North America · Touring guide
A characterful city and natural starting point for California routes.
Is it right for you?
A strong fit for
City breaks, West Coast multi-centres and road trips.
We would think twice for
Travellers expecting California beach weather in the city, because San Francisco runs cool and foggy even in August, and the sunshine lives an hour in any direction.
What we would want you to know
Neighbourhood and hotel choice matter greatly.
We’ve been here
San Francisco keeps coming up in our client planning, sometimes paired with New Orleans, and California is one of the states we have travelled in ourselves. Most of the thinking goes into two choices: which neighbourhood to sleep in, and whether the coast road south is given the days it needs.
The route
Nights 1 to 3
No car yet. Alcatraz on the first morning, the bridge by bike and the Sausalito ferry, a cable car ride, and a day for Muir Woods or the Ferry Building market.
Nights 4 and 5
Collect the car as you leave and follow the coast through Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz. Spend a full day between the aquarium, Point Lobos and a walk on Carmel's beach.
Night 6
The slowest, loveliest day of the drive: Bixby Creek Bridge, the redwood state parks and a night in a cabin or lodge with no signal and plenty of stars.
Night 7
The elephant seals in the morning, a guided tour of Hearst Castle, then a sunset walk along the Moonstone Beach boardwalk.
Night 8
Head south through farmland and vineyards with a long lunch on the way, then an evening on the waterfront and among the white-walled streets.
Nights 9 and 10
Drive the last stretch through Malibu, drop the car, and give a day to the Getty and Santa Monica's beach path before the flight home.
An idea to react to, not a fixed package. We shape the real thing around your dates, your pace and what the flights are doing that season.
Map and stops
Union Square and Nob Hill put the cable cars and the big hotels on your doorstep, while North Beach and the Mission carry the food and the character. The catch is the streets around the Tenderloin and mid-Market, a few blocks from Union Square, which feel rough, so hotel position matters more here than in most American cities.
Rolling vineyard valleys north of the Golden Gate: Sonoma is the more relaxed of the two, Napa the grander and dearer. Many wineries now ask you to book tastings ahead, and nobody should drive between them, so a driver or a guided day makes sense. Two nights here can open the trip, or a day out can replace one in the city.
Monterey has the aquarium and the old sardine canneries of Cannery Row, and Carmel next door is a storybook village of cottages, galleries and a white-sand beach, with Point Lobos just to the south. It suits families and couples alike. Carmel's houses famously have no street numbers and there are few big hotels, so rooms are small, charming and priced accordingly.
Not a town but a long stretch of coast where the mountains drop straight into the Pacific, with redwood canyons, state parks and a handful of lodges and cabins. There is no mobile signal in many places and fuel is scarce and dear, so fill up in Carmel or Cambria, and book rooms early, because there are very few of them.
A pine-wooded village with a clifftop boardwalk along Moonstone Beach, close to Hearst Castle and the elephant seal beaches of San Simeon. It is a restful stop after the Big Sur drive, with modest motels and inns, but the evenings are very quiet and the sea is too cold for more than a paddle.
White walls and red-tiled roofs below the mountains, rebuilt in Spanish colonial style after an earthquake in 1925, with a palm-lined waterfront and the Santa Ynez wine valleys inland. It is sunnier and warmer than anywhere further north. Rooms are expensive, especially at weekends, when people drive up from Los Angeles.
The route usually ends in Santa Monica, a walkable beach town within the sprawl, with the pier, a long cycle path beside the sand and easy access to the airport. Two nights here make an easy finish before the flight home. The catch is traffic: crossing Los Angeles at rush hour takes far longer than the map suggests, so we plan the days around it.
Weather and seasons
San Francisco's seasons run against British instinct. The average July high is only 19°C, as fog pours through the Golden Gate on many afternoons, while September, at around 22°C, is often the warmest and clearest month of the year. Winter is mild but wet, with about 131mm falling in January, and heavy storms are what set off the landslides that close stretches of the coast road. For the drive south, September and October give the clearest coast and quieter roads, spring brings green hills and wildflowers along with more sea fog, and July and August add holiday traffic to Highway 1. The Monterey Peninsula fills up in mid August for its classic car week, when rooms there are scarce and expensive.
Worth timing a trip around
A night parade of floats, lion dancers and firecrackers winds through downtown and Chinatown, led by a long golden dragon carried by a team of dancers.
Classic car auctions, races and the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance fill the peninsula. Car lovers book a year ahead; everyone else should avoid these dates, when rooms are scarce and prices soar.
A jazz festival held at the county fairgrounds every year since 1958, with several stages running over one weekend.
Navy ships in the bay and the Blue Angels display team roaring low over the waterfront. The Marina Green and the hills above Fisherman's Wharf fill with spectators.
| Month | High | Low | Sea | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 15°C | 9°C | 12°C | 131 mm |
| February | 16°C | 9°C | 12°C | 40 mm |
| March | 16°C | 9°C | 12°C | 101 mm |
| April | 17°C | 10°C | 11°C | 28 mm |
| May | 17°C | 11°C | 12°C | 3 mm |
| June | 19°C | 12°C | 12°C | 0 mm |
| July | 19°C | 13°C | 13°C | 0 mm |
| August | 20°C | 14°C | 14°C | 0 mm |
| September | 22°C | 14°C | 14°C | 2 mm |
| October | 21°C | 13°C | 14°C | 4 mm |
| November | 18°C | 11°C | 13°C | 42 mm |
| December | 14°C | 9°C | 12°C | 122 mm |
Temperatures are 2015 to 2024 averages from NOAA records for San Francisco Dwtn, 1 km away at 46 m. Rainfall is from the same station and shows the typical (median) month, so one freak storm does not skew it. Sea temperatures: NOAA OISST, 1991 to 2020.
| Month | High | Low | Sea | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 17°C | 12°C | 15°C | 48 mm |
| February | 16°C | 12°C | 15°C | 11 mm |
| March | 16°C | 12°C | 15°C | 64 mm |
| April | 17°C | 13°C | 15°C | 6 mm |
| May | 16°C | 14°C | 17°C | 3 mm |
| June | 18°C | 16°C | 18°C | 0 mm |
| July | 20°C | 18°C | 20°C | 0 mm |
| August | 21°C | 19°C | 20°C | 0 mm |
| September | 21°C | 19°C | 20°C | 1 mm |
| October | 21°C | 17°C | 19°C | 0 mm |
| November | 19°C | 14°C | 17°C | 4 mm |
| December | 17°C | 12°C | 16°C | 58 mm |
Temperatures are 2015 to 2024 averages from NOAA records for Santa Monica Pier, 2 km away at 8 m. Rainfall is from Santa Monica Muni Ap, 4 km away and shows the typical (median) month, so one freak storm does not skew it. Sea temperatures: NOAA OISST, 1991 to 2020.
Things to do
The former federal prison on its island in the bay, toured with an audio guide narrated by former guards and inmates. Only the official ferries from Pier 33 land there, and they sell out weeks ahead in summer, so tickets are the first thing we book once flights are confirmed.
Hire bikes near Fisherman's Wharf, ride along the waterfront and over the bridge, then roll down into Sausalito and take the ferry back. Go in the morning, because afternoon wind and fog make the crossing cold, even in July.
Three historic lines still climb the hills. The queue at the Powell Street turntable can last an hour, so walk a few stops up the line or ride the quieter California Street line, and hold on tight on the running boards.
The old ferry terminal on the Embarcadero is now a food hall of Californian producers, with a farmers' market outside on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Saturday morning is the big one, and the best time for breakfast.
Old-growth coast redwoods in a valley north of the Golden Gate, seen from easy boardwalk trails. Parking and the shuttle bus must be booked in advance every day of the year, so reserve before you set off.
Built into an old cannery on the water, with a towering kelp forest tank and rescued sea otters at feeding time. Book tickets online for summer and weekends, and look out over the bay for wild otters too.
The concrete arch on so many Big Sur postcards, best seen from the turnout on its north side. Park only in marked turnouts, never on the road edge, and keep well back from the unfenced cliffs.
The newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst's hilltop palace above San Simeon, with marble pools and rooms full of European treasures. Visits are by guided tour only, reached by bus from the visitor centre below, and tours book up in summer.
A free roadside boardwalk north of San Simeon overlooks a beach crowded with elephant seals. Winter brings the huge males and the births, spring the moulting, and volunteers are often on hand to explain what you are watching.
A hilltop art museum above Los Angeles, reached by a driverless tram from the car park, with gardens and views to the ocean. Entry is free but parking is charged, and a timed booking helps at weekends.
Food and drink
The city has baked tangy sourdough since the Gold Rush, and chowder served in a hollowed-out sourdough bowl is the classic waterfront lunch.
The sweet local crab, cracked and eaten with garlic butter or piled into a salad. The season normally opens in November, though in some years it starts late.
A huge foil-wrapped burrito packed with rice, beans, meat and salsa, the speciality of the taquerias in the Mission District. One easily feeds two.
A tomato and wine fish stew created by the Italian fishermen of North Beach, loaded with crab, clams and prawns and served with bread for mopping up.
The farm town near Monterey calls itself the artichoke centre of the world, and roadside stands sell the hearts battered and fried with a dip.
Pinot noir and chardonnay from the cool valleys inland from Santa Barbara, and bold reds from Paso Robles, both easy detours from the coast road.
Money
San Francisco hotels are expensive and add a hefty city tax, and parking a car overnight can cost as much as a modest room elsewhere, so we start the hire on the morning you leave. On the road, fuel costs more in California than in most states, and a one-way hire can carry a drop-off charge. The splurge we always argue for is a night or two at Big Sur, where rooms are few, remote and dear, and worth it for waking up above the Pacific.
Flights and transfers
Direct flights link London with San Francisco; from northern England it is one stop or a connection through another US gateway. Its real role in our routes is as the start or finish of the Pacific Coast Highway drive, the greatest road trip we sell.
Flights from UK airports
Route check September 2026. Some routes are seasonal and schedules change, so we confirm the live options when we quote.
Practical details
8 hours behind the UK
US dollar ($)
English
Type A and B, 120V
On the right
Safe to drink; San Francisco's comes from the Hetch Hetchy reservoir in Yosemite
Expected, around 18 to 20 percent at table service; some San Francisco restaurants add a service or health charge, so read the bill before tipping
Entry for British passport holders
Visa. You need an ESTA (or a visa) before you fly, including if you are only changing planes in the USA. Apply through the official ESTA website.
Passport. Valid for your whole stay.
Summarised from the FCDO travel advice on gov.uk, checked 29 September 2026. Rules change: read the current entry requirements and the full travel advice before you go.
Questions we get asked
Often, yes. Even in July the average high is only 19°C, and fog and wind off the ocean can make a summer afternoon feel like autumn at home. Pack a warm layer and a windproof jacket, even in August; the valleys a few miles inland are much warmer.
North to south, from San Francisco towards Los Angeles. Driving south puts you in the lane nearest the ocean, which makes it far easier and safer to pull into the viewpoints, and it ends the trip in the warmer south with plenty of flights home.
At least four nights on the road, and five is better. It can be driven in one very long day, but Big Sur's bends are slow, the viewpoints are the point, and Monterey, Hearst Castle and Santa Barbara each deserve time. With three nights in San Francisco first, ten nights in all suits most people.
Yes: the whole road reopened in January 2026, after landslides had closed a section in the south of Big Sur for almost three years. Slides and winter storms can still shut stretches at short notice, so we check the road's status just before you travel and keep an inland route on Highway 101 as a fallback.
Not until you leave. The city is compact, the hills are hard work for drivers, parking is expensive and break-ins to parked cars are common, even in busy areas. Collect the car on the morning you head south, and never leave bags or anything else visible inside it at viewpoints or in towns along the way.
Rarely in comfort north of Santa Barbara. The Pacific off San Francisco averages about 14°C even in August, and Big Sur's beaches have strong currents and sudden sneaker waves. Swimming becomes realistic from Santa Barbara south, and even there most locals surf in wetsuits.
Union Square or Nob Hill for the cable cars and easy transport, or Fisherman's Wharf for families aiming at Alcatraz and the waterfront. Look carefully at the exact block, because a few streets can change the feel completely, and we steer clear of the edges of the Tenderloin.
Photographs
Also worth a look
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