Forget the neon nostalgia. Drive from Oregon’s working harbours to California’s redwoods for a US road trip built around good seafood, short walks and worthwhile detours.
Route 66 has earned its place on the postcards. It has also earned an impressive number of gift shops. If you want an American road trip with more coastline than memorabilia, point the hire car towards Oregon.
Drive south from Portland to San Francisco, following Oregon’s Highway 101 before crossing into California’s redwood country. Allow 10 to 14 days. The pleasure lies less in covering ground than in knowing when to park.
For a first serious fly-drive beyond the obvious, Oregon’s coast makes a persuasive case. Highway 101 links Astoria in the north with Brookings near the California border, passing fishing ports, sand dunes and headlands where stopping every few miles is entirely reasonable. You can eat well without dressing up, and the beaches are places to walk rather than fight for a sunlounger.
Begin with a night in Portland after your flight from the UK; collecting a car when you are tired and adjusting to a new time zone is nobody’s idea of freedom. Then head to Astoria, where the Columbia River meets the Pacific. Its maritime history is more interesting than another roadside photograph: the Columbia River Maritime Museum tells the story of fishing, canning and the formidable river crossing. Astoria also gives you a useful introduction to the local diet. Try a seafood counter or chowder before making any solemn promises to eat lightly on this trip.
Continue past Cannon Beach, but do not confuse its famous Haystack Rock with a compulsory overnight stop. The north coast gets busy, particularly in summer. Further south, Newport’s working bayfront has fishing boats alongside the visitor businesses. Local Ocean Seafoods, which buys from Oregon boats, is a good place to make dinner about the catch rather than the view alone. Check current menus and book where possible; a small coastal town can fill up on a fine evening.
The finest road-trip souvenir is an afternoon you didn’t schedule.
Ten days is workable; a fortnight is kinder. Spend your first night in Portland, then give Astoria, the Newport or Yachats area, and the southern Oregon coast at least one night each. Add a second night wherever you most want to walk. This is not a route improved by arriving everywhere at dusk and leaving before breakfast.
South of Newport, pause around Florence for the Oregon Dunes. Continue through Bandon, where the beach’s sea stacks reward a long stroll, and towards the Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor near Brookings. That last stretch is worth treating as a day out, not merely the road to California: pull into designated viewpoints and take a short walk rather than attempting to admire every headland through the windscreen.
Across the state line, stay around Crescent City or farther south near the Redwood National and State Parks. Leave Highway 101 for the paved Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway through Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. It runs through old-growth forest and has places to stop and walk. The narrower, partly unpaved Howland Hill Road is tempting, but check park conditions and your hire agreement before taking a rental car onto it. Give the trees a full day if you can. A photograph through a car window scarcely explains their scale.
Finish with an overnight stop on the way to San Francisco rather than trying to swallow northern California in one sitting. Booking flights into Portland and home from San Francisco avoids retracing the coast, though a one-way car-hire charge may change the arithmetic. Compare the complete flight-and-car price with a Portland return before you commit.
Book the shape of the trip first: flights, car collection and return points, then rooms in the smaller coastal towns. Leave room within that plan for a late lunch, a longer walk or weather that refuses to perform. Late spring to early autumn suits an outdoor trip, but take layers and a waterproof even in summer. Coastal mist is ordinary; winter storms call for considerably more caution. On the beach, keep well back from the water and never turn your back on the surf.
Check the latest FCDO advice and US entry requirements before paying for non-refundable travel. As at October 2026, a traveller on a full British citizen passport needs the appropriate ESTA or visa, depending on their circumstances, and the passport must cover the planned stay. Do not assume an ESTA will be suitable if you have a relevant travel or immigration history; check the official guidance and apply through the official system. Travel insurance should cover medical treatment and repatriation. The UK GHIC is for eligible healthcare in participating European countries, not a substitute for US travel insurance.
Bring your valid UK driving licence and check the requirements of both Oregon and California and your hire firm. GOV.UK says a UK photocard licence can be used to drive in the US, but you may also need a 1949 international driving permit; requirements vary by state and rental company. Inspect the car before leaving, confirm what the insurance excess covers, and compare the price of an additional driver. Satnav is useful, but download maps for areas with patchy reception. The United States drives on the right; speed limits and parking signs deserve your full attention, however confident you felt by day three.
Finally, check highway and park conditions before each long driving day. A flexible itinerary is liberating; discovering a closure after an hour’s detour is merely character-building in the least enjoyable sense.
Allow for more than petrol and motel rooms. Portland makes a useful, though not coast-wide, price benchmark: budget about $8 (£6) for a US pint of draught beer, $25–40 (£19–30) for a restaurant dinner per person, and roughly $15–20 (£11–15) for a taxi ride of about 5 km. A US pint is smaller than a British one. Dinner prices are before sales tax where applicable and a restaurant tip; taxi fares vary with traffic and tips. The sterling equivalents are rounded estimates, not promises from your card provider.
For better value, spend on two-night stops rather than a larger car you do not need. A supermarket picnic at a permitted viewpoint can be as satisfying as another restaurant lunch, provided you leave the place as you found it. Do not save money by driving tired or by skipping insurance. This trip works because it gives you time to get out of the car.
For a US road trip beyond Route 66, drive from Portland down Oregon’s coast to California’s redwoods, then finish in San Francisco. Give it 10 to 14 days, prioritise Newport’s working waterfront and a proper walk among the trees, and check entry rules, hire-car terms and road conditions before you go. The best days will have fewer miles on them than you planned.
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