Cliffside icon
Big Sur
Post Ranch Inn
Perched 1,200 feet above the Pacific on Highway 1, this 40-room adults-only sanctuary earned three Michelin Keys and remains the definitive Big Sur splurge.
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For families
Room to roam in the sun-warmed valley.
Separate rooms, private decks, and a working farm, in the sunniest corner of the peninsula.
Design This TripSettle into an all-suite home at Carmel Valley Ranch, where the kids get their own space, a private deck, and a fireplace for the cool valley evenings.
Mornings belong to the working farm, gathering eggs, meeting the goats, and learning to keep bees, while afternoons split between the family pool and a junior round on the only Pete Dye bentgrass course in Northern California.
One easy day on the coast.
Drive twenty minutes to Point Lobos for a gentle headland loop where everyone can spot sea otters and harbor seals, then reward the effort with a casual farm-to-table dinner at Valley Kitchen. The sunny Santa Lucia setting keeps the pace easy, with room enough that grandparents and grandkids never feel on top of one another.
What’s inside
- An all-suite ranch home with separate rooms and a fireplace
- Farm mornings with eggs, goats, and beekeeping
- A junior round on the only NorCal Pete Dye bentgrass course
- An easy Point Lobos headland loop with sea otters
- A casual farm-to-table dinner at Valley Kitchen
A sample rhythm
- 01
Settle in
Arrivals at the ranch and a first easy evening by the fire.
- 02
Farm and fairway
A morning on the working farm, a junior golf round after.
- 03
The coast
An easy Point Lobos loop to spot otters and seals.
- 04
Gather
A relaxed farm-to-table dinner at Valley Kitchen.
The Big Sur & Carmelwe’d build in
The pieces that fit this trip.
Where to stay
A cliffside icon, a forest retreat, a village inn.
The peninsula keeps its great hotels in three distinct moods: the open cliffs of Big Sur, the sun-warmed vineyards of Carmel Valley, and the walkable heart of Carmel-by-the-Sea.
All-inclusive forest
Big Sur
Alila Ventana Big Sur
A 160-acre adults-only retreat of 54 rooms with Japanese hot baths and redwood groves, on an all-inclusive rate that folds in dining and wellbeing.
Visit official siteRelais and Chateaux
Carmel-by-the-Sea
L'Auberge Carmel
An intimate 20-room Relais and Chateaux hideaway in the heart of walkable Carmel, home to the two-Michelin-star Aubergine.
Visit official siteWine-country luxury
Carmel Valley
Bernardus Lodge and Spa
A 73-room estate on 28 acres of vineyards and gardens, pairing a 5,200-square-foot spa with its own-label Bernardus wines.
Visit official siteAll-suite family
Carmel Valley
Carmel Valley Ranch
A 500-acre all-suite ranch in the sunny Santa Lucia Mountains with a Pete Dye golf course, a working farm, and hands-on farmstead programming.
Visit official siteHistoric oceanfront
Carmel Highlands
Hyatt Carmel Highlands
A 1917-built clifftop hotel with sweeping Pacific views and oceanfront dining, minutes from the trails of Point Lobos.
Visit official siteOn the course
The most celebrated public golf in America.
Pebble Beach anchors a stretch of public golf without equal, from the oceanfront links that host the U.S. Open to the oldest course west of the Mississippi.
World-famous oceanfront
Pebble Beach
Pebble Beach Golf Links
The most celebrated public course in America, hugging the cliffs of Carmel Bay and a regular U.S. Open and AT&T Pro-Am host.
Visit official siteDunes and forest test
Pebble Beach
Spyglass Hill Golf Course
A Robert Trent Jones Sr. design that opens through Spanish Bay dunes before turning into the Del Monte Forest, widely rated among the toughest public courses.
Visit official siteScottish-style links
Pebble Beach
The Links at Spanish Bay
A windswept, links-inspired course along the dunes where a lone bagpiper plays out each sunset.
Visit official siteOnly NorCal Pete Dye bentgrass
Carmel Valley
Carmel Valley Ranch Golf
A par-70 Pete Dye design, the only Pete Dye bentgrass course in Northern California, with dramatic elevation changes and valley panoramas.
Visit official siteOldest course west of the Mississippi
Monterey
Del Monte Golf Course
Open since 1897 and the oldest continuously operating course west of the Mississippi, a classic, walkable parkland layout near downtown Monterey.
Visit official sitePar-3 short course
Pebble Beach
The Hay at Pebble Beach
A Tiger Woods-designed nine-hole par-3 short course on the historic Peter Hay grounds, lit for evening play and ideal for families and a quick round before dinner.
Visit official siteOn foot
Redwood canyons and cypress headlands.
The peninsula's trails range from river-gorge redwoods beneath the Santa Lucia peaks to short, dramatic coastal loops where gray whales pass close to shore.
Coastal headland loops
Carmel
Point Lobos State Natural Reserve
Cypress Grove, Bird Island, and Sea Lion Point loops deliver some of the most scenic short coastal hikes on the peninsula.
Visit official siteRedwood river canyon
Big Sur
Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park
Redwood and oak trails along the Big Sur River Gorge beneath the Santa Lucia peaks, 26 miles south of Carmel. No ocean access in this park.
Visit official siteRivermouth and bluffs
Big Sur
Andrew Molera State Park
Nearly 5,000 mostly undeveloped acres with 15 miles of trails to the Big Sur Rivermouth and a Condor Discovery Center, 20 miles south of Carmel.
Visit official siteCoast and ridge trails
Big Sur
Garrapata State Park
Two miles of beach plus the steep Soberanes Canyon and Rocky Ridge loops, with seasonal wildflowers and frequent gray-whale sightings.
Visit official siteMcWay Falls trails
Big Sur
Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park
Home to McWay Falls plus inland redwoods and the Partington Cove tunnel walk, 37 miles south of Carmel.
Visit official siteBeach and lagoon walk
Carmel
Carmel River State Beach and Trails
A mile-long strand south of Carmel with the Carmelite Monastery above and the gentle lagoon-and-bluff path connecting toward the headlands of Point Lobos.
Visit official siteThe great drive
Bixby Bridge, the Lone Cypress, the crown jewel.
This is one of the most photographed coastlines on Earth, from the open-spandrel arch at Bixby Creek to the toll loop past the Lone Cypress and the headlands of Point Lobos.
The McWay Falls overlook trail is closed for a retaining-wall project running into 2026, though the falls remain viewable from a small Highway 1 pullout. We confirm same-day Highway 1 conditions before any drive.
Legendary coastal route
Big Sur
Highway 1, Big Sur Coast
The 72-mile Cambria-to-Carmel stretch was California's first designated Scenic Highway, threading cliffs, coves, and redwoods along the Pacific.
Visit official siteMost-photographed span
Big Sur
Bixby Creek Bridge
Built in 1932 about 15 miles south of Carmel, this open-spandrel arch is one of the most photographed bridges on the West Coast. Stopping on the bridge itself is prohibited.
Visit official sitePrivate coastal loop
Pebble Beach
17-Mile Drive
A toll loop through Pebble Beach past the Lone Cypress, Spanish Bay dunes, and the 18th at Pebble Beach, with the gate fee credited toward resort dining over $35.
Visit official siteCrown jewel of the coast
Carmel
Point Lobos State Natural Reserve
Often called the crown jewel of California's state parks, with coves, sea otters, and cypress headlands three miles south of Carmel.
Visit official site80-foot tidefall
Big Sur
McWay Falls
An 80-foot waterfall that drops onto a hidden cove beach inside Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, viewable from a Highway 1 pullout.
Visit official sitePurple sand and Keyhole Arch
Big Sur
Pfeiffer Beach
Reached by a narrow road off Highway 1, a wind-sculpted cove famous for its purple-tinged sand and the wave-pierced Keyhole Arch that glows at winter sunset.
Visit official siteWhere to eat
Tasting menus framed by the open Pacific.
The peninsula punches far above its size at the table, from clifftop tasting rooms over the ocean to a pair of Michelin-starred jewels tucked into the village streets.
Cliff-edge tasting
Big Sur
Sierra Mar
Post Ranch Inn's farm-driven dining room offers an ingredient-led tasting menu through floor-to-ceiling windows above the Pacific, backed by a Wine Spectator Grand Award cellar.
Visit official siteTwo Michelin stars
Carmel-by-the-Sea
Aubergine
Chef Justin Cogley's eight-course seasonal tasting menu at L'Auberge Carmel earned a second Michelin star in 2024, served beside a 3,700-bottle cellar.
Visit official siteOne Michelin star
Carmel-by-the-Sea
Chez Noir
Chef Jonny Black and Monique Black's seafood-centric prix-fixe is a community-driven, one-Michelin-star jewel tucked into the village streets.
Visit official siteGarden-to-table
Carmel Valley
Lucia Restaurant and Bar
Bernardus Lodge's Forbes Four-Star dining room builds California-regional plates around its organic kitchen garden, honey, and an award-winning 5,000-bottle cellar.
Visit official siteIconic coastal classic
Big Sur
Nepenthe
Open since 1949 and perched 800 feet above the ocean, Nepenthe pairs sweeping coastal views with California fare and the famed Ambrosia Burger.
Visit official siteResort farm-to-fork
Carmel Valley
Valley Kitchen
Carmel Valley Ranch's signature restaurant serves vibrant indoor-outdoor dining drawn from the resort's own farm and local producers.
Visit official siteOr another way
More ways to experience Big Sur & Carmel.
Private Family Villa
Let’s design it around you.
Share what you can already picture. A concierge fills in everything still open and sends back a plan, not a quote.