PDF £12 Europe · Portugal · 6 days
Lisbon and the Alentejo coast
Six days between Lisbon's hills and the empty beaches of the Rota Vicentina, by tram, regional train and one slow coastal bus.
Americas · United States
Big Sur and the Pacific coast
Highway 1 from Monterey to San Luis Obispo in six slow days, with the campgrounds, cabins and trailheads that are worth planning around.
- Best months
- Apr–May, Sep–Oct
- Cost per day
- £212 mid-range
- Flight from London
- 11h 05m
- Pace
- Steady
- Route
- 6 days
The PDF guide
£14
72 pages · works offline · updated 6 May 2026
- Highway 1 in the southbound direction, and why it matters
- Six trailheads with parking before 08:00
- Campgrounds and cabins that open bookings six months ahead
- Road-closure checks and the detours that still work
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Trip-budget calculator
What will 6 days in Big Sur cost?
Change the number of days and the way you like to travel. The daily figures are what I paid on the last visit, per person.
The guide's route takes 6 days.
Estimated cost per person
£1,272
6 days · £212 a day
- Accommodation
- £780
- Food and drink
- £288
- Getting around
- £204
Flights not included: an economy return from London is usually around £520. Prices checked May 2026.
The free overview
Big Sur is ninety miles of road with almost nothing on it: no towns to speak of, patchy signal, a handful of places to sleep and a cliff on one side for most of the way. That is the appeal, and also the reason it needs more planning than it looks like it should.
This guide drives Highway 1 southbound, so the ocean is on your side of the road and the pull-outs are easy to reach, from Monterey to San Luis Obispo over six days. It is written for a hire car, because there is no other way to do it, and it is honest about the cost of both the car and the beds.
Where to stop
Six trailheads with a note on when the car parks fill, three beaches you can actually reach on foot, and the coffee stops that are open before the trails get busy. The bridges and the famous viewpoints are in here too, with the times of day when you can stand at them alone.
Sleeping
Rooms in Big Sur are few and priced accordingly. The guide lists the campgrounds and the simple cabins that release dates six months ahead, and two towns just off the route where the money goes further.
When to go
April to May and September to October. Summer brings fog and traffic; winter brings the storms that close the road.
When to go
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Highlighted months are the ones this route is written for.
Big Sur, California · October 2025
“Booked the cabin six months out like you said and got the last one. Southbound was absolutely the right call.”
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