Monterey, Carmel and The 17-Mile Drive Day Trip

San Francisco, United States of America

Cruise along California's spectacular coastline on a relaxing day trip from San Francisco. You'll follow Highway 1 to the beautiful Monterey Peninsula and visit Steinbeck's Cannery Row. Finish your day with a stop at the coastal town of Carmel by the Sea, before returning to San Francisco via famous Silicon Valley.

No trip to California is complete with a drive along the famous 17-Mile Drive, with its gorgeous seascapes and chances to spot wildlife. You'll have time to shop and have lunch in Monterey, with the option of visiting the famous Monterey Bay Aquarium, and enjoy plenty of photo stops on this scenic day trip from San Francisco.

Highlights of this day trip include:

• Pacific Ocean drive
• Cannery Row
• Lone Cypress
• Pebble Beach Lodge and golf course
• Carmel Mission
• Monterey Bay
• 17-Mile Drive
• Seal Rock
• Carmel by the Sea
• Pacific Grove
• Monterey Bay Aquarium (optional visit)

Note: This tour includes the option to visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium (select tour option at time of booking). The tour stops in Monterey for approximately two hours, which allows enough time to include an aquarium visit. If you don't choose the aquarium add-on, you may like to use the time in Monterey for shopping and sightseeing along Cannery Row.

USD $69.99

Review by: Christine F	April 2012
It was a wonderful sight. The California coastline is one of the most beautiful in the country. Do not miss the Monterey Aquarium. Even their restaurant is good.

Review by: Janice M	April 2012
Guide was very informative and after talking to others when I got home they were shocked that we were able to enter Pebble Beach Club or anything on the premises as sightseers in cars are not allowed to enter beyond that guarded gate.

Review by: Valerie K	April 2012
We had a beautiful day for our trip and enjoyed every minute. We managed to sit on the right side of the coach and the pacific coastline was amazing.Monterey is our favourite place and we even managed to get a seat in the restaurant on the pier where we could watch the sea otters below us. Our driver was lovely and very knowledgeable.

Review by: Paula Mieko T	March 2012
Good trip! The weather was good and we could enjoy the beautiful every moment of the trip.

Review by: Olga Y	March 2012
Great tour -the weather was beautiful! Pictoresque view and gorgeous aquarium!

Review by: brian f	March 2012
very enjoyable trip with knowlegable friendly driver.

Review by: maolsen	March 2012
We were very disappointed with this tour. There was no time allotted to take photos along the coastal highway although our driver pointed out numerous places where people "like to stop and take photos." We were told we could get good photos through the bus windows. These were our most disappointing photos. At Monterey we barely had time to eat lunch and no time to visit the shops. _br/_ The drive around Pebble Beach was okay. Our stop at Carmel consisted of a shopping mall where numerous stores were going out of business. Too bad this time wasn't spent with photo stops along the course. Hopefully our driver made it home in time for his "Friday" events even though our tour was on a Thursday. We felt we were rushed all day and cheated out of photo opportunities.

Review by: Jer	March 2012
The trip was fine with lots of nice scenery. Our driver/guide could have done a better job. He seemed to jump back and forth in his comments about the areas we visited. He also never introduced himself._br/_ The time at Carmel was way too short to enjoy.

Review by: KellyB	March 2012
Enjoyable day trip and highly recommend visiting the Aquarium - although having under two hours there is not quite enough to really appreciate it. Well worth doing to get out and see the coast line

Review by: Terry	February 2012
We had a wonderful day. Doug, our driver and guide did an amazing job of showing us the beauty of the coast line and stoping at the perfect places for a bite to eat or just a break. It was a long day so be rested. Take your camera and enjoy.

Review by: Sinead	February 2012
Sit on the right side of the bus as that's the side the coast is on. I didn't realise this and sat on the left side. The views were amazing but unfortunately I couldn't get pictures of it all. We did stop a few times so I did get some but not of everything. _br/_ Monterey is nice but I would have preferred if we were dropped off closer to the wharf area rather than the aquarium and cannery row but it was still nice. Carmel was lovely and I had enough time to walk down to the beach while stopping to look at the buildings along the way, take a few pictures and sample the treats in a lovely bakery. We stopped outside the Mission but it was dark so couldn't see it . The guide was very friendly and full of information._br/_ It was a long day but worth it.

Review by: Matthew R	February 2012
Doug is an excellent tour guide. He is very knowledgeable and obviously loves what he does. it shows, big time! He made the entire group (there were 18 of us in the bus total) comfortable and answered all of our questions along the way. Entertaining and lots of beautiful scenery! Would do it again tomorrow if I could!

Review by: jose d	January 2012
great guide and very nice places to visit!

Review by: kimme39	December 2011
Great trip!!! Driver was very knowledgeable and informative....ride is absolutely beautiful....Long day but, worth every minute.....

Review by: Helena D	November 2011
had fun

Review by: Alison M	November 2011
I was lucky with the weather and travelled in sunshine along the beautiful coast. The driver was informed and interesting to listen to and appeared to genuinely enjoy his job. There was plenty of time to leave the bus at various points and walk around. At Monterey we had two hours which was ample time to have a leisurely meal and stroll around. I would highly recommend this tour.

Review by: Hugh M	November 2011
this is a fantastic trip to take, the driver gave us lots of information, the sights were amazing._br/_ we had our first taste of clam chowder in the Fish Hopper restaurant in Cannery Row, it was delicious, it was fantastic to see the wildlife on this trip, sitting eating our chowder watching the seals on the rocks, the otters sticking there heads up out of the water, beside the kelp beds, and the pelicans flying in to land on the water, fantastic. the deer on the golf courses just wandering around whilst the people were trying to play golf was funny (probably not for the golfers) the coastline is gorgeous. and the millions of dollar properties are a sight to see. Carmel is a charming little town, however we only stopped there for one hour, so there was not enough time to see anything, this and the broken air conditioning on the bus were the only disappointments. I would definitely recommend this trip.

Review by: Robert L	November 2011
What a fabulous day. The coach driver was so informative and funny. The scenery was beautiful. A day well worth doing.

Review by: Mr Peter R	November 2011
Great day, great weather, great driver. The coast along Monterey Bay is spectacular and seeing the sea otters was a delight.

Review by: NORA O	November 2011
Another long day 12 hour trip, and I would skip the aquarium in monterey.

Review by: Andrew M	October 2011
Very good value and fascinating views of California coastline

Review by: Debra S	October 2011
Our driver, Steve, was very knowledgeable and made the trip fun. We were picked up at 8am and dropped off at 8:30pm at our hotel. I would definitely recommend this tour.

Review by: Cheryl B	October 2011
Viator should be aware that this company discriminates against tourists who buy from on line companies. We were rounded up by bus and then dumped at a central location where we had to stand in an enormous line (1 agent) to get tickets to get on the bus. In the meantime, tourists walked into a very short line manned by 3 people, were given tickets and got on the bus. By the time we got to the bus, all the right side seats were gone. We sat opposite the toilet(ugh). The entire trip is geared toward people sitting on the right side of the bus. Left side saw artichoike and brussel sprout fiels--right side--ocean views. The actual stops at Monterey and Carmel were beautiful but the bus ride is too long without stops. We were on the bus 8 hours and off the bus 4 hours. I would suggest VIATOR look into the way their customers are treated by this compnay.

Review by: Gerald P	October 2011
The tour and driver on the whole were great....however the meeting place had no one to tell us the bus had arrived...people had to approach the bus to find out if it was our tour or another one. Very confusing to start off...but once it was worked out, hopefully not leaving anyone behind, the bus driver was great and I think most people enjoyed the day.

Review by: Danielle R	October 2011
A good trip down the coast (make sure youre on the right hand side of the bus, as thats where all the views are while you drive. Monterey has lots of good little shops, and great views over the ocean. The 17 mile drive is really scenic, you make a few stops for photos but not many before arriving in carmel. We only had an hour here, whoch was disappointing as there are so many quirky shops to look around and theres not enough time to look around,and i only just had enough time to grab a wrap to go here, so make sure if you want to eat you do that in monterey.

Review by: Noelle P	October 2011
Enjoyed the time in Monterey. A bit longer there would have been better. We spent far too long travelling through various golf courses, which was very boring for non golfers.

Review by: ladybrat	October 2011
Fantastic trip. Great scenery and loads of time on your own to explore and shop.

Review by: Tomasz P	October 2011
Beautiful views, very interesting Bay aquarium. Too much time in the bus. Driver could talk less :) Not recommended for young people.

Review by: BABS	October 2011
pick up on time - driver informative - very enjoyable trip

Review by: Allan	October 2011
This is a very long tour, departing at 9am and not concluding until around 8pm (after hotel drop-offs). Our driver/guide did an excellent job, handling the long distance and providing a comprehensive commentary. The coach was comfortable and toilet-equipped. Adequate toilet stops were provided, but the first one is quite a way so be warned if your coach is not toilet-equipped. Time in Monterey (2 hours) was ideal, but time in Carmel (about 1 hour) was tight if you wanted to walk down to Carmel-by-the-Sea (30+ minutes return, and uphill on way back). Stop at Pebble Beach (30 mins) was interesting but I would have preferred more time at Carmel (discuss this option with your driver). I would also have enjoyed a couple more brief photo-stops on the 17-mile drive. Try to sit on the right side of the coach for the best views of this section.

Review by: JOHN G	October 2011
A not-to-be missed trip! A great driver and commentator. Nice to be picked up and dropped off at the hotel.

Review by: diannetrus	October 2011
This is one of the best tours in the area. We left SF at 9:00am, driving down US 1. The fog joined us on the trip in the beginning, but made its departure after Davenport, our first stop.

Review by: MAUREEN I	October 2011
The terip was the best of my vacation. Tour guide was so wonderful at talking about everything we saw we felt at easy everu minute. We would highly recommend this tour and guide , I'd give it a 150%. THE BEST EVER!

Review by: jessiep	October 2011
Very reliable!

Review by: Margaret L	September 2011
Doug our guide was very knowledgeable and did his best to keep things interesting (despite an appalling lack of manners from some of the other guests). I've done this tour before and preferred it on the smaller coach. Doug's time management was excellent meaning that we got enough time at Monterey and Carmel.

Review by: Mike S	September 2011
The trip was great. Our guide Doug was so good....funny and knowledgeable .

Review by: IAN M	September 2011
Overall the trip was OK. Tour Operator overbooked so we were shuttled over onto another operator's tour. It was a bit chaotic and we didn't leave until nearly 9.45. Scenery was really nice going down, even though the fog was hanging around, would have liked more time at Carmel, but as we had a late start it was rushed and we ended up for a quick snack stop on the way home. as the planned "garlic wine stop " we were too late. arr back at 10pm it wasn't the best road trip I've had

Review by: sasha011	September 2011
A full day tour. We were picked up from our hotel and then taken to the booking office where we then had to board another bus once checked in with the office. If we had known the tour was departing from the office and not straight from the hotel pick-up would have probably walked straight to the office!

Review by: Deborah	September 2011
Was a great tour. Skip did a great job on sharing his knowledge of the areas we visited. Beautiful scenery. It was nice to be able to sit back and enjoy the ride!

Review by: Gordon H	September 2011
A good day. We were picked up on time and delivered to the Bus station on time. The coach was comfortable. The locations we visited were great and some inside information from the driver Effram?? were helpful. At times we had a little trouble understanding his accent. His commentary whilst driving got a little tedious as so much of it was simply driving directions, "now we are going onto the highway south" Now we are turning onto the road to ....."_br/_ Overall we had a great day with nobody being late back to the bus on any occasion which helps. MY husband was overjoyed at seeing Pebble Beach golf Course. Thanks.

Review by: Laura R	September 2011
Amount of time allotted for each location sufficient. Driver knowledgeable. Only criticism is that the first one picked up in A.M. shouldn't be last one dropped off at night.

Review by: morag	September 2011
fantastic day out. didnt reakise we would be stopping at Pebble beach golf club, an added bonus. scenery is fantastic

Review by: Moraima G, United States of America	July 2010
this trip has spectaluar views-the tour guide was excellent, funny and very informative

Review by: alan h, United Kingdom	July 2010
Great trip however we would have preferred less time in Monterey and more in Carmel

Review by: Richard C, United States of America	June 2010
AMAZING TRIP FROM BEGINNING TO END! Our tour guide was easy to understand and quite informative. Do not miss this one!

Review by: Ronald W, United States of America	May 2010
Wonderful! The bus, guide and places to visit were superb!

Review by: jean c, United States of America	May 2010
Fantastic

Review by: Richard H, Ireland	April 2010
Great tour, only one complaint - we got the return time for the bus and the driver left without us. Thankfully we were close by and seen the bus and we both thought it was ony circulating as he had said that he couldn't stay where he originally parked. Granted it was our own fault we thought he had said 2.45 but he had said 2.15, again a very informative driver and gave us lots of stops for picture taking.

Review by: David E, United States of America	April 2010
Timely pick up from hotel. Buses are cozy and nice. Drivers are very nice polite and know a lot about location.

Review by: Carlo C, Italy	April 2010
Driver very friendly but top professional! Extremely satisfied.