Escorted Tour
California and the Golden West
16 days from £2,799 per person
Summary
One of the longest-running of our original tours, this is still one of our most popular itineraries today. Travelling in a loop around California (and nudging into neighbouring Nevada and Arizona), it includes great cities like Los Angeles, Las Vegas and San Francisco, drives along Route 66 and the Pacific coastal road, and the spectacular scenery of Yosemite National Park. We’ll also spend two nights in Flagstaff: gateway to the awe-inspiring Grand Canyon.
Your holiday includes:
12 excursions and visits
- Tours of Hollywood, San Diego and San Francisco (including Golden Gate Bridge)
- Visits to the artist colony of Sedona; Hoover Dam; and the Old Silver Mining Town of Calico
- Entrance to Grand Canyon and Yosemite national parks
- Williams Depot and shoot-out re-enactment
- 17 Mile Drive
- Stops at Carmel and Monterey
- Santa Barbara
Plus:
- 14 nights in hotels and 1 in flight (accommodation as specified or similar)
- International flights. Prices are based on return flights with Virgin Atlantic from London Heathrow. Supplements may apply from other airports
Plus
- Titan’s VIP door-to-door travel service
- Titan tour manager
- Travel in destination by coach (with Wi-Fi)
- Porterage
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UK - Los Angeles/Redondo Beach
Titan’s VIP door-to-door travel service collects you from home for your flight to Los Angeles. We’ll stay in Los Angeles (2020) or Redondo Beach (2021).
Hyatt Regency LAX (4-star) or Crowne Plaza Redondo Beach and Marina (4-star)
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Los Angeles - San Diego
We’ll stick to the coast for our first couple of days, starting in LA before winding our way south to San Diego. Guided tours will introduce us to some of both cities’ highlights - Hollywood, Sunset Boulevard, TCL Chinese Theatre (to see those all-important handprints), Balboa Park - and there’ll be plenty of time for you to relax and enjoy these seaside cities at your own pace.
Sheraton Hotel and Marina (4-star) or Hilton San Diego Harbor Island Hotel (4-star), San Diego
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San Diego - Scottsdale
The desert scenery of Arizona is a complete contrast to the Californian coast - but just as beautiful. En route to Flagstaff, we’ll stop off at Oak Creek Canyon, a 16-mile river gorge. Take in the scenery (think pine forests, burnt-orange sandstone formations and dramatic buttes) and spend time in the artists’ colony of Sedona.
Hilton Garden Inn, Scottsdale (3-star)
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Scottsdale - Sedona - Oak Creek Canyon - Flagstaff
We travel to the charming artist colony of Sedona and breathtaking Oak Creek Canyon en route to Flagstaff. We spend two nights at the superb Little America Hotel (4T), allowing us plenty of time to explore the area and experience the Grand Canyon.
Little America Hotel, Flagstaff (4-star)
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Grand Canyon
Nothing can quite prepare you for your first sight of the Grand Canyon. This colossal geographical wonder is 277 miles long, 18 miles wide and one mile deep. Peer down and you’ll spot the silvery Colorado River flowing far below.
Get your adrenaline pumping and take to the skies on an optional helicopter ride over the canyon, or pull up a rock and ponder the incredible view. However you choose to view it, this inspiring sight is sure to inspire the creative photographer in you so be sure to charge your camera ahead of our visit today.
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Flagstaff - Williams - Las Vegas
Sin City. The Entertainment Capital of the World. City of Lights. Las Vegas is all of the above and more. After stopping off for a Wild West shootout at Williams, we arrive at this oasis of indulgence in the heart of the Mojave Desert. The city might seem a little overwhelming at first, but you don’t need to be a high roller or slots wizard to have fun here. Stop for a show (you’ll have plenty of choice!), visit the Fremont Street - the ‘original’ Las Vegas - or walk along The Strip to soak up the weird and wonderful sights.
You’ll have the chance to visit Hoover Dam on a short morning excursion - a spectacular engineering achievement built in the 1930s.Tropicana (4-star) or Bally’s Las Vegas Hotel (4-star)
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Las Vegas - Calico - Visalia
We cross the Mojave Desert en route to Calico, a once-thriving centre of silver mining, now an enjoyable reminder of the days when cowboys roamed its streets. We pause in Visalia for the night.
Wyndham Visalia (3-star) or Marriott Visalia (3-star)
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Visalia - Yosemite National Park - Modesto
Yosemite is the headliner of all America’s national parks - and we’ll spend the day exploring some of its best bits. This natural sanctuary is a real feast for the eyes and for the soul. Take a deep gulp of fresh air, gaze up at the craggy mountain views and walk by postcard-pretty lakes and verdant forests.
We’ll stop to pose for a photo in front of El Capitan - an immense vertical rock formation and an icon of American wilderness. Waterfalls and streams, lakes and rivers, valleys and meadows - Yosemite is endlessly photogenic. After getting our fill of this natural wonder, we’ll continue west to Modesto.DoubleTree Modesto (3.5 Star)
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Modesto - San Francisco
We’ll enjoy two nights in the ‘City by the Bay’, with a full day at leisure. On a guided tour, you’ll have the chance to sample delicious street food in China Town, wander through Union Square and admire the city skyline as you cross the famed Golden Gate Bridge.
With a full day to spend as you please, you might join a pre-bookable trip to notorious Alcatraz, or walk around the quaint district of Haight-Ashbury (the heart of America’s ‘counterculture’ in the 1960s), so beloved of hippies, artists, writers and musicians.Holiday Inn Golden Gateway (4-star) or Parc 55 (4-star), San Francisco
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San Francisco - Monterey - 17 Mile Drive - Carmel - Cambria
Today we’ll make the epic drive from the old Spanish and Mexican capital of upper California, Monterey, to Cambria - a route which takes us along one of the loveliest roads in the world. 17 Mile Drive wiggles along the coastline of the Monterey peninsula, passing pebbled bays, craggy coves and cypress forests.
We’ll stop for lunch in delightful Carmel, before continuing along the curving Big Sur coastline (the inspiration behind Jack Kerouac’s autobiographical novel).Cambria Pines Lodge (3.5-star)
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Cambria - Santa Barbara - Long Beach/Redondo Beach
Santa Barbara - a town of natural beauty favoured by artists - is a ‘really great place’ (as the locals will proudly tell you). The pretty harbour promenade and palm-fringed streets are the perfect setting for a stop en route to Long Beach (2020) or Redondo Beach (2021) for our final night.
Hotel Maya DoubleTree by Hilton, Long Beach (4-star) (2020) or Crowne Plaza Redondo Beach and Marina (4-star) (2021)
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Day 15 Long Beach/Redondo Beach - Los Angeles - In flight
We travel on to the airport for your return flight to the UK.
In flight
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Day 16 UK
Arrival at London Heathrow Airport where you will be met and guided to your Titan vehicle, for the journey home.
Arrive Home
Reviews
Important information about your destination
Visa is not included, please call for details Please note: • On day 13, it is not always possible for us to be informed of 17 Mile Drive closures as it is a private road. We do expect that the 17 Mile Drive may be inaccessible for some departures in September, however if this is the case alternative arrangements will be made. • 15 April 2020 departure stays at Embassy Suites by Hilton Phoenix - Scottsdale (3.5*) on day 4, with breakfast included.Climate
Optional Excursions
Meal Experience
This tour includes an enhanced meal service available on Virgin Atlantic flights in economy.
- Welcome Cocktails
- Your meal is served in two courses giving you a chance to enjoy both your entree and main dishes at leisure.
- With your dessert you have the choice of tea, coffee or on night flights, hot chocolate.
- As you settle down to watch one of Virgin Atlantic's selection of latest blockbusters, the cabin crew will bring around a tray of ice cream to give you that overall cinematic feel.
- On short flights a deli box will be served with either a traditional English High Tea or an energising breakfast, depending on the time of day.
Extension
When it comes to customising your Titan holiday, the sky’s the limit. Your escorted tour only needs to be part of your overall trip experience, and there are virtually limitless ways in which you can tailor-make your tour to USA so that it’s perfect for you.
For advice and to book, please call our expert travel advisers on 0800 988 5823.
