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From: £1925
This tour takes in all the same things, but offers a unique experience staying in smaller hotels, B&B's and inns. If you aren't one for the big, glitzy resorts and would like to mix more with the locals, this itinerary is for you.
Price per person includes:
Convertibles are available on this California fly-drive holiday. Please call Bon Voyage for further details.
Welcome to sunny California, the Golden State! Some cool areas you might want to check out on arrival are, Sunset Boulevard, which began as a route between the homes of the stars and Hollywood studios, is a must for first timers. It runs from downtown LA to the ocean, passing through the Sunset Strip on the way. Rodeo Drive is packed with exclusive shops. Cruise along it with your winds down and your music on!
Other famous drives through Tinseltown include Hollywood Boulevard, Mulholland Drive in the Hollywood Hills of the Santa Monica Mountains and the Angeles Crest Scenic Byway in the San Gabriel Mountains. The Pacific Coast Highway from Santa Monica to Malibu gives you a peek at the spectacular California coast.
The rest of LA’s best are well known. Disneyland, known as the happiest place on earth, is in Anaheim. Universal Studios Hollywood is a theme park that grew out of the famous movie-making studio, and Knott’s Berry Farm from a family oriented resort. The elegant, timeless Queen Mary, once the largest ship afloat, is docked in Long Beach. The ocean walk at Venice Beach is a continuing carnival, as is the Santa Monica Pier.
Distance: 110 miles
Palm Springs is a true oasis in the California desert. If you want to have a view over the area, ride the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, or even consider the 'Ride & Dine' at sunset. The rotating tram cars offer a breathtakingly beautiful ride to the mountaintop. Take a light jacket, since it can be 20 to 30 degrees cooler at the summit.Joshua Tree National Park is another of the top attractions in Palm Springs. This immense reserve of nearly 800,000 acres is infinitely variable. Until you understand the special nature of the geography, the Park can seem unwelcoming, even brutal during the heat, when, in fact, it is delicate and extremely fragile. The land forms were and still are shaped by strong winds, sudden torrents of rain, and climatic extremes.
If time allows we'd urge you to consider a jeep trip along the San Andreas Fault too.
Distance: 264 miles
Phoenix, Arizona is chic, urban and very sophisticated with amazing resorts, golf courses, and fine dining. Anything you’d expect to find in a world-class city, you’ll find here. Yet Phoenix is so much more than that. There’s a rich cultural element that pervades the city— not Western, not Native American, not desert, but an intriguing blend of all of three, presided over by the craggy, majestic ever-present desert mountains that loom over the Valley of the Sun.The Phoenix Experience unfolds seamlessly so that you can explore the heritage of the city, delight in the arts and culture and savour the landscape.
Start appreciating the complexity of the desert landscape at the Desert Botanical gardens before moving on to Old Town Scottsdale for more Western lore, coupled with the best arts district in the region.
Distance: 114 miles
Tucson is large enough to have everything you want and small enough for you to get your arms around it, easily find your way around and understand, enjoy and live it while exploring. The Sonoran Desert landscape in Tucson may be greener than you anticipate, yet areas of desert punctuated with Saguaro surround the city. The Arizona state symbol stands proudly in a cactus forest in Saguaro National Park. A drive up the Sky Island Scenic Byway takes you through an even larger forest of Saguaros on your way to Mt. Lemmon’s pine treetops.Distance: 239 miles
Today as you move north through red rock country, don’t be surprised by the twisted, craggy shapes jutting straight out of the earth. Some of the West’s most beautiful scenery surrounds Flagstaff, from the alpine forests of San Francisco Peaks to the rugged deserts of nearby Native American nations. Flagstaff also boasts Lowell Observatory, the Museum of Northern Arizona, the Arizona Snowbowl ski resort, Pioneer Historical Museum, Riordan Mansion, and genuine Route 66 nostalgia. Nearby too, you can discover the fascinating Meteor Crater.Distance: 75 miles
Imagine standing at the edge of a crevasse so huge you cannot see the end and so deep that you could stack up ten 40 story buildings and they would not reach the top. At 277 miles long and 6,000 feet deep, the Grand Canyon, a World Heritage site, is the granddaddy of natural wonders encompassing over 1.2 million acres.While you are enjoying the beauty of the Grand Canyon, you can also enhance your visit with details about its geology, history and natural environment. It’s best to begin with the South Rim Visitor Center and Canyon View Information Center. Outdoor exhibits provide good information about the park and what to do when you arrive. Other visitor centers accessible from the South Rim include the Yavapai Observation Station, with spectacular views of the Grand Canyon, the Desert View Information Center, and the Tusayan Museum, on Desert View Drive. A visit to the museum provides a glimpse of Pueblo Indian life near the Grand Canyon some 800 years ago. The Kolb Studio, located in the Grand Canyon Village Historic District, was the home of the pioneering Kolb brothers who first photographed the Canyon. Verkamp’s Visitor Center has been recently established in another of the canyon’s historic buildings to illustrate the experiences of the people who pioneered settlement in the region and what it was like to work and live on the brink of one of the seven natural wonders of the world.
Distance: 349 miles
Today you’re headed for the lowest elevation in the United States, at 282 feet below sea level. Death Valley may sound forbidding and gloomy, yet in reality it is a montage of colourful badlands, snow-covered peaks, beautiful sand dunes and rugged canyons. More than 1,000 kinds of plants live within the Park and in true desert style, once the sun sets and the temperature falls, the vast empty landscape teems with the comings and goings of innumerable small animals.Optional stopover in Las Vegas is available en route to Death Valley - call Bon Voyage for details.
Distance: 320 miles
Designated a World Heritage Site in 1984, massive 1,200-square-mile Yosemite National Park is internationally recognised for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, thousands of lakes, 1,600 miles of clear streams, giant sequoia groves, 800 miles of hiking trails, and 350 miles of roads.You’ll want to start your visit in Yosemite Valley, which is the centre of most visitor activity. The Merced River flows across the Valley's flat floor at an elevation 4,000 feet above sea level. The Valley is surrounded by steep, almost vertical, granite cliffs, including the unmistakeable El Capitan monolith, Glacier Point, and Half Dome. Major waterfalls tumble into the Valley, the most prominent of which are Yosemite, Bridalveil, and, less easily seen from below, Vernal, Nevada, and Silhouette. These locations are all reached from the El Portal entrance of Yosemite.
The Tioga Road/Big Oak Flat Road National Scenic Byway, which is also California 120, begins at the Big Oak Flat Entrance to the park and continues across Yosemite to the Tioga Pass. From a scenery standpoint it doesn’t get much better than this.
Mariposa Grove, the most famous grove of giant redwoods in the park, is accessible from the South Entrance of the park near Wawona. Two smaller groves, Tuolumne and Merced are near Crane Flat. All of these areas are worth taking the time to visit.
Distance: 196 miles
Plan to get out and experience San Francisco, walk on the beach, ride a cable car, run through Golden Gate Park, stroll on Fisherman’s Wharf, eat at interesting restaurants and explore narrow winding streets. Incredible views await at the top of Nob Hill.To familiarise yourself with the heart of San Francisco, you may want to explore the Barbary Coast Trail, a 3.8 mile stroll (or drive) following bronze medallions set in the sidewalks that connect 20 of the city’s most important locations. To maximise your time, consider a San Francisco Go Card, which includes a Golden Gate Bay Cruise, Gray Line Trolley Tour around the city, a cable car ride, the Exploratorium, Six Flags Theme Park, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco Botanical Garden, the Aquarium of the Bay, National Liberty Ship, Conservatory of Flowers, wine tasting in Napa Valley and more.
One of our favourite attractions in 'Frisco is the mind blowing California Academy Of Sciences.
Distance: 290 miles
Most of the day will be spent making your way along the official scenic byway portions of the Pacific Coast Highway. Plan to savour the trip. You’ll marvel at the rocky windswept cliffs as the land falls off directly into the water. It’s scenery at its best and hard to describe in words. There are several California State Parks along the way, including Julia Pfeiffer State Park, the Andrew Molera State Park and the Point Sur State Historic Park. There are also several beaches along the Big Sur. The southern end of the road is the San Luis Obispo North Coast Byway. It’s only an hour from the Big Sur to San Simeon and another hour up to Pismo Beach. Some consider this the most scenic road in America. One of the must see stops along the highway is the Hearst Castle, officially the San Simeon National Historic State Park. This is where William Randolph Hurst built his 158 room camp. Make time to stop in Monterey, with its quintessential California coast, and Carmel By The Sea, one of the best, if not the best art town in America.Distance: 109 miles
Your next stop along the scenic California coast is the unique town of Solvang. Settled in 1911 by a group of Danish educators (the flat rolling hills reminded them of home) this charming town is full of half timber buildings and windmills. You'll love exploring this town and its eclectic shops, check out the excellent bakeries with delicious pastries, take a horse drawn carriage ride or visit one of the many wine-tasting rooms.Call the travel experts at Bon Voyage to discuss your perfect California and Arizona Small and Friendly Hotels holiday.
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