10-Day US West Coast Itinerary
Seattle to San Diego in ten days -- fly in north, rent a car, drive the Pacific Coast Highway, fly home south.
Build this tripAt a glance
- Duration
- 10 days
- Cities
- 5
- Flight legs
- 1
- Budget/day
- $240
Cities
- Seattle
- Portland
- San Francisco
- Los Angeles
- San Diego
The plan
The spine of the American West. Start in Seattle for 2 days (Pike Place, Space Needle, a Mount Rainier day trip). Drive I-5 to Portland for a day. Continue to San Francisco -- the coastal Highway 101 via Oregon Dunes adds a day but it's worth it. Two days in SF (Golden Gate, Alcatraz, Mission food). Then the big one: Pacific Coast Highway down through Big Sur, Monterey, Santa Barbara to LA (takes 2 full days with stops). Two days in LA for Hollywood, Malibu, Venice. Final leg to San Diego: beaches, Balboa Park, fly home from SAN.
Day-by-day
- Day 1
Seattle arrival, Pike Place + waterfront
Fly SEA, pick up the rental car downtown (airport pickup adds fees). Drop bags, walk Pike Place Market — the fish-throwing is staged but still fun. Original Starbucks across the street. Afternoon ferry to Bainbridge Island and back for skyline views. Dinner in Capitol Hill.
- Day 2
Seattle: Space Needle + Mount Rainier
CityPASS covers Space Needle + Chihuly Garden + Aquarium + Argosy cruise. Half-day in Seattle Center, afternoon drive 2h southeast to Mount Rainier's Paradise entrance for subalpine meadow hikes. Return late. If snow/weather closes Rainier, swap in Olympic National Park's Hoh Rainforest (longer drive).
- Day 3
Drive to Portland
3h drive south on I-5. Afternoon exploring downtown Portland: Powell's City of Books, Lan Su Chinese Garden, food cart pods. Multnomah Falls worth a detour 45 min east. Dinner in the Alberta Arts District or a Pok Pok if it's re-opened.
- Day 4
Oregon coast to Bandon
Skip the I-5 boredom, take US-101 from Astoria south. Cannon Beach (Haystack Rock), Tillamook Creamery for the drive-thru cheese tour, Pacific City's Cape Kiwanda. Overnight Bandon or Florence. ~6h driving with stops but scenic.
- Day 5
Redwoods to San Francisco
Cross into California — Jedediah Smith and Prairie Creek redwood parks. Avenue of the Giants detour through old-growth grove. Long day (8h+). Arrive SF evening. Return rental car at SFO or keep it; parking in SF is expensive ($40-60/night).
- Day 6
San Francisco: Golden Gate + Alcatraz
Book Alcatraz 2 weeks in advance — it sells out. Morning tour the prison, afternoon walk or bike the Golden Gate Bridge from Crissy Field. Evening Mission dinner — tacos at La Taqueria, Mexican food in the Valencia corridor.
- Day 7
San Francisco: Mission + Haight
Mission District street art tour, Dolores Park hang. Haight-Ashbury for the 60s nostalgia, walk through Golden Gate Park to the de Young or California Academy of Sciences. Evening North Beach for Italian and a City Lights Books stop.
- Day 8
PCH: Big Sur to Santa Barbara
The trip's best day. SF to Santa Barbara via Highway 1 is 8h driving but you'll stop. Must-stops: Bixby Bridge, McWay Falls, Ragged Point, Hearst Castle (book ahead or admire from outside), Morro Rock. Overnight Santa Barbara — Funk Zone wine tasting room.
- Day 9
Arrive LA, Venice + Santa Monica
2h drive Santa Barbara to LA. Drop car at the hotel, skip it for the next 2 days (Uber/LAX transfer). Venice Beach boardwalk afternoon, Santa Monica Pier sunset. Dinner in West Hollywood.
- Day 10
LA: Hollywood, Griffith, drive to San Diego
Morning Griffith Observatory for the hike and view. Hollywood Boulevard for 20 min (it's seedy, do not linger), Walk of Fame. Afternoon drive LA to San Diego 2h30m. Balboa Park in the late afternoon. Dinner Little Italy, fly home SAN the next morning.
When to go
May-June or September-October. Summer (July-August) is smoky from wildfires in the Pacific Northwest half the time and Los Angeles hits 95F+; shoulder seasons have better weather and fewer RVs clogging PCH. October is the sweet spot for Big Sur — warm, clear, and the summer crowds are gone. Winter (November-March) is passable but Highway 1 sections close regularly due to landslides — check Caltrans road conditions before committing to the coastal route.
Budget tips
A rental car with unlimited mileage is $400-700 for 10 days from SEA or SFO. Skip LA's car; Uber for the 2 days there is cheaper than the $60/night hotel parking. Book SFO and LAX hotels 60+ days out — prices double within 2 weeks of date. Eat one high-end meal in each city (SF: Zuni Cafe; LA: Gjelina) and grocery-store sandwiches for PCH roadside lunches. California gas is $5-6/gallon vs $3.50 in Oregon — fill up before crossing the border.
Getting around
Everything except SF and Central LA requires driving. Tesla Supercharger network is the most reliable EV infrastructure; gas rentals from Enterprise, Hertz, Turo work fine. Download offline Google Maps for PCH — cell service drops between Big Sur and Cambria. SF: MUNI + BART + a lot of walking, skip Uber unless crossing the city. LA: public transit doesn't meaningfully cover the tourist zones, budget for rideshare or rent a car for the LA leg.
What to pack
Layers — Seattle can be 55F while LA is 85F the same day. A light rain jacket for Seattle and the Oregon coast. Sunscreen (reef-safe for beaches). Sunglasses and a broad-brim hat for PCH. Phone car charger + mount. Refillable water bottles (tap is drinkable everywhere). Binoculars for whale-watching along Big Sur (gray whales migrate Nov-April, humpbacks summer). Hiking shoes if you're doing Rainier or the redwoods.