California

A Karen Brown Recommended Itinerary

San Francisco to Los Angeles
Via the Coast

Recommended Itinerary Length: 5 to 9 days

Highlights:

Coast Hotels & Bed & Breakfast Inns,San Francisco, Alcatraz, Cable Cars, Legion of Honor, Chinatown, Fisherman’s Wharf, Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Park, Half Moon Bay, Ano Nuevo, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Monterey Aquarium, 17-Mile Dr., Pebble Beach Golf Course, Carmel Mission, Carmel, Point Lobos, Big Sur Coastline, Hearst Castle, Paso Robles Wine Region, Anderson’s Split Pea Soup, Solvang, Santa Barbara, Mission Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Hotels, Bed and Breakfasts and wondeful Inns, Coastal Hotels & Bed and Breakfast Inns

Wineries: Summerwood, Castoro, Grey Wolf, Midnight Cellars, Dark Star, Fratelli, Perata, Justin, Carmody McKnight, Martin-Weyrich, Eberle, Meridian, Tobin James and Wild Horse

Summary: You can drive between San Francisco and Los Angeles in a day or fly in an hour. But rather than rushing down the freeway or hopping aboard an airplane, drive leisurely along the coast between these two metropolises and enjoy the quaintness of Carmel, the charm of Santa Barbara, the splendor of the Big Sur coastline, the opulence of William Randolph Hearst's hilltop castle, and the fun of experiencing a bit of Denmark in Solvang. Also intertwined in this itinerary are stops to appreciate a piece of California's colorful heritage—her Spanish missions.