how many hours will it take to travel from los angeles to san francisco using the pacific coast highway?

Walking or horseback?

Oh goodness, probably about 9. Why would you want to take that route? It's the longest one available. Taking the 5 or the 101 would cut off about 3 hours.

Bout 2 hours.

at least 8. I drive from LA to San Francisco regularly and take the 5 freeway. On a good day I get there in 4.5 hours.
(Then again, I speed like hell :) )

Ouch. I used to live in Pacifica, and now live in Long Beach, minutes from Pacific Coast Hwy. It's approximately 480 miles, with many stoplights along the way. I'd say it can take you anywhere between 7 to 10 hours. Good luck.

7 1/2

A long time believe me , we did it too .
About 12 hours !!!!!!!!!!
It's beautiful but it takes for ever .

Between 10 and 12 hours for us and it was a difficult drive with problems I did not anticipate. We drove an older car and it became very difficult to see when I was driving on a winding coastal road and the windshield got very dirty (no place to pull off the road) and the sun was shining directly in my face blinding me for awhile -- very frightening.

It was a beautiful drive and we left Long Beach soon after day break and didn't get to home to SF until dark.

Make sure you have sunglasses and windshield fluid in the wiper resevoir -- just in case..

The PCH is a beautiful road, so it's meant to be enjoyed at the leisurely pace. Even if you go straight through (no stopping for attractions or two hour lunches on the beach), it'll take 8-10 hours.

To get the most out of it, you might want to arrange a sleepover in Morro Bay, San Simeon, Big Sur, or Carmel. These little villages are in most spectacular area of the Central Coast, and are situated so that you'll break the drive up into two distinct parts (more or less). This will give you time to do other things like visit Hearst Castle, the Los Padres National Forest, or the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

You could also stay in the great beach towns of Santa Barbara (close to L.A.) or Santa Cruz (close to S.F.) -- both are about 2 hours away from the city center. However, this will mean doing most of the drive in one day.