Discover romantic hotels and villas for couples in Big Sur, United States

Beloved by artists, writers and beatniks, Big Sur – the stretch of California coastline between San Simeon and Carmel – is the rugged, redwood-lined reality of your American road-trip dreams. Car fans will recognise commercial star Bixby Bridge, but it’s nature that rules over man around here: beaches and bluffs, canyons and coves are backed by the towering trees and sloping forests edging the Santa Lucia mountains. Pacific Highway One – a famous free-love freeway, and possibly the most scenic drive in the world – twists and turns to the tune of the ocean crashing way down below. Keep watch inland for wild turkeys, raccoons and the elusive mountain lions; and stare skywards to spot those swooping Cali condors. There are bakeries, galleries and artisan-jeweller pit-stops to break up your drive, healing hot springs for hippie-approved midnight dips and scenic state parks to stretch your legs in. Henry Miller loved Big Sur so much, he stayed 18 years – it’s ‘the face of the Earth as the creator intended it to look’, after all.

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