Riviera Travel California & The Golden West

– Experience the stunning beauty of the Grand Canyon
– Stay two nights in famous Fisherman’s Wharf area of San Francisco

Day 1 – Arrival In Los Angeles

You should arrive at the airport to take your flight to Los Angeles. After our early evening arrival, we transfer to the nearby four-star Hilton Los Angeles Airport Hotel for one night.

Day 2 – Los Angeles

LA, the city of glitz, glamour, the stars and miles of pristine beaches – it’s all here! This morning we see the best it has to offer – the Hollywood Walk of Fame in front of the legendary Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, Sunset Strip and Santa Monica.

Day 3 – San Diego

With over 260 days of sunshine a year, San Diego is the classic Southern California city, set around a sweeping bay and numerous sparkling white sand beaches with its beautifully restored Gaslamp Quarter. After an included morning city tour, you are free to experience San Diego’s numerous attractions.

Day 4 – Mojave Desert

Today we leave the coast driving towards Kingman in Arizona, climbing to 4000 ft passing through the Cleveland National forest, descending towards the wide plains of the Sonoran Desert.  Heading north, we cross the Colorado River through Moabi regional Park into Arizona.

Day 5 – Grand Canyon

We take a drive from Kingman to Seligman, on the longest section of the original and historic route 66, on our way to the Grand Canyon. When you first experience this great chasm, the grandeur is truly overwhelming, almost beyond the grasp of human imagination and one of the few sights in the world that mere words can never, ever describe!

Day 6 – Monument Valley

This morning you have the option of taking a once-in-a-lifetime helicopter flight for the ultimate panoramic view of the Grand Canyon, a truly magical display of natural beauty! As the light gradually grows ever stronger, the crisp shadows rapidly shorten and the greys and blues change to reds, yellows and ochres in a kaleidoscope of intensive colour.

Day 7 – Bryce Canyon

After an early start we arrive at the town of Page just next to the Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River and whose building created the vast Lake Powell. We then cross into the Mormon state of Utah and climb to almost 8,000ft as we arrive at Bryce Canyon National Park.

Day 8 – Zion National Park

This morning we continue to Zion National Park where the scenery is made up of layers of petrified sand dunes, hundreds of feet thick as well as huge sheer cliffs and gorges. Unlike the Grand Canyon and Bryce, we reach the bottom of the main canyon experiencing a completely new perspective.

Day 9 – Las Vegas

Today we have a full day at leisure to explore the self-styled ‘entertainment capital of the world’ which really is everything you expect it to be. It’s an almost surreal apparition growing out of the desert! It’s where the world’s most renowned sights and cities such as Venice, Paris, New York and even the Pyramids have been recreated in such detail. This evening why not take in a show?

Day 10 – the Sierra Nevada

Today we leave Las Vegas driving through the barren Mojave Desert. Our route skirts the famous Edwards Air Force base, before climbing even higher through the mountains of the Sierra Nevada. On reaching the peak, literally from one minute to the next the climate changes from the burning heat of the desert to temperate grasslands and forest as we cross the Tehachapi Pass and travel through the vast fertile plains of the San Joaquin Valley.

Day 11 – Yosemite Valley

This morning we enter the park and drive through incredible scenery to Yosemite Valley itself where we are confronted by one of the most staggering views in the USA: a deep, lushly forested valley encircled by the steely grey vastness of sheer granite cliffs and domes rising by over 4,000ft on all sides, bisected by some of the highest waterfalls in North America.

Day 12 – San Francisco

We travel to San Francisco this morning and stay at the four-star Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf Hotel for two nights. For many, San Francisco will be one of the highlights of the tour. From its beginnings as a 19th century mining boomtown to the sophisticated metropolis you see today, it is simply one of the most beautiful and fascinating cities in the world.

Day 13 – Free Day In San Francisco

Our final full day and there’s still so much to do! Perhaps take a stroll down to the renovated Ferry Plaza Building on the waterfront, converted into a huge alfresco Farmers’ Market every Saturday. Try the once predominantly Italian North Beach, still home to innumerable bistros, delis and bakeries, which during the 50’s attracted the bohemian writers and avant-garde artists of the Beatnik movement.

Day 14 – Return Flight

Our flights depart in the late afternoon, so why not use your final morning for some last minute shopping – Macy’s department store is always popular and is centrally located on nearby Union Square.

Day 15 – Arrive Home

We arrive back in the UK after a very special tour, the memories of which will last a lifetime.

Four Points by Sheraton, Los Angeles

Located in Culver City, just three and a half miles from the airport, this is the ideal base to relax after a long flight. The hotel features a lobby bar and restaurant, outdoor heated pool and a fitness centre.

Best Western Plus Bayside Inn, San Diego

The Best Western Bayside Inn is in downtown San Diego.The hotel is a 10-minute stroll, from the Bay and the famous Maritime Museum. The city’s Little Italy quarter starts just opposite the hotel and is full of plenty of interesting places to eat.

King’s Inn & Suites, Kingman

This hotel is located in Kingman, Arizona on the historic Route 66.

Ruby’s Inn, Bryce Canyon

The Best Western Ruby’s Inn is located just a mile from the entrance of Bryce Canyon National Park. The hotel has an impressive wood-panelled lobby which creates a real “wild-west” charm.

The Pine Resorts, Lake Bass

Positioned close to Yosemite National Park, the three-star Pines Resort is the only lakeside resort in the Yosemite area. The charming resort is surrounded by pine trees and sits right on the shores of Lake Bass, with its own marina.

Cameron Trading Post, Cameron

The hotel is located east of the Grand Canyon within the Navajo Nation Territory in the Northern Arizona Desert, nestled along the Little Colorado River Gorge.

Monument Valley Inn, Kayenta

The Monument Valley Inn is a motel-style property located in the small community of Kayenta, within the largest Indian Reservation in the USA.

Tropicana Resort, Las Vegas

The Tropicana Resort is perfectly located right on the famous Las Vegas ‘strip’. There are four acres of tropical landscaped gardens at this hotel with one of the best swimming pools in Las Vegas.

Kimpton Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco

The hotel is centrally located, in the heart of the Fisherman’s Wharf area of San Francisco. It has a bistro bar, restaurant, lobby lounge, outdoor swimming pool and a fitness centre.

Fact File

• Currency: US Dollar
• Flight time: Approx. 11 hrs 35 mins
• Language: English
• Time zone: GMT-8 to -7
• Country: USA
• Continent: North America
• Visa Information

Along with a valid passport, UK citizens must have an ESTA visa waiver or a visa in order to travel to the USA. Full details of how and when to apply will be sent with your booking confirmation.

*All transfer times listed here are approximate