U.S. Small Group Tour - The Best of the West

Arrive in San Francisco and transfer independently to your hotel. Your Tour Director will meet you in the evening.

This morning, a fun and exciting city tour provides an overview of the city and enables you to truly appreciate many of San Francisco’s most famous sights, including Chinatown, Union Square, and Fisherman’s Wharf. Your tour will include a ride on one of San Francisco’s historic cable cars.

And for an extra thrill, consider hanging off the running board, Doris Day-style. As no visit to San Francisco would be complete without taking a cruise on the Bay or crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, in the afternoon we collect a bike from Fisherman’s Wharf and pedal across the Golden Gate before boarding a ferry back across the Bay, passing the famous PIER 39 sea lions along the historic waterfront which reveals the city’s spectacular skyline.

Be sure to take full advantage of prime photo opportunities with unobstructed views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the notorious Alcatraz Island. This evening you may join your Tour Director for San Francisco. This evening you may join your Tour Director for the San Francisco evening tour (Optional).

Your Tour Director is on hand to assist with making your plans for the day: perhaps another cable car ride to Fisherman’s Wharf where you may enjoy a “Taste of San Francisco”: local seafood, famous sourdough bread, or decadent Ghiradelli’s Chocolate. Or take a stroll by Sea Lions’ Marina to watch them frolic. Be sure to gaze across the bay to Alcatraz Island where “America’s Most Wanted” such as Al Capone and “Machine Gun” Kelly were incarcerated. Or visit Union Square for a shopping stop at Macy’s Department Store.

If you would like to explore beyond the city, we recommend you embark on a wine-tasting tour of Napa Valley, world-renowned for its fine wineries and beautiful scenery. Or you may choose to take in the natural wonder of the Bay Area by hiking through the “enchanted” forest at nearby Muir Woods (optional).

This morning we journey east toward the tranquility of California’s High Sierras and Yosemite National Park’s nearly 1,200 square miles of mountainous terrain. Once inside the park, you will be introduced to some of Yosemite’s most famous and awe-inspiring scenery, including Yosemite Falls, Half Dome, El Capitan, Tunnel View, and Bridalveil Falls. Postcard-perfect pictures abound so be sure to have your camera ready.

Today, travel through the Mojave Desert on your way to Las Vegas. Late afternoon arrival in the dazzling “Entertainment Capital of the World” will give you enough time to start enjoying this fantastic city right away with an exciting evening tour featuring the famed casinos along the Strip followed by a visit to Downtown Las Vegas, where you will enjoy the glitzy lights of the Freemont Experience.

This morning we stop at the iconic Las Vegas Welcome Sign where you may wish to capture a photo memory of Las Vegas before making your way on an included day trip to the Grand Canyon’s West Rim. On the way, admire the beauty of Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the U.S. formed by the Hoover Dam. At the Grand Canyon West, you will have time to explore the views on your own and if you choose, join an optional helicopter trip over the canyon, a float on the Colorado, or walk on the Skywalk platform.

This evening at leisure - your Tour Director will provide recommendations that cater to your desired experience, whether it be partaking in the stellar shopping or enjoying the countless fine dining options that Vegas has to offer.

Today your journey takes you from Las Vegas through Palm Springs, the winter playground for Hollywood royalty, with its lively downtown area and immaculately kept golf courses at the base of the rugged San Jacinto Mountains. This city in the desert was once known as the winter retreat of stars like Frank Sinatra, Jane Russell, and Elvis Presley.

Today it is a flourishing resort town with great shops, restaurants, and a year-round desert climate. A sea of wind turbines mark the entrance to this desert oasis. We continue south to San Diego, a city known for its beaches, parks, and perfect climate. Enjoy the evening at leisure and perhaps visit some of the vibrant neighborhoods of San Diego.

Today you will explore California’s second-largest city with your Tour Director. The relaxed seaside surf vibes of neighborhoods such as Sunset Beach provide a quintessential California Coastal experience. During your Insider city tour of San Diego’s sites, you will witness the central role of the American Navy in this port city.

You may choose to enjoy one of San Diego’s many attractions such as Sea World or the World Famous San Diego Zoo. In the evening, we recommend checking out another of the city’s bustling neighborhoods or perhaps a dinner cruise on the bay (optional).

This morning we head north along the SoCal coast toward Orange County, or the OC, as it has come to be called by locals. Enjoy the atmosphere of cliffside Laguna Beach, with its local art galleries and vibrant surf culture. Continue onward to Los Angeles, America’s second-largest city, a sprawling metropolis, and the home of America’s entertainment industry.

Enjoy an evening at leisure. Your Tour Director may suggest you explore LA’s smaller neighboring city of Long Beach, with one of the largest ports in the United States is also home to a historic ocean liner, the Queen Mary, which you may choose and explore (optional).

Embark upon an extensive and entertaining insider tour of Los Angeles that will deliver a true taste of Southern California with a visit to the most popular seaside communities like Venice whose boardwalk is famous for its Muscle Beach, and Santa Monica, home to one of California’s oldest pleasure piers. You’ll catch a glimpse of the glitz and glamour of Beverly Hills, where you just might cross paths with a celebrity shopper or two along Rodeo Drive.

Enjoy local flavors at the LA Farmer’s Market before making your way to Hollywood, where you’ll check out the Stars on the Walk of Fame, the celebrity hand and footprints at the Chinese Theatre, and of course the Hollywood Sign! An afternoon partaking in the thrills offered at Universal Studios (optional) is recommended.

This morning you depart LA traveling through the coastal hamlet of Malibu, home to celebrities and recluses alike, this enclave is like none other in California. Continue north up Pacific Coast Highway (called PCH by locals) to Santa Barbara, where palm-lined walkways border white sandy beaches. Known as the “American Riviera” for its similarities to the South of France, enjoy local food and wine during a lunch stop. Make sure to check out the city’s unique Spanish architecture at its beautiful City Hall before continuing to a central coast town for an overnight stay.

Head north along Highway 1 to one of California’s most unique destinations, Hearst Castle. Built by newspaper baron William Randolph Hearst, the eclectic collection of old-world architecture and grand gardens is situated amidst a stunning coastal landscape that will leave you in wonder.

Continue up the curvy coast road through Big Sur, a cliffside retreat where viewpoints over the rugged Pacific coastline are truly unparalleled. Continue onward over the famed “Bixby Bridge” to Monterey, California’s first capital city, where you will be able to enjoy your evening at leisure with recommendations from your Tour Director.

This morning you will experience all that the Monterey Peninsula has to offer by visiting the quaint village of Carmel after an exhilarating journey along one of the most scenic roads in the world, 17-Mile Drive.

Afterward, take in the sights, sounds, and smells of Monterey at Old Fisherman’s Wharf and explore Cannery Row’s historic waterfront district, John Steinbeck’s inspiration for his novel of the same name. You may choose to visit the world-renowned Monterey Bay Aquarium where you will be able to see and even interact with local aquatic wildlife, including the Aquarium’s most famous and adorable Sea Otter residents.

In the afternoon, pass the fertile valleys of Castroville and Santa Clara en route back to where you started your unforgettable journey, San Francisco.

Your West Coast tour has come to an end. Transfer independently to the airport for your return flight home