Taking a road trip gives you the opportunity to check out everything that local communities have to offer. You can easily turn a simple LA to San Francisco drive, to visit friends or family or for any other reason, into an interesting holiday on the road by following a few simple tips.
Read on to find out how you can turn your trip into a unforgettable adventure.
How Long Is The Drive?
San Francisco is five and a half hours away from LA when driving non-stop along the inland interstate freeway, Interstate 5.
Alternatively, you can take the scenic route, driving along the Pacific Coast Highway, which involves taking highway 101 and highway 1. When driving non-stop along this route, you can expect to be on the road for about 14 hours. However, you can increase this to several days, depending on the time you decide to spend at stopovers; most of which are along highway 1.
Attractions
If you choose to take the scenic route, you will get the opportunity to check out a variety of popular attractions. First among them is Santa Barbra, fondly referred to as the American Riviera due to its obvious and enchanting Mediterranean appeal.
Other popular sigh seeing destinations along this route include Hearst Castle, Ragged Beach, Elephant Seal Beach, Carmel, The Big Sur, Monterey and Silicon Valley, where you can check out Google’s and Apple’s campuses for an eye opening view of the world’s top tech companies.
Things You Should Know
To ensure that your LA to San Francisco drive is as interesting as possible, it’s recommended that you prepare for some eventualities. First and foremost, if you are new to this part of the world, you might want to have a GPS device pointing the right way. Since some devices usually point out the shortest route to the destination, you might have to “trick” it by programming in destinations along the shoreline to avoid being directed to the nearest freeway.
Furthermore, be sure to have some cash in hand, as you might have to pay road tolls in some places, such as the impressive 17 mile drive between Carmel and Monterey.
If you are short on time, consider finding a shorter route from Santa Barbara to San Louis Obispo as there are no sights to be missed along both Highways 1 and 101 because they move slightly inland at this point.
With the above information in mind, your LA to San Francisco drive will be a hassle free and exciting adventure.
Photo by T.H.Li 
Photo by aepg
Photo by kla4067
Photo by Ron Coleman
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