The Best Weekend Road Trips From Orange County in an Exotic Car

The 5 best weekend drives from Orange County are Palm Springs, Santa Barbara, Temecula, Big Bear, and the Laguna to Ortega coastal loop. Each one is 1 to 3 hours out, each one suits a different car, and all but the coastal loop will push you past the 100 mile a day allowance. Tell us where you're going when you book and we'll price the miles in.

Palm Springs, 2 hours

91 to the 60 to the 10. The drive gets good at the San Gorgonio Pass when the wind farms show up and the desert opens below you. Wide streets, resort hotels, mid-century everything. This is the convertible trip. Huracan Evo Spyder, 720S Spider, R8 Spyder, or the Rolls Royce Dawn. Go October through May.

Santa Barbara and Montecito, 2.5 hours

North on the 101 with the ocean on your left the whole way past Ventura. Santa Barbara has the wine, the Funk Zone, and Montecito next door. This is the grand touring trip, so a Rolls Royce Cullinan or a Bentley Continental GTC fits the place. On the way back take the 154 over the San Marcos Pass, past Lake Cachuma, and down through Solvang. That adds real canyon driving to a coast run.

Temecula wine country, 1.5 hours

South on the 5 to the 15, then the last stretch on De Portola and Rancho California winds through vineyards and horse ranches that look more like Napa than Riverside. It's the most underrated drive on this list. Get an SUV, a Cullinan, a Range Rover Sport, or a G63, because you're tasting wine and someone else should be driving back. Or hire a chauffeur and everyone tastes.

Big Bear, 2 hours

Highway 38 or 18 up through the San Bernardino mountains. Tight switchbacks, big elevation changes, pine forest instead of coast. This is the handling trip. Porsche 911 GT3 RS, McLaren 720S, or the BMW M3 Competition if you want all-wheel drive on the mountain. Up top it's cabins and the village. The way down is as good as the way up.

The Laguna to Ortega loop, half a day

Not every trip needs a hotel. Irvine to Laguna Beach on PCH, south through Dana Point, then inland on Ortega Highway and back around. 2 to 3 hours, coast and canyon in one loop, and it fits inside the mileage allowance. This is the one for a 1 day rental in a convertible or a mid-engine car.

How the mileage works on a road trip

100 miles a day on every car. A 2 day rental gives you 200 total, not 100 per day you have to hit. Santa Barbara is about 300 miles round trip, Palm Springs 200, Temecula 150, Big Bear 200. Over the allowance it's $2 to $10 a mile depending on the car. Say the destination when you inquire and we'll build the miles into the quote. That's cheaper for you and easier for us than a surprise invoice.

Overnight

Park with the hotel valet or in the garage. Keep the keys on you. Never on the street. That's the same thing we'd tell you about your own car, just with more zeros attached.