California
Bed and Breakfast Inns

The guide to California Bed and Breakfast Inns lists over 250 boutique hotels, wine country cottages and more.

California Bed-and-Breakfast Inn in CambriaCalifornia Bed-and-Breakfast Inn in Cambria

The brand new 20th edition of the guide to California Bed and Breakfast Inns is now out. Published by CABBI (The California Association of Bed and Breakfast Inns), the guide lists over 250 Bed and Breakfast Inns and other exclusive getaway places throughout California.

The organization includes boutique hotels, wine country cottages, inns with ocean views, farm stays, historic Victorian mansions, and many more select places within its 148 pages. Naturally many of these are along the Pacific Coast Highway, and others on the essential PCH detour inland to the wine country of Napa Valley and Sonoma.

How the Book's Organized

Front cover of the California Bed-and-Breakfast Inns guide

The guide is organized regionally, starting with Northern California (sub-divided into the Redwood Coast, Mount Shasta, Clear Lake, Mendocino, Sonoma, and Napa Valley), through Gold Country/High Sierra, the San Francisco Bay Area, the Central Coast/Valley, and ending in Southern California (Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Orange County, the Southern California Mountains, San Diego, and Palm Springs.)

Each region comes with an overview map, with the inns listed alongside, alphabetically. The inns aren’t shown on the map, but only the towns which have inns in them are shown, making it very easy to plot a route using these inns or to see if there are any located near to where you plan to visit.

Bed and Breakfast Inn Reviews

California Bed-and-Breakfast Inns sample page

The amount of space devoted to the review of each property varies enormously. Some get two pages, some one page (see right), some half a page, with the majority being a one-paragraph potted summary. All include at least one photo, full contact details, and the range of room prices.

Several places that we have stayed at are included in the guide, such as Napa Valley’s Wine Country Inn, Napa’s 1801 First, Mendocino’s Stanford Inn, the Casa Laguna in Laguna Beach, the Pelican Inn and Suites in Cambria, and both the Cypress Inn and the Vagabond’s House Inn in Carmel, so we can say from personal experience that the write-ups here are honest and accurate.

It also shows us that the members of the Association are a pretty select bunch of California bed and breakfast inns. The only drawback is that the shorter reviews don’t really do the places justice, but at least they let you know that they’re there, and you can take a longer look at the property’s website to get a better feel for it.

California Bed and Breakfast Inns

Our verdict is that if you like to stay in places that are different, historic, charming, atmospheric, or in some other way better than average, the booklet is a good investment. The places aren’t cheap, but neither are they the most expensive 5-star luxury hotel resorts. Quality costs, after all, and these bed and breakfast inns are definitely quality.

This guide to California Bed and Breakfast Inns, now called the CABBI Travel Guide, is published by the California Association of Bed and Breakfast Inns and can be ordered on their website. There's also a digital edition.

And if you like the sound of running a b&b there's a page listing places for sale!

Other books pages

  • Soul of Los Angeles from French publishers Jonglez is a travel guide to 30 Exceptional Experiences in California's largest city.

    Soul of Los Angeles

    Soul of Los Angeles from French publishers Jonglez is a travel guide to 30 Exceptional Experiences in California's largest city.

  • Greetings from California is a beautiful coffee-table book which describes the legends, landmarks and lore of California, including the Pacific Coast Highway.

    Greetings from California

    Greetings from California is a beautiful coffee-table book which describes the legends, landmarks and lore of California, including the Pacific Coast Highway.

  • Pacific Coast Highway Travel reviews the Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip guide from Moon covering California, Oregon and Washington

    Pacific Coast Highway Moon Guide

    Pacific Coast Highway Travel reviews the Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip guide from Moon covering California, Oregon and Washington

  • West Coast Road Eats is a road food guide covering the Pacific Coast from California through Oregon to Washington, giving the best road trip food stops.

    Road Food Guide

    West Coast Road Eats is a road food guide covering the Pacific Coast from California through Oregon to Washington, giving the best road trip food stops.

  • To John Steinbeck Monterey's Cannery Row was a place of sardine canneries, bums and honky tonks, but today the Monterey Aquarium attracts visitors.

    Cannery Row in Monterey

    To John Steinbeck Monterey's Cannery Row was a place of sardine canneries, bums and honky tonks, but today the Monterey Aquarium attracts visitors.

  • Pacific Coast Highway Travel's California Camping book review rates the 20th anniversary edition of Moon's complete guide to over 1400 tent and RV campgrounds.

    California Camping Book Review

    Pacific Coast Highway Travel's California Camping book review rates the 20th anniversary edition of Moon's complete guide to over 1400 tent and RV campgrounds.

  • Pacific Coast Highway Travel reviews the book Culture Trails by Lonely Planet, which has a section on Vintage Hollywood alongside 51 other perfect weekends.

    Culture Trails

    Pacific Coast Highway Travel reviews the book Culture Trails by Lonely Planet, which has a section on Vintage Hollywood alongside 51 other perfect weekends.

  • Northwest Wine Country is a food and wine lover's guide to vineyards, fine dining, accommodation, restaurants in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, British Columbia.

    Northwest Wine Country

    Northwest Wine Country is a food and wine lover's guide to vineyards, fine dining, accommodation, restaurants in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, British Columbia.

  • Lonely Planet's Coastal California guidebook is the ideal travel guide for driving or cycling the Pacific Coast Highway from the Oregon border to Mexico.

    Coastal California Guidebook

    Lonely Planet's Coastal California guidebook is the ideal travel guide for driving or cycling the Pacific Coast Highway from the Oregon border to Mexico.

  • Pacific Coast Highway Travel's book review of Insider's Guide to San Francisco guidebook by Jill Loeffler, publisher of the San Francisco Tourism Tips website.

    Your Insider's Guide to San Francisco

    Pacific Coast Highway Travel's book review of Insider's Guide to San Francisco guidebook by Jill Loeffler, publisher of the San Francisco Tourism Tips website.

Recent Articles

RSS

  1. I've taken over 20 Amtrak routes around the US and Canada. These 5 offered the most stunning views.

    Mar 13, 26 11:58 AM

    For travelers who love calming ocean views, I recommend riding the Amtrak Coast Starlight from Los Angeles to Seattle, which takes about 34 hours. I thought the first day of the trip was the most scen…

    Read More

  2. The World’s Greatest Places of 2026: Highway 1

    Mar 13, 26 11:58 AM

    California’s epic coastal route, Highway 1—also known as the Pacific Coast Highway—reopened in its entirety on January 14, restoring one of the great American road trips. Stretching roughly 655 miles…

    Read More

  3. When to Visit California for the Best Experience

    Mar 09, 26 11:31 AM

    Discover the best time to visit California by season and region, balancing weather, crowds, prices, and special events to match your ideal trip.

    Read More