California’s tranquil, palm-fringed beaches, breathtaking sunsets, and majestic mountain vistas provide the perfect backdrop for a romantic vacation or honeymoon. The variety of scenery has something for everyone.
Beachgoers will enjoy the appealing seaside communities, crescent-shaped bays, and tranquil coves along California State Route One, also known as Highway One. The most spectacular location is Big Sur, with its towering cliffs plunging into the Pacific Ocean and exhilarating landscapes.
Carmel and Santa Barbara are picturesque seaside towns that cater to visitors seeking an elite resort experience, while Santa Catalina Island offers exquisite island character while remaining easily accessible.
The old settlements of Sonoma and Mendocino counties, which are only a few hours from San Francisco, will appeal to those seeking rustic beauty. Lake Tahoe’s breathtaking alpine scenery and cosy, rustic cottages are ideal for outdoor lovers.
Couples will enjoy a variety of activities in California, ranging from peaceful beaches to picturesque mountain settlements. You’ll be able to select the best romantic vacations from our list of the best places to visit.
- The Stunning Coastline of Big Sur
Big Sur is a breathtakingly beautiful escape from the rest of the world that revitalises the spirit. The rough landscape and stunning ocean views are truly amazing.
This rugged 90-mile stretch of Northern California coastline, accessible through a magnificent cliff-clinging stretch of Highway One, feels far from civilization. There has been little progress, and there is no mobile service. Despite its remoteness, Big Sur has a variety of accommodations, including luxury hotels, gourmet restaurants, and exquisite spa resorts, as well as rustic-chic inns and campers.
Big Sur’s natural splendour is its main draw, whether couples want to rough it or be pampered. The Big Sur coastline, which is covered in majestic redwood forests, rises 1,200 feet above the deep blue waters of the Pacific. The stunning sight of towering cliffs plunging into raging waves leave many speechless.
Secluded beaches are nestled between coastal bluffs and beneath seaside hills. Big Sur has a number of state parks with extensive hiking trails that traverse a range of settings.
- Carmel-by-the-Sea: An Elegant and Beautiful Seaside Resort
As shown by its fantasy cottages, underground passageways, and one-of-a-kind businesses, this upscale seaside resort radiates charm. Apart from its great environment, Carmel-by-the-Sea provides everything you need for a romantic getaway: excellent hotels, fine-dining restaurants, and cultural events throughout the year.
A peaceful sandy beach surrounded by cypress trees with distinctive wind-sculpted limbs is only a 10-minute walk from Carmel. This unspoilt stretch of shoreline is rated as one of the most beautiful in Northern California.
The world-famous Pebble Beach Golf Course, located just a few minutes away along the scenic 17-Mile Road, is known for its difficult 18th hole that overlooks an iconic coastal cliff.
Carmel-by-the-Sea is also a great site to start exploring the Big Sur coastline, which begins approximately 25 miles to the south. Along the route lies Point Lobos, a coastal nature reserve with excellent hiking trails.
- Santa Barbara has earned the moniker “American Riviera.”
Santa Barbara has earned the moniker “American Riviera” due to its Mediterranean beachside environment and resort-like ambience. It is set behind the Santa Ynez Mountains’ foothills along a palm-fringed coastline.
This typical California destination contains a historic Spanish Mission and lovely sun-kissed sandy beaches. Romantics will be enchanted by the spectacular sunsets and the lulling recurrence of the Pacific Ocean’s crashing waves.
In line with the area’s heritage, the picturesque downtown is surrounded by historic Spanish-style buildings that hold art galleries, boutiques, restaurants, and cafés. Santa Barbara is one of the most beautiful places to visit in California, especially for shopping and dining.
Relaxing at one of the town’s premium spas and engaging in outdoor activities are among popular pastimes. The wonderful natural surroundings are ideal for horseback riding, yachting, and hiking the scenic trails.
- The Rolling Hills of Sonoma County
Sonoma County, located an hour north of San Francisco, is a pastoral landscape of rolling, vine-covered hills. Couples come to Sonoma to enjoy the slower pace of life and outdoor activities such as hiking, mountain biking, and hot-air balloon rides. It’s also a terrific place to sample local gourmet cuisine created with farm-fresh ingredients.
Sonoma is a historic town with attractive shops and restaurants centred on a plaza with a tree-shaded park.
5.Santa Catalina Island .
Santa Catalina Island gives it everything for a romantic getaway: peaceful beaches, beautiful seaside villages, and breathtaking island scenery. The island’s major town, Avalon, provides the most accomodation options, ranging from magnificent ancient hotels to modern resorts.
The sheltered beaches of Avalon are great for sunbathing. Descanso Beach is good for swimming, snorkelling, and kayaking. This beach, nestled in a small cove, has excellent facilities, including a private beach club. Visitors can rent lounge chairs and cabanas or dine at the Descanso Beach Club’s waterfront restaurant.
Two Harbors, located on the island’s western tip, gives the impression of an island paradise. This serene little village is located between two ports and front calm coves. It features a café, a modest store, beautiful beaches, fishing spots, and little boutique hotels.
Hiking and camping opportunities abound just beyond the village of Two Harbors and in the Santa Catalina wilderness. The bulk of the routes go through the rugged slope of the island, providing stunning views of the ocean and shoreline.
6.Mendocino County is wild and untamed.
Mendocino County in Northern California is a windswept length of jagged coastline dotted with redwood trees and abundant animals. Mendocino is ideal for a romantic getaway because of its tranquil ambiance, uncrowded nature features, and breathtaking coastline views.
Visitors are refreshed by the clean nature, inhaling in fresh air, and relaxing on secluded beaches. It’s also a terrific place for camping, hiking, and outdoor sports like kayaking or canoeing on the Big River Estuary and boating, swimming, or fishing at Lake Mendocino, a 700-acre protected nature reserve.
Despite its rugged and remote surroundings, Mendocino is densely packed with welcome hotels, luxury inns, and charming bed and breakfasts. Mendocino is on the National Register of Historic Places because of its well-preserved 19th-century architecture.
This charming Victorian-era town also has outstanding restaurants, interesting shops, and noteworthy art galleries.
Fort Bragg, a more urban community, features a busy fishing harbour, excellent seafood restaurants, and more reasonably priced housing. Gualala is a tiny village on the ocean’s cliffs surrounded by redwood woods.
7.The Russian River .
Outdoor enthusiasts go to the Russian River throughout the summer for activities such as hiking in the forests, swimming and sunbathing at riverbank beaches, canoeing, kayaking, and fishing on the river, and floating down the river on inner tubes.
Because of its softly running river and towering redwood woods, the region is calm at any time of year. The laid-back country environment and little historic villages of the Russian River area make it a great destination for a quiet weekend escape.
Guerneville is a favourite San Francisco holiday destination because it has a wide selection of lodgings, from campers and rustic lodges to romantic inns and fashionable restaurants and cafés. Couples will like the town’s tranquil riverfront environment.
Duncan Mills, a little town that appears to be lost in time, features perfectly kept Victorian-era buildings (such as an old General Store) that now house art galleries, shops, cafés, and restaurants for today’s tourists.
Jenner-by-the-
The sea is hard to top for spectacular landscapes and sunsets. The Russian River and the Pacific Ocean may be seen from this lonely coastal community built on a hill. There are two lodges with breathtaking views in town, as well as a sandy beach with picnic tables.
For those with high-end tastes, the fashionable town of Healdsburg, approximately a 30-minute drive from Guerneville, is the finest spot to stay. The downtown area of Healdsburg is filled with luxury hotels, gourmet restaurants, and premium locally owned businesses.
- The Victorian Village of Ferndale.
Ferndale, located in Northern California’s Humboldt County and only five miles from the Pacific Coast, is a peaceful community of old-fashioned Americana. More than 200 magnificently restored Victorian buildings line the Main Street and side streets of this attractive rural village.
Ferndale’s charming bed-and-breakfast hotels and inns are great for romantic vacations. Visitors sleeping in vintage-style rooms are given to a pampering treatment.
The most luxury hotel is the Gingerbread Mansion Hotel, an impressive High Victorian construction with an extravagant front and a comfortable interior containing period furniture and décor. The Gingerbread Mansion Hotel includes a full breakfast as well as afternoon high tea, which adds to the historical atmosphere.
A “Romantic Picnic for Two” (gourmet lunch) box is also available from the hotel and may be taken to the beach or park.
Built in 1890, the Victorian Inn is now a boutique hotel with a fine-dining restaurant and antique decor. The spacious accommodations are decorated with floral wallpaper and linen. Several rooms have bay windows or sitting spaces.
One of the town’s notable historic accommodations is the Shaw House, a lovely Victorian house surrounded by an acre of tranquil, tree-shaded grounds. Romantics will appreciate the garden’s pleasant patio area, fragrant roses and rhododendrons, and the property’s private stretch of coastline.
Built in the 1870s, the Hotel Ivanhoe is one of the oldest hotels in the West and the only original Victorian-era hotel that still stands in Ferndale. This historic hotel has a casual restaurant and tastefully decorated guest rooms with Victorian antiques.
Humboldt County is a natural wonderland, with several state parks containing magnificent old-growth redwoods. Beautiful drives through ancient redwood woods and along the Lost Coast beachfront road, as well as trips to the Humboldt Botanical Garden and outdoor activities including hiking, biking, horseback riding, and beach walks, are popular things to do here.
9.The High Sierras’ Lake Tahoe.
Lake Tahoe, located at a height of approximately 6,000 feet in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, astounds tourists with its stunning alpine environment. The beautiful deep blue waters of the lake call to the spirit, while the crisp, fresh air energises the body.
The breathtaking natural setting invites both leisure and outdoor excursions. Lake Tahoe, flanked by snowcapped mountain peaks, is equally lovely for skiing in the winter as it is for hiking, bicycling, camping, boating, and other outdoor activities in the summer.
Fine-dining restaurants, cosy ski lodges, rustic-chic inns, and sophisticated resort hotels await couples visiting Lake Tahoe for a weekend or honeymoon. Guests can choose from a selection of lodgings in a range of pricing ranges.
The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe, offers magnificent ski-in/ski-out suites as well as romantic touches like as sitting rooms with fireplaces and private patios or balconies. In addition to its on-site restaurants and spa, this five-star hotel has a lakeside clubhouse with a private pier, beach access, changing rooms and showers, kayaks, paddleboards, and water sports rentals.
For a traditional Tahoe experience, the Postmarc Hotel and Spa Suites captures the feel of a classic alpine lodge while providing modern facilities and convenient lakefront access. Among the outdoor activities provided to guests are hiking, kayaking, and horseback riding. At the hotel, couples can also enjoy movie nights, comedy acts, and themed meals.
10.Half Moon Bay is number ten.
Half Moon Bay is a laid-back seaside community surrounded by undulating hills, small farms, and forests. Half Moon Bay is a popular weekend getaway for nature lovers and one of the best day trips from San Francisco due to its unspoiled sandy beaches and beautiful hiking trails.
The scenic shoreline of Half Moon Bay State Beach entices people to take walks to watch the massive waves and breathe in the cool coastal air. This four-mile-long sandy beach is also great for picnics and watching the sunset. Even when the weather is stormy and rainy, the magnificent view is always energising.
The modest downtown area of Half Moon Bay entices visitors to stay. Along Main Street, there are a few great cafes and cute small businesses run by locals. With its stunning paintings adorning the walls and sunny interior courtyard, the Half Moon Bay Inn, a historic hotel on Main Street that goes back to 1932, epitomises Spanish Revival architecture.
The Mill Rose Inn, a lovely B&B hotel with floral-print bedding, antiques, and vintage-inspired decor, is the most romantic place to stay in Half Moon Bay. The inn’s English country-style garden blooms with colourful flowers all year, making it a favourite wedding venue.
Leave a Reply