Anyone who has driven down the Pacific Coast Highway from California to Santa Monica will tell you to take your time. Our original plan was to do this trip in one day, I am so glad we decided to take the extra day. There is no chance we could have done it in one day and enjoyed it. There was amazing scenery all along the journey and so many places to stop and explore. I would actually recommend taking a few days so you could stay along the way.
Our first stop other than to check out the views was at Monterey where we stopped for lunch, clam chowder of course! The harbour at Fisherman’s Wharf was fun and colourful and there were seals right next to the boats and up close to the shore which was surprising in such a busy harbour.
When we left San Francisco our plan was to call in at Monterey and then check out the Elephant Seals at San Simeon. Well with all the magical scenery we only just made the elephant seal rookery before sunset. Our timing was perfect and we were treated not only to an up close view of the majestic creatures fighting for territory on the beach but also a magnificent sunset.
Since we had no idea how long it would take us to get to San Simeon we had not booked any accomodation for the night. After a couple of nights spent in pretty ordinary hotels we decided to treat ourselves and use my rewards points to book something a bit nicer at Pismo Beach. We didn’t get there until quite late so didn’t get a chance to see much except a quick drive by in the morning on our way to Santa Barbara for breakfast on the beach at a lovely cafe. We then headed to Santa Monica and Venice Beach which are two of my favourite spots in LA. Top of my recommended list is to hire a bike in Santa Monica and ride along the beach path to Venice Beach and back.
