Pacific Coast Highway in 2 days-Where to stop overnight?

vickalamode

DIS Veteran
Joined
Apr 18, 2007
Driving the Pacific Coast Highway from Los Angeles to San Francisco in three weeks and am just wondering where would be a good place to stop overnight during the drive. I've researched lots of different things to see along the drive, but I'm looking for suggestions on where to stop overnight.

We're doing the drive in 2 days, with 1 overnight stop. We're not planning on doing any driving during the nighttime so that we don't miss any of the great scenic beauty (which is the whole point of taking the PCH instead of me just flying to SF to meet my friend there!).
 
San Luis Obispo, Pismo, Morro Bay; Madonna Inn is kinda quirky & fun. Or head further up & go to Monterey/Moss Landing
 
We're making that trip next month. San simeon is about halfway and we're booked at the Best Western Cavalier Oceanfront. Mostly great reviews on TripAdvisor. And you're only a few miles away from Hearst Castle if you have an hour or two for a tour. Hope you have a nice trip.
 


We just got back on Sunday doing this from San Fran. we stopped at Cambria, at www.cambriapineslodge.com rooms where huge and a nice place with pool and usually entertainment on at night although no kids after 9pm and the breakfast was excellent, can recommend it
 
We just returned from a 3 week road trip of California and we drove the PCH from San Fran to LA in two days as well. It was jam packed, but we left San Fran around 8am on the first day, drove as far as Monterey (stopped on Santa Cruz beach boardwalk for lunch) and arrived there at about 3:00pm. We squeezed in a few hours at the Monterey Bay Aquarium (it's only open til 6:00 and this was during the busy summer season, but it was still well worth it if only for a few hours). We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express which was perfect because it was walking distance to Cannery Row, the beach and the Aquarium. They provided a nice free breakfast the next morning as well. On Day 2 we woke up and walked over to the Adventures By The Sea Kayaking and did a two hour kayaking tour of the harbour - absolutely amazing! You get up close to harbour seals, sea otters, sea lions, and we even paddled through a small group of jellyfish (nice to see from the boat, not in the water!). We quickly walked back to our room, showered and changed and were on the road by 2:00. We drove the PCH from Monterey all the way to Hollywood that afternoon/evening, arriving in Hollywood around 10:00pm (we stopped for dinner for 1 hour on the way). By the time it got dark, that portion of the PCH was back to a regular highway, so we didn't miss any of the scenery. We stopped in Big Sur and at Julia Pfieffer state park (amazing view with a waterfall coming down into the ocean!) and a couple of scenic spots for pictures. All in all, it was a very busy two days, but we included some sightseeing and activities - if you were to just do the driving, it would be less busy, but very doable. Monterey is definitely closer to San Fran, so it would be past half way for you, but it was a nice place to stop.
 


We drove from LA to San Luis Obispo and stayed at the Embassy Suites there. IT was the cheapest place I could find. 166 for the night. Highly reccommend.......comes with a full hot breakfast. They will even have made to order omelets.

You dont really see anything up to San Luis Obispo so we didnt miss anything. However, we started the next morning about 9:30 or 10:00 and it was FOGGY til probably 3:00. Therefore it made it very difficult to see the views I was anticipating.
 
Last year we stayed at La Cuesta Inn in San Luis Obispo. It was clean and comfortable. The price was right and breakfast was included.

Woody
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top