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Big Sur, California

Explore the beautiful route 1 in California .

If you’re looking for a stunning destination with unmatched views and a chill vibe, then Big Sur, California is your place. This coastal area offers unparalleled natural beauty, making you want to stay for weeks on end.

For this vacation, our original plan was to fly into Oregon and then head to the Redwood National Park but that did not happen. Our flight got canceled so we changed route and decided to explore Big Sur and then head to San Fransisco. We made the best of it and we’re happy we did. Big Sur is amazing and a must see destination.

Where to Stay:

Since our decision to explore Big Sur was last minute, we did not have a place to stay. So we decided that we were just going to wing it and see what happened.

There are many different campsites along the route. A lot of them are first come/first serve sites that you can use, but you have to get there early. We drove from San Fransico down the coast and explored many different stops on the way while looking for a campsite the whole time. We finally found a place hours into the drive to camp for the night. Camping is also the cheapest option when looking for a place to stay.

There is a link to multiple different campsites along the coast:

Camp sites

Resorts: If camping is not your vibe, there are many different lodges and resorts you can check out that offer stunning views but are more expensive than camping. Some options are: Ventana Big Sur, Post Ranch Inn and Treebones resort.
Cabins and Vacation Rentals: Another option is to use Airbnb or VRBO and rent a vacation home. This can be a great choice for those who want more privacy and flexibility during their stay.

Itinerary:

Day 1: We flew into San Fransisco airport, got our car and headed straight to big sur. We really didn’t have a destination just typed Big Sur into the GPS and started driving straight there. From San Francisco it is about two and a half hour drive. The drive its self is also very pretty. When we arrived we drove along the coast line.

We drove over Bixby Creek Bridge, then went to explore Pfeiffer beach.
The whole time we were search for a camp site to stay for the night.
We made it to Elephant seal vista point.
Then found a camp site past this point.

Day 2: We were heading back to San Fransisco. On the way back, we stopped at many different trail heads that we saw on the drive. We really didnt have a plan made for this trip we just went with the flow and found so many gorgous hidden spots. We stopped and had lunch at Nepenthe.

Where to Eat:

We ate lunch before heading to Big Sur. You will find multiple different spots along Route 1.
Nepenthe: The food is just ok but the views are amazing and it is totally worth going to just for the views themselves
The Power Plant Coffee + Store: We pit stopped at this cute little coffee shop there are plants every where!

What to Do:

Explore Route One: Route One is the road you will be on pretty much the whole drive through Big Sur. Dont be affraid to pull off to the side of the road in a safe stop. Everywhere you look, it is going to be so pretty. So you will have many opptornuties to get the best pictures

The View from Bixby Bridge!

Bixby Creek Bridge: If you drive down Route One you will go over Bixby Creek Bridge; there is a turn off before you go over the bridge and look at the views

Pfeiffer Beach: This was alittle tricky to find so I do recommend putting it into your GPS. But this is a really cool area to explore and I highly recommend it

Elephant seal vista point: We just found this spot accidentally and it was totally worth the stop. There was seals everywhere to see and just a cool experience.

Hiking: There is so many different spots to hike along the route that you are able to explore. If we would pass a trail head we would stop and just go explore to see what we would find. Using the All trails app is always something I recommended when search for different hikes!

Things to Know:

Everything was expensive because there is not many options along the coast for food and gas so for explain we paid almost $10/gallon on gas (This was also when gas prices around the country were more inflated in general).
There is not much cell phone service once you are down in Big Sur so keep that in mind when you are trying to search for things.

Up to the Sky