California road tripping
When booking our USA trip no one had mentioned we would need more than one day to drive the Californian coast between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
I must admit I was part to blame as when I checked Google maps, the route time I went off was the freeway one, not the coast one. It wasn’t until we were on our Napa Valley tour that the bus driver laughed and told us we would need at least two days to drive the coast.
So we decided we would need to prioritise what part of the coast we wanted to drive, and that for me, was the Big Sur. It was a blissful two hours for me (as passenger) admiring the amazing natural cliff edges and ocean views.
On the road
Big Sur
Following the Big Sur, we returned to the freeway as quick as we could as day time was already ticking away. We stopped into Santa Maria for some much needed lunch and refuelling and continued on the freeway until Malibu where we hit the coast again. Unfortunately there wasn’t enough time to stop in Santa Barbara like I was hoping for… next time!
The weather in LA was also a complete contrast to the first visit in mid April, being cold and rainy now.
Driving through Malibu
Back in Santa Monica
TIPS
- Fill up your vehicle in a major city before hitting the Big Sur region as petrol/gas prices increase by up to $2 a gallon the more remote you go
- Have a map as back up as your GPS loses service along the Big Sur route
- Bring snacks in case you don’t have time to stop
- Spend two-to-three days driving the coast between San Francisco and Los Angeles so you can enjoy the drive and don’t have to rush
- Share the driving and make lots of stops at the allocated areas so everyone enjoys the view