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Northern California
8 Day California Tour of San Francisco, Lake Tahoe & Yosemite National Park
Get a true taste of the Golden State as you tour Northern California passing cityscapes and seaside cliffs of the 17-Mile Drive. Explore California icons: Yosemite National Park, iconic Redwoods, and serene Lake Tahoe, topped off with tasty Napa Valley wines and a farm-to-table meal in Monterey. This trip is for guests that like to see the great outdoors and enjoy it but the activity level is moderate and up to the guest.
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Trip code
DANC
Northern California
8 Day California Tour of San Francisco, Lake Tahoe & Yosemite National Park
Get a true taste of the Golden State as you tour Northern California passing cityscapes and seaside cliffs of the 17-Mile Drive. Explore California icons: Yosemite National Park, iconic Redwoods, and serene Lake Tahoe, topped off with tasty Napa Valley wines and a farm-to-table meal in Monterey. This trip is for guests that like to see the great outdoors and enjoy it but the activity level is moderate and up to the guest.
Kick-start your effortlessly delivered Northern California holiday in the cosmopolitan hills of ‘The City’. Join your Travel Director and fellow travelers for a Welcome Reception at your hotel.
Trip Summary Accomodation IconHotel - Clift Royal Sonesta
Admire the eclectic mix of Victorian and Modern architecture, vibrant culture, and cuisines of one of the world's most livable and iconic cities. Embark on a morning exploration tour that takes you from the lively hotspot of Fisherman's Wharf to Union Square, a historical landmark linked to the American Civil War. This afternoon guests will take a walk across the iconic Golden Gate Bridge - Once called "the bridge that couldn't be built," today it is one the seven wonders of the modern world. The rest of the afternoon guests are free to explore on their own. Guests can perhaps take a ride on the 150 years old San Francisco Cable car, The only moving national monument in the country and perhaps take a walk through Chinatown's alleyways, the oldest Chinese community in the US.
Trip Summary Meals IconIncluded Meals - Breakfast
Optional Experience
Guided Chinatown Walking Tour, Chinese Dinner and City Illuminations Tour
Explore the Chinese markets, herb shops, a fortune cookie factory and more (weather permitting), before dining family-style with a Chinese feast. After dinner, board your motorcoach for the City Illuminations Tour. Drive past the colorful signs and glittering lights of North Beach, the Embarcadero, Fisherman’s Wharf, Telegraph Hill, Coit Tower, the Broadway Strip and the historic Ferry Building. After crossing the Oakland Bay Bridge to Treasure Island, catch a spectacular night panorama of sparkling San Francisco!
Day 3
Journey To Napa Wine Country
This morning you'll depart San Francisco and head to Napa - with a stop in Sonoma - California wine country. Here, we'll visit a local winery and enjoy unique experiences and exploration of wine with a tasting. They'll visit a 4TH GENERATION FAMILY-RUN WINERY. Enjoy an included lunch this afternoon with fellow travelers. After the tasting you'll head to your home for the night in Napa.
Trip Summary Accomodation IconHotel - Embassy Suites Napa Valley
Travel through the scenic fertile Sacramento River Valley to find yourself in the alpine splendor of Lake Tahoe. Its clear blue waters surrounded by evergreen pines and rocky outcrops provides you with a picturesque scenery to behold. Guests will enjoy a sunset dinner cruise on an authentic paddle wheeler boat on the freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. They'll get to enjoy the incredible Tahoe sunset, incredible views, and local cuisine and live music, with views over Emerald Bay.
Trip Summary Accomodation IconHotel - Lake Tahoe Resort
Touch the sky and embark on a scenic road-trip into the Sierra Nevada mountain range, winding along the Tioga Pass to California’s UNESCO-listed Yosemite National Park. (Weather conditions may cause the Tioga Pass to be closed to traffic, typically from mid October to the end of May. In this case, an alternate entry point to Yosemite will be used). Marvel at the incredible natural beauty that inspired naturalist John Muir to dub Yosemite Valley the “Incomparable Valley”, passing the colossal granite faces of El Capitan and the misty splendor of Bridalveil Fall. Tonight, our Stays With Stories takes us overnight in the park.
Trip Summary Accomodation IconHotel - Yosemite Valley Lodge
Trip Summary Meals IconIncluded Meals - Breakfast
Day 6
Taste The California Difference
Leave Yosemite behind and visit the Salinas Valley where you’ll love this MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience where you'll join a Local Specialist for an agricultural education tour to learn about fruit and vegetable production and advanced farming techniques of the region that is known as the "Salad Bowl of the World". Their mission is to "educate our guests about wine, agriculture, and the rich history and beautiful environment of the Monterey Bay region." They'll visit an artichoke farm for a uniquely California taste. Continue on to Monterey where this evening you'll 'Connect with Locals' for a farm-to-table Be My Guest dinner at Happy Girl Kitchen - the meal highlights the freshest local ingredients. Todd and Jordan Champagne began happy girl kitchen co. out of the sheer love of food. After working on farms for years and preserving the glut of our California seasons, Todd and Jordan have been lauded as key members in the thriving food community of California’s Central Coast.
Trip Summary Accomodation IconHotel - Casa Munras Garden and Spa
Trip Summary Meals IconIncluded Meals - Breakfast, Be My Guest
Day 7
Witness The Incredible California Coast
The pinch me moments continue as we follow the sun-kissed California coast, cruising scenic 17-Mile Drive. This drive has dramatic coastal cliffs, snow-white beaches, mystical forests and iconic golf courses. Discover one of the most scenic drives in the world as you meet the inspiring Lone Cypress, ponder the giant trees at Crocker Grove, digest the untouched beauty at Fanshell Beach. We return to Monterey for a visit of Cannery Row: the waterfront street bordering the city of Pacific Grove, but officially in the New Monterey section of Monterey, California. It was the site of a number of now-defunct sardine canning factories. John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row captured life in Cannery Row during its industrial heyday. Today it has a bit of everything: history buff info, shopping, food, and nature. The rest of the evening is yours to explore Monterey's vibrant street life. Tonight, we join our Travel Director and fellow travelers for a festive Farewell Dinner.
California’s towering redwoods provide an imposing backdrop for this morning as we journey back in time to the era of lumberjacks and sawmills in a re-created 1890s logging camp. We continue to Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park where we’ll have an opportunity to walk amongst these giants that have stood for over a thousand years. We return to the golden city of San Francisco where you might consider extending your stay. Airport drop off at 1:00p.m., please be aware when booking fights.
Trip Summary Meals IconIncluded Meals - Breakfast
All optional experiences for this trip
Book with your travel director when you travel
Available on day 2
Guided Chinatown Walking Tour, Chinese Dinner and City Illuminations Tour
Explore the Chinese markets, herb shops, a fortune cookie factory and more (weather permitting), before dining family-style with a Chinese feast. After dinner, board your motorcoach for the City Illuminations Tour. Drive past the colorful signs and glittering lights of North Beach, the Embarcadero, Fisherman’s Wharf, Telegraph Hill, Coit Tower, the Broadway Strip and the historic Ferry Building. After crossing the Oakland Bay Bridge to Treasure Island, catch a spectacular night panorama of sparkling San Francisco!
All Optional Experiences
The Optionals and pricing listed here are a guideline only and subject to change.
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Trip details
Trip details
What's included
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7 nights
Accommodation
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12 Meals
1 Welcome Reception, 7 Breakfasts, 1 Lunch, 1 Regional Dinner, 1 Be My Guest, 1 Farewell Dinner
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On-trip Transport
All transport shown
The Trafalgar difference
Stays With Stories
Stay at the Yosemite Valley Lodge located close to Yosemite Falls in the middle of the national park.
Connect With Locals
Visit Happy Girl Kitchen in Monterey, where your hosts share their knowledge and love of food using the freshest ingredients during an outstanding farm-to-table experience.
Sightseeing highlights
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Explore San Francisco, Napa and Salinas Valley with a Local Specialist
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Visit Yosemite National Park
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See quaint Carmel-by-the-Sea, Napa Valley, and Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park
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Scenic Drive along spectacular 17-mile Drive, and through Napa Wine Country
Breakfast daily and up to half of your evening meals
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Must-see sightseeing and surprise extras
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Audio headsets for flexible sightseeing
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All transport and transfers shown
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Luxury air-conditioned coach with Wi-Fi in most countries or alternative transportation (such as rail journeys)
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Optional Experiences and free time
Live, unedited & independent traveler reviews
Northern California trip reviews
Our guests are at the heart of everything we do, their feedback fuels our innovation, inspiring us to improve continuously and craft Simply The Best vacations. That's why we ask each of our guests to leave a third-party verified, independent review after every trip. As testament to our commitment we have been given the Trusted Service Award from Feefo, recognising we deliver exceptional experiences as rated by real guests.
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Maree in Christchurch, New ZealandMy Account Icon
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Trip of a Lifetime
Trip Rating
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5
The coach was luxurious, and the accommodation was spacious and very comfortable. Only negative was some temperamental WIFI but being off the grid is not all bad while on holiday! Would have loved extra time in Yosemite, and hopefully the Napa Valley hot air ballooning returns to the itinerary in the future.
We absolutely loved our Northern California trip. Walking across the Golden Gate Bridge and spending a night in Yosemite Valley were particular highlights. The knowledge and humor of Joseph, our Tour Director, made the trip even more memorable, and we were is safe hands with our driver, Angel, and Wellbeing Director, Randy. Would 100% recommend this trip to anyone.
The itinerary is very good. We were able to pack a lot of places into eight days and also have some free time to explore on our own. Jason recommended some places for dinner which we were grateful. He didn’t steer us wrong. All in all the itinerary was very good.
We enjoyed the trip very much. Jason, the tour director, was wonderful with an enormous wealth of knowledge. The coach was very comfortable and the driver, Angel, was a pro at maneuvering the coach through San Francisco and some of the roads leading to Yosemite. We fell very safe. I would highly recommend this trip!
Welcome Reception (WR), Breakfast (B), Lunch (L), Regional Dinner (RD), Be My Guest (BMG), Farewell Dinner (FD)
Unless otherwise stated, trip prices are per person, land only, based on double occupancy and reflect applicable discount. Discounts are subject to availability and may be withdrawn at any time without notice.
Trip prices are correct at the time of the products going live, however are subject to confirmation at the time of booking. All trip information is correct at time of trips going live, however are subject to change - please confirm all details at time of booking.
Twin-share option not available for trips to South America, Costa Rica, Mexico, Alaska, Hawaii, South Africa, Kenya & Tanzania, Botswana, Zambia or for any holiday & cruise combination, or in Asia and Eastern Mediterranean except Highlights of Turkey (without cruise) & Best of Turkey. It's also not available on Small Group trips. Guided Vacations included in this restriction are Newfoundland and Labrador (DNLA). Does not apply to trips operated by Inspiring Journeys & our Mini-stays.
For trips that are part of our Guaranteed Room Share, please note that there is a no smoking policy in all shared rooms. Solo travel is not accepted on guided Family Experiences holidays unless traveling as part of a family group.
Travel to Europe often requires an overnight flight. Please arrange your flights to arrive on or before day 1.
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Your selected departure date will feature some seasonal itinerary changes to what is displayed. Click 'VIEW ITINERARY' below to see full details.
Active Trip Details
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What is an Active Trip? This is an "Active" lifestyle itinerary, with walks and hikes most days. Hikes will range from easy/moderate to strenuous. No technical climbing skills are required but a reasonable level of fitness is required to make the trip more enjoyable. Understanding that not all people want to hike at the same pace or even on the same trail we will, where possible, host map orientation and then let everyone disperse to enjoy the trails best suited to them. What to Pack Guests should bring lightweight hiking shoes or boots, broad brimmed sun hats, sunglasses, layered clothing, reusable water bottle(s), a hiking day pack and hiking poles (optional)
Weather & Altitude While the itinerary is laid out below, we are at the mercy of the weather and so reserve the right to adjust the program as necessary. Please keep in mind that the higher elevations and possible variations in weather and temperature can increase the perceived level of difficulty of our activities. Elevation ranges up to 9,000 feet for Utah’s Mighty Five and up to 11,000 feet for California High Country Adventure.
Everyone reacts differently to altitude and so if you do have any health issues you should check with your doctor that this trip is suitable for you.