California's Best

Day 1: Arrive Los Angeles

Hooray for Hollywood and all the other wonderful things in California! Make sure you visit the Getty Museum while you’re here and enjoy the spectacular views overlooking Los Angeles, the largest metropolitan area in the US. Take the Sunset Strip from Hollywood to Beverly Hills and shop the Sunset Strip. You’ll be returning to Los Angeles at the end of your trip, so if relaxation and not exploration is in order today, take the afternoon off and find a great place for dinner.
Standard Hotel: Best Western Airport Plaza
Deluxe Hotel: Millennium Biltmore Hotel

Day 2: Los Angeles to San Luis Obispo

The sophisticated historic town of Santa Barbara will be a great place to stop between Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo. The 1786 Mission Santa Barbara, still serves as a church. Farther up the coast, Solvang looks like it fell right out of Europe. You can opt for a “hummer” tour of the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes National Wildlife Refuge or taken an alternate route through the Central California wine region.
Standard Hotel: Best Western Royal Oak Hotel
Deluxe Hotel: Embassy Suites San Luis Obispo

Day 3: Pacific Coast Highway to San Francisco

Marvel at the rocky windswept cliffs of the Pacific Coast Highway as you drive up the San Luis Obispo North Coast Byway and the Big Sur Highway National Scenic Byway. The San Simeon National Historical State Park is better known as Hearst Castle, with its 158 room “camp” built by William Randolph Hearst. As soon as you reach San Francisco start getting to know the city on the Barbary Coast Trail which connects 20 of the city’s most important historic sites. See Fisherman’s Wharf, Ghirardelli Square and Nob Hill, once an inaccessible backwater where four rich industrialists built their mansions high above the city. Be sure to take an evening trip to Alcatraz, an island with a story beyond belief.
Standard Hotel: Best Western Americania
Deluxe Hotel: Hotel Majestic/A Select Registry Property

Day 4: San Francisco

Spend the day exploring the Golden Gate Recreation Area which stretches as far as the eye can see both north and south of the Golden Gate Bridge. The Presidio, a former Army base transformed into one of California’s premier attractions houses the first fort built to defend the coast of California. The John Muir Woods National Monument is a living tribute to the astounding conservation contributions of this visionary naturalist. You’ll also discover China Beach, Fort Point, Lands End and Cliff House, all part of the 31 attractions that make up the GGRA.

Day 5: San Francisco to Sacramento

Even 150 years after the famous California Gold Rush, you can still discover gold in Sacramento, now a very cosmopolitan state capital proud of its heritage. Old Sacramento brings you back to the era of the 49ers, with living history guides and all. Tour the State Capitol to learn more about the fascinating history of California, governed at various times by Mexico and the Russians and once its own Republic.
Standard Hotel: Best Western Sutter Inn
Deluxe Hotel: Sheraton Grand Hotel

Day 6: Sacramento to South Lake Tahoe

It’s up and over the Sierra Nevada Mountains to Lake Tahoe today where you’ll happen upon a crystal blue lake sunk deep into the mountain valley, with water so clear you can see objects 75 feet below. The lake is ringed by majestic mountains that are snow covered most of the year. The Scenic Drive around the east side of the lake is one of the most beautiful in America.
Standard Hotel: Best Western Station House Inn
Deluxe Hotel: Inn at Heavenly

Day 7: South Lake Tahoe

Travelers have been awed by the solace and natural beauty of Lake Tahoe since John Freemont arrived in 1844. Always known for its spectacular scenery, Lake Tahoe began life in earnest as a playground for the rich and famous when socialites from San Francisco built summer homes and “cottages” around the lake in the early 1900s. The world discovered Lake Tahoe during the Winter Olympic Games in 1960, when skiers, bobsledders, skaters and all the rest of the winter sport’s elite converged on Olympic Valley.

Day 8: South Lake Tahoe to Yosemite

Yosemite National Park is truly one of the world’s great natural treasures. Make sure you see the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias and the other attractions as you zigzag your way north from Fish Camp to reach the Tioga Road/Big Flat Road National Scenic Byway. From a scenery standpoint, it doesn’t get much better than this.
Standard Hotel: Best Western Way Station
Deluxe Hotel: Yosemite View Lodge

Day 9: Explore Yosemite

Take one more day to explore this natural wonderland of massive redwood trees and lush growth forests.

Day 10: Yosemite to Bakersfield

Enjoy a bit of Bakersfield as you stop for a driving break between Yosemite National Park and San Diego. Once a big city neighborhood, Bakersfield has transformed into an arts and cultural destination over the past two decades.
Standard Hotel: Best Western Hill House
Deluxe Hotel: Doubletree Hotel Bakersfield

Day 11: Bakersfield to San Diego

You may want to familiarize yourself with San Diego on the 59-Mile scenic drive while following the seagull signs that mark the route. It takes you past most of San Diego’s major attractions including the Cabrillo National Monument, the place where Spanish explorers landed in 1542, Old Town, the most historic part of San Diego and Balboa Park. A short side trip takes you to Mission San Diego De Alcala, the first of the 21 missions that encompassed the El Camino Real along the California coast.
Standard Hotel: Best Western Lamplighter Inn and Suites
Deluxe Hotel: Crowne Plaza San Diego

Day 12: Explore San Diego

You’ll want to spend the day visiting Balboa Park, the nation’s largest cultural park and one of America’s truly great cultural resources. Fifteen major museums, several gardens, restaurants, performing arts and the San Diego Zoo are all congregated together in a beautifully landscaped setting that began life as the Panama-California Exposition of 1915. It was the first of two Expositions that created many of the cultural institutions as well as the stunning architecture still standing today.

Day 13: San Diego to Los Angeles

There are so many major attractions! Visit Grauman’s Chinese Theater, take a behind-the scenes peak at Universal Studios, visit the Armand Hammer Museum, California Heritage Museum, Autry National Center Museum of the American West, Aquarium of the Pacific, Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens, California Science Center, Music Center, Japanese American National Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art Grand Avenue, or the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
Standard Hotel: Best Western Airport Plaza
Deluxe Hotel: Millennium Biltmore Hotel

Day 14: Explore Los Angeles

Today you can plan to enjoy Disneyland or continue touring other places of interest in LA.

Day 15: Depart Los Angeles