California Pacific 3 days Tour

Bus and Train

Monterey, Big Sur, Central Coast, Hearst Castle, San Luis Obispo to Los Angeles

3 days / 2 nights
From San Francisco to Los Angeles
San Francisco to Monterey by Motor Coach with San Francisco Sightseeing Gray Line Tours
from Monterey to San Luis Obispo, Los Angeles, and San Diego by Amtrak

Tour includes :
Tour coach to Monterey, train to San Luis Obispo and then on to Los Angeles.
Two nights hotel room with tax.
1 dinner, 1 breakfast including tax and tip,
17 mile Drive fees,
Hearst Castle Tour by taxi from San Luis Obispo.

Day 1: San Francisco to Monterey 154 miles.
Pick up from most hotels in San Francisco starting 8:15 a.m. Departure by 9:00 a.m.
Driving along San Andreas Fault turn west to Half Moon Bay and then south on the Pacific Coast Highway One to Santa Cruz with beautiful views of the ocean. Reaching Monterey by mid day, after a short tour stop at The Cannery Row allowing time for lunch or optional visit to Aquarium.  Seaside gardens of Pacific Grove to 17 Mile Drive see the ocean crash on shore and mansions and golf courses.  Stop at Pebble Beach.  Continue to Carmel by the Sea the idyllic village with its art galleries and cottages set in Pine trees.  Arrive at your hotel by 5:30.

*Bay Park Hotel, Monterey. Dinner & Breakfast

Day 2: Monterey to San Luis Obispo. 148 miles.

After a relaxing morning, at 10:45 AMTRAK Thruway motor coach will transfer you 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 by 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 along Cuesta Grade and drops 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.
 *La Cuesta Motor Inn.

Click here for pictures of traveling by Amtrak

Day 3: San Luis Obispo to Hearst Castle and Los Angeles. 301 miles.

* Tour No. 1 of Hearst Castle, ideal for first time visitors with an easy walk, a total of about 150 steps. About 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 you can enjoy dinner or a snack as the rails go 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 at the 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.

We can book rooms for you at:

* The New Otani Hotel and Garden, Los Angeles
* Renaissance Montura Hotel - L.A. Airport. (Close to various rental car locations)
* Anaheim Clarion Hotel - Main gate.
* Handlery Hotel and Resort - San Diego.

AMTRAK (Coast Starlight Train)

Comfortable reclining seats on Coast Starlight

Beautiful Ocean View from the train

Vista Dome Car and Dinning Car

    

Burger and chips on the train                          San Luis Obispo train Station  

3 Day Deluxe Motor coach / Amtrak    SF2CT
Available: Sun, Tuesday, Thursday. Other days on request