From San Francisco to Los Angeles by Bus & Train

California offers some of the world’s most spectacular sights and best spots for vacations. From the Golden Gate to Tinsel Town this motor coach tour and train itinerary includes must see places in Monterey and train rides through Salinas Valley and on the Pacific Coast by Santa Barbara. You can choose to take just the three day bus and train tour from San Francisco to Los Angeles or combine it with hotels and tours in San Francisco and/or Los Angeles 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.

San Francisco Riesling
Day 1: (D) San Francisco. Check in for two nights at Handlery Union Square Hotel or Tuscan Inn Fisherman’s Wharf (*). Afternoon free for exploring the city, Fisherman’s Wharf or riding cable cars, etc. Dinner tonight or tomorrow at an Italian Restaurant.
Day 2: (B) Sonoma and Napa Valley Wine Country tour at 8:30. 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.) 
 

3 days California Pacific 
Day 3: (B) (D) San Francisco to Monterey 154 miles.
Pick up from most hotels in San Francisco starting 8:15 a.m. Departure by 9:00 a.m. Driving along San Andreas Fault turn west to Half Moon Bay and then south on the Pacific Coast Highway One to Santa Cruz with beautiful views of the ocean. Reaching Monterey by mid day, after a short tour stop at The Cannery Row allowing time for lunch or optional visit to Aquarium.  Seaside gardens of Pacific Grove to 17 Mile Drive see the ocean crash on shore and mansions and golf courses.  Stop at Pebble Beach.  Continue to Carmel by the Sea the idyllic village with its art galleries and cottages set in Pine trees.  Arrive at your hotel by 5:30.*Bay Park Hotel, Monterey.  Dinner and Breakfast

Day 4: (B) Monterey to Paso Robles. 98 miles.
After a relaxing morning, at 10:15 Sal's taxi (prepaid) transfers you to Salinas Train Station. AMTRAK Train # 11 Coast Starlight leaves at 11:48, just in time for lunch going through Salinas Valley, center of Monterey County’s agricultural region by the river and small towns, fields of lettuce, broccoli and acres of green houses. Around King City we see miles of newly planted vineyards where just a few years ago there was only cattle pasture. The oil fields appear and then the military installations at Camp Roberts. Passing Mission San Miguel we reach Paso Robles at 1:38. The Wine Wrangler driver meets us a transfer to the hotel for an introduction to this interesting quintessential small town with many wineries and tasting rooms.
*Paso Robles Inn, Paso Robles. 

Click here for pictures of traveling by Amtrak

Day 5: (PL) Paso Robles to Hearst Castle and Los Angeles. 110 miles tour and 258 miles train.
The Wine Wrangler driver guide takes you about 45 minutes west to the coast and then on Highway One to San Simeon. Tour Hearst Castle and see the movie “Building the Dream”. 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. Enjoy a picnic lunch and stop for shopping or visit a winery. Continue to San Luis Obispo. Board The Coast Starlight at 3:20. From Pismo Beach to Pt. Arguello through restricted Vandenberg Air Force Base see launch pads for the space rockets and then some of the most scenic ocean views all the way through Santa Barbara to Oxnard. Turning inland around seven the train goes past miles of orange groves then through Simi Valley to Glendale.  At about 9:00 we arrive in the heart of the great metropolis of Los Angeles at the Union Station that you may recognize from many Hollywood films. Taxicabs to downtown locations cost about $20, twice as much to Hollywood, West Los Angeles, and Beverly Hills. To the Los Angeles International Airport Fly Away bus leaves every half hour, takes about 45 minutes cost only $7. Going further south Surfliner 596 reaches Anaheim at 10:51, San Juan Capistrano at 11:25 and San Diego after midnight at 12:50 a.m. It is advisable to spend a night in Los Angeles and take the train to San Diego in the morning.
 
L.A. Bustle and Stars
Day 5 Evening: Check in for two nights at Miyako Hotel Los Angeles. If you want to  stay close to Los Angeles Airport or Anaheim** we can book a different hotel.
Day 6 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. 
Day 7 Transfer to Los Angeles International Airport.

California Pacific - 3 or 5 or 7 days –  Tour Code SF6PA

Available almost daily except on certain holidays and weekends

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

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

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.  

This site updated on December 9th, 2014

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California Parlor Car Tours
500 Sutter Street, Suite 401
San Francisco CA 94102
Tel 415.474.7500 800.227.4250 Fax 415.673.1539