Honeymoon on PCH
 

My fiancé and I have decided to drive the Pacific Coast Highway our week after the wedding next summer. SO FUN! Neither of us has spent much time in that area, so I'm looking for suggestions of places to go and things to see along the way. We're going Seattle (July 13th) to Sacramento (July 21st). Help!!

With only 7 full days to work with and, assuming you don't want to spend every waking hour driving, I suggest you at very least eliminate Washington. Even better, fly into SFO or SMF and confine yourself to the CA coast north of San Francisco. If you're enjoying the scenery you can make the coast experience last by going north, then making quick work of the drive to SMF down I-5.

I should explain my reasoning a bit better. If you fly into Seattle or Portland and drive south, it's a long way to Sacramento. If you fly into Northern California, you can linger along the coast and not have such a long drive to SMF airport. Just my way of seeing it. That time of year you'll probably want to pre-book accommodations, especially for special places to stay, so I'd be careful to pace the drive with more than enough time between locations.

I agree -- you just don't have nearly enough time for that much/that far.

Have you booked flights yet? If not you can fly in to SMF and out of SFO or vice versa. If you have booked the flights - look into what the change fees might be.

If you are stuck w/ in to SeaTac and home from SMF then your best bet is maybe Olympic National Park and a few days on the WA and/or OR coast and then straight down I-5 w/ maybe a detour to Crater Lake.

"SO FUN!" I hope you still feel that way after the trip. As others have said your initial plan is all driving, really no time for any of the lovely places. Have you already bought your tickets? If not, do reconsider.

"State Route 1 (SR 1) is a major north-south state highway that runs along most of the Pacific coastline of the U.S. state of California. At a total of just over 655.8 miles (1,055.4 km), it is the longest state route in California. Highway 1 has several portions designated as either Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), Cabrillo Highway, Shoreline Highway, or Coast Highway. Its southern terminus is at Interstate 5 (I-5) near Dana Point in Orange County and its northern terminus is at U.S. Highway 101 (US 101) near Leggett in Mendocino County. Highway 1 also at times runs concurrently with US 101, most notably through a 54-mile (87 km) stretch in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, and across the Golden Gate Bridge."

Translation: No PCH in Oregon or Washington.

"Translation: No PCH in Oregon or Washington."

And you had no idea, then, what they were talking about?

>>Translation: No PCH in Oregon or Washington<<

Nor in most of California -- so if you want to be pedantic, be accurate ;)

Actually it is only called the PCH in southern California, but we all knew what the OP meant . . .

Where do you actually have to start at? Do you live in Seattle?

If you really want to see some of Washington and Oregon, you could go to Seattle or Portland and rent a car to see some of the coast and then take the car back and ride the Amtrak Coast Starlight south overnight to Sacramento and rent a car there for your California coastal trip.
The Coast Starlight pulls into Sacramento every morning about 6:15 AM (sometimes early, rarely late).

I apologize to the OP and the forum. Instead of zeroing in on PCH I should have been more helpful with scenic attractions, interesting towns, places to sleep and eat, etc.

>>then take the car back and ride the Amtrak Coast Starlight south overnight to Sacramento and rent a car there for your California coastal trip.<<

That would get you to Sacramento but there won't be much if any time left for a road trip to the CA coast. And is irrelevant if you were planning on using your own vehicle.

Just curious why Sacramento? Friends or family to visit? It is a nice enough town (although it will be hot then) but not a usual stop for a tourist.

Call me crazy but I wouldn't want to spend any nights of my honeymoon on the Amtrak! Really?

There are so many romantic inns between Mendocino and Point Reyes, and I love both of those places. That would make a very pretty drive with a lot of fun exploring, hiking, shopping, eating and relaxing.

I live in Seattle, and am late seeing this post. I think it is way too far to drive in only a week and agree with the idea of beginning the road trip somewhere a lot further south than Seattle.

Is there a reason for the Seattle start and Sacramento end?

I think the most beautiful parts of the coastline are the Oregon Coast, and California but between San Francisco down towards Santa Barbara/Los Angeles.

I'm biased because I spent the majority of my first 21 years between Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo, but I agree with suze here. Personally, I'd fly from Seattle into San Jose or Monterey, spend two nights in Monterey or Carmel, drive to Cambria or San Luis Obispo along Highway 1 and spend two nights there (tour Hearst Castle on your way through San Simeon!), and then drive to Santa Barbara and spend your last three nights there.

However, if you're attached to driving from Seattle, I'd drive to Ocean Shores and spend a couple of nights there, drive to Cannon Beach and spend a couple of nights there, and then drive to Portland and spend a couple of nights there before heading back to Seattle.

I don't think the OP is still around (maybe the wedding is off ;) ). Registered, posted and never returned.