With COVID changing travel (and the world!) as we know it, there’s been a resurgence of a classic family vacation trend – the road trip! Typically I’m not a road trip kind of gal and prefer to jet-set, but this pandemic hasn’t calmed my wanderlust, and road trips have been a great way to see new places and things within driving distance. Recently, we loaded up the car and headed up the California Coast. Starting from our home in Los Angeles, we made the trip north to San Luis Obispo, stopping in Santa Barbara, Solvang, and Pismo beach on the way. If you’re looking for road trips in California, come take the trip with us!
Starting Point: Los Angeles
No better place to start than home, so we took off from Downtown Los Angeles. I’ve shared travel time for each day from the current location so that if you choose to take this route, you’ll know the time to plan for each day.
First Stop: Santa Barbara
Travel Time: Downtown LA to Santa Barbara: 1 hour 50 minutes
Where to Stay in Santa Barbara
I highly recommend the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort for your Santa Barbara stay. The property is beautiful and it sits steps away from the beach! If you’re roadtripping on a budget, try Kimpton The Goodland in Goleta – the town is only 10 minutes to downtown Santa Barbara.
What to Eat & Drink in Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara is famous for its wineries, and I absolutely love Margerum. My favorite restaurant in Santa Barbara, Fork & Finch, is closed due to COVID, but we found plenty of amazing Santa Barbara signature eats at Boathouse Santa Barbara, Rusty’s Pizza Parlor and Joe’s Cafe. Don’t forget to grab an ice cream cone from McConnell’s (featured here in Best Desserts in LA 2020!) A SoCal-famous ice cream spot, McConnell’s originated from Santa Barbara.
What to Do in Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara is home to some of the most beautiful, clean, and Instagrammable beaches in SoCal, so be sure to plan some long walks and beach days. If you’re looking to scratch that shopping itch, head into downtown Santa Barbara to pick up souvenirs at some of the adorable shops.
Make sure you check out my IG Highlights labeled Santa Barbara for more!
Second Stop: Solvang
Travel Time: Santa Barbara to Solvang – 45 minutes
I’m a little bit obsessed with Solvang, a cute little Dutch-inspired town on the Southern California coast. The charming Dutch architecture makes Solvang the perfect spot for Insta-ready photos and makes for a whimsical day trip.
Where to Stay in Solvang
Because Solvang is so close to Santa Barbara, I usually stay in Santa Barbara and visit Solvang without staying overnight there. However, if you have any hotel recommendations in Solvang, definitely comment or let me know!
What to Eat & Drink in Solvang
Solvang is famous for its Aebleskivers, which are basically pancake balls covered with strawberry jam and powder sugar (sounds awful, right?) Pick some up at the Solvang Restaurant. This town is also famous for its bakeries: my personal favorites are The Solvang Bakery and Danish Mill Bakery, which are both open during COVID. Hungry for full meal? The Copenhagen Sausage Garden has an array of beyond delicious sausages and unique beers on tap. They’re open and have patio dining during COVID! While not particularly well-known for its wines, Solvang boasts a few local spots I recommend – Toccata and Lucas & Lewellen have some great options for sweet and dry wine lovers alike.
What to Do in Solvang
Plenty of public parking makes Solvang the perfect stop for adorable shops selling everything from trinkets to Dutch paraphernalia! There’s also a lot of unique art galleries that are lovely to walk through. If you’re looking for road trips in California, I highly recommend you stop by Solvang. Thank me later!
Want to see more? Check out my IG Highlights labeled Solvang!
Third Stop: Pismo Beach
Travel time: Solvang to Pismo Beach – 55 minutes
Pismo Beach is a tiny, charming California beach town. This was my first time visiting, and since we only stayed for 1 night we spent most of our time exploring the pier area. Do you know and love Pismo beach? Comment or email me to share your favorite spots and tips!
Where to Stay in Pismo Beach
We stayed at the Inn at the Pier Pismo Beach, which was beautiful, and almost a little too upscale for the tiny beach town. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining! The hotel is one of the newest in Pismo Beach and the rooms were clean and modern. They have a rooftop bar restaurant, and we were very impressed by the quality of the food. I highly recommend staying and/or eating there to make your trip a little more upscale!
What to Eat & Drink in Pismo Beach
I’m a huge fan of Clam Chowder so as I researched Pismo Beach eats and found the ‘Award Winning Clam Chowder’ sign at Splash Cafe Pismo Beach, I knew I had to make a stop. While you can’t dine-in currently due to COVID restrictions, they have plenty of outdoor dining space for you to relax and enjoy. The clam chowder was indeed delicious (though in my book you can’t beat Boston, San Francisco, or Seattle chowders.) To feed your sweet-tooth, Cowboy Cookie & Ice Cream is a great snack stop on your way to or from the beach – their Snickerdoodle cookie was my absolute favorite. Kraken Coffee Co. Pismo Beach – I loved their coffee so much we ended up going there 3 times in a span of 24 hours and brought home their beans.
What to Do in Pismo Beach
The pier is a small area and we were only there for a day so we just enjoyed the beach! Shockingly, the sand was the softest, most powdery sand I have ever felt in California beaches. The sand was as soft as Turks and Caicos if you can believe it – all I did was run my hands through it like a fascinated child!
Final Stop: San Luis Obispo
Travel Time, Pismo Beach to San Luis Obispo: 20 mins
I’ve heard such great things about San Luis Obispo (or SLO, as Californians call it), I could hardly wait to visit! It was a bit of a bummer that so many activities that we would normally have done were closed due to COVID (Hearst Castle, Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, for example that I was dying to see) but we still managed to maximize our time there and enjoy what San Luis Obispo had to offer even amidst the pandemic.
Where to Stay in San Luis Obispo
Oh, the Madonna Inn (click to read all about it). Honestly, visiting the Madonna Inn has been on my travel bucket list forever, and it was every bit as magical as I had imagined. The room we stayed in (‘Just Heaven’) was so whimsical, I felt like a Disney Princess. Even if you don’t stay the night, there’s still plenty to experience there: The bakery and restaurants are delicious, and the inn is host to hiking trails, on-property horses, the Secret Garden and fun little shops throughout the property. If you don’t get to go anywhere else in San Luis Obispo, you have to go to the Madonna Inn.
What to Eat & Drink in San Luis Obispo
Since the California Coast is known for the wineries, we had to at least stop by one! We chose Claiborne & Churchill because of their unique offering of Gewürztraminers, which is one of my favorite (and hard to find) wines. They had a gorgeous outdoor space with friendly service and, of course, delicious wines. We loved it so much that we came home with a case!
What to Do in San Luis Obispo
Avila Valley Barn is totally different from the vacation activities I’d typically choose, but it was so much fun. The lovely barn had farm animals that you can feed, a BBQ pit, snack shop, freshly roasted corn and a market filled with delicious baked goods and produce from small farms in the area. Big thanks to Danise from Central Coasting Cali for recommending that I go (check out her blog for all things Central California Coast!). We don’t have kids and still loved it, but if you’re looking for road trips in California with kiddos, they’ll love Avila Valley Barn!
Want to see more? Check out my IG Highlights labeled San Luis Obispo!
Not ready for a trip but wanting to get out?
Check out my Outdoor Dining in Los Angeles post for restaurants that are properly following regulations and providing excellent experiences!
I’m looking forward to taking more road trips and sharing them with you! The next one is another one to add to the list of road trips in California, specifically from Los Angeles to Las Vegas in partnership with Toyota and I’ll be writing a post for that experience as well. Link to come!
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