Visiting Hearst Castle
Our Visiting Hearst Castle page gives all the practicalities for planning a visit to Hearst Castle, which is one of the very best things you can do along the Pacific Coast Highway.
The Indoor Pool
Here we give the practical advice including the location, where best to stay, the types of tour on offer (including daytime and evening tours), the length of tours, how long to allow for your visit, where to book tickets, and much more information for planning that essential visit to Hearst Castle.
Visiting Hearst Castle: Tour Choices
There are several tour choices available, each highlighting a different aspect of this amazing place. From time to time there are also special interest tours, such as one aimed at photographers, and another showing life behind the scenes in keeping the castle running. In summer there are also tours of the gardens.
Hearst Castle Evening Tour
Hearst Castle Evening Tours
On some evenings in Spring and Fall it’s possible to
enjoy a magical experience and tour Hearst Castle as the sun is going
down. Costumed actors create the feeling of a party happening at Hearst
Castle, just as William Randolph Heart held them with his celebrity
guests. For a full account of our impressions of an evening tour, visit
our Hearst Castle Evening Tours page.
Hearst Castle
Visiting Hearst Castle: Practicalities
Taking a tour is the only way to visit Hearst Castle. Tours usually last about 90 minutes or so, including the time it takes to get to and from the Castle, which is at the top of a hill five miles from the Visitor Center. At the Visitor Center you collect your pre-booked ticket, and board the bus at your tour time. Announcements are made, to make sure you don’t miss the bus. Bear in mind, though, that there are also things to see in the Visitor Center itself, and a large and interesting gift shop.
You might want to try to get there at least an hour before your tour as a fascinating and informative 40-minute film, Hearst Castle: Building the Dream, is shown every 45 minutes throughout the day in the theater. Check the showtimes in advance on the Hearst Castle Theater page of their website. If you are on an early tour or you don’t get there in time to see the film before your tour, then do allow time afterwards as it does enhance your visit enormously.
The View from Hearst Castle
In total, then, you should plan to spend about three hours at Hearst Castle, and it’s impossible to do it in less than two hours. If it’s a subject you’re really interested in, you might also consider taking more than one of the daytime tours.
There are two other things to bear in mind. One is that the tours involve a lot of steps, so if you have any doubt about your ability to take one, phone Hearst Castle first. The other factor is that the Castle stands at a height of 1600ft, which is enough for it to be cooler than it is down at the Visitor Center. You’ll feel the difference on cool days.
Hearst Castle Statue
Hearst Castle Location
The entrance to Hearst Castle is in the little town of San Simeon, right on the Pacific Coast Highway. It’s well sign-posted on your right about 9 miles north of Cambria (allow 15 minutes). Drive into the large parking area and then go into the Visitor Center to collect your pre-booked tickets. We recommend leaving heavy bags in your car.
View of the Pacific Ocean from Hearst Castle
Further Information
To find out the practical information about a visit to Hearst Castle (how long to allow, how to get there, where to stay etc) see our Visiting Hearst Castle page.
For further information and to book a tour, visit the Tours page of the Hearst Castle website. You must book in advance for tours if visiting Hearst Castle, as places are limited and the tours are extremely popular.
Driving from Los Angeles
If you're visiting Hearst Castle from Los Angeles, see the detailed driving advice on our LA to Hearst Castle page.
Where to Stay
There are several hotels in San Simeon, where Hearst Castle is located, including a really nice Best Western that we've visited. We usually stay in Cambria, though, which we enjoy as it's a lively little place. See Our Cambria page for several hotel recommendations.
Where to Stay in Cambria
Where to Stay in San Simeon
Other Hearst Castle pages
Standing on the Pacific Coast Highway in California, Santa Barbara is an attractive resort with a historic downtown, sandy beaches, a mission, and good museums.
Hearst Castle’s new Julia Morgan Tour is limited to eight people and takes you behind the scenes to parts of Hearst Castle rarely seen by the public.
Oceanside is a typical southern California beach town with a surf culture and with the Pacific Coast Highway running right through it.
A walk around the Point Lobos State Reserve near Monterey and Carmel provides lots of photo opportunities, especially of the Harbor Seal Birthing Area.
The Point Reyes National Seashore is an hour’s drive northwest of San Francisco on the Pacific Coast Highway and is maintained by the National Park Service.
San Luis Obispo in California is half-way between Los Angeles and San Francisco, on the Pacific Coast Highway and with lots of things to do and see.
Pismo Beach is a small beach town on California's Central Coast, a resort famous for surfing and clams.
Historic and romantic Vagabond's House Inn Bed and Breakfast in Carmel is a great place to stay with free wine and cheese and generous breakfast.
Whale watching in California is one of the most popular things to do along the Pacific Coast Highway, in places like San Diego, San Francisco and many more.
For a Moss Beach hotel just off the Pacific Coast Highway, the Seal Cove Inn offers good accommodation north of Half Moon Bay, minutes from the ocean.
Unique Inns on the Pacific Coast Highway include some of the best independently-owned boutique hotels, spas, and lodges in California, Oregon and Washington.
Pacific Grove is a small city on the California coast, next to Monterey and close to Carmel, with attractions including its historic Victorian houses.
Santa Catalina Island, or Catalina Island, is off the shore of Southern California and reachable from Long Beach, San Pedro, Newport Beach, and Dana Point.
Santa Monica Pier is just off the Pacific Coast Highway in Santa Monica near Los Angeles, with an amusement park, an aquarium and many other attractions.
La Jolla in southern California is north of San Diego off the Pacific Coast Highway and has museums, restaurants, hotels, beaches, and the Birch Aquarium.
There are plenty of Santa Cruz downtown wine tastings including Beauregard Vineyards,Storrs Winery and Pelican Ranch Winery,all with tasting rooms.
Malibu is a beach city north of Los Angeles famous for the celebrities who live there in expensive homes and the Pacific Coast Highway runs through it and there are beaches and hikes for all to enjoy.
Encinitas is a beach city in Southern California, famous for surfing, and regularly chosen as one of the best places to live in both California and the USA.
San Simeon is a tiny town of a few hundred people close to Hearst Castle on the California coast midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Hearst Castle Evening Tours are a magical way of visiting one of the best things to do along the Pacific Coast Highway.
Hearst Castle tours show you round the former home of William Randolph Hearst in San Simeon, one of the best things to do along the Pacific Coast Highway.
Monterey in California is off the Pacific Coast Highway and home to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Cannery Row, Fisherman’s Wharf, and Monterey State Historic Park.
Santa Cruz on the Pacific Coast Highway in California has its famous boardwalk, beaches, wine tastings, Surfing Museum, Mission, and Marine Discovery Center.
The Pelican Inn and Suites in Cambria on California's Central Coast has oceanfront views, swimming pool, gardens, and is right on the beach near Hearst Castle.
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.
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