California | San Francisco

8 DAYS/7 NIGHTS

Begins and ends in San Francisco

Departures
June, July, August, September and October

Your Tauck Itinerary includes:
• Roundtrip schedule flights
• Accommodation for 7 nights as specified
• 7 breakfasts, 5 lunches and 5 dinners
• Air-conditioned motorcoach transportation
• Services of a Tauck Tour Director

DAY 1 ARRIVE SAN FRANCISCO

Depart the UK on your chosen scheduled flight to San Francisco. Upon arrival, transfer to your hotel The Westin St Francisc, the elegant “Grand Dame” of Union Square, close to the city’s main attractions – with a cable car stop at the front door. Join us this evening for a welcome cocktail reception and dinner..
Hotel: The Westin St Francis
Dinner included

DAY 2 MUIR WOODS AND THE PRESIDIO

This morning, a short drive from the city finds you under the green canopy of Muir Woods, a coastal redwood forest preserved as a national monument. These towering ancient trees, some 20 stories high, are among the last remnants of a fog-shrouded primeval forest winding walkways takes you through a shaded, misty world of slanted cathedral light, dense flora, and tranquil running streams – a place to feel the awesome power (and silence) of some of the tallest living things on the planet. Collect your thoughts on the return trip to the city, stopping at the Presidio, a former Army base, now a national park. Lunch at the Presidio Social Club, in a setting rich with history; the restaurant was once a barracks for soldiers returning from the Spanish American War. The base was also home to the “Buffalo Soldiers”, the African-American cavalry troops who earned their fighting reputation in the Indian Wars. Take a guided tour of the point with gorgeous views of the Bay and Golden Gate Bridge. From here, it’s a short ride to the Embarcadero and the city’s iconic Ferry Terminal Building, where an array of gourmet cafes, artisan food stands and wine bars awaits you – a local expert guides you on a “tasting tour” of its finest epicurean features. The rest of the day is yours; return to the hotel, or explore the city on your own – you’ve had a taste of all it has to offer and now it’s time to explore..
Hotel: The Westin St Francis
Breakfast and lunch included

DAY 3 CENTRAL VALLEY / SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK

Before there was a National Park Service, the job of policing and protecting the national parks belonged to the U.S. Army. At Sequoia and Yosemite, the parks’ guardians were the Buffalo Soldiers, who rode out every spring from the Presidio, crossing 300 miles on horseback to the Sierra Nevada mountains. Board a train this morning for a rail journey to Fresno that first follows wetlands, then nearly follows the Buffalo Soldiers’ route across the agricultural rich Central Valley. At Fresno’s vintage train depot, board a motor coach for the 7,000 foot climb to Sequoia National Park; your destination is remote Wuksachi Lodge on the park grounds. Tonight, hear Bill Tweed (retired Chief Naturalist for the National Park Service) tell the story of how John Muir found and documented this area, which he named the “Giant Forest”, in 1875.
Hotel: Wuksachi Lodge
Breakfast, lunch and dinner included

DAY 4 LAND OF GIANTS AND MORO ROCK

Walk the Big Trees Trail, among ancient Giant Sequoias soaring to the height of skyscrapers. Wander among living monuments to American heroes, like the General Sherman Tree, estimated to be over 2,500 years old (and still growing), the Robert E. Lee, and the Booker T. Washington. Lunch at a private barbecue at Wolverton Meadow, where a living-history re-enactor tells stories of mountain life in the late 1800s. Travels inside Sequoia National Park are via small 10-passenger vehicles, accompanied by a guide; climb the 400 steps to the top of Moro Rock for stunning views of the park and the peaks of the Great Western Divide. The rest of the day is yours to explore at your own pace. Tonight at the lodge, immerse yourself in the hidden wonders of a night sky you didn’t know existed; a naturalist guides you through the spectacular constellations that fill the skies over the park, far away from the ground lights of towns and cities.
Hotel: Wuksachi Lodge
Breakfast, lunch and dinner included

DAY 5 KINGS CANYON & YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK

The overlook at Kings Canyon offers a vista that will leave you breathless: deeper that the Grand Canyon, the glacier-carved granite cliffs plunge 8,000 feet to a wild river winding through an alpine landscape. Continue on to Fresno and the south entrance to Yosemite National Park. View a film by Ken Burns to preserve it for future generations. Later, have lunch in the elegant dining room of Wawona Lodge, an inn that was once a stagecoach stop. Only steps away is the Pioneer Yosemite History Center, a collection of buildings from different eras of the park’s history, including a blacksmith shop, jail homestead house, and an army superintendant’s office. Here you’ll meet a “Buffalo Solider”, portrayed by Park Ranger Shelton Johnson, (featured in the Ken Burns documentary The Nationsl Parks. America’s Best Ida), who tells the story of how his regunebt blazed trails, built roads and mapped the wilderness to enable management of the parklands. Visit Glacier Point for stirring view of the Valley, overlooking Half Dome and a panorama of glacier-clad peaks; or this spot in 1903, John Muir stood with Teddy Rosoevelt during a private tour of the area that persuaded the President that Yosemite should be under federal protection as a national park. This evening, settle into your room at The Ahwhanee, a historic masterpiece of stone, timber and soaring stained glass windows in the heart of Yosemite. Dine at your leisure, then join us for coffee and cordials with John Muir himself (portrayed by actor Lee Stetson, who appeared in The National Parks: America’s Best Idea>, who shares stories of his life and philosophy
Hotel: The Ahwahnee
Breakfast, lunch and dinner included

DAY 6 YOSEMITE: “Nature’s Grandest Temple”

Yosemite “is the grandest of all the special temples of Nature I was ever permitted to enterm “ wrote Muir, who regarded such settings of awesome natural beauty as sacred places with restorative powers, “where the galling harness of civilization drops off and wounds heal, ere we are aware.” Discover Yosemite’s power to move your spirit on a guided tour in a special open-air vehicle, with opportunities to explore on foot. The afternoon is yours to enjoy the park at your own pace. Optional activities are rides, a hike over the footbridge at Vernal Falls, and a visit to the Yosemite Indian Cultural Museum and Village. Once area you may want to visit is Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, once a glacial valley that government allowed its river to dammed, turning the valley continues, joined by Sierra Club (which Muir founded) to remove the dam and restore the valley to its original state. “Mountain parks”, Muir agrued, “are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life…” an idea that remains controversial to this day.
Hotel: The Ahwahnee
Breakfast included

DAY 7 RETURN TO SAN FRANCISCO

Depart Yosemite for the return trip to San Francisco, driving across the populous Central Valley with stops in Mariposa and Manteca and lunch at a bistro in Merced. Filmed narratives by Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan weave together the past seven days of history and nature, with insights you wont get anyway else. Arrive late afternoon at The Fairmont San Francisco, a Beaux Arts-style, premier hotel on Nob Hill – it’s listed on the National Restistry of Historic Places. Join us tonight for a farewell cocktail reception and dinner; the setting may be a long way from the Sierra Nevada, but Yosemite can never be left behind (and may be as close as your glass of tap water…)
Hotel: The Fairmont San Francisco
Breakfast, lunch and dinner included

DAY 8 JOURNEY HOME

Spend your final morning in San Francisco, perhaps shopping for souvenirs before taking your transfer back to the airport for your flight back to the UK.
Breakfast included

2012 PRICES

From £3764 per person based on twin occupancy of standard rooms in low season. Other prices available on request.