California Cultural Tours &amp; Trips

none

4.7/5 Excellent

Group Tour

Lodging level

Premium - 4 star

Physical level

Very Easy

Trip pace

Balanced schedule

Visits

California, Los Angeles

Highlights

Los angeles: Sightseeing; visit the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library; New Year’s Eve Dinner & Dance Gala; grandstand seats for the Tournament of Roses Parade; Official Parade Program; post-parade float viewing; farewell dinner on board the RMS Queen Mary
Go behind the scenes in Pasadena to experience the Rose Parade, America's most famous New Year's celebration
Ring in the New Year with a festive dinner and dance gala complete with hats, live music, party favors, and champagne

Themes

50 plus, Cultural

What travelers are saying

"This tour has amazing sites, good hotels in great locations, great pace BUT the tour director that was assigned to be with our small group added nothing to the experience. He did not give us any info, tell us about what we were seeing, give us any info at all. The only time he talked was to tell us when the next bathroom break would be. Apparently this is common for Globus to use retirees starting another chapter. Our guide was 76 and had no energy. Travel with Gate 1 or Intreped.... guides can make or break a tour."

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5 days From$2,499

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California Classics

none

4.7/5 Excellent

Group Tour

Lodging level

Premium - 4 star

Physical level

Very Easy

Trip pace

Balanced schedule

Visits

California, Lake Tahoe, Los Angeles, Napa, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Yosemite National Park

Highlights

San francisco: Sightseeing; Japanese Tea Garden
Napa valley: Tour and tasting at a winery
Yosemite national park: Yosemite Valley floor tram tour
Carmel: Visit the resort town
Monterey: 17-Mile Drive; behind-the-scenes tour at the Monterey Bay Aquarium

Themes

50 plus, Cultural

What travelers are saying

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10 days From$3,959

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Tournament of Roses with San Diego

none

4.7/5 Excellent

Group Tour

Lodging level

Standard - 3 star

Physical level

Very Easy

Trip pace

Balanced schedule

Visits

California, Los Angeles

Highlights

Los angeles : Sightseeing; visit the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library; New Year’s Eve Dinner & Dance Gala; grandstand seats for the Tournament of Roses Parade; Official Parade Program; post-parade float viewing; farewell dinner on board the RMS Queen MaryLOS ANGELES–SAN DIEGO
Go behind the scenes in Los Angeles to experience the Tournament of Roses, America's most famous New Year's celebration
Ring in the New Year with a festive dinner and dance gala complete with hats, live music, party favors, and champagne

Themes

50 plus, Cultural

What travelers are saying

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8 days From$3,189

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Pacific Coast Adventure

none

4.7/5 Excellent

Small Group Tour

Lodging level

Premium - 4 star

Physical level

Very Easy

Trip pace

Balanced schedule

Visits

California, Florence, Pacific Ocean, Portland, San Francisco, Washington

Highlights

Seattle : Sightseeing; visit Boeing’s Future of Flight Aviation CenterELBE
Portland: Sightseeing; visit the International Rose Test Gardens
Multnomah falls: SightseeingNEWPORT
Florence: Explore the sand dunes on a dune buggy ride
Gold beach : Rogue River jetboat ride

Themes

50 plus, Cultural

What travelers are saying

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9 days From$3,419

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11 Day Pacific Northwest with Columbia River Gorge & Seattle

By Gate 1 Travel

none

3.7/5 Great

Group Tour

Lodging level

Premium - 4 star

Physical level

Moderate

Trip pace

Balanced schedule

Visits

Portland, San Francisco

Highlights

Visit Seattle's iconic Space Needle, Chihuly Garden and the lively Pike Place Market At Mount St. Helens, view exhibits focusing on the history and geology of the area View the Columbia River Gorge, a twisting river canyon cutting through the Cascade Mountains Enjoy a wine tasting in the lush vineyards of Oregon's Willamette Valley Ride a dune buggy through the wild and untamed dunes of Oregon Dunes Recreation Park Visit Crater Lake, one of the crown jewels of the country with its pristine crystal-blue waters Explore monumental Redwood National Park, home to some of the tallest trees in the world Drive on the majestic "Avenue of the Giants" with its endless vistas of ancient redwoods Cross the legendary Golden Gate Bridge to San Francisco, the stunning "City by the Bay"

Themes

50 plus, Cultural

What travelers are saying

"We have loved Gate 1 and always sing their praises. We've been on 7 tours with another one booked for fall. We were supposed to leave for Ecuador this week, however the country is in a 60 day state of emergency with the escape of 2 infamous gang members. Tourists are advised to stay indoors and there is a daily curfew from 11pm-5am. (our flight was to land at 11:15pm). Our trip included stays in 2 of the main cities of unrest. There have been shootings, car bombings, hostage taking, closing of embassies, and other countries issuing do not travel warnings. Other tour companies have cancelled tours or offered refunds or rescheduling. Travel insurance does not cover wars or civil unrest, but we are clearly afraid to go there. Both we and our travel agent have reached out multiple times with our concerns and asked if we could reschedule or get some sort of credit. We continue to get the same reply either in person or via email...Gate 1 has your safety as our highest priority and we feel you are safe ("they are not targeting tourists") and your itinerary should not be impacted. What? Their highest priority is $ and not our safety. There is no way that's the tour we anticipated. We cancelled the trip and took a 90% penalty, loss of deposit, and $276 airline penalty. It's a LOT of money, but we would have been terrified, and it's not worth getting hurt or worse. Sorry, but it's not the company I want to do business with in the future."

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11 days From$3,609

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9 Day Pacific Northwest with Columbia River Gorge

By Gate 1 Travel

none

3.7/5 Great

Group Tour

Lodging level

Premium - 4 star

Physical level

Moderate

Trip pace

Balanced schedule

Visits

Portland, San Francisco

Highlights

View the Columbia River Gorge, a twisting river canyon cutting through the Cascade Mountains
Enjoy a wine tasting in the lush vineyards of Oregon's Willamette Valley
Ride a dune buggy through the wild and untamed dunes of Oregon Dunes Recreation Park
Visit Crater Lake, one of the crown jewels of the country with its pristine crystal-blue waters
Explore monumental Redwood National Park, home to some of the tallest trees in the world

Themes

50 plus, Cultural

What travelers are saying

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9 days From$2,799

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Grand Tour of California: San Francisco to Los Angeles

By Go Ahead Tours

none

4.9/5 Excellent

Group Tour

Lodging level

Standard - 3 star

Physical level

Easy

Trip pace

Balanced schedule

Visits

California, Golden Gate Bridge, Los Angeles, Monterey Peninsula, San Francisco

Highlights

The Golden Gate Bridge, an engineering marvel
Half Dome and El Capitan, icons of the Yosemite Valley
The world-famous Monterey Bay Aquarium
Stunning scenery in Big Sur and the glamorous Hearst Castle
Spanish history in Santa Barbara

Themes

Culinary & Wine, Cultural, National Parks, Nature & Wildlife, Religious

What travelers are saying

"I made a reservation last Thursday (11/16/2023) for a trip to Iceland from 12/02/2023-12/07/2023 and then I was told that I can’t have my refund back. When I called on last Thursday (11/16/2023) to place my reservation, the agent (Kathy) I talked to stressed about she "cannot" guarantee that I will be able to go on the trip. Before I provided the payment information, I specifically asked if I will be able to get the refund because the trip is coming up so soon. The agent ensured that I will be able to get a full refund back within 60 days if I decided to cancel the trip. I was also told that I am basically on a wait list and someone will contact me once I can go on the trip. No one contacted me about whether the agency was able to process my information at all, so I've been left in the dark about this trip since the beginning. I called the help line this morning (11/20/2023) around 9:00 Eastern Standard Time to cancel my reservation. I was informed by the agent that I will not be able to get my full refund back since it's too close to the trip date. Basically I was told that Kathy gave me the wrong information, so I will have to pay the cancellation fee. The only reason I provided my payment information is because Kathy specifically stated that I will be able to cancel the trip and receive a full refund. I've never been so frustrated with a traveling agency. I made sure to ask this agent regarding the refund policy twice before giving her my payment information, and she still couldn't provide me with the correct information. It's unbelievable that such a big traveling agency cannot uniformly train their employees with the correct set of information."

By MT Sobek (Mountain Travel Sobek)

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10 days

Inquire

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Death Valley National Park Quick Escape

none

4.8/5 Excellent

64 reviews

Small Group Tour

Lodging level

Premium - 4 star

Physical level

Easy

Trip pace

Balanced schedule

Visits

California, Death Valley, Las Vegas

Highlights

Hike through Golden Canyon’s narrows to the phenomenal Zabriskie Point
Visit the lowest point in the U.S. at Badwater and explore the salt flats
Journey up Mosaic Canyon, a multi-hued display of Death Valley’s rock layers

Themes

Cultural, Hiking & Walking, National Parks, Nature & Wildlife

What travelers are saying

"First, let me say our tour guide Tomomi S. is hands down THE best tour guide I’ve ever had - knowledgeable, fun and made great efforts to ensure that we were comfortable and happy (MTSobek tour guides are independent contractors. Tomomi also works for other Adventure/Tour companies) Secondly, Japan is beautiful, clean and the Japanese people are very welcoming. The hiking in the national parks was amazing. It could have been a truly five-star experience if MtSobek had not cut corners so egregiously. The website said (at the time) group tours are 5-22 people. The tour gets canceled if the minimum is not met. When I paid there were TWO other people booked-a mother and daughter duo. Shortly before our departure date I called to see if the tour would be cancelled. I wanted my money back but Mt Sobek was “pleased to say that the trip would not be canceled”. In other words, I could not get a refund. At the last minute a guy named Matt signed up so there were four of us. Five days into the trip Matt left and took a train back to Tokyo. I said to him “You realize Mt Sobek is not going to refund you”. He said, “I don’t care, Mt Sobek scammed us.” With tax, the tour costs $11,645 for 13 nights. For that price there is an expectation that the accommodations Mt Sobek chooses would be decent and clean. We all fully expected a ‘traditional Japanese experience’ which often means no private bath and 8 out of the 13 nights we slept on futon mats on the floor. However, Mt Sobek consistently booked us in the cheapest Ryokans (hotels) in each area in which we travelled. Most of these hotels were unclean and very out-dated. One Ryokan they booked us in was listed on a hotel website for $40 USD/night when there were much nicer accommodations nearby for $100 USD/night. (The Japanese yen is way down, the luxury Park Hotel in Tokyo was $200 USD/night. A comparable hotel would have been about $800/night in Austin.). We were the only people staying in several hotels that accomadated many more people. The most egregious example of MtSobek’s booking the cheapest rooms is when we were booked at a large traditional ski lodge at the base of a spectacular mountain. It was beautiful on the website but had two very different wings. One wing was modern, clean and beautiful with simple beds. The other wing was very old (similar to a cheap Motel 6 that had not been updated since the 1970’s). The carpet and bathrooms were disgusting and like many of the Ryocans where we stayed the futon mats seemed as though they had not been cleaned In 30 years. Only after our tour guide checked us in did we realize we had been booked in the cheap rooms. I asked Tomo why. Immediately someone from MtSobek reached out to me and said, “gosh, I’m sorry you did not realize you were going to have a traditional Japanese experience”. Really? “Traditional” experience depends upon one’s budget. In the US, “traditional” to some people may be the Marriott, a Motel 6 or the Four Seasons Hotels. We were paying for a Marriott experience and received the one-star Motel 6 experience. Upon arrival in Tokyo I expected to be met at the airport by a driver (as many tour companies do). However, several days before our arrival dates in Tokyo, MtSobek sent an email telling us how to locate taking a city bus from the bustling Tokyo airport. That is interesting if you do not speak Japanese. MtSobek cleverly uses great photography and elaborate descriptions of the national parks and the hiking while using terms like “traditional Japanese experience with tatami-mat sleeping” to disguise sub-standard accommodations. At one point we were looking on-line at the very hotel where we were staying and did not even recognize it from the website pictures. The hiking was amazing. The group size was disappointing with just the three of us. I would absolutely recommend a hiking tour through Japan, just not with MtSobek."

Best California Luxury Tours

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4 days From$1,999

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California Reviews & Ratings

4.7/5 Excellent

242 Reviews

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Excellent

159

Great

Average

Disappointing

Terrible

Lesley

Oct 2015

Written on

I enjoy intrepid but the style of

I enjoy intrepid but the style of travel doesn't suit everyone.

Carol

Oct 2015

Written on

Good size group, great tour leader (on

Good size group, great tour leader (on this occasion), pretty good value for money on the whole.

alexandra

Sep 2015

Written on

good balance of guidance and free time

Rodney

Sep 2015

Written on

Inexperienced leadership resulting in some wasted time.

Inexperienced leadership resulting in some wasted time. Too much time traveling in buses and small vans. Our leader was not confident in communicating information to...

Ric

Sep 2015

Written on

Very knowledgeable, competent, personable guide. Fun and

Very knowledgeable, competent, personable guide. Fun a...