Places to Explore In The Central Coast

Discover the best places to explore in The Central Coast with curated recommendations from our travel experts.

Avila Beach

Because the village of Avila Beach and the sandy, cove-front shoreline for which it's named face south into the Pacific Ocean, they get more sun...

  • 2 Restaurants
  • 4 Hotels
  • 4 Things To Do

Big Sur Coastline

Long a retreat of artists and writers, Big Sur is a place of ancient forests and rugged shoreline, stretching 90 miles from San Simeon to...

  • 5 Restaurants
  • 8 Hotels
  • 7 Things To Do

Buellton

A crossroads town at the intersection of U.S. 101 and Highway 246, Buellton has evolved from a sleepy gas and coffee stop into an enclave...

  • 1 Restaurants
  • 1 Hotels
  • 5 Things To Do

Cambria

Cambria, set on piney hills above the sea, was settled by Welsh miners in the 1890s. In the 1970s the isolated setting attracted artists and...

  • 6 Restaurants
  • 5 Hotels
  • 5 Things To Do

Lompoc

Known as the flower-seed capital of the world, Lompoc is blanketed with vast fields of brightly colored flowers that bloom from May through August. Also...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 0 Hotels
  • 0 Things To Do

Los Olivos

This pretty village was once on Spanish-built El Camino Real (Royal Road) and later a stop on major stagecoach and rail routes. Tasting rooms, art...

  • 3 Restaurants
  • 2 Hotels
  • 5 Things To Do

Morro Bay

Commercial fishermen slog around Morro Bay in galoshes, and beat-up fishing boats bob in the bay's protected waters. Nature-oriented activities take center stage here: kayaking...

  • 4 Restaurants
  • 4 Hotels
  • 5 Things To Do

Ojai

The Ojai Valley, which director Frank Capra used as a backdrop for his 1936 film Lost Horizon, sizzles in the summer when temperatures routinely reach...

  • 6 Restaurants
  • 5 Hotels
  • 5 Things To Do

Paso Robles

In the 1860s, tourists began flocking to this ranching outpost to "take the cure" in a bathhouse fed by underground mineral hot springs. An Old...

  • 12 Restaurants
  • 6 Hotels
  • 24 Things To Do

Pismo Beach

About 20 miles of sandy shoreline—nicknamed the Bakersfield Riviera for the throngs of vacationers who come here from the Central Valley—begins at the town of...

  • 7 Restaurants
  • 5 Hotels
  • 2 Things To Do

San Luis Obispo

About halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo spreads out below gentle hills and rocky extinct volcanoes. Its main appeal lies in...

  • 8 Restaurants
  • 7 Hotels
  • 17 Things To Do

San Simeon

Whalers founded San Simeon in the 1850s, but had virtually abandoned it by 1865, when Senator George Hearst began purchasing most of the surrounding ranch...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 1 Hotels
  • 5 Things To Do

Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara has long been an oasis for Los Angelenos seeking respite from big-city life. The attractions begin at the ocean and end in the...

  • 18 Restaurants
  • 19 Hotels
  • 50 Things To Do

Santa Ynez

Founded in 1882, the tiny town of Santa Ynez still has many of its original frontier buildings. You can walk through its three-block downtown in...

  • 3 Restaurants
  • 1 Hotels
  • 3 Things To Do

Solvang

You'll know you've reached the town of Solvang when the architecture suddenly changes to half-timber buildings and windmills. Danish educators settled the town in 1911—the...

  • 3 Restaurants
  • 5 Hotels
  • 4 Things To Do

Ventura

Ventura Harbor is home to myriad fishing boats, restaurants, and water-activity centers where you can rent boats and take harbor cruises. The city is also...

  • 8 Restaurants
  • 5 Hotels
  • 5 Things To Do

Explore The Central Coast

Sights 102

Shopping 12

Nightlife 11

Performing Arts 16

Restaurants 69

Hotels 70
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Fodor's Southern California: with Los Angeles, San Diego, the Central Coast & the Best Road Trips

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