I’ve always loved driving, and have been to quite a few scenic locations and beautiful roads in Switzerland, Austria, Italy and other parts of Europe. Now it was the first time I have been way further from my home continent – US West Coast.

Hwy 1 from Los Angeles

We started from Los Angeles, driving for two days on a Highway no. 1, which is also known as Pacific Coast Highway. While close to LA, there are many beautiful sandy beaches and potential restaurants where you might see some Hollywood stars you’ve seen on the big screen (we haven’t been changing for those). Locations may remind you a bit of some movie such as “Fast and Furious” or computer games like “Need For Speed” perhaps some others too. That’s where I personally felt like I was already familiar with the views.

The road becomes narrower and more picturesque once you pass Santa Maria. And when it gets closer to the Pacific Ocean shore it becomes even more interesting, with incredible cliffs, twisty corners. There I personally regretted I was not in a Mustang but SUV. We chose to switch cars as we had planned thousands of miles through the National Parks, Valleys and Canyons. We thought that Mustang could become tiring for such a long journey as Convertible + GT was meant to be noisier than any hard-top car. At some point, it was the right decision, but as our journey progressed, there definitely were many moments when the Mustang would have given so much more positive emotions and more fun experience!

Most beautiful town

There were many beautiful towns as we kept traveling, but the one that has stuck in my memory was Santa Barbara. Tall palm trees on the coastline with pedantically beautiful houses, plus the yachts wharf. A golden hour during the sunset made it even more beautiful. We enjoyed the walks around before our journey continued.

Best coastal views

To keep the story short, there are several locations that I would name as the most picturesque and most satisfactory to drive through. Apart from the fact that views are amazing throughout the whole Hwy 1, few highlights to mention:

  • Bixby Creek Bridge
  • Little Sur River Beach
  • Soberanes Point

So many locations and views to cover on this Highway 1, that it is not even possible to stop and photograph them all nor to transfer the feeling. As we captured just a tiny bit, I definitely think you have to be there, live it, experience it. I hope the gallery below will help to convey some of the impressions we have had while on the coastal drive.