California PACIFIC - 3 or 5 or 7 days

From San Francisco to Los Angeles by Bus & Train

California offers some of the world's most spectacular sights and best spots for vacations. From the Golden Gate to Tinsel Town this motor coach tour and train itinerary includes must see places in Monterey and train rides through Salinas Valley and on the Pacific Coast by Santa Barbara. You can choose to take just the three day bus and train tour from San Francisco to Los Angeles or combine it with hotels and tours in San Francisco and/or Los Angeles to make it a 5 or 7 day package vacation. THIS IS NOT A GROUP TOUR.   It is an independent trip using local sightseeing companies and AMTRAK trains.  International visitors like the experience of riding the trains through beautiful California countryside.  Trains can be late at times but overall the itinerary is very interesting and enjoyable.

San Francisco Riesling
Day 1: (D) San Francisco. Check in for two nights at The Executive Vintage Court Hotel or Tuscan Inn Fisherman's Wharf (*). Afternoon free for exploring the city, Fisherman's Wharf or riding cable cars, etc. Dinner tonight at your choice of Italian or French Restaurant.
Day 2: Sonoma and Napa Valley Wine Country tour at 8:10. Across the Golden Gate Bridge visit the historic square in Sonoma. Time for lunch on your own. Then to Napa Valley. Visit two or three wineries. Return to the city via Oakland Bay Bridge. (Instead of wine country take a city tour with Muir Woods OR for Yosemite 13 hour tour add $80 per person.)   * Other hotels in San Francisco also available.

3 days California Pacific
Day 3: (D) From San Francisco travel south to Monterey. Stop at Cannery Row allowing time for lunch or optional visit to The Aquarium. Tour of Pacific Grove, 17 Mile Drive and Pebble Beach. Stop in Carmel by the Sea. By 5:15 check in at Bay Park Hotel in Monterey. Dinner and breakfast at the hotel.
Day 4: (B) After a relaxing morning, a five minute cab ride to the Transit Center to meet at AMTRAK Thruway motor coach at 10:45 for transfer via Laguna Seca to Salinas Train Station. This takes about 30 minutes. AMTRAK Train # 11 that started in Seattle the day before now takes us through the Salinas Valley, center of Monterey County's agricultural region. The route takes us along Salinas River through small towns, fields of lettuce, broccoli and acres of green houses. Suddenly by King City we see miles and miles of newly planted vineyards where just a few years ago there was only cattle pasture. The oil fields appear and then the military installations at Camp Roberts. Leaving the flat lands after Paso Robles the train chugs up Cuesta Grade and drops down to San Luis Obispo arriving about 3:20. We are met by Five City Taxi that takes us La Cuesta Motor Inn.  Spend the afternoon in this interesting college town and home of the San Luis Obispo Mission.

Day 5 Morning: Tour No. 1 of Hearst Castle, ideal for first time visitors with an easy walk, a total of about 150 steps. Approximately 2 hours.
At 8:30 Five City Taxi takes us via Morro Bay to to San Simeon on the coast about 45 minutes away. At the Visitors Center you can see the film "Hearst Castle, Building the Dream" at 9:45a.m. Tour No. 1 of Hearst Castle at 11:00 is reserved. By 2:00 we leave San Simeon to return to San Luis Obispo.

We board The Coast Starlight at 3:20 or the Pacific Surfliner Train 798 at 4:25. The ocean briefly appears at Pismo Beach. Heading south the rails go by Vandenberg Space station and near Gaviota you see some of the most scenic ocean views all the way through Santa Barbara to Oxnard. Turning inland around six the train goes past miles of orange groves then through Fillmore and Simi Valley to Glendale and the great metropolis of Los Angeles. It is now about 9:00 or 9:45 p.m. as we arrive in the heart of Los Angeles at the Union Station that you may recognize from many Hollywood films. If you are staying in Los Angeles taxicabs to downtown locations cost about $20, twice as much to Hollywood, West Los Angeles, and Beverly Hills. To the Los Angeles International Airport Fly Away bus leaves every half hour, takes about 45 minutes cost only $3. If you are going further south the train connects to Surfliner 596 arrives in Anaheim at 10:51, San Juan Capistrano at 11:25 and San Diego after midnight at 12:50 a.m.
Click here for pictures of traveling by Amtrak

L.A. Bustle and Stars
Day 5 Evening: Check in for two nights at Kyoto Grand Garden Hotel Downtown. If you want to stay close to Los Angeles Airport or Anaheim** we can book a different hotel.
Day 6 Thursday: Grand tour of Los Angeles & Movie Stars' Home (about 8 hours). See Hollywood sign, Rodeo Drive, Melrose, Sunset Strip, Farmers Market, Olvera Street, Chinatown, The Music Center and the Griffith Park Observatory and Movie Stars' Homes in Beverly Hills and Bel Air.
Day 7 Friday: Transfer to Los Angeles International Airport.

Child rate based on ages 5 to 18 sharing a room with adult(s), extra charges for cot or rollaway.
Tour price per person in U.S. Dollars includes room and meal taxes.

* For San Francisco Riesling Package to stay at Tuscan Inn Fisherman's Wharf add $74 per room per person on a double basis. Cost of the 7 day California Coast Ride tour includes 6 nights' hotel rooms with tax, admissions and fees to 17 Mile Drive and Hearst Castle, 2 dinners and 1 breakfast with tax and tips, narrated tour and transportation in Los Angeles and Monterey and San Francisco with experienced driver/guide. (Vehicle size depends on number of clients booked).

** To stay at Clarion Anaheim save $50 (per room each night). You can add extra night(s) before or after the tour. There is open choice of menu. Vegetarian or other diet followers can order fish or appropriate items.

Trains can be late at times but overall the itinerary is very interesting and enjoyable. This independent trip requires some flexibility and acceptance of train or other delays and minor changes. It is like a mini adventure. If you are finicky about times and details perhaps you should look at a different itinerary.

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