16 Activities
Central Coast Thriller and Chiller Through Santa Cruz to Carmel
Starts from
San Francisco
Transportation
By Car
Guidance
Self-Guided
Activities
16
Duration
2 days
Length
87 mi
Guide details
Starts from
San Francisco
Transportation
By Car
Guidance
Self-Guided
Duration
2 days
Length
87 mi
- Natural Attractions
Christina Mueller
Travel Expert
- Feel the earth tilt at The Mystery Spot.
- Scream your lungs out on the West Coast's most famous roller coaster.
- Enjoy a serene drive and one of the coolest California Missions in San Juan Bautista.
All it takes is two days to experience the best of California's Central Coast. Spend some time in Santa Cruz, so you know how it feels to lose your voice on a roller coaster. Drive up to the Mystery Spot to feel the earth tilt (or did it.....???) and understand why everyone in California seems to have that weird yellow bumper sticker on their car. Head over to Monterey to spot the Lone Cypress on the Monterey Peninsula's 17-Mile Drive. Don't forget your sweater—the weather can change in a blink if the fog decides to roll in. Finally, take in the charm of Carmel and its many thatched cottages and hidden alleyways. Don't forget to take a few minutes to get lost. It's the California Condensed Road Trip!
Categories
- Natural Attractions
All it takes is two days to experience the best of California's Central Coast. Spend some time in Santa Cruz, so you know how it feels to lose your voice on a roller coaster. Drive up to the Mystery Spot to feel the earth tilt (or did it.....???) and understand why everyone in California seems to have that weird yellow bumper sticker on their car. Head over to Monterey to spot the Lone Cypress on the Monterey Peninsula's 17-Mile Drive. Don't forget your sweater—the weather can change in a blink if the fog decides to roll in. Finally, take in the charm of Carmel and its many thatched cottages and hidden alleyways. Don't forget to take a few minutes to get lost. It's the California Condensed Road Trip!
Christina Mueller
Travel Expert
- Feel the earth tilt at The Mystery Spot.
- Scream your lungs out on the West Coast's most famous roller coaster.
- Enjoy a serene drive and one of the coolest California Missions in San Juan Bautista.
Travel itinerary
7 Activities
Day 1
29 mi
San Francisco to Santa Cruz and a Mission or Two
Just a short drive south from San Francisco, an epic beachfront boardwalk hosts California's best-known and best-loved roller coaster, the Giant Dipper. Get your ya-ya's out as you whoosh down the coaster's "dip" before spending a chill afternoon steps away at the beach. Does it get more all-American than this?
9 Activities
Day 2
58 mi0.6 mi
Santa Cruz to Monterey, Carmel and San Juan Bautista
From Santa Cruz, follow the reverse C-shape of Monterey Bay to the towns of Monterey and Pacific Grove. Pacific Grove is home to an over-wintering site of monarch butterflies. There is an amazing exhibit of their living habitat at the pacific Grove Museum of Natural History. Not far away, the entrance to a 17-mile scenic drive which curves around a small peninsula brings you past the famous "Lone Cypress" (easy to see when it is not foggy, impossible when it is foggy) and drops you into Pebble Beach, before arriving at the sweet and very walkable town of Carmel.