Sometimes the smog and city life of L.A. catches up to a girl, and a nature getaway is needed. Recently, my girlfriends and I got away to Carmel by the Sea, for the first time, and the best part is that we did it on a budget! I thought this location was perfect because it allowed us to explore surrounding areas as well and most of the attractions we hit were free! So, here is my guide to planning a weekend getaway up north.
Pebble Beach
We stayed in an Airbnb within the 17-Mile Drive. This was affordable for a group of seven, cozy, and allowed us to avoid paying to enter the 17-Mile Drive gates! We were so close to everything, including a hotel that has nightly happy hour and bagpipers. We just walked right in at 5:00PM to see the bagpiper, and didn’t have to pay a cent. We also were only about 15 minutes from Point Lobos State Park, which was full of hikes and had free parking if you parked outside of the park. The hike was beautiful and took up our whole day, and we didn’t have to spend any money. Lastly, we didn’t have to eat out because we stocked up on Trader Joe’s (only five minutes from this location) the first night. We each spent about $45 on food and beverages for a three day weekend, and had plenty of leftovers to take home as well.
Carmel by the Sea
We window shopped (and actually shopped) in this adorable little town, but the hardest part was finding parking. Once you’re there, you can spend hours wandering the street and end your shopping spree by watching the sunset on the beach. We also came back to this beach in the morning so my friend could surf. Again, this beach had free parking and plenty of otters to watch play in the water.
Big Sur
Carve out a whole day for Big Sur, because every part of it is so pretty you’ll never want to leave. You can only enter from the top, so driving down from Carmel by the Sea was perfect and we picked out the main stops we wanted to hit ahead of time so they were marked on the map, because there was absolutely no service once you got inside. I would recommend stopping at Whale Point, Pfeiffer Beach, McWay Falls, and Bixby Bridge. We stopped a couple of other places along the way, including a cute and affordable little gift shop, but these are the main ones you might need to navigate to. We also packed our own lunch to save money.
Bonus: Pinnacles National Park
As a little bonus pit stop on the way home, my friend and I stopped at Pinnacles National Park, which is about an hour away from Carmel by the Sea and directly on the path back to LA. It was $30 for a vehicle to enter (which I was happy to pay to support the national parks) and the views were INSANE. There are countless hikes to choose from when you are there, ranging from 20 minutes to 11 hours, so it is truly a choose your own adventure stop.
I could have stayed in these places for so much longer, but the three day weekend we were there was just enough to get a taste of each of these places (we even drove up to Monterey for coffee one morning). I will definitely be returning to each of these towns, as they were the perfect easy, affordable, getaway just five hours from school.