West Coast Insider

Fly to San Francisco where you will be met and transferred to your hotel for a three-night stay.

This morning, a fun and exciting city tour provides an overview of the area, 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.

No visit to San Francisco would be complete without taking a cruise on the Bay or crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, so 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. We will pass the famous Pier 39 sea lions along the historic waterfront, and see 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.

Your Tour Director is on hand to assist with making your plans for the day. Perhaps take another cable car ride to Fisherman’s Wharf where you may enjoy a 'Taste of San Francisco,' including local seafood, famous sourdough breads 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. Why not visit Union Square for a shopping stop at Macy’s Department Store?

This morning, we journey east toward the tranquillity 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-worthy moments are in abundance so be sure to have your camera ready!

Today, travel through the Mojave Desert on your way to Las Vegas.

A late afternoon arrival in the dazzling 'Entertainment Capital of the World' will give you time to start enjoying this fantastic city right away. Get a taste of sights 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.

You will have the 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, it has a 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 such as 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 neighbourhoods of San Diego.

You will explore San Diego, California’s second largest city, with your Tour Director. The relaxed seaside surf vibes of neighbourhoods such as Sunset Beach provide a quintessential Californian coastal experience.

During your city tour of San Diego’s sights, you will witness the central role of the American Navy in this port city.

This morning, we head north along southern California’s coast toward Orange County or the OC. 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 neighbouring city of Long Beach, with one of the largest ports in the United States. The port is also home to a historic ocean liner, the Queen Mary.

Embark upon an extensive and entertaining tour of Los Angeles that will deliver a true taste of southern California, with a visit to the most popular seaside communities such as Venice, famed for its boardwalk and Muscle Beach, and Santa Monica, home to one of California’s oldest pleasure piers.

You will 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 flavours at the LA Farmer’s Market before making your way to Hollywood, where you will check out the stars on the Walk of Fame, and the celebrity hand and footprints at the Chinese Theatre.

This morning, we depart LA and travel through the coastal hamlet of Malibu – home to celebrities and recluses alike, this enclave is like none other in California.

We continue north up Pacific Coast Highway 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. Be sure to check out the city’s unique Spanish architecture at its beautiful City Hall, before continuing to a quaint 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.

We head 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.

Afterwards, 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.

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

Transfer to the airport for your overnight return flight to the UK.

Arrival in the UK.