Arrive in Las Vegas and check into your hotel.

There are numerous hotels along the famous Las Vegas strip. You may wish to choose a hotel based on budget.

Lower budget hotels:

🏨​ Luxor

🏨​ Excalibur

🏨​ Flamingo

Each are perfectly fine for staying, but a little dated in decor.

Medium budget:

🏨​ Mandalay Bay

🏨​ Treasure Island

🏨​ MGM Grand

🏨​ Paris

🏨​ Caesars Palace

Higher budget:

🏨​ The Bellagio

🏨​ The Venetian

🏨​ The Palazzo at the Venetian

🏨​ Aria

🏨​ Wynn

These categories are not fixed and can change depending on demand, how far in advance its booked, and events taking place at the hotels.

Each of these hotels have nightclubs and day pool parties situated on site with regular appearances from popular artists and some residencies. So you might wish to choose a hotel based on the events taking place during your stay.

You can check dates and times for pool parties here and nightclubs here. We'd recommend booking a pool party for Day 2, if you have not done so already in advance.

On Day 1, spend time settling in. Explore your hotel and the Las Vegas Strip by night. Or head out to a club!

On your first full day in Vegas, head out to one of Vegas' famous pool parties. Use this website to find the right one for you.

Pool parties usually start around 11am and end at 6pm. If you're keen to squeeze in as much as you can, you could do one of the below activities before going to your chosen pool party.

🏎️​ ATV Tours Las Vegas

Surrounded by desert, Las Vegas is the perfect adults playground for outdoor lovers. Get your helmet on and head out for adrenaline filled fun in the desert!

🔫​ Shooting Range

Something unusual you can do for fun (?) in the US and ever-so easy and popular in Nevada.

🔥​ Valley of Fire State Park

For nature lovers, put on your hiking boots and go and explore the beautiful VoF State Park and Red Rock Canyon area.

Note: you can also see VoF State Park on Day 3 when you start the road trip out of Vegas.

Time for the roadtrip to begin! On day 3, check out of your hotel and go and collect your hire car from one of the many car rental places in Vegas.

Don't forget to stock up at a large Walmart or equivalent supermarket before leaving Vegas as you'll get the best prices and options before heading into Canyonland.

Drive to Springdale, Utah - your base for exploring Zion National Park.

Places to stop along the way:

🔥​ Valley of Fire State Park

If you didn't get a chance to see it yesterday, you can stop on your way out of Vegas and explore this wonderful state park.

Consider a short hike to:

🥾​ The Fire Wave

🥾​ Pastel Pink Canyon

Once you arrive in Springdale, spend the evening soaking up this beautiful canyon town.

Places to stay in Springdale:

🏨​ Desert Pearl Inn - (15 min walk to park's main entrance, 6 min drive) - pictured to the right.

🏨​ Bumbleberry Inn - (25 min walk to park's main entrance, 7 min drive)

🏨​ Hotel De Novo, Tapestry Collection - (1 hour walk to park's main entrance, 10 min drive)

🏕️​ Zion Glamping Adventure - (1 hour drive to park's main entrance)

🏕️​ Open Sky Glamping - (30 mins drive to park's main entrance)

Places for dinner:

🍴​ Camp Outpost (the best burgers)

🍴​ Whiptail Grill

Day 4 is your day to explore Zion National Park.

Springdale is conveniently located within walking distance to the park's visitor centre. If you stay somewhere like Desert Pearl Inn, you can take a leisurely 15 min stroll to the park's entrance. This walk takes you past one of the most scenic coffee shops in the world - ​☕​ Canyon Coffee for your morning fuel.

After grabbing your coffee, head into the park for a hike:

​🥾​ Pa'rus Trail (30-120 mins fully paved accessible)

​🥾​ Riverside Walk (1-2 hours)

​🥾​ Watchman Trail (1-2 hours)

​🥾​ The Narrows (1-8 hours)

​🥾​ Angels Landing (3-5 hours)

Note that for more strenuous hikes like The Narrows and Angels Landing, you may need to arrange a guide beforehand and for Angels Landing you will need a permit so do plan ahead.

💡​ American National Park Passes

You will need to pay to enter US National Parks. Prices vary per park and depending on whether you are on foot or in a vehicle, can range anywhere between $20-35. Therefore it can be more beneficial to get an annual pass if visiting more than one park.

If you fancy another outdoor activity such as horseback riding, canyoneering, or tubing down the Virgin River, there are a number of companies who offer tours in the local area including:

🌟​ East Zion Adventures

🌟​ Tubing Zion

🌟​ Zion Outfitter

On Day 5, make your way to Bryce Canyon National Park. Since it takes about ⏳​ 2.5 hours, you can choose whether you want to set off early and spend most of the day in Bryce Canyon, or spend a bit more time in Zion and have an afternoon departure. However, you should try to arrive in Bryce by sunset so you can go to 🌅​ Sunset Point scenic viewpoint and other viewpoints for sunset.

🚘​ The Zion - Mt Carmel Scenic Highway/ Tunnel

You'll want to take the Zion - Mt Carmel Scenic Highway route on your way to Bryce. This is known as one of the most scenic drives in the US and follows a 10 mile stretch of highway with winding roads and stunning red rock formations.

Where to stay in Bryce Canyon:

🏨​ The Lodge at Bryce Canyon - situated inside the park, this is a great spot to be within walking distance of many famous viewpoints.

🏨​ Ruby's Inn - whilst an RV park and campground, this place also has cabins and tipis for staying. Ruby's has many amenities including live country music shows on site, horseback riding, and rodeo (located off site). Ruby's is located in Bryce Canyon City - a small town just 7 mins drive from the park's entrance. There are a number of Ruby's establishments across Bryce Canyon City including a best western hotel.

🏨​ River Stone Inn - situated in Tropic, Utah - a small town located 20 mins drive from the park's entrance. Staying in Tropic may be further from the park but gives a bit more variety of places to stay, eat & drink, and gas stations.

🏕️​ Or go all out and surround yourself with nature by glamping: Clear Sky Resorts.

🪐​ International Dark Sky Reserve🪐​

Bryce Canyon National Park gained international dark sky reserve status in 2019, meaning it is one of the best places in the US and the world for stargazing. This may influence your decision on whether to glamp or not. If you do still choose a hotel/ motel, you can still partake in a star gazing experience.

One of the best in area is Dark Ranger Telescope Tours. You're guaranteed to have one of the best experiences of your life.

Today, leave the beautiful hoodoos of Bryce Canyon and head to another stunning geological formation - Antelope Canyon. In close proximity to Antelope Canyon, is Horseshoe Bend so you'll be able to do both in one day.

💡 Note: Antelope Canyon is 1 hour behind Bryce and Zion during Daylight Saving Time. Be sure to check the time in each location at the time of travel.

Leave Bryce Canyon early, after catching the sunrise at 🌅​ Sunrise Point. You must book onto a tour to see Antelope Canyon since it is located on Navajo Tribal Land. You'll want to book a tour between the prime viewing hours of 11am - 1pm - this is when the sun is overhead and you're likely to get the best light shining down into the canyon. So you'll have to leave Bryce early to get there in time (⏳ the drive is approximately 3 hours).

Here is a list of Antelope Canyon tour operators (note: Upper Antelope canyon is the most popular and famous one).

If you don't fancy an early morning start and tight schedule, then leave Bryce at your leisure and head straight to Page, AZ. Give yourself an extra day to see Antelope Canyon. On this option, you'll have time to stop at attractions along the way such as:

🌟 Little Hollywood Land

🌟 Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park

🌟 Moqui Cave

Base yourself in Page, Arizona. Here are some accommodation options:

🏨​ Hyatt Place, Page

​🏕️ Page Lake Powell's Campground

🏨​ Shash Dine Eco Retreat (located outside of Page - 20 mins to Antelope Canyon)

After your Antelope Canyon tour, drive a short distance (10 mins) to Horseshoe Bend Overlook parking lot. From there its a short 20 minute walk down to the famous overlook.

Other things you can do in the area:

🧗‍♀️​ Canyoneering

🚤​ Visit Lake Powell

🥾​ Hiking

The whole area is an adventure playground so you can drive around and pull up at any of the numerous scenic lookouts and roadside attractions.

Wind down into your accommodation after a long day of driving and exploring.

Drive to your next destination Bluff Dwellings Resort & Spa in Bluff, Utah where you'll spend some time relaxing and have a cultural experience sleeping overnight in a traditional 🏕️ Native American tipi.

⏳ Driving time is approximately 3 hours from Page to Bluff, and you'll have the chance to stop at the famous 🏜️ Monument Valley along the way.

If you don't get a chance to see it today, don't worry you'll have more opportunities tomorrow, but it can also be nice to catch it at both 🌅 sunset and 🌅 sunrise as the light casts differently. Be conscious of which way you're facing/ driving - at sunset you'll want to face west and you'll see the sun illuminating behind. At sunrise you'll want to face east. The visitor's centre overlook is a great place to view Monument Valley at these times.

🚘 For 'Forest Gump Point' along Highway 163, you'll want the sunrise to give as much light illumination to the three mittens as possible.

After a chilled out stay in the quiet town of Bluff, ⏳ its a short 1 hour drive today back towards Monument Valley, where you'll stay in 🏨​ The View Hotel for unbeatable views of the famous three mittens.

💡 Note: there is fee to enter Monument Valley (within which the hotel is situated). It is $8 per person per day; national park passes are not accepted.

If you wish to partake in a tour or activity, you'll need to do so with a Navajo guide. Here are some options:

🌟​ Gouldings

🌟​ Tribal Tours

🌟​ Navajo Spirit Tours

🌟​ Dineh Bekeyah Tours

Finally, enjoy a peaceful night under the stars at this fully Navajo-owned hotel. You must experience it first hand to truly understand the magic of staying on this sacred land.

If you wish to skip either yesterday's hotel or today's feel free to just do one of them, given their close proximity to each other, and gain an extra night back.

After enjoying 🌅 sunrise from the comfort of your balcony or cabin, get ready to leave Monument Valley for a long day of driving ahead.

Hit the road and drive west towards the Grand Canyon.

🚘 Make a pit stop at the 🦕​ Moenave Dinosaur Tracks 🦕​ (⏳ 2 hours from the View Hotel). This is free to visit but you will find some Navajo people selling jewellery and offering tours - it is recommended to offer them a tip or buy something since the attraction is free to visit.

💡 Be careful - there is no shade and it gets incredibly hot.

After Dinosaur Tracks, drive another ⏳ 20 mins to the small town of Cameron, AZ to stop for food:

🍴 HWY 89 Yummy Shack - Native American roadside food

🍴 Blue Canyon Grill

🍴 Burger King

After refuelling, you'll take Desert View Drive - Scenic Route 64 towards Grand Canyon Village, following the south rim of the 🏜️​ Grand Canyon 🏜️​. This route leads you directly to Grand Canyon Village where you'll be staying tonight, and takes a little over an hour to drive with no stopping. Of course, you'll want to stop along the way and enjoy views of the Grand Canyon so ⏳​ the drive can take 2-3 hours. Most official viewpoints have a parking lot and toilets and require a short walk to the rim.

Places to stay in Grand Canyon Village:

🏨​ Bright Angel Lodge

🏨​ Thunderbird Lodge

🏨​ El Tovar Hotel

All of these hotels allow you to park up your car for the night and stretch your legs with direct foot access to the 🥾​ Bright Angel Trail and 🥾​ South Rim Trail, as well as scenic lookouts from the hotels.

You may also wish to see the Grand Canyon from the air:

🚁​ Maverick Helicopter Tours

🚁​ Papillion Helicopter Tours

🌅​ Catch a sunrise over the Grand Canyon before setting off again along scenic route 64 southbound.

Arrive at your accommodation - ​🏨 Sheridan House Inn. If its too early to check in, you should be able to freshen up and relax a little.

Williams itself is situated on Historic Route 66 so you'll have plenty of Route 66 related things to do. However, if you want to explore more of Route 66, head out to explore the following towns:

​🚘​ Seligman (40 mins one way from Williams and the town on which the movie Cars is based)

​🚘​ Kingman (1h 45min one way from Williams)

​🚘​ Oatman (2h 20min one way from Williams and a town where donkeys roam freely!)

Dinner spots in Williams:

🍴 Cruisers 66

🍴 Rulu's 66 Bar and Grill

🍴 Goldies Route 66 Diner

🍴 Nanys Tacos

Leave the tranquil settings of Sheridan House Inn and head east out of Williams towards Sedona.

Sedona is about a 1.5 hour drive away - it's a great place to stop for lunch and other attractions before continuing on down to Phoenix.

Things to do in Sedona:

​🌟​ Tlaquepaque Arts Village

​🌟​ Red Rock Scenic Byway

​🌟​ Oak Creek Canyon Byway

​🌟​ Short Hikes

​🌟​ Pink Adventure Tours

Places to grab lunch in Sedona:

🍴​ Cress on Oak Creek

🍴​ Canyon Breeze

🍴​ Tamaliza

🍴​ Saltrock Kitchen

🍴​ Pump House Station

Coffee:

​☕​ Freeform Coffee Roasters

​☕​ The View Coffee Cafe

​☕​ Blackhawk Coffee

​☕​ Black Potion

After your pitstop in Sedona, its a further 2-2.5 hours drive down Interstate 17 to Phoenix.

There are tonnes of hotels/ motels/ Airbnbs in Phoenix for every budget but one of our favourites is ​🏨​ Rise Uptown.

Rise Uptown has an incredible restaurant on site, with tasty tacos and margaritas but if you want to venture out for dinner, try these:

🍴​ Dahlia Tapas

🍴​ Pizzeria Bianco

🍴​ Kid Sister

🍴​ Chilte

🍴​ Bad Jimmy's

Cool bars in Phoenix:

🍸 Rough Rider

🍸 Highball

🍸 Angel's Trumpet Ale House

🍸 Killer Whale Sex Club

🍸 Gracie's Tax Bar

All of the above are located in downtown Phoenix to allow you to park your car up for the night and use taxis for short trips, and perhaps have some alcoholic drinks. But there are a number of other neighbourhoods worthy of visiting: Uptown, North Town, and Camelback East Village as well as nearby Scottsdale and Tempe.

On Day 12, head out on a day trip down to Tucson, Arizona (⏳ about 1.5 hours away) where you'll visit the surrounding 🌵​ Saguaro National Park 🌵​(home to the largest Cacti in the world).

Note: you can see giant cacti in and around Phoenix too, although they are not part of Saguaro NP, and as densely covered.

First, fuel up on coffee in Phoenix:

☕​​ Press Coffee

☕​​ Songbird Coffee & Tea House

☕​​ Valley Coffee Company

Or if you are staying at Rise Uptown, you have ☕​​ Cartel Roasting Co. on site.

Pit stop on the way down to Tucson:

​👻​ Goldfield Ghost Town

Alternatively, choose to do it tomorrow as its only 45 mins outside of Phoenix but in an easterly direction, whereas Tucson is south so will detour your route to Tucson slightly. Either way, its definitely worth a visit!

Once down in Tucson, make your way over to the Rincon Mountain Visitor Center in East Saguaro. The park is split into two, east and west, with the college city of Tucson in the middle. The visitor centre has lots of information as well as viewpoints, and short hiking trails leading you through the cacti. Spend some time here before heading back towards Tucson for lunch.

Lunch in Tucson:

🌮​ La Chingada Cocina Mexicana

🌮​ Toto's Tacos

🌮​ Tiny's Family Restaurant

🌮​ La Frida Mexican Grill & Seafood

After lunch, head over to the western part of Saguaro National Park, to the Red Hills Visitor Center. This is a stunning visitor centre, beautifully designed to quietly blend into the surrounding vast expanse of desert, densely covered with cacti. There's plenty of viewpoints and short trails on foot, or you can take the 🚘​ Bajada Loop Scenic Drive by graded dirt road. Kinney Road leading to and from the visitor centre is also very scenic and along the way you'll find Old Tucson - an old western movie set now turned into a tourist attraction.

You may also opt for guided tours on Viator or experiences on Airbnb.

After you're finished exploring, head back to Phoenix.

Note: this day can be tailored to suit you. If you wish to skip east Saguaro, since it does offer very similar views to west Saguaro, then stick to west and opt for dinner in Tucson.

Free day in Phoenix!

After some heavy driving the last few days, give yourself a break and relax in Phoenix.

Things to do:

🛍️ Premium Outlet Shopping

🌱 Desert Botanical Garden - you can see giant cacti here too, and around Phoenix.

👻 Goldfield Ghost Town - if you didn't get a chance to go on your way down to Tucson, you may wish to visit on your free day in Phoenix.

• Here are some cool Airbnb experiences including night glow hikes, yoga in the desert, and sound meditation.

Or simply lay by the pool at your hotel. Our chosen hotel in Phoenix - Rise Uptown - has a fabulous pool and jacuzzi area with restaurant and bar on site to relax the day away.

On Day 14, leave Arizona behind and head for California!

Set off early for the drive over to Joshua Tree National Park.

⏳​ The drive is about 4-5 hours along Interstate 10.

There aren't many interesting places to stop along I-10. 🚘​ Quartzsite Rest Area offers a good half-way point pit stop. It has rest rooms, picnic benches, a little children's play area, and offers beautiful views over the Colorado River Reservation. Further along you have the town of Blythe which offers fast food chains, and grocery stores.

If you are wanting a detour instead of pressing on to Joshua Tree, try these:

🚘​ Lake Havasu City, Arizona - the place where the original London Bridge from London, England is located. It was purchased in 1968 and shipped over to the US. Read more. Lake Havasu is 3.5 hours from Phoenix and 2.5 - 3 hours from Joshua Tree.

🚘​ Slab City & Salvation Mountain, California - Slab City is an off grid unincorporated alternative community and Salvation Mountain is a colourfully painted rock mound and art work. You may recognise these locations from the movie 'Into the Wild' based on the real life travels of nomad Christopher McCandless who spent a portion of his life living at Slab City. Slab City is over 4 hours from Phoenix and 2 hours from Joshua Tree.

⚠️​ NOTE:⚠️​ Be careful when visiting remote locations and towns, especially if you are non-white, a woman or group of women, solo, not straight, or from other marginalised groups. It is unfortunate that this has to be stated, but racism and discrimination is still prominent. If you feel unsafe or get a weird vibe, get back in your car and leave.

Arriving in the Yucca Valley area of Joshua Tree, you have some great Airbnb accommodation options:

🏠 Airbnb - Secluded Desert Oasis

🏠 Airbnb -Le Cabanon of Joshua Tree | Hot tub | Pool | Stars

🏠 Airbnb - Fox Inn: Epic Views, Hot Tub, Cowboy Tub, Grill

🏠 Airbnb - Luxury Spa home w/ Huge Pool, hot tub & fire pits!

🏠 Airbnb - "Upgraded" Villa Champagne Desert Couple Retreat

If you prefer something not so secluded or a hotel:

🏠 Joshua Tree Hidden Tower Ranch

🏠 Pioneertown Motel

🏠 Desert Hot Springs Spa Hotel

🏠 AutoCamp Joshua Tree

🏠 Field Station Joshua Tree

Joshua Tree is another designated International Dark Sky Park so you will be graced with dark skies and low light pollution, giving you plenty of opportunity for stargazing.

Here are some stargazing options:

🪐​ Stargazing Joshua Tree

🪐​ Joshua Tree Astronomy Adventures

🪐​​ Stargazing/ UFO Airbnb Experience

Free day in the Yucca Valley! Try to split your day and spend some time in ⏳ Palm Springs which is just 30 mins drive away.

Palm Springs is best seen in the peak of the midday sun when the iconic mid-century homes with palm trees and pools really stand out. Alternatively sunset time will offer pink hues in the sky and stunning backdrop vistas.

Here are 2 options for your day:

Option 1:

Early morning start, early coffee and breakfast:

Coffee & Breakfast:

☕ Joshua Tree Coffee Company

☕ The DEZ

☕ Frontier Cafe

Head out mid-morning to explore Joshua Tree National Park.

Things to do:

🌟​ Pioneertown

🌟​ Keys Ranch Tour & Guided Walk

🌟​ National Park Service Ranger Programs

🌟​ Joshua Tree Excursions

🌟​ City of 29 Palms Visitor Centre

🌟​ Joshua Tree Visitor Centre

🌟​ Airbnb Experiences

Have lunch in Palm Springs around 2pm. Opt for mid-century hotels that serve food (you don't need to be a guest to dine there), or one of the many restaurant in the town.

Lunch in Palm Springs:

🍴 Orbit Inn

🍴 Del Marcos

🍴 Farm

Enjoy a dip in the pool alongside lunch at these locations (day pass purchases available):

🏖️​ Ace Hotel Swim Club

🏖️​ Avalon Hotel

🏖️​ Dive Palm Springs

🏖️​ Or visit the Resort for a Day website where you can choose a resort. This list includes the famous Saguaro Hotel.

After lunch and some afternoon swimming, and having explored Joshua Tree in the morning, head back to your accommodation for a chilled evening.

Option 2:

Have a slower start to the morning, enjoy a later coffee/ breakfast, explore Joshua Tree over lunch/ afternoon. With this option you could take a packed lunch with you if you're out hiking over lunch time, or have lunch somewhere in Yucca or Pioneertown.

Head to Palm Springs for late afternoon/ sunset and enjoy dinner here at one of the hotels above or other restaurant before heading back to your accommodation.

With this option you may wish to use the ​🚠​ Palm Springs Aerial Tramway to get a good view of the sunset over the Coachella Valley.

On Day 16, leave Joshua Tree and drive to one of the airports in Los Angeles to ✈️​ catch a flight to San Francisco.

This will begin the coastal Californian roadtrip leg of your holiday. Flying to San Francisco first and starting the roadtrip there allows you to drive south along Pacific Coast Highway 1 and have the ocean on your right without obstructed views from the other lane of traffic. Additionally, Los Angeles (generally) has cheaper flights back to the UK and offers a nice, warm, sunny, and chilled place to end your holiday.

You can of course start the roadtrip in LA and drive north, ending in SF. In which case do Days 16-22 of this itinerary in reverse.

It will take you around ⏳ 2.5-3 hours to drive to LA from Joshua Tree.

​💡​Tip: Use Hollywood Burbank (BUR) Airport for a slightly shorter journey (2.5 hours as opposed to 3) and to avoid travelling across the city and sitting in notorious LA traffic. BUR is also a lot smaller than LAX so you'll be able to drop off your car and walk to the terminal and your gate all in about 20 minutes.

There are tonnes of hotels you can choose from in San Francisco, at various budgets, but here are a list of some of our favourites:

🏨​ Lodge at the Presidio - Golden Gate bridge views

🏨​ Hotel Boheme

🏨​ Palihotel

🏨​ Petite Auberge

🏨​ Argonaut

Dinner options:

🍴 Emmy's Spaghetti Shack

🍴 Elena's Mexican

🍴 The Laundromat

🍴 Muu Ka Ta 6395

🍴 Four Kings

Bars:

🍸 Bourbon & Branch speakeasy

🍸 El Rio

🍸 Pagan Idol

🍸 Charmaine's Rooftop Bar & Lounge

After an evening in San Francisco, retire for the night in your chosen accommodation.

Free day to explore the sights of San Francisco!

Start your day with coffee:

☕​​ Flywheel Coffee Roasters

☕​​ The Coffee Movement

☕​​ Sightglass Coffee

☕​​ Sextant Coffee Roasters

There's so much to do in this huge cosmopolitan city, here are some of our top picks:

🌟Alcatraz Island - infamous disused prison now open to the public. Get a ferry over from Pier 33, for which you'll need a ticket.

🌟Sea lions and chowder at Pier 39

🌟Try Boudin's for great chowder.

🌟Lombard Street

🌟 Ride the famous SF trams - best picture opportunities - Hyde Street & Lombard Street for views of the tramlines and hilly streets.

🌟 See the Painted Ladies

🌟 Bike or walk across the Golden Gate Bridge

Speaking of the Golden Gate Bridge, there are tonnes of view points to experience it, but here are some of our favourites:

🌉​ Baker Beach

🌉​ Fort Baker

🌉​ Battery Cranston

🌉​ Marshall's Beach

🌉​ Battery Spencer

Finally, for more bespoke experiences, go to Viator or Airbnb Experiences.

On Day 18, pick up your hire car in San Francisco and leave the city.

Drive south down Highway 1, and enjoy those ocean views on the start of your Californian coastal drive.

Stop for lunch in Santa Cruz.

If you want to have lunch outdoors, grab some food-on-the-go and head to these beautifully natural beaches just outside of Santa Cruz:

🌊​ Panther Beach

🌊​ Four Mile Beach

🌊​ Strawberry Beach

If you prefer to head into Santa Cruz for lunch:

🌮 Cat and Cloud Cafe

🌮 Food Talk at Ulterior Speakeasy

🌮 Taqueria Los Pericos

🌮 Iveta

Things to see in Santa Cruz:

🌟 Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

🌟 Surf Museum

🌟 Surfing Statue

🌟 Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park

After your lunch stop in SC, continue driving south down Highway 1. Follow Monterey Bay until you arrive in Monterey/ Carmel by the Sea, where you'll spend the night. Choose one of the towns to stay - Carmel is more expensive; both offer quaint beach front towns.

Places to stay in Monterey:

🏨 Monterey Beach Hotel

🏨 Hotel 1110

🏨 The Sanctuary Beach Resort

Places to stay in Carmel-by-the-sea

🏨 Candle Light Inn

🏨 Normandy Inn

🏨 Sea View Inn

After a good nights rest by the ocean, head out early to see the sights of Monterey/ Carmel-by-the-sea.

Coffee:

☕ Kafe Toribashi

☕ Captain + Stoker

☕ Carmel Coffee Roasters

Things to do in Monterey & Carmel:

🌟 Monterey Bay Aquarium

🌟 Activities on the water - Viator

🌟 Airbnb Experiences

🌟 Walk around both towns

🌟 Enjoy the beaches

🌟 17 mile scenic drive from Monterey to Carmel-by-the-sea

After enjoying the sights of Monterey and Carmel, continue down Highway 1 to your next stop - Pismo Beach.

Stop at:

🚘 Bixby Creek Bridge

🚘 Big Sur; and

🚘 McWay Falls

🚘 Pfeiffer Beach

Places to stay in the Pismo Beach area:

🏨​ Inn at the Pier, Pismo Beach

🏨​ Dolvin Cove Motel

🏠​ Airbnb - Cayucos (a little up the coast from Pismo)

Dinner in Pismo:

🍴 ​Sunsets at Pismo - for the best sunsets you'll ever see

​🍴​ Brad's Seafood Restaurant

​🍴​ Honey I'm home

​🍴​ Morenos Taqueria

Grab your morning coffee:

☕ The Station

☕ Kortado Bakery and Coffee

☕ Scorpion Bay Coffee

Or grab a Starbucks if you fancy hitting the Pismo Premium Outlets on your way out.

Since its only a short 1.5 hour drive to your next stop at Santa Barbara, take a slow day today spending time wherever you so wish.

Visiting Pismo Beach is really just about being present, watching sunsets, visiting the beach, checking out the local slow-paced surf town, and some coastal hiking. But you can also do some dune bashing on the Oceano Dunes.

Arrive at Santa Barbara at your leisure and check into your accommodation:

🏨​ Hotel Californian

🏨​ Villa Rosa Inn

🏨​ Harbor View Inn

Dinner options in Santa Barbara:

​🍴 The Nook

​🍴 The Lark

​🍴 The Harbor Restaurant

​🍴 Santo Mezcal

On Day 21, you'll head to Los Angeles where your Cowboys, Canyons, and California roadtrip comes to an end.

So take the day slowly and soak up the Californian sunshine, sea air, and chilled vibes. 🚘 Driving time to LA is approximately 1.5 hours.

Morning coffee in Santa Barbara before you head off:

☕​​ Dart Coffee

☕​​ Considered Curbside Coffee

☕​​ Zaca Coffee Trailer

Just before you reach LA, have a pit stop in Malibu. Street parking is quite hard to come by in Malibu so if you want to visit somewhere like Nobu Malibu or Little Beach House Malibu (Soho House), you can use their valet parking ($20) and explore the rest of Malibu on foot. Worth having a drink at these spots for the views, even if there's no space to eat (they're very popular so gets quite busy).

Things to do in Malibu:

🌟 Watch the surfers at Surfrider Beach

🌟 Other beaches - Carbon Beach, Malibu Beach, Zuma Beach, Point Dume

🌟 Malibu Pier

Or if you want to skip the pretentiousness of Nobu, head to these cool spots for lunch:

🍔​ Neptune's Net

🍔​ Duke's (temporarily closed after the Palisades Fire in 2024)

🍔​ D'Amores Pizza

End your day in LA, and check into your accommodation. Here are some of our favourite places to stay:

🏨​ The Hollywood Roosevelt

🏨​ The Kinney Venice Beach

🏨​ Freehand Downtown LA

🏨​ Moxy

Los Angeles is a huge city with lots to do in different neighbourhoods, depending on what you like.

See our Los Angeles City Guide for things to do, and add them on to this trip as you wish.