3-Day California Coast Tour: Santa Barbara, San Francisco and Carmel
Los Angeles, United States of America
Want to discover the best of the West Coast over three memorable days? This unique tour by van or motorcoach will take you from Los Angeles to the must-see destinations of central and northern California: Santa Barbara, Solvang, Carmel, San Francisco, and Yosemite National Park or Hearst Castle. Sit back and relax as you are transported from one fabulous California destination to the next!
Take this 3-day tour from Los Angeles to see some of the top attractions in central and northern California! Travel in a comfortable van or motorcoach, and enjoy the spectacular coastline as you make stops in Santa Barbara, Solvang and Carmel. You'll then head to San Francisco for an overnight stay and a comprehensive tour of the beautiful City by the Bay.
In San Francisco, take a bay cruise past Alcatraz Island and under the Golden Gate Bridge, and the enjoy a sightseeing tour of the city’s top attractions, including Union square, Chinatown and Nob Hill!
Your next stop depends on the season. In the summer, you’ll head to Yosemite National Park; in the winter, when mountain roads are closed, you’ll visit Hearst Castle (beginning November 1). Both places offer plenty to see — in Yosemite, gaze in awe at the 1,200 square miles (3,100 sq km) of forests, lakes and waterfalls protected in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, or at Hearst Castle, be amazed by the majestic former residence of William Randolph Hearst.
See the Itinerary field below for details on each day of the tour.
This tour would have been amazing but for the fact that the tour director, Dorit, refused to stop at any of the scenic viewpoints along the Carmel "17 mile" drive along the seashore or in the mountains where scenic views of the sea were located. Dorit failed to read the interests of her clients.
Review by: Sanjeev W, October 2017
The iternary of the trip was good but the condition of the bus was terrible._br/_ The 3 day trip when you think that you have booked the best tours , right on the 1st day bus broke down and we had to wait for 1 and half hr. The 1st afternoon after 4.30 pm schedule was gone as there was no time and again the bus broke before in middle of nowhere reaching the hotel. So in total on the first day 3 hours was gone. It was scary._br/_ At around 7.30pm finally we started and slowly driver drove us down the hotel._br/_ We came from India to visit US west coast and it was lifetime experience for us._br/_ It is request the faluty bus to be discotinued and people are not discomforted.
Review by: THERESA LYNN B, September 2017
We couldn't have had a better time. Giovanni and Gary looked after us very well. There were a few issues with the buses but calls were made and replacements came as soon as possible. Gary was a very good and patient driver and was able to assess the bus issues fairly quickly. Anne has mobility issues and was accommodated very calmly and professionally and made to feel very comfortable by both Gary and our tour guide Giovanni. We had to miss a couple of the walking tours but Gary was good about letting us hang around the bus while the others were gone. We really appreciated his attention for us. Giovanni is quite a character - lots of fun, lots of laughs, very knowledgeable, patient and obviously cares about his groups. He is multilingual and had to communicate in three languages, which he did with ease and humour. He made everyone welcome and he was very approachable when it came to asking questions, taking pictures different groups, etc. Anne and I agree that he is very good at what he does and hope many others are lucky enough to travel with him one day. If we ever do a tour in the L.A. area again, we would love to be on one of his tours. Thank you for a very memorable holiday. Anne and Terry
Review by: Barbara M, September 2017
Our tour guide Giovanni was excellent couldn't wish for anyone better, but the bus broke down on the first day leaving us sitting for 2 hours while they tried to fix it, hoping it was ok we set off again only to go a few minutes up the road before it broke down again. Another hour and we finally make it to our hotel at 10pm checked into our hotel, but still hadn't had dinner .We missed seeing Carmel and Monterey because of the breakdown. The only choice we had for dinner at that time of night was Denny's, but we had to walk over train tracks and rubbish down a very dark path to get there ,so not happy. Giovanni tried his best to make up for it the next day and added a couple of extra sight seeing spots. The next hotel was ok but no elvator so had to carry your bags upstairs,the breakfasts at both hotels were poor and at La Quinta they were renovating so no where to sit to eat your breakfast we took it back to our room.The actual tour was very good very hectic and tiring not recommended for young children. We had to change buses on the last day as some were going on to Las Vegas we were 10 mins from our hotel and the bus broke down again, so Giovanni gave us taxi money to get to our hotel.Overall a good tour but they need to service their buses more often and look into the accommodation.
Review by: edwina.kh, September 2017
I am extremely disappointed by this trip and i find it to be a waste of money and time during what was supposed to be a vacation. On the first day our bus broke down in the middle of nowhere, and we waited for 5 hours to get it fixed instead of getting an alternative one, we ended up going directly to the hotel and missing on litterally half the program. I know that accidents happen but there should have been an alternative ready. What is worse is that it happened again on the last day on our way back. The bus broke down again and we were dropped in a station without internet. there was a terrible lack of organisation then, some people left in taxis and some waited for another van to come. It felt completely unsafe and unorganized. And still, after all that, they forced us to tip the bus driver when it should have been optional. The last day we hardly had any time to spend in the Yosemite park they asked us to take a couple of pictures and we were rushed to leave.
Review by: Valerie S, September 2017
C'était vraiment bien. Notre guide Dorit était excellente, elle nous donnait de bons conseils sur les endroits où aller, les restaurants à faire, les spécialités à découvrir... J'aurais aimé voir plus de choses à Santa Barbara et à San Francisco. Je pense que la visite du quartier chinois n'est pas judicieuse. Il faudrait voir plus de quartiers typiques à cette ville. Le retour par le parc Yosemite était vraiment exceptionnel. Solveg aussi est très joli. Je le referai volontiers. PS prévoir des vêtements chauds pour San Francisco !
Review by: suzypeart, February 2017
Hi I'm Sue. Firstly let me say that Dorit was an extremely knowledgeable, caring and patient guide. This tour packs a lot into the three days, but you never felt rushed. The hotel rooms were all acceptable and there were many stopovers to enable us to take photographs of the magnificent scenery. I especially enjoyed the drive along the Pacific Coast Highway. we even managed to see elephant seals. Santa Barbara, Carmel, Monterrey and Hurst Castle were also great places to visit. I would recommend this trip to anyone.
Review by: Bipin L, September 2016
Wonderful tour. Driver and tour guide were very good, very helpful showing us many sights in the 3 days. Highly recommend this tour to anyone wanting to see the sights between LA and San Francisco.
Review by: bugs4046, September 2016
This tour was amazing! Dorit was an outstanding guide, she made everyone feel valued. Her shared her knowledge of each area that we visited. Be prepared to be exhausted and amazed!
Review by: Daniel S, September 2016
Hi, my name is Tim. I and #39;ve just done the 3-day-tour to San Francisco. These past 3 days were absolutely amazing! Our tour guide Giovanni and our driver Jeff were super friendly and very well organized. Giovanni gave us so much inside information about California and brought us to the most stunning views all over the Westcoast. He took very good care of us and you can really feel his passion and excitement for guiding this tour. He said: and #34;If you are happy, I am happy and #34;. And so it was, I enjoyed every second of our tour and thus highly recommend to experience it on your own. At last, I just want to thank Giovanni and Jeff for everything they have done for us. It was a pleasure!
Review by: Evelina K, July 2016
This tour was amazing!
Review by: ojha, May 2016
The tour was very nice,the tour guide Dorit whom we wud give 10/10 was excellent, she made the tour along with the driver who was also very good a memorable one. It took us approx 6 hours to reach SF, but we had about 4 wonderful breaks of 20 min. each at diff. places of sight seeing and Dorit made it absolutely wonderful by explaining the sights in details._br/_ Nevertheless there are few things which Viator should address-_br/_ 1. The seating in the Mercedes van was good for 7 persons the rest of the four had to struggle a bit, it was nice of tour guide Dorit, who recommended the rotation of seats after few hours, which was accepted by travellers with a bit of resentment. let me also state that the 11 seater coach/van was brand new._br/_ 2.It would be very nice if a place like Carmel is shown little more and a short tour of the new Museum in San-Francisco is added._br/_ 3.La Quinta hotel should be changed to either Marriott,Hilton or Holiday inn chain of hotels.
Review by: mgulledg2003, May 2016
It was wonderful! The bus driver and the tour guide were so friendly. The tour guide was also very knowledgeable about each of our tour sites. I am so thankful for our tour guide, Giovanni. I passed out for a sec. or two on the bus and Giovanni stayed right by my side. He reassured me the whole time that I would be ok. which I was. Would love to go a tour again especially if Giovanni is the tour guide. Thank you, Viator Tours, for an awesome tour. Sincerely, M. Gulledge
Review by: Angela C, May 2016
Fantastic tour, we highly recommend it!! Our Italian tour guide, Giovanni, was excellent. He was knowledgeable, caring and courteous. He took us to all places stated plus extras. We saw elephant seals who were shedding their skin on a beach, a beautiful monastery and the beautiful Madonna Inn. His tour of San Francisco was great. We got to see allot as we were walking plus more on the Golden Gate Bay Cruise. Jeff, our driver, was very careful and caring. Giovanni was the translator for an Italian honey-moon couple. Zippy was the translator for 4 Hebrew people which was great. Also, there was a girl from Japan and there was a translator for her too.It is wonderful that you provide a translator for every nationality on your tours. We are from the east coast and we have never been to California, honestly, this tour was the highlight of our trip! Thank you! Bob and Angela C.
Review by: Sharmini K, December 2015
Loved this tour, it was fabulous !!! Really enjoyed the drive along the Pacific Coast Highway Route 1, we even managed to see elephant seals basking in the sun along the beach, waiting for the females in January. Santa Barbara, Carmel and Monterrey was lovely too, during the trip the guides make sure we were given adequate time at each of these stops. Would have loved to be longer in Monterrey Bay, but a 3 day tour has time restrictions. San Francisco was lovely, managed to visit China Town, did a tram ride and took lovely photos of the city from Lombard. Our guides Dorrit, Giovanni and driver Yacob were exceptional, so very knowledgeable and professional. Dorrit is particular was friendly, caring and extremely patient with our constant questioning !! Love her ! The hotel rooms were all comfortable and there were many stopovers to enable us to take photographs of the beautiful scenery. I could do this tour again, it was fab !!
Review by: GAEL E, June 2015
Our Tour Guide Emanuel an Italian and our driver Sam Russian were terrific, courteous thoughtful and full of helpful info. We were a group of 4 adults Aussies we had a great time and would highly recommend this tour. Outstanding value for money.
Review by: Alix P, May 2015
One of the best tour guide we have ever had. She made the trip so enjoyable, very caring person.
Review by: allwyn, January 2015
Overall this was a good tour. However, we reached the Pickwick Hotel very late and it was exhausting. The breakfast next day was disappointing. It was not at the Pickwick Hotel but next door where we given some scrambled eggs and bread. Dorit was a wonderful tour director. We stopped at some of the best spots and the weather was lovely. On the last day we reached very late in the evening and were dropped off at our hotel in LA. It was tiring but still and enjoyable trip. I would definitely recommend this trip to anyone.
Review by: John F, December 2014
This tour was all that we expected. Although the days were long and had to travel along way in the three days it was perfect for us in only having a spare three days to see all the sights of this tour. Our tour guide Dorit and bus driver were amazing and made our trip so pleasurable. The accommodation was great.
Review by: glhitchcock, December 2014
I enjoyed every minute of this trip. Met some lovely people from all over the world. Our tour guide was friendly helpful and very knowledgeable. The places we stayed were of high standard and the tour its self amazingly adventurous.
Review by: Leeann, December 2014
This is an amazing tour! We had the wonderful guide named Dorit. She is a lot of fun and communicates well with everyone!! We travelled from NZ for a trip of a lifetime and thanks to this tour we have! Definitely recommend.
Review by: Caspar d, November 2014
A great tour through some very interesting places. The boat tour through San Francisco was a great and we were lucky with the weather. The Yosemite park was stunning. We were the only 2 (native) English speakers in the group but didn't feel left out. The tour guide, Doreet, was very friendly and knowledgeable. My only complaint was that some of the stops were a bit long in not very interesting places, e.g. Chinatown and Sausalito, could happily have skipped both of those stops altogether. Generally though a very enjoyable tour.
Review by: Claire O, October 2014
This is a very busy tour. Long Days 6am-9pm, long hour between meals (generally breakfast 7am, lunch some time between 1-2pm and dinner at the end of the day 9pm. Snacking is a must._br/_
The coach we were on had issues with the air conditioning. It worked, but not well so we were hot on the bus. _br/_
Unfortunately for us we had a lady with the flu, so as soon as we'd finished the trip we got it.
Review by: debandlex, September 2014
Not ok. Very disappointing. See complaint #61929079
Review by: Carol C, August 2014
We were disappointed that it was not a "small group" as advertised. We did not stop at Carmel, which we were looking forward to, and rest and eat stops were poorly planned as choices were often quick and no more than a McDonald's. Tour guide was very unprofessional in his language. To sum it up, we were expecting more and that didn't happen
Review by: lorna.mccue, August 2014
Trip itinerary covered all the stops we were expecting; accommodations were comfortable and I felt safe during the tour. However, non- Hebrew speaking guests were not allowed to sit near the front of the bus and received less commentary. I was asked to collect tips from the other English speakers.
Review by: Christine L, August 2014
The trip was very good because we saw many things. The hotels were very good choice, especially the Fairmont in San José. The guide was a very nice person. The driver was also very nice. The bus was quite old and not very comfortable. But there was a more serious problem. The driver did not ask anybody to fasten belts and kids were running in the bus. And the worst thing which really put our security in danger is that the driver was telephoning and looking photos on his telephone while driving !!!!!
Review by: gulcan a, August 2014
This tour was fantastic.the places we have seen was really worth seeing.the tour bus was comfortable ,the driver was kind and the tour guide was very care about towards all passengers.
Review by: ADRINE A, July 2014
I highly recommend this tour it was the best part of my LA holiday. The hotels were 5 star and Central , very organised and we have seen the best of California. I will defenetly book another tour with Viator
Review by: ALLISON S, July 2014
A long long bus tour - loads of driving, uncomfortable bus - not what we expected. Hotel in San Francisco was terrible. We had a group of Italians on the bus who were very very noisy and always late to return to the bus - just totally unpleasant. Our tour guide Michael and bus driver Jeff, were fantasttic!
Review by: ALLY, July 2014
A long long bus tour - loads of driving, uncomfortable bus - not what we expected. Hotel in San Francisco was terrible. We had a group of Italians on the bus who were very very noisy and always late to return to the bus - just totally unpleasant. Our tour guide Michael and bus driver Jeff, were fantasttic!
Review by: Patricia A, May 2014
I enjoyed this trip as I had limited time and it covered a lot in three days. I was 1 of 3 English speaking people on this trip but commentary was given in English. i would have preferred better food/restroom stops. The hotels were out of town locations so this was disappointing as tour info says that it would be in a downtown location in San Francisco. The information given on the website states that this trip returns to Los Angeles at 7pm. This needs to be changed because in the introductory talk we were told that it would be 8-9pm. This was a problem for me as I was flying out that night. The company quickly arranged for me to be taken to the airport after dropping off other travellers. The t
Review by: Eva N, May 2014
It was everything I was hoping for and more. Our tour guide Eli was excellent, warm, funny and knew details about every little town and place we stopped. We had a good experience and we were very comfortable in the bus. They picked all the right stops to stop and take pictures.
Review by: Elizabeth D, March 2014
No body told us and it wasn't written on the website that the trip was 3/4 in hebrew and 1/4 in English. It is very unplaisant to have lots of people tusing a language that you didnt understand, mostly because we choose an englisg tour guide!!!!! We didnt stay long enough in San Francisco and that was the maine attraction of the trip.l It was very disapointed.
Review by: Mehdi V, January 2014
We have guest from over seas visiting and they speak no english. We sent them on this tour and from the first time we called to confirm the company was amazing. They were very understanding and accepting that are guest did not speak english, they assured me they would take good care of them and not leave behind :)_br/_
When our guest came back they said they had a great trip. They said their tour guide was extremely nice and cared about all the people on the tour. Our guests went on several tours they said this is the only tour they did not feel rushed and they actually really enjoyed :)
Review by: Noel P, December 2013
Very good small group tour, excellent guide/driver, good value for money.
Review by: SG B, December 2013
We enjoyed the tour provided by Eli our tour guide and Jeff our driver were very knowledgeable and made sure we were all informed as we visited each location in multiple languages to cater for those who are not native English speakers. Although we traveled quite a distance regular comfort and sightseeing stops broke up the journey. The tour of San Francisco was great, Pier 39 and the cruise on the bay were highlights especially with the Americas Cup boats sailing by. Great scenery at the Yosemite National Park despite the lack of water in the waterfalls and rivers,the land was very dry and you can see why the wide fires are easily moving through California. We were lucky to see the park before the smoke came by.
Review by: Linda L, August 2013
6-8 passenger van as described on your site was a big bus of 35 people. Days were horrible 14-16 hr days with 6 and 7am wake up calls.Never got to even walk the streets of Carmel. Bus parked at back of shopping center ar 6:30pm so we could go to bathroom. Stores had closed at 6. We were the oly Americans on the bus. Collecting tips seemed to be a priority on last day. Israel woman designated to collecting tips was rude and ugly to my traveling companion who needed to get cash. Thought she wasn't going to pay and called her a bleep, bleep Americano. Someone in your company had told me we would get into San Fran around 6:30. I made arrangements to see old friends for an 8pm reservation.had to cancel because we got to San Fran around 10:30 pm. Etc. etc. I feel like I should be given at least half my charge of almost a thousand dollars back. Will NEVER take another tour again. DONE! Grueling, exhausting days. What a nightmare.
Review by: Leonora Roxana S, August 2013
Trip was perfect, I would prefere more information from the guide. The driver very good.
Review by: Louise K, July 2013
Very well structured tour incorporating many wonderful experiences into three superb days. We appreciated being part of a small group- six adults and one child - and having Richard as our excellent guide - well informed, entertaining and responsive to the group needs. So many highlights - the stunning ocean road , the elephant seals, the sight of Pebble Beach golf course ( for the golfing tragic) the extraordinary variety of San Francisco sights and on the last day the breathtaking wonders of Yosemite. No hesitation in recommending this tour and particularly this tour guide!
Review by: C H C, June 2013
An excellent tour and in Richard, an excellent guide. However, you do need a little stamina - leaving Los Angeles at 06.30 and not arriving in San Francisco until 21.30 on day one is a very long and tiring day. Lots of interesting stops on the way but over 400 miles is quite a ride. Day two in San Francisco is great - a beautiful City with many cultural and stunning scenery visits. Day three in Yosemite was beautiful.
Review by: Tamer Abou-Elsaad, February 2013
I and my wife enjoyed the spectacular views of the highway 1 of the pacific coast. We enjoyed the scenes of Santa Brabara, Solvang Village, The cruise around the The Alcatraz, Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco and the Hearst Castle in our way back. I certainly recommend this trip.
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