How to cover the real California in 7 days - Day 3

Day 3 was dedicated to cover two of the most scenic drives of USA – 17 Mile drive and Big Sur, and attractions around them.

 

As usual, we started around 8:00 a.m. from San Jose, our first destination was 17 Mile Drive, which is an hour and half drive from San Jose. The entry fee for the drive is $10 per vehicle.
There are 17 different attractions/points to see on this drive, hence the name.
The route offers stunning view of the Pacific Ocean and its coastline, as it weaves through the Del Monte forest.
The famous points are:
Pebble Beach – Pebble beach is known for its golf course and amazing view of the ocean.
Lone Cypress – This tree is more than 250 years old and a historic icon. It is also one of the most photographed tress in North America overlooking California’s stunning Pacific coast.
Bird Rock – You can watch seals and sea lions lying on the top of the rock and bathing in the sun. In addition, you can watch variety of birds here.

Apart from the above points, there are also beautiful beaches, multi-million dollar homes, restaurants and points to observe huge waves hitting the rocks and the stunning views of the Pacific Ocean.

It took us around 3 hours to complete the entire drive.

The next destination was Carmel-By-The-Sea. It is a small beach city on California's Monterey Peninsula and is famous for its fairytale cottages, museums and beautiful Carmel beach.
We stayed at the beach for half hour and had our lunch.

Now it was time to hit the most scenic route in the entire USA, Big Sur.

There are multiple points on Big Sur, which provides astonishing view of the pacific coast. We stopped at few of them but preferred to spend more time at the most popular of all, Bixby Creek Bridge. It is a half hour drive from Carmel-By-The-Sea. It is one of the most photographed bridges in California due to its aesthetic design and mesmerizing views of the surrounding cliffs, rocks and Pacific Ocean. After spending half hour at this point, it was time to head toward McWay Falls.

McWay Falls is an 80-foot tall waterfall on the coast of Big Sur in the Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. It is one of the most photographed waterfalls in California. Though the beach is inaccessible but the view of the fall from the top is absolutely gorgeous.

After spending half an hour here, it was time to explore the hidden gem of Big Sur, Pfeiffer Beach. It is a little off the beaten path and hard to find, but one of the best places to watch sunset. The place turns magical during the evening when the sun sets. The focal point of the beach is a huge iconic rock - Keyhole Rock, which has a natural arch at the base, which looks like a door to heaven. When the sunrays pass through the arch, it creates a passage of light, which is mesmerizing.

The north end of the beach has unique purple color sand, which looks lovely.

Credit : Here

 After sunset, it was time to head back home and get to bed early, as we had to start early the next day, to explore the best national park in USA.

Stats

Total hours of commute           : 5 hours

Total hours at the attractions    : 7 hours

Food and other break                : 1 hour

Start time from San Jose          : 8:00 a.m.

End time at San Jose                : 9 p.m.