USA & Canada Rail Holidays
Sample itineraries
The Californian Zephyr
From £1195
Highlights:
- Willis Tower & The Shedd Aquarium
- Cruise across Lake Michigan
- Golden Gate Bridge
- AlcatrazIsland
- Pier 39
- Horn Blower Dinner cruise across San Francisco Bay
- Cooking lessons in Chinatown
- The historic Cable Cars of San Francisco
Price per person includes:
- Return flights into Chicago, Illinois and home from San Francisco, California
- Airport taxes
- 7 nights hotel & train accommodation
Ideal time to visit: Year round
Prices are based on off-season. Please call or email for prices for your preferred date of travel.
Day 1 Arrive Chicago
Arrive Chicago early evening and make your way into the Windy City (referring to the long-winded and boastful speeches of the politicians in the 1800's!, not the weather, the summer months in Chicago are glorious)
Day 2 Chicago
A day at leisure in Chicago.
Chicago is known as everyone's "kinda town" because it's a city for all tastes. As lovely as Paris with its striking architecture and leafy parks, as entertaining as London and as bustling as New York.
There are world class art galleries and museums, vibrant theatres, intimate blues and jazz clubs, comedy bars, acres of green and the city even has a beach along the shore of Lake Michigan.
Getting around Chicago is easy with the Loop Skytrain in the central area, buses and the well run subway as well. The best introduction to the city is the Chicago North Shore Tour.
This 2-hour tour starts downtown and includes the lakeside sweep, the harbour and the world famous zoo before returning via Michigan Avenue and the Chicago Blues night club area.
Day 3 - 4 Board the California Zephyr
Board the California Zephyr for a 2 night journey through to San Francisco, marvel at the prairies, mountains and lakes en route as you pass through Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska,Colorado,Utah and Nevada.
All accommodation and meals are included whilst on board the Zephyr.
Train Journey:56 hrs
Day 5 Arrive San Francisco
Arrive Emeryville early evening. Emeryville is just 12 miles from San Francisco, a bus will take you from here into the heart of the city.
Evening at leisure, head for lively Fisherman's Wharf and it's incredible seafood restaurants...
Days 6-7 San Francisco
San Francisco is full of iconic images- those little cable cars climbing halfway to the stars, the scarlet slash of the Golden Gate Bridge, the dragon-adorned gateway to Chinatown, and the sombre, island-sited Alcatraz, once a formidable prison, now a tourist attraction.
Discover the attractions of this beautiful city en foot, by cable car or the superb BART system. See places like Union Square, The Presidio, Golden Gate Bridge, China Town, Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf.
Stroll through Golden Gate Park and visit the new California Academy of Sciences Museum, hire a buke and ride across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito or shop till you drop in the many great malls here.
Day 8 Depart San Francisco
Depart San Francisco late afternoon for your overnight flight home.
Want to extend this tour.... perhaps stay longer in California or Chicago, split the Zephyer train journey and spend a few nights in Salt Lake City, Denver, Sacramento or Reno? Not a problem. Call us to discuss the options available to you.
