California Coast Road Trip: Carmel & Big Sur
Trying to make the most of every weekend being in California. My best friend and I decided to take advantage of Memorial Day Weekend to take a mini road trip down to Carmel/Big Sur. I’ve only been to Big Sur once before and that was to go camping, so I was really looking forward to making the most of spending another weekend down here. We got our driving playlist going and headed on our away down to Carmel. While doing a lot of research we realized staying in Big Sur was actually pretty challenging and expensive since there are limited places to stay or even camp for that matter.
So our next option was staying in Carmel. The cute little town just 45 mins north of Big Sur filled with loads of delicious restaurants & bars, cute boutiques and of course a great beach to sit on. Here is a little 3 day itinerary for driving down the California Coast to Carmel & Big Sur.
Day 1:
My roommate and I are morning people so we got up early enough grabbed some breakfast at home before we got on the road to head down to Carmel/Big Sur where we were hoping for some hikes, great food and enjoying some quality time! We make our way immediately towards Big Sur which is about 2 hours and 22 mins but honestly incredible! As soon as you’re close to Big Sur the first thing you come across is the Bixby Bridge. As one of the most photographed bridges along the California coast you can clearly see why everyone wants to stop and admire it!
We continue driving about another 30 minutes to Nepenthe where we grabbed lunch and enjoyed a stunning view! There was a really long wait when we arrived but were able to hand around at the bleacher-esk seats with a little appetizer and cocktail. I will say I thought the food was good but not AMAZING you really go here for the view as it is tucked away on a cliff where you get to enjoy the amazing views of the California cliffs & ocean.
Then we continued driving to Pfeiffer beach about a 20 minute hike to take a stroll on the beach and admire the scenery. Just a few minutes drive from there is McWay Falls where you take a quick stroll overlooking the falls and admiring the cove filled with stunning blue water.
After taking those hikes we headed to this super cute pastry shop called Big Sur Bakery before heading back to Carmel to check into your hotel. We stayed at the Coachman’s Inn, A Four Sisters Inn which was such a cute little spot and super convenient to the Main Street of Carmel.
We then changed and got ready to head out to dinner where we enjoyed some amazing coastal cuisine at Grasings.
Day 2: [Hike + beach /stroll around carmel]
We got up and grabbed breakfast at the hotel again before heading out back towards Big Sur. Our first stop was at Point Lobos State National Reserve this hike takes about 2 hours and 30 minutes hiking around the coastline and admiring these gorgeous views.
After an amazing morning hike we headed back to Carmel to enjoy some wine on the beach and just soak in the sun for a little bit. Then we made a quick pit stop at Carmel Mission Basilica Museum to take a look at this beautiful church/ museum. After all these activities we were naturally starving so dropped our car off at our hotel and strolled around Carmel’s main street to get lunch at La Bicyclette Restaurant. This restaurant is the cutest French Restaruant with very classic decor and amazing food! So worth it.
After popping into many stores in Carmel we made a stop back at our hotel to get dressed for dinner where we at at Cantinetta Luca a bustling Italian eatery serving delicious homemade classics. It was pretty busy and we didn’t have a reservation so just hung at the bar with a glass of wine before they were able to seat us.
Day 3:
Enjoyed our final breakfast in the hotel before getting on the road. We started up our music and made our way to the entrance to the 17-mile drive around Pebble Beach. It is one of the most gorgeous drives along the coastline of dramatic cliffs, snow-white beaches, gorgeous trees and of course the iconic golf courses. One of the most popular spots is seeing the Lone Cypress tree just hanging on a cliff totally worth just taking a stroll down to it while also enjoying all the rest of the beauty of the sea and beaches. You can even go check out the Spanish Bay and even more. When you get to the entrance of the drive you pay $11.75/per vehicle and open from sunrise to sunset. Make sure you take your time. We made so many stops along the drive because it was just so pretty and as you can see it was sunny and yet a little fog in the distance.
After driving through and making a few pit stops we continued towards Monterey just a few minutes away from the exit of 17-mile drive. We went to downtown Monterey right next to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the old canning co. planning to grab some lunch at Fish Hopper, ya a little touristy but when in Rome do it. A couple other options are First Awakenings or a little outside of Monterey is Restaurant Maligne. If you have more time than just grabbing lunch you should make sure you check out the Aquarium. It is honestly one of my favorite aquariums I’ve ever been to and I’ve been to a couple and the Singapore Aquarium is great as well but I think this one takes the win for me personally.
Just a 2 hour drive back to the city and seriously what a great weekend! Looking for a few more highlights and things to do while in Big Sur or Carmel I have a few more suggestions below!
