United States · regional guide
California travel guide
Our route team has mapped 26 destinations in California across 10 curated routes, adding up to 223 places to eat, see and do. The most common route styles are cities, nightlife and adventure. Trips run 3–6 days, most often 3 days.
- Destinations
- 26
- Places
- 223
- Curated routes
- 10
- Trip lengths
- 3–6 days
- Routes favor
- Dec – Jan
Where our routes go in California
Tap a dot to open that destination's guide.
26 destinations in California
Ordered by how many of our curated routes stop there, then by how many places we have picked.
Santa Barbara
See · Eat · Drink
Downtown LA
Eat · Do · See
Hollywood
See · Outdoors · Shop
Joshua Tree
Outdoors · Do · See
Palm Springs
Do · Outdoors · See
San Francisco
See · Outdoors · Eat
Big Sur
See · Do · Outdoors
Healdsburg
See · Eat · Drink
Los Angeles
See · Eat · Drink
Monterey & Carmel
See · Eat · Do
Napa
Eat · Do · Drink
San Simeon
See · Outdoors · Do
More destinations
Best of California
Our curated picks by theme, drawn from the places our route editors chose for their routes.
- Best restaurants40 picksLa Super-Rica Taqueria · Bouchon Bakery · Bestia
- Best bars & cafés29 picksJordan Winery · Potek Winery · Perch
- Top things to do40 picksSanta Barbara County Courthouse · Old Mission Santa Barbara · Santa Barbara Harbor Parade of Lights
- Best outdoor spots36 picksEast Beach · Children's Pool · Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery
- Best places to shop6 picksOld Pasadena · Ferry Building · The Last Bookstore
Places worth planning around
A short sampler from the 223 places in California, starting with those featured on the most of our routes.
EatLa Super-Rica Taqueria
Tiny taqueria praised by Julia Child for its handmade tortillas.
SeeSanta Barbara County Courthouse
Spanish-Moorish courthouse with a free clock tower lookout over red roofs.
OutdoorsEast Beach
Wide sandy beach with volleyball courts and a palm-lined bike path.
SeeOld Mission Santa Barbara
1786 mission called the Queen of the Missions, with a museum and rose garden.
- Eat
Brophy Bros
Seafood restaurant upstairs on the harbor, known for clam chowder and views over the boats.
DoAngels Flight Railway
Short funicular ride from Hill Street up to Bunker Hill.
Curated routes through California
10 routes with at least one stop here.
Pacific Coast Highway
San Francisco to Los Angeles
California Wine Country
Napa, Sonoma & Healdsburg pours
Los Angeles After Dark
Rooftops, live music & late-night neighborhoods
South Lake Tahoe, Tahoe City & Truckee
Sierra ski days around a deep blue lake
Los Angeles New Year's Eve
City Hall countdown, then Pasadena's parade
Palm Springs & Joshua Tree
Pool days, midcentury style & desert stars
Sacramento New Year's Eve
Gold Rush streets, river lights, early fireworks
San Diego New Year's Eve
Gaslamp parties, then a La Jolla coast walk
San Francisco New Year's Eve
Bay fireworks, then a walk to the Pacific
Solvang & Santa Barbara
Danish Julefest and a Spanish mission Christmas
Best time to visit California
Of the 10 routes here with a recommended season, at least half point to Dec – Jan. January and December are the most-recommended months (7 of 10 routes).
Climate averages (NASA POWER, 2001–2025) for 20 of our destinations here: July is the warmest month, with average highs near 84°F (29°C), and December the coolest at about 57°F (14°C). December is the wettest, around 3.8 in (96 mm) of rain, and August the driest at about 0.1 in (3 mm).
NASA POWER is a gridded model (roughly 50 km cells), so coastal and mountain spots read as regional averages.
Weather by destination
Getting around California
Legs between consecutive stops on our routes. Distances are straight-line estimates, not driving distances.
- The Embarcadero & Ferry Building → Lands End & Ocean Beachabout 10 km (6 mi) straight-line
- Downtown LA → Hollywoodabout 10 km (6 mi) straight-line
- Downtown Los Angeles → Pasadenaabout 14 km (9 mi) straight-line
- Downtown San Diego & Gaslamp Quarter → La Jollaabout 18 km (11 mi) straight-line
- Tahoe City & Palisades → Truckeeabout 21 km (13 mi) straight-line
- Sonoma → Napaabout 29 km (18 mi) straight-line
- South Lake Tahoe → Tahoe City & Palisadesabout 29 km (18 mi) straight-line
- Monterey & Carmel → Big Surabout 37 km (23 mi) straight-line
- Solvang → Santa Barbaraabout 45 km (28 mi) straight-line
- Napa → Healdsburgabout 54 km (33 mi) straight-line
- Palm Springs → Joshua Treeabout 60 km (37 mi) straight-line
- Big Sur → San Simeonabout 87 km (54 mi) straight-line
- San Francisco → Monterey & Carmelabout 139 km (86 mi) straight-line
- Santa Barbara → Los Angelesabout 140 km (87 mi) straight-line
- San Simeon → Santa Barbaraabout 194 km (121 mi) straight-line
Planning a trip to California
How many days do you need for a trip to California?
Our 10 curated routes with stops in California run 3–6 days, and 3 days is the most common length.
What are the best places to visit in California?
Going by how often our route team includes them, the most-featured destinations in California are Santa Barbara, Downtown LA, Hollywood, Joshua Tree and Palm Springs. Santa Barbara alone has 15 hand-picked places in our guides.
When is the best time to visit California?
At least half of our routes here recommend Dec – Jan. NASA POWER averages put the warmest weather in July and the most rain in December.
Where can I find the best restaurants in California?
See our curated picks: best restaurants in California, chosen from 52 places in our curated routes. We also have lists for bars & cafés, things to do, outdoor spots and places to shop.
More in United States
- United States travel guide
- Florida 16 destinations
- Texas 12 destinations
- New York 11 destinations
- Tennessee 11 destinations
- North Carolina 10 destinations
- Utah 10 destinations
- Michigan 8 destinations
- Washington 8 destinations
- Arizona 7 destinations
- Colorado 7 destinations
Take your crew to California
Start from one of our California routes in TripsCircle, then shape it together: shared itinerary, polls for the big decisions, split expenses and packing lists.