Perfect two-week California road trip: Itinerary from Parks to Coast
- Julien Gennatas
- Dec 8, 2024
- 11 min read
Updated: Jan 30
Have you always wanted to discover the west coast of the United States by car?
Look no further! Here is a detailed, day-by-day itinerary for a road trip that starts and ends in Los Angeles. You will take the legendary Pacific Coast Highway and pass through San Francisco, Yosemite National Park, Joshua Tree, and Palm Springs…
The essentials before departure
Here are some things I wish I had summarized in a few points before I left for the United States:
For the visa, or its nickname, the ESTA , the application is simple: it is done online ( here ), for around €20 per person, and you will receive it by email within a week.
For the permit, no translation or special permit is required. Your European permit is accepted in California, one less formality to worry about!
The currency? No surprise: it's the dollar. Although they are very connected, Americans still appreciate cash, especially for tips. We had planned on $200 in cash per person, but otherwise, credit cards (MasterCard or Visa) are accepted everywhere we went!
Day 1 - Arrival in Los Angeles
Let's not lie to ourselves, after an 11-hour flight, arriving in Los Angeles under the clouds in the middle of May was not exactly what we expected, nor was spending 3 hours in line to cross the border. It seems that administrative staff problems are not limited to Europe, but are also present in the United States. Plan a pee break and something to drink when you get off the plane...
We rented a car very easily with Sixt. Just take a shuttle in zone 3B (300 m on your right when leaving the airport after collecting your suitcases). The shuttle runs every 10 minutes. Atmosphere guaranteed with a driver who shares his favorite playlist, punctuating the traffic jams and putting a smile back on his face when he starts singing along to the artist's lyrics.
Then we just have to pick up the car, here a BMW X3. Yes, we treated ourselves! For the price of a 3-door Hyundai without radio and air conditioning, we have a car like this in the United States, so we might as well treat ourselves. When we know that there are almost 1,800 km ahead of us, we might as well choose comfort; that's what vacations are for!
Once we had our hands on the wheel of this 200 horsepower monster (or I don't remember how many, I stopped counting at 200), we headed to our hotel. The price of the hotels surprised us, and when Booking pranked us by cancelling our reservation six weeks before departure, we had to find an alternative within the budget, and that's how we came across this hotel .
Gold Diggers is a bar with live music sessions every night, cocktails to die for, and a hotel with a few rooms with a lot of charm, freshly updated with all the necessary comfort and a warm style that gives the impression of being in a recording studio. On the other hand, let's not lie to ourselves, live music sessions are really good, but less so when you sleep right above the bar. The hotel provides earplugs, a nice touch whose effectiveness needs to be reviewed. Fortunately, the jet lag got to us and we fell asleep in two seconds...
Summary :
Rental car: Sixt
Hotel: Gold Diggers
Day 2 - Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Venice beach & Griffith Observatory
If we have done more than 15,000 km, it is to try out the local 'culture'. So it is with a delicious breakfast that we will start our first day in Los Angeles, at Mel's West Hollywood . We go there by car; yes, in the USA, the car is king: there is always room to park easily, the spaces are large, but expensive (count $12 for two hours). Here, the paid parking is literally next to Mel's.
To gain strength, it will be pancakes, milkshake, avocado toast and French toast. Yes, we were hungry… In any case, we come out full and really delighted with this first taste experience: it was neither too greasy nor too heavy, a real delight. The sun is starting to show its nose; a beautiful day is coming!
Once our bellies are full, we head towards Beverly Hills. A stone's throw from the dirty and dilapidated streets of Hollywood, the contrast is striking: we walk along flowery, clean, wide streets, lined with private properties, each larger than the last, of which we can only see the entrance. Is it worth the 20-minute detour? Not particularly, but the social and societal observation on the state of the USA is interesting: the very rich live side by side with the very poor a few dozen meters from each other.
We take the car for 35 minutes towards the Santa Monica Pier. The journey is quite quick, the traffic is fluid in this direction. On the other hand, parking near the Santa Monica Pier is quite complicated. So we opt for a covered parking lot ( here ), which is secure and above all the cheapest in the area ($10 per day, while others charge $10 for two hours).
We only have to walk 10 minutes and we reach the Pier, what a joy, an explosion of colors, sounds and smells concentrated on this projection overlooking the Pacific Ocean (moreover this photo is available for purchase on my shop, it's here ).
This day, we wanted it to be "sporty". After spending 12 hours sitting on the plane, we took advantage of the walk along the ocean to stretch our legs and reach Venice Beach from the Santa Monica Pier on foot. There is of course the alternative of connecting the two points by bike, or even being transported by rickshaw to Venice, but we prefer to take our time and walk. This allows us to make a small detour through the canals of Venice Beach, a discreet neighborhood 5 minutes walk from Venice Beach and which is not known to all. So there are no crowds, and we can freely cross the small bridges to discover very wealthy and warm houses which directly overlook these canals. Really very pleasant!
Once this first part of the walk is over, it is time to take a short break to regain our strength. So we head to a small Japanese restaurant that offers takeaway bentos, very good, especially to be enjoyed with a view of the Atlantic. The restaurant is called Sunny Blue .
It is now time to dive into the madness of Venice Beach, with its colors, its movement and its omnipresent excitement. Between the people dancing, those running, riding bikes or doing tricks in the skatepark, it is impressive to see how all these people live together! There is a beautiful energy that gives us the motivation to do the few kilometers that separate us from the parking lot where we parked the car. And to be honest, walking under this sun, with all these places worthy of postcards, is very pleasant. We do not see the time pass, and the milestone of 20,000 steps during the day is easily crossed… and it is only 4 p.m.!
On the agenda for the day, we have one more item: enjoying the sunset from the Griffith Observatory, located on the heights of Los Angeles and offering an incredible view of the valley. The ideal spot to end the day in style, in the warm yellow and red tones of a sun that is leaving only to return better tomorrow.
One piece of advice: park on this side of the observatory. There is a dedicated parking lot, but it is often occupied for events. The shoulders of the street are designated for parking, but it will still cost you $10 per hour, so choose your time wisely based on the sunset time.
The observatory is free to visit and offers clear explanations of what is happening above our heads, far away in the stars, as well as an incredible view of the city from its terraces, and even of the Hollywood sign!
This first day was quite full, unlike our stomachs at the end of the day, so we head to an In-N-Out to finally discover their famous burgers. The artistic direction of the place is really different from that of the other chains: white and red with a touch of yellow. Although we are here to test their burgers and not to admire the decor, the atmosphere is still worth commenting on.
For the main course, the wait is long, very long. It seems like everyone is hungry at the same time! Fortunately, we find a table outside to enjoy the mild temperatures at the end of the day. I would give a good 8/10 for the burger. On the other hand, for the fries, they have everything to learn from the Belgians…
Summary:
Breakfast: Mel's west Hollywood
Santa Monica Parking: Here
Venice Beach Canals: Here
Lunch spot between Santa Monica and Venice Beach: Sunny blue
Parking for the Griffith Observatory: Here
In-N-Out Hollywood: Here
Day 3 - Breakfast at Mcdo, Target, Hollywood sign and Santa Monica under the sun
Well, it's not the breakfast I'm most proud of, but we must also admit that Americans are not known for their friendly little cafes where you want to spend your whole morning enjoying croissants and hot drinks, but rather for (junk) food, and so we tried it first thing in the morning. Right next to where we were sleeping and on the road to the Hollywood Sign, we found a McDonald's like there are dozens of others, and we tried their breakfast. In a few words: sugar in all the items you order, and not a very varied menu for the choices available. It's worth trying once, but I wouldn't do it every morning.
So now we have the strength to head towards the Hollywood Sign. We parked here , from where a very easy and above all little-known little walk begins, which offers an incredible view of the Hollywood Sign. It's a bit of a climb, I admit, but it's really within anyone's reach. The path is wide and even takes us behind beautiful houses with an incredible view of the valley and the sun which is starting to reach its zenith. It's very hot: remember to take some water with you. Apart from a small pineapple street vendor, there are no shops or distributors on the way. I told you: it's not too touristy yet!
On the way to Santa Monica, we stopped at a Target. Yeah, well, vacation is vacation. We just decided like that, to see these stores we've heard so much about. And I might disappoint you, but there was nothing special, apart from the Taylor Swift collector's edition. Only go there to get a drink. Then, a little thing to know: the Target store we visited had a direct view of the Hollywood Sign. Shopping with this iconic view and palm trees in the foreground, it's true that it's funny!
Still under a bright sun and a blue sky that extends over the entire coast of the Pacific Ocean (after parking in the parking lot I told you about above), we once again enjoy the colors of the attractions that are on the Santa Monica pontoon, and especially the view of the sea.
I tried to immortalize this moment and, I think it is, so far, one of the photos I am most proud of. Although it seems simple, this photo is full of warm colors and all with all these little people that make up the photo it gives, in my opinion, an atmosphere of life full of joy. You could almost hear the children jumping into the water screaming!
Summary:
Day 4 - Heading for Morro Bay and its otters
The next destination is Morrow Bay, we go there to see small otters in their natural environment, they are normally resting in the port, but before finding them we have a few hours of driving.
Our first stop is therefore the Malibu Pier. I am still looking for Pamela, but even without these coast guards, the small projection on the sea allows to have a superb view of the surfers who take advantage of the waves to perform their tricks, all in a magical setting. The pier has a few shops, even one that sells Leicas. I do not know how they ended up there, but what we will remember above all are these pastel colors that decorate the pier: a soft blue and a white washed by the wind and the tides. Yes, the sun was not with us this morning, fortunately a few flowers were there to bring back some color!
With our hair a little wet from the morning drizzle, we hit the road again, heading for another beach: El Matador Beach. There is a charge for parking, something like $2 for an hour. It is the only authorized parking lot that is within a respectable distance of the sea. We just have to go down a few steps to find ourselves on the beach, with the cliffs above us. It is really a nice little stop on the road. We walk on the beach, because it is low tide. We can therefore easily walk along the cliffs, our hair blowing in the wind.
Third stop of the day: it will finally be to eat. There, we found a small food court overflowing with charm, whose smells quickly tickle our noses to whet our appetite. It is the Corazo Cocina. On the menu for lunch: dishes with Mexican influences, not too spicy, just enough to taste all the flavors. It is fresh, it is good, and it is within the budget! We also take the opportunity to stretch our legs in the city, which has a shopping street without cars and many of the walls are white, a little Mexican touch with the palm trees!
The sun is slowly setting, and we finally arrive at our last stop of the day: Morro Bay. We quickly drop off our stuff at the hotel to go meet the otters. They are there, but playing right in the middle of the bay, so a bit far from us to see them properly. We'll try tomorrow morning with a little coffee. In any case, they seem to be having fun and don't care much about us...
Summary:
Malibu pier we parked here
El Matador beach and parking here
Restaurant in Malibu Corazo Cocina
Morro Bay and its advance to see the otters here
Day 5 - Morro Bay to San Francisco
The day can only begin after having breakfast, and for that, we head to Daisy, a small hangout with a laid-back surfer vibe, but most importantly, where we get to enjoy delicious hot chai lattes and freshly ground coffee right in front of us.
Once the bags are in the car, we hit the road to Hearst Castle. It was a bit of a last-minute decision to go there, and we were lucky enough to find tickets for a convenient time. Otherwise, they sell out fast, so I recommend booking in advance!
The entrance fee may seem steep, more than $30 per person for a simple castle tour. But it’s totally worth it! First, there’s the shuttle, then the guide, and what a guide! Plus, we got two guides for the price of one: two lovers (of each other, but also—and especially—of the place) who took us through this magnificent location.
The bus ride takes you from the valley floor near the beach, winding for 20 minutes through turns along the road that spans the property, passing fields with horses and zebras, then weaving through the old zoo before finally reaching the steps of the palace.
The tour lasts approximately 3 hours, and it flies by. It’s a real pleasure to hear all the stories about everything that happened there and the inspirations it gave (including the Harry Potter film designers, who apparently really loved the great dining room and used it as a model for the one in the films). There are also stories about the stars of the Roaring Twenties, who came here to relax and play cards at the top of the castle…
Once back on solid ground and sitting in our car, we learn that the Pacific Highway is unfortunately closed due to construction. It happens often, so make sure to check before you take that route to optimize your itinerary. We won’t get to see some of the spots we were excited to visit, but we decide to make a little detour anyway to say hello to our friends, the sea elephants. They’re right there, basking in the sun, and especially walking all over each other to find the best spot, away from the younger ones’ commotion…
Summary:
Day 6 - Discovering San Francisco by foot
The rest is coming soon, my memories are taking a little pause before continuing to take shape in these notes…
Useful links
Google list of all the above mentioned items: google list
US Visa Application: ESTA
Hotel Los Angeles: Gold digger
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