2022-05-17 Pacific Coast Highway - SFO to LAX

On day 1 we picked up or rental car at San Francisco Airport, and then drove south on the Bayshore Freeway to see Silicon Valley - with stops in the Google area and at Apple Park. Then we crossed over the hills to the Pacific, with a stop at Henry Cowell Redwood State Park, before driving down to Carmel for our first night on the way. Because getting our rental car took so long we dropped a stop in Santa Cruz and postponed the 17 Mile Drive until the next day.

On day 2 we drove the scenic 17 Mile Drive from Carmel up to Monterey, and then down south on CA-1 through Big Sur on a beautiful day. Of course, with some of the mandatory stops - but had to drop Limekiln State Park, a tour up to Hearst Castle and a stop in San Luis Obispo.

On day 3 we started from Pismo Beach, avoided some highways and drove to Solvang, then Santa Barbara and Ventura. We then switched from the CA-1/US-101 to the CA-126 to drive into Los Angeles from the north on the i5. With a little detour through Mulholland Drive, Hollywood Hills and Beverly Hills on the way to our hotel in Venice. We dropped off our car at a small AVIS office in Venice Beach in stead of at LAX.

Some recommendations for those of you considering a similar trip:
- Avoid picking up a rental car at the airport if you can. When we arrived there was a long line and it took some 1,5 hours before we had our car.
- If going all the way from SF til LA, consider spending 1 or even 2 more nights on the way. Every stop along the road took more time than expected, and we had to skip some of our planned stops to arrive in reasonable time at our hotels. Cambria, Morro Bay, San Luis Obispo, Solvang or Santa Barbara could be nice alternate or additional overnight stops.
- If traffic in LA seems overwhelming, a good option would be to drop off your car in Santa Barbara or even San Luis Obispo and take the AmTrak Pacific Surfliner into LA.

I have labeled this route as "Moderate" - while most of the route is very easy driving, the heavy traffic near San Francisco and Los Angeles may be overwhelming if you're not used to it.