The Pacific Coast Highway is one of those drives that somehow lives up to its reputation. I had seen a thousand photos before I went, and I still spent the whole trip with my jaw somewhere near the steering wheel. Last spring I drove a stretch of the California coast over a relaxed week, from Monterey down through Big Sur and on toward Santa Barbara, and it reset my definition of a good road trip.
One honest note before the highlights. A coastal drive like this has a lovely rhythm of big days and quiet nights, and the evenings at the lodge, when the fog rolls in and there is no signal to speak of, are their own kind of pleasure. I read, I wrote postcards, and on a couple of rainy nights I played a few casual games online. California does not have legal real-money online casinos, so the workaround a lot of people use is a sweepstakes site, and if you are curious how they operate, a sweepstakes casino with no deposit bonus is the usual way in. It is a small thing, but a nice way to pass a foggy evening when the road is done for the day.
Here is roughly how the week went:
| Leg | Base | Don’t miss |
| Days 1-2 | Monterey / Carmel | The aquarium, 17-Mile Drive |
| Days 3-4 | Big Sur | Bixby Bridge, McWay Falls, the redwoods |
| Day 5 | San Simeon | Hearst Castle, the elephant seals |
| Days 6-7 | Santa Barbara | Beaches, Spanish architecture, wine country |
Start in Monterey and Carmel
Monterey is the gentle warm-up before the drama further south. The aquarium is genuinely world-class, even if you think you have outgrown aquariums, and the drive around 17-Mile Drive through Pebble Beach is a lovely, low-effort introduction to the coast. Neighbouring Carmel-by-the-Sea is almost absurdly pretty, a village of storybook cottages and art galleries where the beach glows white at sunset.
The main event: Big Sur
Big Sur is the reason people make this drive. For about 90 miles the road clings to cliffs high above the Pacific, with pull-outs every few minutes that each seem more spectacular than the last. My highlights:
- Bixby Creek Bridge, the most photographed spot on the whole route, and rightly so.
- McWay Falls, an 80-foot waterfall that drops straight onto a hidden beach.
- Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, where you can walk among towering coast redwoods a short drive from the ocean.
Wind down toward Santa Barbara
Further south the drama softens into something sunnier. Hearst Castle at San Simeon is a gloriously over-the-top hilltop mansion, and just down the road a colony of elephant seals sprawls on the beach in numbers that have to be seen to be believed. By the time you reach Santa Barbara, with its red-tiled roofs and easy beaches, the trip has mellowed into pure holiday.
A few practical notes:
- Drive north to south so you are on the ocean side of the road for the views.
- Book Big Sur lodging early. There is very little of it, and it goes fast.
- Fill up on fuel and snacks before long stretches. Services are sparse.
Those foggy evenings were also good for catching up on American sport, and I fell down a happy rabbit hole reading about how the Packers are rebuilding for the new season.
The takeaway
This stretch of California packs an enormous variety into a short drive: marine life, cliff-top drama, ancient forests, and a soft landing in wine country, all strung along one unforgettable road. Go slowly, book your Big Sur nights ahead, and leave room in the schedule to simply stop and stare. The Pacific will do most of the work. And for a completely different kind of trip next time, a football road trip around England could hardly feel further from a Big Sur sunset.
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