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Sign in with FacebookLatest Pismo Beach hotel reviews
Pro
Great waves for Boogie Boarding & Surfing :)
Con
Sometimes too windy!
In a nutshell
This is where to go to enjoy the Pacific.
travelgourmet Says: Pismo Beach is a typical small beach town with a lot of hotels, one of the best beaches, a long pier, surfing waves, and seafood restaurants. Oh, there are a few stores that sell souvenirs and shirts with Pismo Beach emblazed on the front but the fun lies in just walking...
ellibass Says: I live here so i know of a number of things to do.#1. Surf #2. Eat at el miradore, Hoagies, Splash Cafe, old west cinnamon rolls, Mo's smokehouse barbeque.#3. hang out at local parks#4. walk around in downtown pismo.#5. layout (a.k.a get a tan)#6. Go to the outlet mall (...
mingomatic Says: It's a nice walk by the pier. We went during prime time and there weren't many people there at all. Slightly cold in September, but not frigid. The birds here are not afraid of people. I got a few nice pictures of them just hanging out on the pier. A great place to watch the...
iandsmith Says: When we headed out I ducked into the unique foreshore just north of Pismo, a place called Shell Beach. Frankly, if I had a house anywhere near the shore I would be worried as erosion is clearly present.Still, it makes for good photography and an interesting seascape.
iandsmith Says: My partner Rosemarie was really sick when we stopped here so it was good to find a relaxing place to stay.We were located right next to the beach, a pleasant affair with not a great deal of surf by the looks of it.However, volleyball is certainly a sport that is popular...
1 Review and 389 Opinions We enjoyed our stay at the Kon Tiki Inn and had a nice room facing the ocean..In the morning...
1 Review and 595 Opinions On average, you will pay more here. But it is well worth it. It is a beautiful place :) Heated pool,...
travelgourmet Says: Drive on past Pismo Beach on Hwy 101 and you have missed the highlight of seafood eating, a clam chowder bowl. You can get clam chowder from many restaurants in the area but SPLASH seems to have it down pat. The bread bowl is delicious and the chowder thick and tasty. Ther...
STEAMERS OF PISMO: SEAFOOD WITH A SEAVIEW
travelgourmet Says: Steamers of Pismo is located on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean at Pismo Beach. The view is stunning and the food is equally as gratifying. This is a fine dining restaurant that has excellent seafood dishes for you to enjoy. Reservations are recommended but the wait is...
Mo's BBQ: Visit the surfing pigs!
lisa85202 Says: I could not resist the smell of this delicious BBQ smokehouse, while walking by. We knew by the crowd...and the surfing pigs....that this place would provide a great dinner! Pulled pork sandwich, your choice of BBQ sauces...and a cold beer!
mingomatic Says: It's kind of a fast food joint where everything is almost everything is fried or unhealthy. It's cheap and fast. There's only one thing to come here for, and that's the New England clam chowder. Yes, it's great clam chowder. Creamy and hearty. You must get the seafood...
north of the center of Pismo: Nightlife on the Beach
painterdave Says: As the sun sets take a walk on the beach with your camera. This is an enjoyable time at Pismo.There are also numerous restaurants along the cliff that have windows for viewing. The beach will have few people--you will need a jacket, it can get cool even in the summer.
I'm guessing most people who come to Pismo Beach is taking a road trip on the SoCal Coast. If so, depending on what kind of car you already own, I would likely suggest that you rent a car. Why? Because of a few reasons...
1) Get a car that's fuel efficient. We were driving from LA to San Jose and getting a car that has 35 miles to the gallon was super cheap on gas. (Ford Fiesta) -not bad!
2) Less wear and tear on your own car. Some of the roads up the coast are super twisty. The breaks on the rental car were going, but since it was a rental, I wasn't very concerned. It's about 600 miles roundtrip and that's a lot of miles to add to your car in a short time.
3) It's cheap. Avis was about 80 bucks for an entire weekend. If you are a group of 4 people, that's $20 each to rent a car for an entire weekend. Not bad at all!
4) The car gets DIRTY. I'm talking like caked on bugs on the bumper and such. Better to do that with a rental car than your own.
In addition to the above, I recommend you have a portable GPS or an iPad/iPhone with a GPS app. It was the single most useful tool to travel with. Music, GPS, and finding things to see, places to eat are super easy with an iPad.
Written Sep 28, 2011
The Sky Is the Limit: A Place for Beach Toys
KimberlyAnn Says: Do you want toys for the beach, kites, beach gear, flags, banners, or wind art? If so, then you must visit The Sky is the Limt. You can find items for yourself, your children, a friend, and even for your dog. It’s a fun place to poke around in if you want to do more than...
soozyd Says: Walk around town and you might wonder about the local obsession with clam chowder. Every restaurant seems to have won an award at some time or another for the best bowl of the stuff. The clams you'll eat around town nowadays are not caught in Pismo, most likely....At one...
Acore_Beauty_4_U_Luv Says: The Pismo clam supports an important sport shellfishery. An estimated150,000 people once sought the clams on Pismo Beach, California, during asingle weekend; however, sea otters have depleted the supply there since1981, and as of 1986 there is no fishery.The Pismo clam lives...
BUY YOUR PARKING TIME OR GET A TICKET FINE
travelgourmet Says: Make sure that if you are parking in the pay zones which includes one way side streets as well as parking lots, you look for the pay meters to get your time allowed stub. Return to your vehicle and place it on the inside dashboard area visible through the windshield or you...
KimberlyAnn Says: One of the things I really enjoyed about the Port San Luis Pier in Avila was viewing the seabirds and mammals. Standing on one of the roofless fish market walls was a brown pelican. (See photo 2.) The lady running the counter stood sat near-by. I had a feeling this pelican...
KimberlyAnn Says: Something that was really startling was that near the end of the Port San Luis Pier in Avila, just outside of the restaurant, there was a narrow set of stairs that led to a small dock under the pier. You could hear splashing and barking below. As you descended these stairs,...
KimberlyAnn Says: Pismo Beach Golf Course is a public, nine hole, three par course located near the ocean, and the coastal dunes. There is a snack bar where you can purchase soft drinks, beer, chips, and candy. In 2007 the greens fee was $9 on weekdays, and $10 on weekends. You may also rent...
Acore_Beauty_4_U_Luv Says: Boogie Boarding on the Pismo Beach waves.Just lay on your board, paddle out into the surf...and ride the waves back in. It is a blast :) Boogie BoardWet suit (suggested)Water-proof Sun block for face
Helpfulness
Favorite thing: The Pismo area is famous for the thousands of Monarch butterflies that migrate to the area, looking for shelter from the cold northern winters. If you visit Pismo late October to the end of February, you will be treated to the huge butterfly clusters hanging in the limbs of a grove of Eucalyptus trees. The grove may be found along highway 1 at the southern end of Pismo Beach. During the time that the butterflies are in the areas in large numbers there are volunteers who offer daily talks and information at the Butterfly Grove. Ask anyone in town and they can give you directions on how to find the grove. For more information visit www.monarchbutterfly.org
Fondest memory: There are so many things I liked about this area, that it is hard to choose my fondest memory, but I guess it would be our wonderful campsite in the N. Beach section of the state park, flying kites on the beach, our Avila side trip, and eating at Splash.
Updated Apr 27, 2007
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Where is heaven on earth? Pismo Beach. I lived in the 5 Cities area, and surrounding areas as a child. The Portuguese Festas, Clam Fests, are out of this world! It still remains rather small despite...
Pismo Beach, CA, An Enjoyable Place To Be
The town of Pismo beach was begun in 1891. Located along the Pacific Ocean about half way between Los Angeles and San Francisco, this town is geared toward beach and tourist activities. With...
Pismo Beach is known for the largest smooth sand beach on the Pacific Coast. The home of the Pismo Clam with the clean smooth sand giving a mile long playground for beach activities on shore as well...
A Long Weekend of Wonderful Nothing
We spent a long holiday weekend in Pismo Beach. The whole purpose of this short trip was *relaxation* and we did little other than eat, nap, and walk around, on the beach and in the small town. Just...
I only spent a night here so I really can't give you a lot of information. However, I can tell you some things. There's a pier, lots of volley ball, not a large surf and an interesting shore line...
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