Archive for October, 2011

Pacific Coast Highway 1/9 & 10/08

Saturday, October 1st, 2011 at 12:20 am

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Pacific Coast Highway 19 1008 10 at Amazon

Best Road Trips for Adventure: Explore the edges of the map on these remote roads.

Classic American road trip destinations, Death Valley and The Pacific Coast Highway both have names promising adventure. Death Valley and the ghost towns, narrow canyons and open deserts around it are like an invitation for tough guys and humans looking to escape society’s bars, while the Pacific Coast Highway promises the clear beauty of American beauty oceanside – dramatic cliff-faces, beaches, secluded coves, mountainous forests, and protected wildlife.

Best Road Trips for Luxury: Wind in your hair freedom in style.

These road trips are made for honeymoons. Best case scenario the car is something sleek, open topped and Italian. The clear seas, bright villages and stone churches of the Amalfi Coast among Positano, Sorrento, Ravello and Amalfi, are well stocked with little boutique hotels, concealed coves and intimate cafe terraces on which to watch the sun go down, and make for the classic eloper’s dream. A trip along the French Riviera among Nice and Monte Carlo reeks of playboy chic, particularly if you occur to win cash in any of the casinos lining the route. For lovers by title, the Romantic Road from Heidelberg Castle to Neuschwanstein Castle, runs along the old trade route amid medieval towns and fairytale castles.

The Karakoram Highway follows the route of the old silk road up to one of the world’s most eminent altitude passes amongst a heap of of the world’s most eminent scenery round K2, Nanga Parbat and Gasherbrums I-IV. The Carretera Austral or Southern Highway runs on a largely unpaved odyssey through Patagonia, stopping at remote towns along the way.

Journeying amidst Marrakech and Essaouira thru the Atlas Mountains is going a bit out of your way, but the trip south, through spectacular desert scenery, amid the snow capped sky scrapers of the Atlas Mountains and along ridges over lush, concealed valleys will take you to the edge of the Sahara, as well as into the Atlases before the coast lays out in front of you at Essaouira.

Best Road Trips for Sightseeing: Drive by numerous of the world’s best sights.

For scenic days packed with obstacles to attention and attractions and evenings expended in comfortable B&Bs, a trip along Ireland’s Antrim Coast Road, past the Mourne Mountains, Carrickfergus Castle, Bushmills, Dunluce Castle, the Giant’s Causeway and the Glens of Antrim, or on America’s Blue Ridge Parkway, altho the Great Smoky Mountains, are great family road trips.

Finland’s 1000 Lakes Trip is an eight or nine day Scandinavian family classic. Ex Helsinki it weaves around the beauteous lake country, among the 187,000 lakes, with for the length of one night stops in snug country towns. The Reykjavik to Akureyri Route by Geysir, the Reykjanes Peninsula and the Snæfellsnes Peninsula is another splendid choice for sightseeing and you may do it in a day, taking snaps along the way or go slow and admire the sites.

Hawaii’s Hana Highway, from Pa’ia to Hana, is a much shorter trip, but with a great deal to see, from bamboo and eucalyptus groves by waterfalls to panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean that you’ll do not forget for the rest of your life, while the Overseas Highway from Miami to Key West, which runs for 113 miles over 43 long, flat, straight ocean bridges, is the road trip equivalent of island hopping.

Best Road Trips for History: Retracing historic routes.

Follow in the unpaved footsteps of Che Guevara amid Santa Cruz and Vallegrande, as he travelled altho Bolivia and was at long last laid to rest, or trace the Viking’s original inroads into Canada on the Viking Trail. Past the Norse landing internet site at L’Anse aux Meadows, and even though the Gros Morne National Park, for the rock art and remains there, this trip also passes amidst gorgeous coastal towns most of which have a local Viking museum in which to house the local relics.

Route 66 is the classic road trip route into American folklore, following the old mercantile route amid rural villages. From the fields of Illinois, Kansas and Oklahoma, to the deserts of Texas and New Mexico to the coastline of California, this road is likewise referred to as Main Street USA.

Most helpful customer reviews

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful.
A must for those who who love to drive
By Peder Norby
Tom Snyder’s Pacific Coast Highway Traveler’s Guide is a must read for any one who loves the Historic Hwy 101.

Charles Kuralt said “Thanks to the new Interstate Transportation system it is now possible to drive from one end of the country to the other without seeing a thing”

Snyder’s book takes you on a journey from the Mexican border to the Canadian border on the road that opened the west, before driving became the endless endouring of multiple ribbons of concrete. Snyder’s trip and his insights on US 101 is a must have for anyone traveling US 101. His book touches on 100′s of small quaint cities and sights along the 101 with recommendations for lodging and restaurants. Many of the places he called out are not necessarily the most prominent or “tourist trap” type places but rather unique places that capture the essence of the road.

There is a great little section in the beginning of the book which talks about how Hwy 101 came into being as well as the confusion and differences in the multiple names the road has. It sure cleared up things for me! Snyder also details and recommends many little trips from 2 to 3 days as well as the whole route. There are great tips on the weather and where to begin your trip depending on the weather and your interest.

Also present in the book is a little testament to the surf and woddie culture as well as an acknowledgment of their lifestyle and stewardrdship of our oceans.

Over all, this book is a tremendous asset for those who love to really drive. Well done and highly recommended

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful.
Road Magic!
By Waverley Paitson
Once again, Master Storyteller Tom Snyder, author of Route 66 Traveler’s Guide and Roadside Companion, has written a book that reads like a family history, yet contains enough specifics on California Coastal lodging, food, people and landscapes to get you there and back with terrific memories and coins to spare! In his usual folksy style, Snyder takes us up Pacific Coast Highway, where the golden coast of California is kissed by the sea. This book reads like a warm cup of chocolate yet features insightful vignettes about where to go, what to see, and how to see it all in style. PCH Traveler’s Guide is much more than just a travel book. Snyder, who is sensitive to California’s natural beauty and fragile ecology, tells readers where to shoot the best photographs, find the best tasting food, meet the most interesting people, and bed down in the sweetest places. Having lived in California for over 30 years, I was astonished to read of places I’d never seen, and the stories behind them. Inspired by PCH Traveler’s Guide, my family is planning a road trip this summer to re-experience the coast’s beauty and history . READ THIS BOOK if you are coming to California, or simply want to re-discover magic in your own backyard.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful.
Coast Starlight dream trip down the West Coast
By A modern day explorer
Wow. I’ve read the reviews below and wondered if we were talking about the same book. Contrary to other opinions, this book does have an index, does make recommendations for unique and interesting lodging options, and is just packed with little bits of history about each area along the way. And the title of the book does say “Travelers Guide (Photographic Tour)” so do expect some stunning photographs along with the suggestions for enjoying the trip. If you’re looking for phone numbers, prices and hours of operation, I would suggest a local phone book or a AAA road atlas rather than this engagingly written little guidebook. I would recommend it to anyone, actually everyone, who is interested in exploring the coast at their leisure and in their own style. Being a single woman and not having a huge amount of money to spend on vacations, I found that taking the Amtrak train, as suggested in this book, from rainy Seattle to sunny California was simply enchanting. For one thing, the Amtrak method of travel is relatively inexpensive, very safe and leaves a lot of time for thoughts and musings along the way (much preferable to being focused on traffic and searching out gas stations when driving). And the scenery can’t be beat! It brings to mind bygone times when the trip was the destination – the little historical notes and anecdotes peppered throughout the book are a wonderful backdrop for experiencing the full flavor and character of each area. If you go exploring the beautiful and ever changing west coast with only one guide book, this should be it!

See all 12 customer reviews…