West Coast/ Big Sur Drive and 2 day trip- Where to stop?

Hello,

I%26#39;m from the UK and will be doing the coastal drive from Loas Angeles up to Monterey before heading over to Yosemite, with my Family this August.

Our first day on this part of the holiday will be spent driving from LAX up to Pismo Beach where we will be spending one night at the Best Western Shelter Cove Lodge. The following day will be a drive from Pismo to Monterey where we will spend another night at the cheaper Bay travelodge.

We will not necessarily be spending much time at our chosen night stops as we are not sure of the attractions they have to offer but they were at the cheaper end of the hotels we looked at and seemed evenly split down the coast. Therefore we would be grateful for any advice of places to see along the way and any recommendations of places to dine that will fit with our schedule. We would like to see Santa Monica and Carmel for sure but dont have much knowledge on other places and attractions that are worth a visit.

Thank you for your help.

West Coast/ Big Sur Drive and 2 day trip- Where to stop?

I enjoyed the guided horseback ride out to the ocean at Andrew Molera State Park in Big Sur. The ride was pretty tame - they wouldn%26#39;t let the horses trot - which was fine with me since the kids weren%26#39;t as experienced on horseback as they thought they were. The trail goes through woods and open brush, very Californian landscape, and ends on the beach before going back a slightly different trail.

Point Lobos has some nice trails and some good places to picnic or view wildlife. There are some accessible tidepools there with creatures in them.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium offers a great exhibits giving a close up look at what%26#39;s in the ocean outside its windows. There are a number of hands on exhibits that are usually a hit with young people.

West Coast/ Big Sur Drive and 2 day trip- Where to stop?

Webspinner has some good ideas and these are just to augment them. San Simeon (about an hour north of Pismo) has an area known as Piedras Blanca and is a well known elephant seal haul out beach. These creatures are enormous (just shy of a ton each) and crawl upon the beach. There is the Hearst Castle, for those who are interested in extreme decadence, without a matching level of design taste. Just a couple of thoughts.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium is not to miss, Pt. Lobos in the Carmel Highland%26#39;s area is also a must-see. You may want to take the 17 Mile drive in this area, beautiful scenery and homes, stop at Roy%26#39;s for a meal and your gate fee will be re-imbused. Have fun! :)

Wow - loads to see and do then. Thanks for all the info and tips. I%26#39;ll be making note of all that and hopefully fit it into the itinerary.

Thanks again for all the posts!

Might want to be flexible. There are about 1,000 wildfires in northern CA that are making travel difficult. I quote from CBS news ';A 19-kilometre section of California%26#39;s famous Pacific Coast Highway has been closed because of a massive wildfire near the picturesque town of Big Sur, officials said Saturday.';

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