California – also known as the Golden State – is a jewel in America’s crown. With its diverse and stunning landscape, global cities and popular coastline, it has long been a favourite destination for travellers across the world. On the California Explorer you’ll get to sample some of the best this state has to offer. Starting in beautiful San Francisco, you’ll travel down the coast, hitting the likes of Yosemite National Park and Los Angeles, before finishing your trip in San Diego.
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Road Trip Itinerary
3 Nights – San Francisco
1 Nights – Napa Valley
1 Night – Lake Tahoe
2 Nights – Yosemite National Park
1 Nights – Pismo Beach
1 Night – Santa Barbara
2 Nights – Los Angeles
3 Nights – San Diego
✈ UK – San Francisco (3 nights): You’ll touch down, pick up your car and then have three nights in San Francisco to kick off your trip. Also known as ‘Shaky Town’, this city is famous for its painted ladies – Victorian and Edwardian homes painted in three or more colours – cable cars and, of course, the Golden Gate Bridge. As you walk the hilly streets of San Fran, you’ll sense a quaint nostalgia, which contrasts wonderfully with the newer parts of the city. The overall ambience is a quirky, eclectic one that makes it a perfect introduction to California. While you’re there, be sure to visit famous sites like Alcatraz Island and Golden Gate Park, as well as allowing some time to chill out in the funky restaurants and bars.
🚗 San Francisco – Napa Valley (1 night): From San Francisco you’ll head out to California’s famous wine region, Napa Valley. With its undulating hills of green and rustic-style villas, it can feel like you’re in a different world compared to the rest of the Golden State. Be sure to sample the local wares and tour one of the beautiful vineyards.
🚗 Napa Valley – Lake Tahoe (1 night): Your next stop is often referred to as ‘America’s best lake’, Lake Tahoe is one of the most picturesque areas of California. It’s also the perfect place to get active, with lots of hikes and watersports available, from swimming to windsurfing. During the winter, the mountains surrounding the lake are covered in snow, transforming the area into a popular skiing spot. There’s also plenty of nightlife to enjoy.
🚗 Lake Tahoe – Yosemite National Park (2 nights): Next on to Yosemite, set in the Sierra Nevada mountains, a striking mix of rocky mountains, green pastures and lakes. It’s famous for its sequoias – large, ancient trees that dominate the landscape. There is also the Tunnel View – a famous viewpoint over Yosemite Valley – and the 188-metre high Bridalveil Fall. When you’re not traversing the landscape, there are plenty of shops and restaurants in Yosemite Village to occupy yourself with. There’s also a museum for you to learn more about the area.
🚗 Yosemite – Pismo Beach (1 night): After your active time at Yosemite and Lake Tahoe, you’ll drive on to the picturesque coastal town of Pismo. This traditional beach community has plenty of sand dunes for relaxing strolls, restaurants for great food and miles of beach for sunbathing.
🚗 Pismo Beach – Santa Barbara (1 night): Driving down the stunning Pacific Highway, you’ll come to your next stop of Santa Barbara. This city is sure to give you a great taste of the Spanish colonial heritage of California. With red-tiled roofs on white stucco buildings, you can be forgiven for feeling like you’re in the Mediterranean. There’s also a range of great places to visit to learn about the local culture and history, including the Santa Barbara Presidio and the Mission Santa Barbara.
🚗 Santa Barbara – Los Angeles (2 nights): Your penultimate stop will be the iconic city of Los Angeles, where you can spend your time exploring Hollywood, the strip and the Walk of Fame. Griffith Park is also a must if you fancy a bit of a hike. As you’d expect of LA, there are plenty of restaurants and a great nightlife scene, meaning you can let your hair down for a few days. There’s also a huge healthy-living culture in the city, so be sure to sample some of the great things they have on offer.
🚗 Los Angeles – San Diego (3 nights): After LA you’ll travel on to your final stop and what a way to end your trip than in San Diego. This city has something for everyone, from famous landmarks to beaches and parks. If you love history, spend time in the Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, which is a state-protected area with Mexican and American heritage. You have to spend some time in Balboa Park, which houses San Diego Zoo, as well as large open spaces and gardens. For some down-time on the beach, take a trip to La Jolla Cove or the Torrey Pines State Beach.
✈ San Diego – UK: Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, so all that’s left is to drive to the airport, drop off your car and fly back to the UK.
Why choose eShores?
One to One Service
Our experienced personal travel consultants will ensure you find the most suitable holiday, whilst taking care of every last detail. Everything from start to finish will be effortless.
100% Tailor Made
We can use any hotel, in any destination, so we will craft an itinerary to suit your exact needs. Also, as we can provide any itinerary, the only holiday we'll offer, is the one that's right for you.
Fully Protected
Our ATOL bonding provides you with the financial protection you need and as a member of the Travel Trust Association, you'll have 100% financial protection. Covering you for any eventuality.
Competitive Pricing
As a tour operator & travel agent, we'll search the market to ensure that we find you the best price. Also as an online business, we can ensure our prices are as competitive as possible.
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AlisonFletcher
Brilliant trip organised by Dave, included Helsinki, Tallin, Vilnius and Riga. (4 different countries) Everything ran smoothly. Dave organised hotels, flights, taxis, ferry and coach. Have used this company a few times and can't recommend highly enough they are fab 😀
Posted 2 days ago -
Sandra
As always, Chris was extremely helpful and knowledgeable. He gave me good advice on my travel plans and booked the holiday on my behalf. I've used eshores a number of times, and will continue to do so.
Posted 5 days ago -
Harrison
We haven’t been on our trip yet but based purely on the experience of booking the trip we are pleased with the result. It started with a bit of a hiccup as we spoke to a member of staff who never came back to us but when we reached back out again we were placed in the hands of Andy who has helped us book a 2 week trip to India including the golden triangle and then a few days on the beach. Andy was very patient with us with our changes to our tailor made holiday, even when we asked him to explore different areas only to revert back to the original plan. He also recommended moving the holiday back one week which created a saving of over £700 which meant we could upgrade the room for our beach stay in Goa. Andy was also available on weekends if we wanted to speak and regularly picked up the phone as opposed to keeping it to purely email dialogue. Hopefully the holiday will be amazing but based on the booking experience I would recommend eShores if you’re looking to book a tailor made holiday
Posted 5 days ago -
Wendy
I spoke to Lynette who was extremely helpful in understanding the trip that myself and my sister in law wanted from Thailand. Myself and my sister in law are both 72years young and we are really looking forward to our trip.
Posted 6 days ago -
Dawn
Excellent service from Matt at eShores. So very helpful and nothing was too much trouble. I booked Mya holiday after all his hard work finding me the perfect holiday that I wanted. Superb service and not pushy all all.
Posted 6 days ago -
Amrik
We have booked two big holidays this year for a group of 8 and a group of 10, Rachel has coordinated our holidays with the utmost excellence, during the consultation we changed countires hotels and even flights but it did not phase Rachel one bit. Exceeds customer expectations by helping advising and supporting throughout the holiday. We are off to Thailand and Dubai in August and then followed by India and Thailand in November, I have rang emailed Rachel many times during the booking and I got very prompt responses even on her days off. Rachel is a credit to EShores and EShores is setting standards regarding customer focus.
Posted 1 week ago -
IainWilliam
I can’t praise Lynette at EShores enough. She has organised my trips perfectly to the point that I wouldn’t use anyone else. She listens to what I want or to the problem I have and comes up with a solution. Nothing is too much trouble. Try them out yourselves and I bet you become a repeater too!
Posted 1 week ago -
Kevin
At short notice, I needed a quote to travel through the USA (July the 20th) I emailed eShores with an idea of what I wanted to do, within a short period of time I had a response from Matthew, After several amendments to my holiday which wasn't any trouble to Matthew, Holiday all booked, now looking forward to travelling through the USA Have to say, the service I had through eShores was fantastic, well done Matthew for working through the changes,
Posted 1 week ago -
Marcus
Dealt with Adam who was great, I went back and forth many times, nothing was a problem for him. We got there in the end and Adam arranged a 3 place holiday to Malaysia and Singapore. We go on 5th August, will if update review when we return. EShores so far brilliant hats of to Adam.
Posted 1 week ago -
Jill
We as a family used eShores last year to go to USA, and they were brilliant, my husband and 1 are going to Italy with them this September and we have just booked again to go back to USA with them next May, very efficient and Matt is lovely to deal with
Posted 1 week ago
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