I'm going to drive the Pacific Coast Highway...any tips?

My wife and I will be celebrating our 25th anniversary on June 8th and we have decided to fly to Las Vegas (because it's stupid cheap) and then drive to Ventura, CA to begin our drive North on Highway 1. We at least want to get North of San Francisco before we turn around and re-trace our steps back to Las Vegas. We will get to Vegas on a Sunday night and fly out of Vegas on Thursday afternoon. Not much time.

Watch out for LOTS of idiot drivers.  Too bad you're not going south from there or north from San Fran, those are the nicest areas of the coast!

Hmmmmmm Ventura, CA. 23 miles west of me I live .25 miles off the 101.
 
 
Clint to his wife: "Missed him by THIS much".

Be very careful on Mountain Pass on I-15 when you get into California. That drive can be dangerous and the people are crazy. Also watch your speeds going across the desert. You'll be going faster than you realize.
 
A neat little detour is in Goodsprings outside of Vegas. I accidentally stumbled into the Pioneer Saloon back in 2003 on my way back across the country because I wanted to wait until night time to go through Vegas and see the lights. Really cool old western bar that has had a few movies shot there.

We're wondering if driving down to Dana Point and starting our drive from there would be a good idea? Would it be worth the time spent? It looks like it would take 3 to 4 hours to get to San Simian from Dana Point. The other idea is to just start at San Simian and drive North...One of these two options seems to be better than starting in Ventura. We only have 3 days to do this drive.

Hi,
 
Hmmm ... Hwy 1 stops at Oxnard, and doesn't restart until further up way past Santa Barbara just past Gaviota.
 
Well, actually, 101 and 1 are together at that point.
 
In SF, if I remember it right, join 101 so you can go across the Golden Gate Bridge and you can stay on 1 all the way up to Rockport/Hardy, when you have to go inside to 101 again. And that can take you all the way to Port Angeles in the Seattle area.
 
Unfortunately, you are not taking this further. You should if ever there is a chance!
 
http://www.pedrosena.com/photos2.htm  for a picture I took on 95 on the way to Las Vegas on the outskirts of Goldfield. I have "family" in Las Vegas.
 
Prime spots (for me):
- Redwoods. Must camp out there for a couple of nights. Weekdays is best as it is not overfilled.
- Crescent City/Brookings. Beautiful view from the mountains overlooking the ocean.
- The Sea Lion Caves in Oregon. Very cool, but you can't throw fishies at the buggers!
 
That drive, including a couple of campgrounds, should take a good 2 weeks, just to make it to Astoria in a relaxed, enjoyable manner, so it doesn't feel like nature got past you, a trip up Columbia River all the way to The Dalles is a must. Check pictures out of the Columbia River Gorge.
 
Have lots of fun. The drive is way better in Oregon, than California for my tastes, but you can always stop by Santa Barbara and check out my old digs (East Beach) where the professional volleyball thing started 40 years ago. Or you can visit the wonderful tar-d beaches all the way up for several miles. UCSB is on the beach and Goleta beach is next to it.
 
 Of all the drives, the one I like the most is Hwy 375 between Reno and Klamath Falls for some of the prettiest areas ever. You can continue up to Pendleton, OR (cowboy country with Round Up the first week of September), and then take 84 along the Columbia River all the way to Portland and switch to 26 or St Helens to take the route along the Columbia River and then you can go down 101 from Astoria. For me that would be a nicer drive all around, and you get to see the Cascades intimately and the ocean in both California and Oregon.
 
Beautiful country around here ... and above all GREEN!

bapu
Hmmmmmm Ventura, CA. 23 miles west of me I live .25 miles off the 101.
 
 
Clint to his wife: "Missed him by THIS much".

I'll take you and your significant other to dinner at your favorite digs when I get to Santa Barbara next. I'm not sure mom is going to last much longer at 95 and this means a trip to SB ... and hopefully the house won't be raided by Cal auditors that want to force a sale so the family gets nothing and they can collect real taxes off the house! As for the library? who knows! I can't imagine the Portuguese Gov't dishing out several million to move it! or any university buying it other than Stanford or UCLA, but both of those have pretty much dismantled anything "Portuguese" over the years!
 

There is much magic is between south of Monterey down to around Hearst castle.  I would skip the north-of-SF part just to spend more time around Big Sur.  It's not that there's not some awesome coastline north of SF - there is a ton of it, especially as you get further north.  But the time to get to the northern coast will take away from the Big Sur experience.  Take your time.  It's so lovely you should plan to stop frequently and soak it up slowly.
 
Alternately, skip Big Sur entirely and focus on the northern coast option, driving by boring interstate until you get to Santa Rosa.  From there, cut over to the coast and take a right when you get to Jenner (the coast town you get to from Santa Rosa).  Keep driving for as much time as you can spend.  As far as I know, it's almost unceasingly breathtaking from Jenner all the way up to Alaska.  When you get to redwood country, maybe around Eureka, go inland a bit (you don't have to go very far) to experience the majesty of the redwood forests.

There's also the Winchester House in San Jose.
 
There's a really good restaurant (my brain is working on the name) on Green Lantern street in Dana Point.

+1 for Hearst Castle, or at least Morro Bay. It's a quiet little beach town we tend to go to whenever we're visiting the in-laws.

Hmmm, Bapu seems to have gone into hiding for some reason...........
 
Anyway, my tip is. ......when heading north, try to keep the sea on your left. HTH.
 
Same WA as me btw, only I still have a 10 stretch to go to equal you. Made it easy on myself whenever anyone asks how long, y'see ?
 
It's also the same day that the MOT (compulsory safety check) is due on one car and also the insurance renewal on the other one, so I get two handy reminders in the post each year in case it should slip my mind....... and strangely enough, the other car insurance falls due on Mrs Paulo's birthday, which is also the anniversary of the day we met, so another handy little reminder.....
 
And to think people call me stupid..... !
 

Well I believe we have a tentative plan. We should leave Las Vegas by 8:30PM June 7th. We are going to try and get within a hour of Dana Point and begin our drive north Monday morning. We're going to try and make pretty good time going north. Hopefully around the SF point we are going to turn around and head back South. We will take our time and spend as much time as possible Tuesday and Wednesday. Wednesday evening somewhere close to San Simian we have to head back toward Las Vegas. We will return, maybe in the Fall and travel the road North of SF. I would love to see Oregon...and I will.

I've driven from San Fran to Monterey before in a top down convertible rental!  It was absolutely beautiful!
 

heydan
The Redwood/Sequoya trees N of SF should in my opinion be real close to the top of everyone's lifetime bucket list. As in many instances, photos don't do them justice.  It was a humbling experience standing among them.
Best, HeyDan 
 

I have been to the national park at Muir Woods.  Seeing the giant Sequoya's was also a long time dream of mine.  while there are larger trees further north than Muir woods, these were still awesome to see!
 
I definitely recommend a stop there!
http://www.nps.gov/muwo/index.htm
 
 

We're here in Bakersfield! We are going to go north on 99 and turn west on 46 to Cambria and then up the Pacific coast highway. Today is our 25th anniversary...and yes I'm already missing my studio! I did however take advantage of the time off and put my guitars in the shop for a fresh setup.

When you make the right to go North to Cambria, Hearst Castle will great you just north of Cambria. A little north of there is where the elephant seals hang out. Two good stops IMO.