Day 5

As we are driving down to San Francisco, we stopped by this amazing oyster restaurant, Hog Island Oyster Co in Marshall, where you can shuck your own oysters! We didn’t stop at too many restaurants because we have a kitchen in the van, but you must stop here! If you want more information, I love this blog post on the experience.

After stuffing our faces with oysters, San Fran bound for the rest of the day! Depending on what you want to do in the City by the Bay, one to two days is plenty of time! For the day, here is what we did:

Drive through super twisty Lombard Street (yes, the camper van made it and yes, I thought I was going to have a heart attack the entire time!)
Get the best views of the Golden Gate Bridge. Fortunately, we were able to get both the sunny view just as we entered SF.
Go say “hi” to the sea lions on Pier 39 while you are at the Fisherman’s Wharf!
Hike near Lands End - The best spot to hike in the morning fog as you get incredible views of the Pacific Ocean and the GG Bridge. You can also see remains of a shipwreck, hear sea lions in the background, and walk down to see the Labyrinth.
Visit Alcatraz Island. Pro tip: Purchase tickets early - like two months in advance!
Muir Woods National Monument - Walk among massive trees; just can’t get enough of them!

Day 6

After visiting, “Karl the Fog” over the GGB in the morning - Yes, the fog in the Foggy City has a name! (Even has an Instagram account!) We headed south towards LA. On our way, we were able to stop by many locations! If only there was more time!

But to give a brief itinerary for each location that we stopped at we are driving on HWY1:

Pacifica, CA - Devil’s Slide Trail - Used to be the most dangerous portion of the PCH but is now a trail for hiking and baking. Great roadside views!
Pescadero, CA - Pigeon Point Lighthouse - The tallest lighthouse on the West Coast.
Ano Nuevo State Park - Have to stop by to see the sleeping sea lions! There is also a 3-mile trail that takes you close to them.
Davenport, CA - Shark Fin Cove - Title says it all - cove with a giant rock shark fin formation.
Monterey, CA - Where Big Little Lies was filmed!

Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA - Such a charming little town with lots of shops and wineries to check out. This is also where we locked our keys in the van (facepalm!)

Big Sur
- Pfeiffer Beach - a beach with purple sand and “the window”
- Bixby Bridge - One of the most famous bridges on the west coast.
- McWay Falls at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park - Iconic waterfall that goes into the ocean.
Santa Barbara - Drove through but if you have more time, check out State Street, Rincon Beach, and Shoreline Park.
Malibu, CA - Leo Carrillo State Park - Cool area where we made an early dinner! If you have time, check out the coastal caves, tide pools, or watch surfers/windsurfers.

Santa Monica, CA - Santa Monica Pier - Classic west coast pier.

Los Angeles - Griffith Park - Griffith Observatory and the Hollywood Sign Hike

Finally made it to LA around 5pm in which we drove straight over to Griffith Park to hike the Hollywood sign. You would think it would be easy to navigate this area since it is so popular, but it is not! I should have saved our exact coordinates but if you find yourself having the same problem we had, here is a great post on locating the exact Hollywood Sign Hike.

CONFESSION TIME: We did not stay in an RV spot for our last night on our camper van road-trip! There, I said it! But to be fair, we thought we wouldn’t have time to get to LA on this day so we were expecting to find an RV spot before we got to LA. So, we stayed at a Double Tree, ate way too many double tree cookies (have you had them!? they are amazing!) and left early in the am.

Day 7

Last day! Since LA was our stopping point for the trip, we needed to drop off the camper van at noon and fly out in the evening. With that said, we pretty much had a full day to do just about anything!

All day LA itinerary:

Had our last meal around Santa Monica Pier - Made friends with the beach volleyball players real fast!
Located about 3 miles away from the pier in Venice Beach where we spent the rest of the morning. Great spot to see live shows, people watching, shopping, and do a pull up at muscle beach!

Stroll through Melrose Avenue and Abbot Kinney - Great areas to explore cute boutiques, cafes, bars, and to see some awesome street art.

Drop off the Camper van! (tears were shed!)
A dear friend from LA picked us up and we spent the rest of the day getting a local’s guide to the city!
Just outside of LA in San Marino, CA is The Huntington - Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. My friend surprised me by making tea reservations at the Rose Garden Tea Room! Such a fun and memorable experience!
I had the ultimate local experience at San Pedro Fish Market where I had their famous Shrimp Tray. My mouth is watering as I write this!
Fly out of LAX with a full and happy belly!

Essential Tips for First Timers:

When to Travel: We went during the summer months because of our schedule. With that said, the summertime brings in tons of tourists, and it will be harder to reserve an RV/camping spot so plan ahead! So-Cal will stay warm even during the summer months, but the more north you go, the colder it will be. Spring and Fall will have the fewest crowds and all around great weather.
Which direction to take: When planning your road trip, I highly recommend starting North to South. This will keep you on the coastal side and makes it easy to take advantage of pullouts.
Attire: Make sure you dress in layers. We experienced colder weather during the first half of the trip since we were up north but as you drive down the coast, it can get pretty windy. Also, make sure you bring waterproof layers in case of rain.
Park Passes: If you think that you will be hitting up National Parks, BLM, National Forests, and National Wildlife Refuges, throughout your trip, you may save money in getting a parking pass. Here is the link if you are interested.
Be Flexible: Most of the small stops along the coast were things that we ended up discovering on a whim. You never know what area you’ll discover and love so make a plan but give yourself flexibility. Also, if you are planning on hiking and visiting state parks, make sure you schedule more time since certain parks can take hours to actually get to them.
Plan ahead: Yes, it’s great to be flexible but it’s also smart to plan! You will notice that cell reception is almost obsolete in most state parks and as you are driving down the coast so make sure you have a general idea of where you are going. For example, instead of relying on google maps, download an offline map in advance. That being said, make sure you know where gas, rest, food, and rv spots are.

Here are some apps that I found helpful for this trip:

Travel
- Spotify - All good road trips need an awesome playlist! That’s why I created an End of Summer Road Trip Playlist.
- Roadtrippers - Road trip planner that includes how much money you’ll spend on fuel and far you have to drive.
- Gasbuddy - Find the cheapest gas along your route.
- Accuweather - Self-explanatory but when traveling north to south, you want to be prepared for all weather conditions.
- iExit - Use for the practical part of your road trip like what amenities are available at the upcoming exit.
- Chimani - Helps you to navigate national parks.
- National Parks Service - Great for providing live updates on events in the area, where to sleep/eat, and road closures.
- Scout - If you are traveling alone or want to keep your family/friends in the loop while you’re traveling.
- Food Tripping - Suggests healthier food options like organic coffee stops, juice joints, microbreweries, farmers’ markets, among others.
- BringFido- We didn’t bring the dogs with us for this trip, but if you are traveling with a furry companion this app is great as a pet travel and hotel directory.
- AllTrails - The best hiking, running, backpacking, biking, etc trails around the world.

Camping
- KOA - Campgrounds across North America
- Hipcamp - Private, unique camping spots
- The Dyrt - Campsites, National, State, and Private
- Recreation.gov - National Parks only
- Tentrr - Glamping, platform tents
- REI Co-op National Parks Guide - National Parks only, no reservations
- Campendium - RV, tent campgrounds
- Allstays - Range of campgrounds, rest stops, and free camping spots across the US.