Getting around
Getting around California
For the towns, drives, islands, and wine-country clusters this guide covers, a rental car is often the practical tool. Big cities have useful transit, ferries reach Sausalito and Catalina, and many waterfronts and town centers are best explored on foot after parking. Check coastal road access before planning a through-drive.
When you need a car, and when you don't
Most California micro-zones — Big Sur, Napa and Sonoma wine country, Mendocino, Lake Tahoe, the Palm Springs area — are easiest with a car, and distances between sights can be too long for local transit. Reserve a rental early in peak season. State Route 1 is a scenic drive when open, but it is not a dependable shortcut: as checked September 12, 2026, Caltrans reports a wildfire closure between Los Burros and Kirk Creek Camp in Big Sur. Do not plan a continuous coastal drive through that section until it reopens.
A few places work better without a car: Avalon on Catalina Island largely bans visitor cars and runs on golf carts and walking, and downtown cores like Santa Barbara's State Street, Carmel, and Sausalito's waterfront are best explored on foot once you park.
Ferries, transit, and mountain roads
Golden Gate Ferry links San Francisco with Sausalito. For Catalina Island, Catalina Express departs from San Pedro, Long Beach and Dana Point; the separate Catalina Flyer sails from Newport Beach to Avalon. Choose the operator and mainland port before arranging onward travel. Big cities have useful rail — BART in the Bay Area, Metro in Los Angeles, and the Trolley in San Diego — but these mainly serve urban areas rather than the coastal and mountain zones.
Mountain and coastal driving needs preparation: Sierra routes to South Lake Tahoe can require tire chains in winter storms, and fuel and services are limited along Big Sur's Highway 1. Fill the tank before remote drives, download offline maps where cell coverage drops, and check Caltrans QuickMap for chain controls and closures.
Parking, tolls, and charging
Parking is often the real constraint in popular towns: coastal lots at Carmel, La Jolla, and Santa Monica fill early on weekends, and many state parks charge a day-use fee. Bay Area bridges collect tolls electronically; the Golden Gate Bridge charges southbound toward San Francisco. Check your rental company's toll plan and service fees. For bridge crossings, a short-term license-plate account is an alternative if you do not use the rental plan; it does not cover express lanes, which require a valid FasTrak toll tag.
California has an extensive charging network, but statewide totals include shared private chargers as well as public ones. Check access, connector compatibility and current availability with the charging operator before relying on a stop. On Big Sur or remote Sierra legs, plan charging stops and a backup as carefully as fuel stops.
Sources
Reviewed source trail
- Caltrans QuickMap — chain controls, closures, and conditions — checked 2026-09-12
- Catalina Express — mainland-to-Avalon ferry — checked 2026-09-12
- Golden Gate Ferry — Sausalito service — checked 2026-09-12
- Bay Area FasTrak — electronic tolling — checked 2026-09-12
- California Energy Commission — EV charging — checked 2026-09-12
- Caltrans — current State Route 1 restrictions — checked 2026-09-12
- Catalina Flyer — Newport Beach–Avalon service — checked 2026-09-12
- FasTrak — rental vehicles and payment options — checked 2026-09-12
- FasTrak — Golden Gate Bridge direction and tolls — checked 2026-09-12