PCH, driving down the coast on a road trip with my mom-recommendations

DakotaMN

My mom wants to drive down PCH so we were probably going to meet in San Fran and drive to San Diego maybe.  Any recommendations for places to absolutely stop or do?

alithebride

Budget?

amyelise25

Spend a day in Monterey, Carmel, and the 17-mile drive.  It's so scenic and beautiful.  All three are very different from each other.  When you get down in the LA area, I would recommend the Getty Museums (the villa on the PCH in Malibu and the Getty Museum not far from the PCH a little further south).  The views from both are breath-taking.  Stopping for lunch/dinner and shopping in trendy La Jolla is fun experience. 

There are beautiful beaches along the coast in Orange County and San Juan Capistrano was a great place to stop. 

I haven't done the stretch between Carmel and Malibu.  I would expect that a stop at the Hearst Castle would be fun and I've always wanted to head to Santa Barbara. 

DakotaMN

No budget concerns really, I don't want to go overboard but were open to options.  I want to see Santa Barbara too.  Thank you

stacey1508

That's an awesome trip! My husband and I did it a couple of years ago. Definitely stop in Carmel. Point Lobos is really cool, too. I haven't been to it but the Hurst mansion is supposed to be cool, too.

My favorite spot in Santa Barbara is Butterfly Beach across the street from the Four Seasons. You can also grab a nice lunch on the terrace at Four Seasons and it's way more affordable than dinner. Definitely skip the Wharf in Santa Barbara- it's super touristy and all the restaurants are gross. State street in Santa Barbara is a fun place to walk around and do some shopping.

Have a great trip!