quote from WorldNomads.
Are you planning on driving from Los Angeles to San Francisco? Have you driven this route before? The fastest trains from Amtrak make the journey in about 10 hours, but require a number of transfers along the way and usually end with a bus. The most direct journey only requires one transfer, but it will take you about 12 hours from the time you board the train in Los Angeles to stepping off in San Francisco. There is one train that leaves Union Station in Los Angeles every morning to travel north along this route, and it will take you 10 hours to get to San Jose or 11 hours to Oakland.
San Jose is farther from San Francisco, but you can change from the Amtrak train to a local Caltrain within the same station, which will get you to San Francisco in roughly 90 minutes. It's a long ride and will use up an entire day of your vacation, but it's a scenic ride and well worth it for those who are passionate about train travel. You'll want to avoid leaving Los Angeles on a weekday afternoon as rush hour commuters pour out of the city and overflow the highways.
In winter, the section of I-5 known as "the Grapevine"—which is a major artery out of Los Angeles County—is occasionally shut down due to icy roads, forcing all drivers to head north on Highway and creating catastrophic traffic jams. Check road conditions before heading out and use GPS to find the least congested routes.
San Francisco weather is relatively mild all year long, but if you're seeking the best weather you should visit in September or October while the city is experiencing its signature "Indian Summer. Not only does the summer bring less-than-ideal weather but it's also the high season when the city is mostly filled with tourists.
Winter is the low season and a great time to visit if you want hotel deals. The weather may be wet and chilly, but it's nowhere near as cold as the Northeastern United States. The I-5 highway may be the fastest route from Los Angeles, but if you have access to a vehicle then taking the scenic route is one of the most worthwhile delays you'll experience in your life.
Depending on how much time you have, you have two options—but if you aren't in a rush, choose the longer one. The "quick" option is to take Highway up the coast, with amazing views of the Pacific Ocean as you pass through charming towns like Malibu , Santa Barbara , and San Luis Obispo.
From there, the highway cuts inland and the last three hours are less impressive. This route is only 40 additional miles from the I-5 route and adds less than an hour to the total trip time, a small price to pay for the exponentially more interesting scenery. The "long" option is only 20 miles longer than the "quick" option but adds almost an hour and a half to the drive because of curvy roads and one-lane highways, for a total travel time of about eight hours without stopping.
In exchange, you'll be riding one of the most breathtaking drives you'll surely ever see in your life. From Los Angeles, you'll drive up Highway along the coast just as with the previous option. The rest of the drive is a spectacular route passing through Big Sur State Park where the forested cliffs dramatically drop into the Pacific Ocean. In that case, there is no time to lose. But on which road? In about 6 hours miles from downtown to downtown , traffic and weather permitting, you will arrive in San Francisco.
After crossing the Tejon Pass where it is often windy , you will arrive in the flat landscape of the San Joaquin Valley , an agricultural area where you are likely to find fog.
What do you see along the way? Unfortunately, very little. For most of the journey, the road can seem really boring and frustrating and the only way not to go crazy is to stop at a rest area You will find one every 30 miles or so to eat something. However, here are a couple of possible stops:.
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