I did it over 5 days about 2 years ago. My decision to do it over 5 days came after I did the West Coast Trail over 5 days. If you were to ask me again, I'd probably do it over 3 or 4 days instead - I'd arrive at the next campsite around early to mid afternoon and have nothing to do.
It depends on how much experience you have hiking and how much it has rained. If it has rained - the trail will definitely be a lot harder. Some parts were annoying, trying to walk along the big rocks next to the water. But compared to the WCT, it was a walk in the park. the trail is much more built up with tons of boardwalks over areas that would be covered with mud holes.
If you like hiking, it's an amazing trail - tons to see. Personally, I love hiking the coast because there are a lot less mosquitos. Plus, falling asleep to the sound of waves is just great.
some of the campsites get quite busy - as there are so many access points to the trail. but it's great to be able to hike the trail without having to pre-book it. Bumped into a few bears along the way - a young male on the rocks about 75 yards ahead of me, as well as a mother and a cub down by the water while i was up on the headlands. so definitely be careful with your food, especially when there are less people at your campsite. I see people at the sites just leaving their food in coolers, as opposed to locking them up in the food lockers - but they're just lucky nothing happened. | 