From Los Angeles to San Francisco by Train & Bus

California offers some of the world’s most spectacular sights and best spots for vacations. From Tinsel Town to the Golden Gate this train, taxi and motor coach itinerary includes train rides on the Pacific Coast by Santa Barbara and through Salinas Valley then motor coach tour of must see places in Monterey. You can choose to take just the three day train and bus trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco or combine it with hotels and tours in Los Angeles and San Francisco or to make it a 5 or 7 day package vacation. THIS IS NOT A GROUP TOUR. It is an independent trip using local sightseeing companies and AMTRAK trains. International visitors like the experience of riding the trains through beautiful California countryside. Trains can be late at times but overall the itinerary is very interesting and enjoyable.

L.A. Bustle and Stars
Day 1: Transfer from LAX airport to Miyako Hotel Los Angeles check in for two nights. If you want to stay close to Los Angeles Airport or Anaheim** we can book a different hotel.
Day 2: Grand tour of Los Angeles & Movie Stars’ Home (about 8 hours). See Hollywood sign, Rodeo Drive, Melrose, Sunset Strip, Farmers Market, Olvera Street, Chinatown, The Music Center and the Griffith Park Observatory and Movie Stars' Homes in Beverly Hills and Bel Air.  (Other tours such as Universal Studio or Getty Museum Tours are also available)
Day 3: (D) Check out of the hotel. At 8:30 a.m go to Los Angeles Union Station.

3 Days California Coast Ride Los Angeles to San Luis Obispo.
220 miles by Coast Starlight train 
On AMTRAK train leave Anaheim at 8:07 or Union Station, Los Angeles at 10:15 a.m.  See Simi Valley, orange groves and green houses, reaching the Pacific coast at Oxnard. As the train hugs the shore we see the most magnificent vistas west through Santa Barbara. Turning north at Gaviota past Vandenberg Space Station fields of strawberries and miles of new vines are all around us on the way to Pismo Beach. On arrival in San Luis Obispo around 3:43 the hotel van takes you to Apple Farm Inn for overnight stay.

Overnight at Apple Farm Inn.  Dinner

Click here for pictures of traveling by Amtrak

Day 4: (PL) San Luis Obispo/ Hearst Castle/ Monterey. 148 miles tour and 154 miles by train and bus.

The Wine Wrangler driver guide takes you about 45 minutes west to the coast and then on Highway One to San Simeon. Tour of Hearst Castle built by Julia Morgan during the 1920s and 1930s for the art collection of world famous newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst. This 2 hour tour is ideal for first time visitors with an easy walk, a total of about 150 steps. See the movie "Building the Dream." Enjoy a picnic lunch and stop for shopping or visit a winery. Back to San Luis Obispo for the Coast Starlight train at 3:43. The train chugs up Cuesta Grade and then drops down to the horse ranches of Templeton and green pastures and vineyards of Paso Robles. At Camp Roberts we enter Monterey County and along the Salinas River oil fields give way to the Valley, one of the richest agricultural areas in California. Riding through one of the largest vineyards we come upon miles of broccoli, lettuce, flowers and berries. Around 6:36 you reach Salinas where John Steinbeck chronicled the transformation of Monterey county from the days of depression to the wealthier times. Salinas Taxi waits for your arrival and takes you to Bay Park Hotel, Monterey.

Check in at Bay Park Hotel. Relax at this full service hotel.

Day 5 Morning: (B) Monterey Peninsula Tour - then to San Francisco.
154 miles by motor coach.
Have breakfast and spend the morning at the hotel. Between noon and one meet the tour motor coach from San Francisco. Spend the rest of the day in historic Monterey, Cannery Row, Pacific Grove looking at golf courses, mansions and scenic vistas. See the Pacific crashing on the rocks and swirling around on the 17 Mile Drive, where the Lone Cypress stands guard. Brush with luxury at the resorts of Pebble Beach. Time in Carmel by the Sea for shopping & browsing. After five we go east through Fort Ord and Castroville to Highway 101 as the artichoke and strawberry fields and green houses give way turning north along the San Andreas fault line through Gilroy and Morgan Hill. The urban sprawl emerges as we enter San Jose. The pace quickens and slows with the traffic driving through the Silicon Valley then past San Francisco International Airport arriving at your hotel in the City around 7:30 p.m.

Notes:  Picnic lunch on the second day and breakfast on the third day are included in the tour price. It is best to have lunch on the first day and dinner on the second day on the train. With so much to enjoy in Monterey you can spend an extra day and night at Bay Park Hotel coming to San Francisco on the 4^th day. 

San Francisco Riesling
Day 5: San Francisco. Check in for two nights at Handlery Union Square Hotel or Tuscan Inn Fisherman’s Wharf*.
Day 6: (B) (D) Sonoma and Napa Valley Wine Country tour at 8:10. Across the Golden Gate Bridge visit the historic square in Sonoma. Time for lunch on your own. Then to Napa Valley. Visit two or three wineries. Return to the city via Oakland Bay Bridge. (Instead of wine country take a city tour with Muir Woods. OR for Yosemite 13 hour tour add $80 per person.). Dinner tonight at an Italian restaurant.
Day 7: (B) Check out of the hotel. Shuttle transfer or private sedan available at additional cost to San Francisco International Airport.

                
 California Coast Ride - 3 or 5 or 7 days.   Tour Code: LA6TC    

Available: Thursday, Saturday, Monday. Other days on request

*For San Francisco Riesling Package to stay at Tuscan Inn Fisherman’s Wharf add $76 per room per person on a double basis.

California Coast Ride 7 Days Tour includes: Amtrak tickets Los Angeles to San Luis Obispo and Monterey with transfers on arrival to the hotels, two nights in Los Angeles, one night in San Luis Obispo, one night in Monterey, two nights in San Francisco, experienced driver-guided tours of Los Angeles with Movie Star homes, Hearst Castle and San Simeon Coast, Monterey, 17-Mile Drive, Pebble Beach, Carmel by the Sea to San Francisco, Wine country Napa and Sonoma with wine tasting. three breakfasts, two dinners, one lunch, shuttle transfer from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), and tax. (Vehicle size depends on number of clients booked).

** To stay at Clarion Anaheim save $25 (per person on double). You can add extra night (s) before or after the tour. 

Trains can be late at times but overall the itinerary is very interesting and enjoyable. This independent trip requires some flexibility and acceptance of train or other delays and minor changes.

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