Highway 1 Monterey - Santa Barbara
We arrived into San Francisco SFO on QF 73 at 9:30am. On a FULL flight.
We cleared customs and declared our $ and were done by 11am. SFO airport has little amenities once cleared customs. No Duty free or anywhere to purchase sim cards etc.
Then to collect rental vehicles you need to use the sky train blue line to the car rental centre. The car rental centre is just outside the airport and all car rental companies are located in this building making it really easy to pick up the cars and get out of the airport. Signs are well marked. You fill out all the paperwork at the main desk and then head downstairs to pick up the car.
We then collected our Mustang Convertible – we had the option to choose from 5 different convertibles. We chose a Dark Silver Mustang.
We drove South on the Highway to Monterey which took about 1 ½ hours.
We also drove past exits for big name colleges Stamford and Berkley and also Levi Stadium home to the NFL 49’ers in Santa Clara.
We stayed at the Days Inn Downtown which was very tidy & clean with a large bed and friendly staff. Parking was free and right outside the room.
The hotel is about a 10-minute walk to Fisherman’s Wharf which is a pier filled with restaurants serving various seafood and famous Clam Chowders. Also lots of gift and souvenir stores.
Crabby Jim’s offers great drink and clam chowder specials. There is a wide variety of places to eat that will suit all budgets. Locals stand outside their restaurants and entice you inside with vouchers and persuasion. There are also lots of candy and ice cream shops too.
It has a real carnival atmosphere to it. Lively and fun. It is open during the day and evenings.
All whale watching tours and kayak tours leave from Fisherman's Wharf too.
In the harbour beside the wharf is sea lions and otters. The Monterey aquarium is famous for their Otters. Cannery Row is another area another 10 min walk along the waterfront via expensive homes and large resorts on the waters edge. This area again has a lot of eateries/ souvenir & boutique shops. Typical California weather in Monterey was sunny and about 25 degrees.
The Monterey community is very friendly and warming and has a sweet seaside vibe.
An Overly wealthy community with expensive real estate. A Popular spot for locals from San Francisco to vacation. A lot of holiday rentals here as well.
We saw 5 seals sunning themselves on the rocks just out from Fisherman's wharf on the 20 min walk back to the hotel. Then went to the Des Monte Mall about a 5-min drive from the hotel and then Target at Fremont where we purchase our T Mobile Sim cards and GPS.
We got T Mobile sim cards and paid $30 per month pre-paid for unlimited calls and 3GB data.
We left the hotel about 8:30am after continental breakfast included at the hotel.
Then began the Scenic Drive along the Pacific Coast – along Pacific Grove with huge beachside mansions and holiday homes. We stopped at a few lookouts along the way.
There were plenty of friendly squirrels at one lookout point – some coming right up to us for a pat and a sneaky snack.
There are 2 routes out of Monterey you can take the scenic route like we did or you can take the quicker inland route.
We then followed the 17-mile drive into the prestigious gated community of Pebble Beach.
Pebble Beach is home to some of the best golf courses in the world. Not to mention stunning coastal views. It is a beautiful drive of pristine golf courses on one side and cliffside beaches on the other.
The cost for a personal car is $10.00 to enter the community just for a drive. But I think is totally worth it.
This is really a scenic route hugging coastlines, beachside mansions, and over 6 world class golf courses.
The best way to do the Pacific Coast and Highway 1 is to do it starting at Monterey and work your way down the coast to Carmel finishing in Santa Barbara.
We stopped at Carmel Mission to view the mission is a cost of $6.50pp.
Carmel is a cute little town with lots of one way streets and narrow roads. It can be very difficult to find parking in the busy months. Lots of overhanging trees it almost has a mystical wind in the willows feel to it. Not to mention beautiful beachside views as the town sits right on the waterfront.
We then continued down highway 1 with the top down on the convertible enjoying the California sun. Stopping at Rocky Bridge which is the bridge that is before the famous Bixby Bridge so everyone accidentally stops here instead of Bixby. However, it still has amazing coastal cliffside views and has less people. There is parking on the side of the road. A few miles down the road there is the famed Bixby Bridge which owns that stunning cliffside view and Bridge in the backdrop. Make sure to stop at the small gravel parking lot on the right hand of the road before the bridge. There are no obstructions here and you can get fabulous photographs of the bridge.
Continued through to Big Sur and stopped at the Gas Station. This part of the highway is almost forest with large pine trees and that log cabin wilderness setting. Very Cute!
We arrived in Morro Bay mid-afternoon and strolled the harbourfront. This town is popular for wildlife watching and cruises to see otters and sea lions. There is a main street down by the waterfront which has a few restaurants and local places to eat along with a few souvenir shops and wildlife watching tours etc. There is free parking right along the main street.
Further along the coast we stopped at Elephant Seal Viewpoint which is well worth a stop. There is plenty of parking. There were approx. 300 seals all baking in the sun and frolicking in the waters just off the shore. We were watching them for a good 20 mins before hitting the road again.
We arrived into the Beachside community of Santa Barbara at about 6pm.
We stayed at the Castillo Inn which was a small boutique Spanish style hotel locally owned and run. The rooms were small but boutique with free parking.
Santa Barbara has a population of about 83,000 and is home to a huge marina that has hundreds of yachts and boats ranging from locally owned to high end mega million dollar vessels.
There are also a lot of fine dining restaurants here. From here we followed the beach walk. There is a huge sand beach where locals play volleyball and rollerblade along the pathway.
There are also fire pits set up for s’mores and BBQ’s.
We then walked up to State St which is the main street of Santa Barbara and where you ‘ll find something to eat, local boutique stores, nightlife and souvenir stores.
All the local shops are open along State St until 9pm.
We had dinner at Baja Sharkeez which is a Mexican Themed Sports Bar with well-priced meals. We enjoyed a burger and some Fajitas the portions we huge! So, we left very full.
Enjoying a warm California night, we strolled for about 20 mins back to the hotel.