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Pacific Coast Highway - Route 1

From San Simeon to Big Sur, CA
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Ranked #16 of 4,135 attractions in California
Type: Scenic Drives
Activities: Driving, Biking
Description: Running along the northern California coast, this highway has some of the best views of any in the United States.
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193 reviews from our community

Visitor rating
    165
    23
    5
    0
    0
Date Rating
Ayr, Scotland
Senior Contributor
46 reviews 46 reviews
6 attraction reviews
Reviews in 15 cities Reviews in 15 cities
48 helpful votes 48 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed May 19, 2013 NEW

Whilst stayiong in Santa Barbara, we took 2 trips up and down this road to Malibu and Santa Monica. Its simply stunning! It hugs the coast from just south east of Oxnard to where we turned inland to head for Hollywood. You just never tire of the views, watching the surfers out catching a wave before they go to work!... More

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Manchester, Connecticut
Reviewer
3 reviews 3 reviews
Reviews in 3 cities Reviews in 3 cities
1 helpful vote 1 helpful vote
5 of 5 stars Reviewed May 17, 2013 NEW

Driving along the PCH is magnificent! The views are so stunning and breathtaking it actually brought tears to my eyes. I was in a rental with my mom, sister and daughter and we are all from the East Coast so we had a great time driving and stopping at different spots along the way. The only drawback is I was... More

Was this review helpful? Yes 1
Enfield, New Hampshire, United States
Senior Contributor
21 reviews 21 reviews
12 attraction reviews
Reviews in 11 cities Reviews in 11 cities
5 of 5 stars Reviewed May 17, 2013 NEW

What an incredible trip from San Francisco to San Diego. It was hard not stopping at all the Vista Points to take pictures. Every turn was another delightful view. Had the most fun driving all the turns and twists. Big Sur was my favorite but don't ask the back seat passenger what she thought, she got car sick. Couldn't believe... More

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Salt Lake City, Utah
Top Contributor
137 reviews 137 reviews
61 attraction reviews
Reviews in 50 cities Reviews in 50 cities
104 helpful votes 104 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed May 13, 2013 NEW

Took the family on a great drive. The kids were a little tired of driving but we did get out and see some great places along the way.

Was this review helpful? Yes 1
yorkshire
Senior Contributor
38 reviews 38 reviews
16 attraction reviews
Reviews in 20 cities Reviews in 20 cities
10 helpful votes 10 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed May 6, 2013

we drove north from San Fransisco to Bodega Bay (where Hitchock's Birds was based). Amazing run with small coves and lovely ambiance to local towns. Unfortunately we did this in the evening having just arrived at San Fransisco and we didn't hve anywhere booked for the night so my tip would be to do this trip during the day when... More

Was this review helpful? Yes 1
Toronto, Ontario
Top Contributor
65 reviews 65 reviews
24 attraction reviews
Reviews in 29 cities Reviews in 29 cities
13 helpful votes 13 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed May 5, 2013

Drove from napa to Los Angeles in April. The views are breathtaking. I recommend driving south if you only plan on driving one way. This is because its more fun being on the edge of the cliffs, and also the majority of the stopping areas are on the coastal side, so you never have to cross the road. Big sur... More

Was this review helpful? Yes 2
Winter Haven, Fl
Top Contributor
73 reviews 73 reviews
31 attraction reviews
Reviews in 25 cities Reviews in 25 cities
48 helpful votes 48 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed May 2, 2013

My wife and I recently took a short excursion about the Pacific Coast Highway - north of San Francisco. We started at Bodega Bay and traveled up to Fort Bragg. It is about 100 miles of beautiful coastline, small friendly towns, an historic fort (Fort Ross) and great lighthouse. The drive was awesome!!! The actual drive was not tiring. We... More

Was this review helpful? Yes 2
London, United Kingdom
Senior Contributor
23 reviews 23 reviews
13 attraction reviews
Reviews in 7 cities Reviews in 7 cities
17 helpful votes 17 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed April 30, 2013

This has to be one of the best, most beautiful driving experiences in the world. We drove from LA to San Francisco (they say it is better this way as you stay on the inside of the road rather than next to the edge and some roads are narrow and a bit scary!) and it was amazing. I suggest you... More

Was this review helpful? Yes 8
Senior Contributor
21 reviews 21 reviews
17 attraction reviews
Reviews in 9 cities Reviews in 9 cities
7 helpful votes 7 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed April 27, 2013

Beautiful drive south from Carmel to Santa Barbara. Big Sur coastline is so nice that pictures don't do it justice. Curvy, windy, roads up and down the coastal mountains. April was perfect b/c there weren't alot of cars on the road. Foggy in the morning but it's nice with the fog as well. The drive really wasn't that stressful either,... More

Was this review helpful? Yes 4
london
Senior Contributor
49 reviews 49 reviews
18 attraction reviews
Reviews in 19 cities Reviews in 19 cities
22 helpful votes 22 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed April 22, 2013

wow, this is the most amazing drive, in places the road is very steep and the drive hard but we hired a great car and the view and stops were unbelievable. Its a long drive but worth the stops on the route, we bought the trip advisor books and they were great as they gave us a run down on... More

Was this review helpful? Yes 5

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