Hey everyone in the Bay Area, greetings from the east coast I'm taking a trip out to California starting this weekend and am going to take the coastal route from SF to LA with a friend. I've seen tons of websites with advice on a 3-4 day trip to do this, but I have the drive planned for one day (I hear it takes ~10 hours). I wanted to know if there is anything I need to look out for this trip from anyone who's done it before (road closures, where are gas stations, etc.). I know I'll be missing out on a lot of things on this drive but we're doing it mainly for the drive sights. Is it really as easy as following Route 1 all the way down? How about as I get closer to LA? I hear that Route 1/101 as you get to Long Beach is an area I'd like to avoid (we'll be staying in Beverly Hills in LA). Is there a recommended route/can anyone provide clear directions to LA? I'm having some difficulty mapping out this trip and would like input from some local folks. Thanks for the help and I'm ecstatic to see the NorCal area!

 

i just recently did the drive two weeks ago. the roads are clear and traffic was light. i started at 11am, got to city of industry around 8pm. its definitely something to do once. i wont be doing it again. i-5 ftw.

 

KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD and don't get hypnotised by the beautiful scenery.
Especially around hairpin turns.

Your guess sounds about right. 10 hrs of easy driving.
Gas would be expensive in that part so be prepared to pay extra for it.

 

Out of curiosity, what Hotel in Beverly Hills will you be staying at?

 

Thanks for the help all.

I'll be at the Residence Inn in Beverly Hills. Two free nights from comps ftw!

 

Also looking to make the same type of drive soon. Where is it best to get off of 1 as you get closer?

 

Maybe get on the 10 near Santa Monica? Not sure how close that brings you to the more "urban" areas of 1.

 

If you're doing this drive in the winter when it's raining, double check road conditions on the 1 first. There are sometimes mudslides that shut down the road between Big Sur and San Simeon, in which case you'd have to go around on the 5 instead.

Not sure what the concern is with the Long Beach area, but that's way south of Beverly Hills and the 101 doesn't go there. The 1 (although everyone in So Cal calls it the PCH) does, but the two will have split long ago, and if you're going to Beverly Hills, you'll want to stay on the 101 South.

From there, the easiest way to Beverly Hills is to get on the 405 South and exit on either Santa Monica Blvd or Wilshire and drive east for about 10 minutes. You'll know you're there when you see ghetto people in Bentleys.

 

Oh yeah if you're staying on the 1 the whole way then you can definitely hit the 10 East at Santa Monica.

I'd personally suggest exiting on Wilshire Blvd or Santa Monica Blvd though. Continuing on 10 East doesn't really buy you any time.

 

Ahh. For Beverly Hills, thats not a bad rate. I worked at the Beverly Hills Hotel for over 4 years so I know the area. If you love cars, you'll love BH. Every type of exotic on the road as a daily driver.