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.
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