One of the most beautiful sections of the California coast is the Monterey region in the central coast that includes Big Sur, Carmel-by-the-Sea, and Monterey. A weekend trip here means dramatic and jaw-dropping coastal views, adorable animal encounters, picturesque towns, delicious meals and a relaxed atmosphere. This area has a lot to offer, but how do you best maximize your time if you just have 48 hours to explore? This is the perfect trip to do if you want a vacation without using PTO. This guide will give you all the details about the best places to stay from budget conscious choices to luxury accommodations; our hour to hour itinerary with tips; extra places to visit if you have more time; and more.
The final two days of this road trip! We spent these days in and around Portland, Oregon and making the drive back up to Seattle to end our trip. This part of the trip is far more of a choose your own adventure, as they are countless things to do around Portland. We visited the quirky Enchanted Forest Amusement Park, the last troll we needed to see of Thomas Dambo’s PNW trolls, and walked around downtown Portland. This article includes many more ideas of how to fill your time
When the start of the Redwoods National Park is less than 30 minutes away from the end of the Oregon Coast, it only makes sense to add it on to your trip. While the Oregon Coast was definitely the main attraction of this road trip, our side trip into Redwoods National Park was definitely a highlight for all. We started Day 5 in Crescent City, CA - a great base city for exploring the Redwoods State and National Parks. This is the part of the road trip where you start to slow down a bit, but still are eager to see something dramatic and maybe something new. Redwoods allowed us to just stop at a few places, just do a couple hikes but for a large payoff. Then on Day 6, we started making our way back up Oregon to enjoy a few spots around Oregon’s I-5 before heading back to Seattle.
We drove to Portland, from Seattle, in Mid-October for my oldest’s birthday in a way that best celebrated her - with all things spooky. Whether she loves Halloween because her birthday is right before it or whether it is just a nice coincidence is not known. We came up with this fun fall weekend itinerary together, highlighting some of the best things to do in Portland in October as a visitor. Portland is an amazing place to visit in the fall and its wet and dreary weather only adds to it. This quirky city is a perfect destination for soaking up the spooky season even if you just have 2 days.