Getting Around, Big Sur Travel, Transport and Car Rental
(Big Sur, Monterey County, California - CA, USA)
There is little in the way of public transport within Big Sur. Therefore, most visitors choose to take full advantage of its proximity to Highway 1 by renting a car to travel to and from Big Sur, reaching neighboring California towns and cities, as far afield as
San Francisco.
Whilst bus transport is available around Big Sur, it can be quite infrequent and therefore it is really not worth relying solely upon buses, unless you are very familiar with the timetables. Some locals even choose to cycle along Highway 1, while to reach some of the more remote, off-road destinations you will need to hike, particularly around the neighboring Andrew Molera State Park and the Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park.
Airports / Arriving by Air
There are a surprisingly large number of major California airports close to Big Sur, each offering their own set of different airlines and connecting destinations. The nearest of these by far is
Monterey Regional Airport (MRY), which is located around 31 miles / 50 km to the north. Also connected by various ground transport options are:
Car Rental
With some many popular cities and leading tourist destinations close by, it makes complete sense to hire a car, particularly as Big Sur enjoys a fairly remote setting, with a distinct lack of public transport. Highway 1 connects Big Sur with nearby
Carmel-by-the-Sea and
Monterey, which lie to the north. Further away and still to the north, if it also eminently possible to travel by car to
Oakland,
San Jose and even San Francisco (US-101 / CA-156), all of which can be reached in around two or three hours at the most. It is even possible to travel between Big Sur and
Los Angeles (southeast) via Highway 1, although this journey is much longer and likely to take more than five hours minimum.
Buses and Coaches
Between April and October, the Monterey-Salinas Transit bus (Route 22) provides a cheap way to travel between Big Sur and
Monterey. A number of tour operators and coach companies, such as Greyhound, also offer various long-distance bus trips, which run to destinations such as Carmel-by-the-Sea, Heart Castle in San Simeon, and San Luis Obispo, close to Pismo Beach and Grover Beach.