Florida Keys vs Pacific Coast Highway

The Florida Keys are America's most famous road trip island chain, a necklace of coral islands linked by the Overseas Highway as it hops 113 miles from Key Largo to Key West over 42 bridges and turquoise water. Starting from Miami, you can be snorkeling North America's only living coral barrier reef at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park within a couple of hours. Farther south, Islamorada is the sportfishing capital with tarpon feeding at the docks, Marathon has a sea turtle hospital and the soaring Seven Mile Bridge, and Bahia Honda State Park offers some of the best natural beaches in the Keys. The road ends in Key West, a colorful, easygoing town of conch houses, Hemingway's cats, and the nightly sunset celebration at Mallory Square. This plan covers the full Key Largo to Key West run in four days, then adds a day trip by ferry or seaplane to remote Dry Tortugas National Park and its giant brick fort. Navigate by the green mile markers, slow down in Key deer zones, eat plenty of fresh fish and key lime pie, and book Key West hotels early in winter.

Driving the Pacific Coast Highway from Los Angeles to San Francisco is the classic American road trip, a roughly 450-mile ribbon of asphalt that clings to cliffs, dips into surf towns and threads some of the most dramatic coastline on Earth. Start with the beach cities of Santa Monica and Malibu, then roll north to Santa Barbara's red-tile roofs and its graceful Spanish mission. Next come the laid-back college town of San Luis Obispo and the wide sands of Pismo Beach, followed by the hilltop opulence of Hearst Castle and hundreds of elephant seals lounging on the beach at Piedras Blancas. The highlight is Big Sur, where Highway 1 winds high above the ocean past McWay Falls and the arching Bixby Creek Bridge before reaching storybook Carmel-by-the-Sea and the world-class Monterey Bay Aquarium. Five days is the sweet spot for the drive, with extra days for San Francisco, Napa Valley wine country and the coast south of the city. One important warning: landslides regularly close sections of Highway 1 in Big Sur, so check Caltrans QuickMap before you set out and be ready to detour inland on US-101 or do Big Sur as an out-and-back from Carmel.