"Big Sur" a Big Sur Travel Page by M0B1US

Starting out of San Luis Obispo, south of Big Sur, my first major appointment was with the home of Newspaper magnate, William Randolph Hearst – Hearst Castle.

You must book in advance to see California’s most famous monument to wealth and power, as this 165-room homage to excess, is only viewable by extremely popular guided tours.

A few miles north is a piece of beach that offers close up views of a mainland breeding colony of the huge and loud Elephant Seals as they laze on the sand only a few feet below you.

Big Sur itself is simply stunning. There are no major towns along this 100-mile stretch of remote, thinly populated and spectacular coastline, so you can easily lose yourself in the sheer grandness of the region’s natural beauty.

There are plenty of state parks and reserves to feast your eyes on such as the Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park were the 50ft McWay Falls drop straight into the sea. Ventana Wilderness is another popular spot with mineral pools at Sykes Hot Springs.

Throughout the region are wonderfully secluded boutique inns and hotels such as Deetjen’s Big Sur Inn.

Firstly, take your time! This scenic drive takes longer than it looks on the map, the journey from San Luis Obispo to Carmel is about five hours without stopping to look around – you want to spend a whole day at least to do it any justice at all. Preferably you would stay the night at some point along the way.

Make sure you have plenty of film for your camera, as you will be pulling over wherever possible to photograph as much of this awesome coastline as you can!

Above all, fill up at Carmel or San Luis Obispo before you start your journey, as petrol prices are exorbitant, we were going to stop until we saw the petrol priced at $2.39/gal and decided to risk limping into Carmel instead!

Try and bring your own food for picnicking, as this too is quite pricey here. The only cheaply priced café/restaurant we noticed was Café Kevah, underneath Nepenthe, but that had closed before we got there.

Other things to note is that most of the beaches are private, and swimming is discouraged as, apart from being cold, the water here has plenty of rips and undertows.

The only way to truly do this journey justice is to drive, drive, drive!
This is one of the foremost driving routes in the World, it is made for driving and driving is the only way that you will be able to really appreciate the stunning natural splendour of this wild and rugged region…

With a car (preferably a convertible!), you can stop at your leisure at the many cliff-side vantage points to gaze in wonder as the slate grey Pacific Ocean crashes against the rock strewn cliff sides.

If you enjoy driving, you will love this winding and curvy highway with its challenging banks and turns. Try and avoid the high season of summer however, as this is when this two-lane highway can become choked with holidaymakers – summer also brings fogs rolling in from the ocean, which can make driving this stretch of road a dangerous chore rather than the absolute joy that it's supposed to be…

Winter also brings the prospect of storms that can often close the highway to vehicles, so it is always best to check the weather before undertaking this long journey.

Greyhound runs a service through Big Sur.