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California Coast Food and Wine Trail end San Luis Obispo
Overview
Highlights (Bullets)
- Discover San Jose with a downtown city orientation seeing sights like Plaza de Cesar Chavez, Circle of Palms Plaza, and San Jose Museum of Art
- See Big Basin Redwoods, Natural Bridges State Beach
- View Lone Cypress, Bixby Bridge, and the scenic 17-mile drive through Pacific Grove on the Monterey Peninsula
- Visit Pebble Beach Golf Links
- Connect With Locals
- Connect With Locals
- Dive Into Culture
- MAKE TRAVEL MATTER®
- Be My Guest
- MAKE TRAVEL MATTER®
Short Description
On this ultimate California tour with maximum 17 travelers, you’ll savor the incredible gifts of the irresistible Pacific coastline from exquisite views to tastebud-tempting food and wine. Be spellbound by the beauty of Big Sur and discover cozy coastal communities and little-known gourmet producers along the way, traveling in style in a Mercedes-Benz® sprinter vehicle. This small-group tour is one nature lovers and foodies will adore.
Itinerary
Day 1: Welcome to San Jose
Welcome to San Jose! You’ll begin your small group tour – California Coast Food & Wine Trail, at this center of innovation and affluence. It may be the Capital of the Silicon Valley and home to a range of Fortune 500 companies, but it’s also the start of your unforgettable gastronomic California tour along the stunning coast. There’s no better way to kick start your flavor-filled journey than a Welcome Reception to get to know your Travel Director and fellow travel companions.
Day 2: Explore San Jose and surrounds
Gain a true sense of what it’s like to live in Silicon Valley when you embark on a downtown walking tour where you’ll get to view all the highlights of this innovative city, from the Plaza de Cesar Chávez and Circle of Palms Plaza to the San Jose Museum of Art and St. James Park. A visit to San Jose would not be complete without gaining a deep understanding of what drives this major technological hub and you’ll enjoy a self-guided visit to The Tech Museum of Innovation, a science and technology center where you’ll have an opportunity to get hands-on and learn about everything from social robots to cyber detectives. Leave Silicon Valley behind and arrive at Harley Farms, a 1910 dairy farm across nine acres of pasture in Pescadero and home to 200 goats. On this MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience, you’ll walk alongside the milking herd, past Anatolian shepherds, donkeys and British White cattle, learning why the locally made chevre, fromage blanc, ricotta and feta consistently win awards for their taste and quality. It’s the perfect place for a picnic lunch and you’ll leave with a deep appreciation for where your food comes from before heading to our lofty next stop, Big Basin Redwoods State Park. Immerse yourself amongst giants as you embark on a self-guided walk through California’s oldest state park, admiring its largest trees – some as tall as the Statue of Liberty. You’ll feel tiny in comparison to these ancient coast redwoods and discover how this redwood forest has evolved over the centuries. The next stop is Santa Cruz, where you’ll have the evening to explore the city on your terms.
Day 3: Discover the sights of Santa Cruz
Slow it right down in Santa Cruz, a surfer’s paradise and haven for beach lovers. Natural Bridges State Beach is where you’ll begin your self-guided walk and you’ll admire all its highlights, stopping at its tide pools to see the little creatures swimming in its salty waters and admiring the incredible rock formations that jut out into the ocean. Gaze across the waves in search of the migrating whales, seals and otters which find sanctuary in this stunning marine environment fringed by coastal scrub and grasslands dotted with pretty wildflowers in the spring. Your lungs filled with fresh sea air you’ll head back to Santa Cruz Wharf for lunch on your own. Stroll down the longest wooden pier in the United States with a warm cup of clam chowder, keeping your eyes peeled for seals, sea lions and perhaps dolphins that frequent Monterey Bay. The sounds and smell of the ocean will linger long after you’ve returned to Santa Cruz, but tonight is all about reminiscing about your California tour thus far, so join your travel companions for a delicious dinner with wine to end the perfect day.
Day 4: Admire Big Sur and the highlights of 17-Mile Drive
You’ll want to remember every irresistible inch of today’s drive along the Monterey Peninsula, committing to memory all the highlights of Big Sur and one of the world’s most scenic journeys – 17-Mile Drive. Skirting the blue waters of the Pacific, you’ll make a stop at Pebble Beach Golf Links, one of the top courses in the country. An iconic championship venue, Pebble Beach Golf Links justifiably earns its rank as the top public golf course in the country, and you’ll learn how it has hosted more U.S. Opens than any other course in the past five decades. Dramatic cliffs, pristine beaches and lush forests line this part of your California tour and you’ll immerse yourself in the beauty of your surrounds, stopping for photos at the Lone Cypress, arguably the most iconic symbol of 17-Mile Drive. On your next stop at Carmel-By-The Sea, you’ll gain a deep appreciation of what it must be like to live in this rich artistic small beach city on California’s Monterey Peninsula. You’ll have some time for lunch and a stroll past its fairy-tale cottages and galleries before settling in for the highlight of the day and your epic drive along the Pacific Coast Highway through Big Sur. You won’t be able to tear your eyes away from the dramatic coastline you’ve only seen in movies as you snake along Highway 1. This is what dreams are made of and you’ll pass such highlights as Bixby Bridge as you skirt deep Pacific blue on one side and lush green hilly landscapes on the other towards tonight’s overnight stay in San Luis Obispo with the Pacific on one side and towering cliffs on the other.
Day 5: Oyster cruising in Morro Bay
We begin today with a leisurely walk of the Montaña De Oro State Park taking in beautiful views of the park’s tide pools, beaches, rock islands and natural beaches. It’s the perfect start to an unforgettable day in Morro Bay where you’ll Connect With Locals after lunch on your own and board a coastal cruise learning about the local marine life as you watch sea otters feast on shellfish and hear stories about what it’s like to live and work here from the boat captain. Back on land, your seafood journey continues, as you Dive Into Culture and enjoy a tasting of the local catch of Pacific Gold Oysters from Morro Bay Oyster Company. With your newfound skills, you’ll be able to shuck fresh oysters like a pro and you’ll learn how these cold waters make for the perfect environment for these hardy oysters. SLO CAL is the place to be this evening and you’ll be spoilt for choice when it comes to deciding how to spend your evening and what to eat. Don’t miss the chance to try out some of the area’s delicious wines, or the vibrant craft-brewing, cider and distillery scene.
Day 6: Enjoy the flavors of Paso Robles
Your last day in southern California will be a real treat for foodies - We start with a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience at a local avocado farm where you’ll learn about the region’s agriculture. Your hosts from the local CalPoly will take you on a walking tour of the farm and you’ll leave knowing that your visit has helped to sustain the agricultural educational program which the farm supports. Next, join the mother-daughter duo of Karen and Jennifer Talent at the Groves on 41 Olive Oil Ranch where they host a Be My Guest feast featuring their award-winning olive oil in the different lunch dishes, even the ice cream! For a taste of the good life, we head to Parrish Vineyards. This family run vineyard has its origins in the fascinating story of their grandfather who planted 500 acres of grapes pre-Prohibition. Today, the family manages 150 acres on three estate vineyards and specializes in Bordeaux varieties. You’ll Connect With Locals and meet your host, winemaker and owner David Parrish whose mission it is to create Napa-style Cabs in Paso’s limestone soils. Then it’s back to the city after a day in California wine country to enjoy one final evening with your travel companions at your leisure, no doubt raising a glass to the epic day you’ve had in sunny Southern California.
Day 7: Farewell California
Your California tour of coast, food and wine has come to an end. Depart at leisure from San Luis Obispo Airport.
Availability
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10,946 Trafalgar Travel Reviews & Ratings
California Coast Food and Wine Trail end San Luis Obispo
Company Reviews
Never again
Hope this saves future headaches for fellow travelers.
Back from our trip with Trafalgar…
Our guide for the tour was very knowledgeable on the subject matter but was not responsive to individual requests. Our driver was excellent. On some days we spend a excessive time on the bus or ferries getting from one location to another. Tour description does not fully explain the amount and difficult in walking required for this tour.
Best not to used Trafalgar
On a recent trip to Portugal:
I fell on the second day no report was given to me for my insurance company even when I asked for it. Wellness director was not worth her being on the tour
Optionals were shoved down your throat and if you did not go the travel tour Director made it known to others that you weren’t going. And he made it bad for you on the tour. Optionals very expensive and the local tour guides were mediocre at best
Food was pitiful especially at the locations where they said dinner was included
Solo travelers were made to feel a second class citizens getting bad spots in restaurants and being asked to move so couples can sit together
Never ever recommend Tralfagar to anyone single or a couple or friends
Abandoned with Covid
Trafalgar recently replied to my review on another site, stating that our concerns have been addressed. They haven’t!
Western Frontiers 5/10/22
Let me preface this by stating that this was the fourth time we traveled with Trafalgar but it will most certainly be the last. In 2019 we booked and paid for a trip to Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg for April 2020. Then the pandemic hit and we rescheduled our trip three more times before scheduling something in the states out of concern for quarantine measures. Had our money been refunded we most certainly would not have an issue with using Trafalgar in the future but now we will go elsewhere. After keeping our money for 2 and a half years we chose to go on their Western Frontiers trip. It was certainly not up to the standards that we had come to expect and Trafalgar offered nothing in return for keeping our money for so long. The least they could have done was honor pricing in effect at the time of our payment.
Food
Food was average at best. The “Welcome Reception” was at a decent looking restaurant in Las Vegas but consisted of about a half dozen different vegetarian appetizers, none that was fit to eat. The breakfast buffets each morning had a limited selection usually with scrambled eggs, potatoes, and bacon or sausage but little else.. It wasn’t until our last stay in Rapid City that you could have toast. These were feasts compared to the breakfast at Mountain Modern Motel (see below).
Hotels
The Mountain Modern Motel puts the Hole in Jackson Hole. It appears this motel caters more to skiers and climbers as the room is set up with hooks and areas marked “gear”. Rather than an actual bathroom sink it is equipped with a large kitchen style sink outside the actual bath area in somewhat of a kitchenette area. The floors squeak with every step you take and if you are unlucky enough to be on the first floor you can hear the floor squeak above you with every step they take. Apparently there is some remodeling going on at the motel as the restaurant was closed. As a result our breakfast consisted of an egg, a slice of cheese, and your choice of a slice of ham or sausage on a steamed hamburger bun and coffee. If we had been traveling on our own we would never have chosen to stay there. The remaining hotels were adequate but nothing to write home about.
Stops
The dinner show in Bryce Canyon was good as far as the entertainment was concerned but the dinner left a lot to be desired.
The Buffalo Bill Center in Cody was a waste of three hours. I’m sure that the crew needed time to take care of logistics but when you take a trip of this nature you take it to experience the natural beauty and landscapes of the area you are in, not to spend three hours in a museum. You had the option of walking into town but it was a little bit of a hike and it looked like rain was on the way.
Postponements over and over
Details
Accommodations
- Apple Farm Inn
Additional Information
- All hotel tips, charges and local taxes
- All porterage and restaurant gratuities
- An expert Travel Director and professional Driver
- Audio headsets for flexible sightseeing
- Breakfast daily and up to half of your evening meals
- Cherry-picked hotels, all tried and trusted
- Luxury air-conditioned coach with Wi-Fi in most countries or alternative transportation (such as rail journeys)
- Must-see sightseeing and surprise extras
- Optional Experiences and free time
Trip ID#:
trafalgar-JVFDWSN17
Meals Included
- 1 Welcome Reception
- 1 Be My Guest
- 6 Breakfasts
- 1 Lunch
- 1 Dinner
- 1 Farewell Dinner
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