Pismo Beach city is in San Luis Obispo County, on California's beautiful Central Coast. Known for its excellent weather, it's a classic west coast beach town half way between San Francisco and Los Angeles, off the Pacific Coast and 101 Highways. If you're looking for incredible white sandy beaches and spectacular sunsets, a Pismo Beach holiday has your name all over it.
The city's butterfly grove is a spectacular resting place for enormous flocks of migrating Monarch butterflies.
Whether you want to take it totally easy or grab the city by the short and curlies and give it a good shake, there's loads to do, experience and see.
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View the stunning beach from the air on a thriling biplane ride
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Pismo beach and nearby Shell beach offer dramatic rocks, caves, cliffs, beaches and coves
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Visit the excellent Children's Museum for interactive fun
There's a local athletic club where you can swim in a 25 yard lap pool with a retractable ceiling for hot weather fun, plus freeweights, machines and court sports. The local beach is perfect for kayaking adventures and there's a classic bowling alley also in town.
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Pacific Coast Highway 1
From £1509.00 (inc flights and hotels)
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This is legendary grape country, the perfect place to sample local wines. There's plenty of Central Coast golfing, massive sand dunes to explore on foot or in a 4x4, horse riding, surfing and body boarding on tap. Love great fishing? The city's impressive 1,200 foot long pier delivers exactly that. The lovely boardwalk is an award winner, and there are forty or so premium shopping outlets to rummage through.
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California's finest and biggest sand dunes will blow your mind, south of the city at Oceano
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Sample the beach's famously tasty clams, a real Californian legend
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Discover Avila Beach's brilliant naturally-heated mineral springs
Take in all three for a genuine flavour of the real Pismo Beach. Then visit Price Historical Park to explore a historic ranch and a replica Chumash Village.
Locals and visitors love the city's famous 'Butterfly Trees' where, between late October to late February, millions of Monarch butterflies gather in the Eucalyptus and Monterey pines. Amazing!
The Great American Melodrama is a quirky family-focused theatre where they put on a variety of musicals and comedies, usually with plenty of audience participation and always great fun. Better still, there's in-house eats and drinks, including the region's splendid wines and a fine line in desserts. Plus there's the magnificent Performing Arts Center, too. This is California and it's no surprise Pismo Beach is surrounded by world class golf courses. There's also a flavour of romance in the air with beach horseback riding – imagine yourselves cantering through the surf like people in a movie. And kite surfing is an increasingly popular and totally thrilling activity when the wind's right.
Surf's up! You'll find round board and boogie-board surfing all year round at the pier, you can hire boards and wetsuits, and haunt the excellent surf shops for extra gear. Take a tour of the extraordinary Dinosaur Cave Park, a full eleven acres set on top of a dramatic cliff – aka a 'bluff'. The entire city is tourism-focused, with more than 60 restaurants to choose from. In fact there's a year-round calendar of special events including art in the park, fireworks, classic car shows and - of course - the famous annual clam festival.