DESTINATIONS — THE US
San Francisco Sun buggy
Soon enough, rolling golden hills and cypresses take over the scenery and within a few hours I reach Pebble Beach Golf Resort, a glorious sprawling estate with white sand bunkers set against Pacific Ocean spray. A round of golf, on the same links visited by Winston Churchill, Clint Eastwood and Bill Murray, starts at $495. Another hour gets me to Big Sur, a stunning stretch of coast surrounded by the Santa Lucia mountains. This is the place for hiking, with vast redwood forests and striking cliff top views.
l BIG SUR TO PISMO BEACH: 175MILES (3.5 HOURS) The road is calling, but I’m distracted by the extraordinary elephant seal colony at Piedras Blancas. Hundreds of these enormous silvery sea mammals are spooning each other in the sun, occasionally snorting and tossing flippers of sand. The next stop is Pismo Beach, San Luis Obispo County. This is Central Coast wine country and home to more than 250 wineries. A two-hour Tour, Taste and Tailgate tour visiting Adelaida Cellars’ family-owned vineyards
costs $50 and must be booked in advance (
adelaida.com). Sand dune buggying on
Pismo Beach gets you drunk on adrenaline rather than alcohol: bone-jangling, but more fun than any adult has a right to have, and a great antidote to motorway driving. Prices for a two-seat buggy start at $175 for two hours (
sunbuggy.com/pismo). No one who stops in Pismo Beach should miss the Madonna Inn. It’s the high-camp offspring of Barbie and Liberace in restaurant form. Massive artificial flowers, a forest of fairy lights and intricate carved cherubs carpet the ceiling. The restrooms
Santa Barbara Wine Collective
Santa Barbara
are a destination in themselves, featuring a waterfall urinal and clam shell sinks. The inn serves excellent steak and giant slabs of princess
pink champagne cake and, like
many local restaurants, allows you to bring your own wine – ideal if you’ve just bought at a vineyard (
madonnainn.com).
l PISMO BEACH TO SANTA BARBARA: 83 MILES (1.5 HOURS) Santa Barbara – the so-called American Riviera – is all sandy sophistica- tion, wide beaches
framed by palm trees
SAMPLE PRODUCT
Virgin Holidays offers a five-night West Coast fly-drive. It includes Heathrow flights to San Francisco, returning via Los Angeles, with room- only accommodation, staying one night each at Hotel Zephyr, Ventana Inn & Spa, Cottage Inn and Harbor View Inn, plus one night at the Fairmont Miramar, with a convertible included, from £1,425, departing November 16. (Prices with an SUV from £1,415; with a Chevy Camaro from £1,639; or with a motorbike from £2,029.)
vhols4agents.co.uk
Find out more:
visitcalifornia.co.uk
2 July 2015 —
travelweekly.co.uk • 47
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