![\"Woman](\"https:\/\/wearetravelgirls.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/highway-1-road-trip-california-1-774x516.jpg\")
<\/p>\nDriving down Highway 1 in the warm, California sunshine is something that should be on any nomad’s bucket list. Nothing will give you a better taste of classic America than this road trip.<\/p>\n
Packed with so many wonderful towns, sights, parks, it offers so many amazing things to see over the course of a few days. By the end, you\u2019ll feel like you traveled a lot farther than just a couple hundred miles.<\/p>\n
You can drive your Highway 1 road trip either starting North or South – but I like starting up North and driving down so that you finish in L.A and are always headed toward warmer weather as you drive.<\/p>\n
Deciding how much time to take entirely depends at the pace you want to move and your travel style. I would recommend at least one week if you’re going to see everything on this list and have time to enjoy it – but the best way to road trip is not to over plan, and go where the wind takes you.<\/p>\n
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Cable cars and painted ladies, Golden Gate Park and seedy Haight Ashbury. There are so things to see in San Francisco<\/a> that if you\u2019ve never been to the Bay Area you may want to spend a few days here exploring before you start the drive.<\/p>\n One of the best options for staying in San Francisco is to book a AirBnB<\/a> for your group. This can often be cheaper than hotels, especially if they include parking and multiple bedrooms!<\/p>\n We’ve rounded up all of our favorite AirBnBs in San Francisco<\/a> to help you find the perfect place to stay.<\/p>\n If a hotel is more your style, the San Francisco Proper Hotel<\/a> is full of mismatched colors, prints and patterns that will make your photos pop and face smile. The location has a great rooftop and even the restaurant is hipster-friendly with seasonal, organic produce comes from the Bay Area.<\/p>\n At the Ferry Building<\/a>, you\u2019ll find some of the city\u2019s best options in a charming setting by the water. But nothing is fresher than seafood when you\u2019re at the coast – and the bouillabaisse at Hog Island Oyster Company<\/a> is the perfect dish you fill you and give you a true taste of the bay area. They serve it with fresh sourdough bread and salty butter, so you can carb-a-load for the marathon drive ahead of you!<\/p>\n One thing you shouldn\u2019t miss the Presidio<\/a>, and the Walt Disney Family Museum<\/a> hiding there. The setting in a pristine park near the water is beautiful, and this museum houses the Disney family\u2019s personal collection of all things Walt.<\/p>\n You can learn the whole story of his life and how Mickey changed it all, and with a trip to Disneyland in your future the timing couldn\u2019t be better. When you\u2019re done at the museum spend some time walking around the park and taking in the view of the Golden Gate Bridge.<\/p>\n When you leave San Francisco, continue your Highway 1 road trip about two hours south and you\u2019ll hit the charming seaside town of Monterey. Carmel-by-the-sea is just a twenty-minute drive from there.<\/p>\n These two stops are both little gems, hiding celebrity residents (did you know Clint Eastwood is the Mayor?) and a lot of fun things to see and do. After leaving San Francisco, these quaint little streets are the perfect change of pace to wander around and take in some sights.<\/p>\n Spend the day and overnight in Monterey, and the next morning you can drive through Carmel on your way into Big Sur.<\/p>\n Monterey Tides Hotel<\/a> is a renovated, modernized motel that isn\u2019t fussy, but is comfortable, convenient, and perfectly located on the beach. If you\u2019re lucky you\u2019ll catch whales breeching literally right outside the hotel!<\/p>\n Make sure you request a room that faces the water and ask about sighting times! It\u2019s the perfect one-night budget stay before you splurge in Big Sur.<\/p>\n First Awakening has pancakes the size of your head – so need I say more? Don\u2019t miss this famous spot for brunch in Monterey. The line for brunch moves fast, and it\u2019s worth the wait! Every road trip should start with a classic diner breakfast.<\/p>\n The Monterey Bay Aquarium<\/a> is world-class and should not be missed if you\u2019re in the area! (Hello – Finding Dory!) Don\u2019t miss the chance to see sea otters, pet starfish in the touchpads, and see the open-water exhibit with whales!<\/p>\n This place is worth the hefty ticket price ($50) and so cool to spend the afternoon at. There are touch pools upstairs, whales outside, and sea otters inside. Be prepared to wish harder than ever you were a mermaid.<\/p>\n To combine the best of everything around Monterey and Carmel (including the Aquarium), you can book a full day tour<\/a> and leave the organization up to someone else!<\/p>\n There\u2019s nowhere on Earth like Big Sur, making it a must stop for your Highway 1 road trip.<\/p>\n Enter the park, and you feel like you\u2019ve time-warped back to 1970 – everything from the vintage signs to cabin-style service stations, to the loss of cell reception, takes you right back to the summer of love and that\u2019s just fine with me!<\/p>\n Driving through this park is magic, and should be done slowly and without too much of an agenda so you can go where the day takes you and do as you please.<\/p>\n The only thing you should plan ahead is accommodations in the park<\/a> – which are vital to enjoying your trip, scarce and booked months ahead in the season.<\/p>\n The incredible natural beauty of the California coast shines here like nowhere else, so lace up your hiking shoes, turn off your iPhone, and enjoy the ninety-mile drive. Depending on how much time you want to hike and explore, it can be done in one full day, an overnight, and the following afternoon.<\/p>\n For the best experience in Big Sur, you can book an AirBnB<\/a> right in the park! We’ve rounded up our top 6 AirBnBs in Big Sur<\/a> to help you find the perfect place to stay.<\/p>\n Many local inns have unfortunately closed due to the wildfires and other travel related problems, so booking a local AirBnB is a great way to experience the park.<\/p>\n Wake up early to get to the Big Sur Bakery<\/a>, because I promise a fresh-from-the-oven croissant is worth rising for! They also have fantastic coffee and a wrap-around porch where you can sit in the morning sun and enjoy your pastries.<\/p>\n You need to see everything, really. But one outside-the-box semi-secret tip is the midnight bathing at the Esalen Institute<\/a>. Spots can only be booked online (DO NOT CALL, THEY WON\u2019T BE NICE!) 24 hours in advance, and go fast!<\/p>\n For a small fee, you secure a spot and show up at midnight, where you strip down nude and bathe in the hot springs for a true one-of-a-kind experience. You must be staying in the park to do this, so plan accordingly!<\/p>\n Just seven miles south of the exit of Big Sur is San Simeon, a charming little town that has some things of note you won\u2019t want to miss! There\u2019s not enough here to spend an evening, but don\u2019t miss the highlights while continuing down your Highway 1 road trip.<\/p>\n San Simeon is home to two enormous and very unique things:<\/p>\n The most famous (or infamous?) hotel on the Highway 1 road trip is without a doubt the Madonna Inn<\/a>.<\/p>\n Opened in 1965 on Christmas Eve, this place looks like Barbie and Elvis got married and built a dream-house on a miniature golf course inspired by It\u2019s A Small World<\/em>. The entire place is shades of pink and white – and It\u2019s cheesy and gaudy, and totally wonderful.<\/p>\n Every room (110 of them) is different, and over-the-top themed for something crazy. You have to stay here once in your life, and don’t miss the gift shop.<\/p>\n The Madonna Inn\u2019s famous restaurant The Gold Rush Steakhouse serves up the best food in town, in a hot-pink flower-filled dining room that looks like it fell out of Munchkinland. Their famous 8-layer pink champagne cake is reason enough to go. Every table also comes with a pink sprinkle shaker next to the salt and pepper, just in case you need a little sugar rush.<\/p>\n This town is the epitome of cute and funky – don\u2019t miss the unique yet mildly disgusting bubble gum alley – a long and narrow alleyway absolutely covered in pieces of chewed up bubble gum. It’s become a big, sticky, kind of smelly attraction that is definitely worth a quick stop if you’re in the area.<\/p>\n If Scandinavia is on your bucket list but a little too far away or pricey to travel too – don\u2019t miss Solvang, the Danish capital of America where you\u2019ll feel like you\u2019ve been transported into the heart of Copenhagen.<\/p>\n Everything about this place screams Europe – and you\u2019ll struggle to find much more than chocolate shops, ice cream stores, dress shops, and toy-makers. It\u2019s probably the cutest town on the West Coast and no one seems to know about it.<\/p>\n For your night stay, I recommend traveling a little farther down to Santa Ynez, in the heart of wine country where you can stay at the historic and lovely Santa Ynez Inn<\/a>.<\/p>\n This renovated Victorian Mansion is a gorgeous, luxury escape where you can enjoy free wine hour (that\u2019s right – FREE!) on their wrap-around porch or in the garden while listening to old jazz standards and admiring the year-round twinkle lights in the trees. They also offer a wine-passport to all guests which makes visiting the wineries nearby totally free!<\/p>\n Within walking distance of the Santa Ynez is The Lucky Hen Larder<\/a> a delicious farm-to-table cafe where you can get a light meal and get a pack-away picnic or eat outside in the California sunshine.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t miss the rolling hills full of vines and the many vineyards buried within. Take time to just drive – with no agenda other than just to marvel- and maybe pop in and out of the car with your wine passport to get a little tipsy!<\/p>\n Santa Barbara<\/a> is the classic, Californian beach town on your Highway 1 road trip where you can stroll along the palm tree lined shore and feel those good, good, good, good vibrations. You\u2019ll feel right at home among the laid-back surfers and sun-kissed locals as you stroll the palm-lined promenades.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll feel like you time warped when you walk past the vintage, wooden station wagon parked in front of The Kimpton, The Goodland<\/a>.<\/p>\n It is a motel that has been renovated to its\u2019 former seventies glory complete with crochet curtains, an in-house record store, and a pool full of beach balls. I\u2019ve never stayed anywhere that feels quite so effortlessly Californian! They also have board games, a pool table, and an awesome restaurant and bar.<\/p>\n For more ideas of where to stay, be sure to read our list of the best hotels in Santa Barbara<\/a>!<\/p>\n You\u2019ll never find better ice cream than you do at McConnells<\/a> – a Santa Barbara staple since 1949 and has been lovingly handmade with seasonal, California ingredients ever since. There will be a lined wrapped outside no matter the hour and it’s worth waiting for.<\/p>\n A bike ride along the coastline with palm tree-lined streets and a view of the Santa Ynez Mountains is the perfect way to spend your afternoon. Wheel Fun<\/a> has a huge selection and is right on the beachfront so after you stroll the boardwalk, get a bike and take a ride to work off that McConnell\u2019s sundae.<\/p>\n Be sure to read our complete Santa Barbara Bucket List<\/a> for more fun things to do in Santa Barbara!<\/p>\n You might be tempted to drive right through to LA, but don\u2019t pass through Malibu too quickly. Malibu has a little taste of everything: from horseback riding to wine-tasting, to surfing the waves. This is the one-day getaway that Californian\u2019s take when they need to escape LaLa Land.<\/p>\n Your trip is almost over, so have a bit of splurge and stay at The Surfrider<\/a>, a laid-back boutique with beach-chic interiors and mini-bars full of local treats. It\u2019s just steps from the pier and you\u2019ll quickly find yourself imagining this as room as your dream home.<\/p>\n The Malibu Farms Cafe<\/a> on the pier is popular for good reason: it’s completely delicious, farm-to-table fare (complete with homemade ice cream) is served to overlook stunning views of the ocean. It\u2019s so worth the crazy wait and inflated prices to sit and watch the sunset with a glass of rose and some organic greens.<\/p>\n Time to lace up your tennis shoes and do some hiking. Malibu is known for its beautiful hikes, so to fully take in its beauty you need to get a bit outdoorsy. Solstice Canyon is a great hike for beginners, and those not really wanting to wake up sore the next morning. It\u2019s 2.6 miles and shouldn’t take more than two hours.<\/p>\n An essential stop on your Highway 1 road trip, L.A. offers an endless amount of things to do<\/a>, and a lot of different areas to check out. The traffic is real – you could spend hours trying to get from place to place, so try to commit to one area per day instead of zipping around the city. You should spend at last three days here so see some of the main sights, but you\u2019d never run out of things to do.<\/p>\n Depending on where you want to spend your time, you will want to book a hotel in that area. But if you have no concrete plans, The Roosevelt<\/a> is both oozing Hollywood history and pretty well located to get around.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll be just a few blocks from some of the major sights, and you can’t beat the history that happened in these walls. The Hollywood Roosevelt hosted the very first Academy Award. Famous guests and residents included Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable, and Carole Lombard, whose memories live on with hotel suites named in their honor.<\/p>\n Embrace the healthy options that is LA and head to Gracias Madre<\/a> for a vegan Mexican fiesta in chic, outdoor setting. You can indulge guilt-free and get a little sun-kissed at the same time. Walk off your meal with some shopping after, the neighborhood is perfect for it.<\/p>\n For more ideas on where to eat in LA, be sure to read our Girls Getaway Guide to West Hollywood and Beverly Hills<\/a>!<\/p>\n The Griffith Observatory<\/a> is my pick for something you don\u2019t want to miss in L.A. It gives you a little bit of everything: movie history (Rebel Without a Cause was filmed here), amazing views of the city, and it’s a true landmark of the city. Don\u2019t miss seeing a show in the planetarium, it will take you back to 1960 and teach you something.<\/p>\n Not on Highway 1, but the perfect way to end your road trip is with a day in Disneyland<\/a>!<\/p>\n If you have never visited as an adult, prepare for a most magical day where you feel like a kid again. If you have visited, you already know what I’m talking about!<\/p>\n Disneyland is special because it was Walt’s original vision, and he built it all. It’s also great because one full day there is more than enough time to see both of the parks and catch the fireworks! Grab some mouse ears and head to the happiest place on Earth!<\/p>\n I recommend driving back to L.A. after your day in the park since it’s less than an hour away. But you want to stay nearby Anaheim, The Castle Inn<\/a> is the obvious choice for any real-life princess. The rooms are affordable, clean, and the place is shaped like a castle. Win, win, win.<\/p>\n Get a final taste of California at Pacific Wharf Cafe at Disney California Adventure, with a hearty soup in a fresh, sourdough bread bowl, preferably the popular chowder. The Boudin sourdough bread becomes extra delicious when soaked in creamy, soup goodness, and it will be a very filling meal to get you through the magic hours.<\/p>\n Don’t miss Radiator Springs at night. Once the sun goes down, the neon goes on and this strip of the park transforms into Route 66, right from the movie. It is one of the most transportive and charming parks of all the Disney parks in the world.<\/p>\n California is known for its laid back lifestyle, so on this trip be sure to roll the windows down and let each day take you where it leads. Remember on a Highway 1 road trip, your car becomes your home, so pack some fun things in your trunk, read up on road games and make a great playlist.<\/p>\n We hope that this article has inspired you to visit California and take a Highway 1 road trip. If you have any questions about the destination or have your own travel tips to share please leave these in the comments below.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Want to share your own travel tips by guest writing for We Are Travel Girls? Please visit our <\/i><\/b>Contribute<\/i><\/b><\/a> page for guidelines and to submit your article.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\nWhere To Stay<\/h4>\n
Where to Eat<\/h4>\n
What to See<\/h4>\n
Read More About San Francisco<\/h4>\n
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![\"Woman](\"https:\/\/wearetravelgirls.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/AnnaKlootsRoadtrip-774x516.jpg\")
<\/p>\n2) MONTEREY & CARMEL <\/h3>\n
![\"10](\"https:\/\/wearetravelgirls.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/highway-1-road-trip-california-11-774x516.jpg\")
<\/p>\nWhere to Stay<\/h4>\n
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![\"Highway](\"https:\/\/wearetravelgirls.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/MontereyBayAquarium-774x516.jpg\")
<\/p>\n3) BIG SUR<\/h3>\n
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![\"Woman](\"https:\/\/wearetravelgirls.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/highway-1-road-trip-california-2-774x516.jpg\")
<\/p>\n4) SAN SIMEON<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\n5) SAN LUIS OBISPO <\/h3>\n
Where to Stay<\/h4>\n
![\"Madonna](\"https:\/\/wearetravelgirls.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/highway-1-road-trip-california-774x516.jpg\")
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![\"Bubblegum](\"https:\/\/wearetravelgirls.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/BubbleGumAlley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n6) SOLVANG<\/h3>\n
![\"Solvang](\"https:\/\/wearetravelgirls.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/highway-1-road-trip-california-14-774x516.jpeg\")
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![\"Woman](\"https:\/\/wearetravelgirls.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/SantaYnezFrontPorch.jpg\")
<\/p>\n7) SANTA BARBARA<\/h3>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/wearetravelgirls.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/highway-1-road-trip-california-5-774x516.jpg\")
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![\"Woman](\"https:\/\/wearetravelgirls.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/SantaBarbaraBoardwalk.jpg\")
<\/p>\n8) MALIBU<\/h3>\n
![\"Round](\"https:\/\/wearetravelgirls.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/highway-1-road-trip-california-16-774x1032.jpg\")
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![\"Malibu](\"https:\/\/wearetravelgirls.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/highway-1-road-trip-california-12-2-774x1032.jpg\")
<\/p>\n9) LOS ANGELES <\/h3>\n
![\"Palm](\"https:\/\/wearetravelgirls.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/highway-1-road-trip-california-17-774x516.jpeg\")
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![\"LACMA](\"https:\/\/wearetravelgirls.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/JeffKoonsBalloonDog-774x1032.jpg\")
<\/p>\n10) DISNEYLAND<\/h3>\n
![\"Woman](\"https:\/\/wearetravelgirls.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/highway-1-road-trip-california-13-774x1032.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nWhere to Stay<\/h4>\n
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![\"Woman](\"https:\/\/wearetravelgirls.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/PFIEFFERBEACH_BIGSUR-774x516.jpg\")
<\/p>\nHIGHWAY 1 ROAD TRIP WRAP UP<\/h3>\n
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