Pioneer Trails

San Francisco Arrival

Hotel: Holiday Inn Civic Center

Arrive at San Francisco International Airport, pick up your car and proceed into the City by the Bay, beautiful San Francisco.

San Francisco

Hotel: Holiday Inn Civic Center

This morning at 08:00 hours you will be met by your AmericanTours representative and provided with a welcome kit including driving instructions, vouchers, maps and brochures of the places you are about to visit. Afterward, enjoy a wonderful day touring the city and seeing places like Union Square, The Presidio, Golden Gate Bridge, and Fisherman's Wharf, where you can take a short boat trip to tour infamous Alcatraz Island.

San Francisco - Monterey/Carmel

Hotel: Travelodge Downtown

Begin your drive this morning via Castroville to Monterey. Visit Cannery Row (brought to fame by John Steinbeck’s novel) and the quaint village of Carmel. Enjoy stunning views of the rugged coastline and the Pacific Ocean on 17-Mile Drive, then continue to your hotel for your overnight stay.

Monterey/Carmel - Pacific Coast Highway - Santa Barbara - Los Angeles

Hotel: Best Western Dragon Gate Inn

Today drive along the Pacific Coast Highway, passing San Simeon and Morro Bay to Santa Barbara. Continue toward the cosmopolitan city of Los Angeles and your hotel.

Los Angeles

Hotel: Best Western Dragon Gate Inn

Perhaps visit Universal Studios, the world’s largest television and movie studios today or see Hollywood, Mann’s Chinese Theatre, Sunset Strip, and Beverly Hills.

Los Angeles - Palm Springs

Hotel: Best Western Inn Palm Springs

Today head for Palm Springs, a favorite playground for the stars of the entertainment industry. Palm Springs is known for its golf courses, palm trees, and lavish private homes. Enjoy a desert sunset by the pool of your hotel.

Palm Springs - Phoenix/Scottsdale

Hotel: Days Inn Scottsdale Fashion Square

There is time this morning to shop in the exclusive boutiques and shops of Palm Springs before driving to Scottsdale and Phoenix. Phoenix is one of the fastest growing cities in the United States, mainly due to the dry climate and many days of sunshine.

Phoenix/Scottsdale - Montezuma's Castle - Sedona

Hotel: Sedona Super 8

You will have an opportunity for plenty of sightseeing today as you visit the ancient cliff dwellings known as Montezuma’s Castle. Then continue to the idyllic town of Sedona, nestled among red sandstone buttes and pinnacles.

Sedona - Oak Creek Canyon - Grand Canyon National Park

Hotel: Holiday Inn Express Grand Canyon

This morning a short drive takes you to Oak Creek Canyon and Flagstaff, which may look familiar as many scenes have been filmed here for Western movies. Then arrive at the extraordinary Grand Canyon. You have the day to stroll along the South Rim and experience this awesome work of nature, with its plunging gorges – and two kilometers below the rim – the mighty Colorado River.

Grand Canyon National Park - Las Vegas

Hotel: Best Western Mardi Gras Inn

Today’s drive takes you through Williams and Kingman to one of the world’s greatest man-made structures, the Hoover Dam, which marks the border between Arizona and Nevada. Continue to Las Vegas, the glittering Entertainment Capital of the World, open 24 hours a day for nonstop fun and gambling.

Las Vegas

Hotel: Best Western Mardi Gras Inn

A full day at leisure in Las Vegas. Enjoy the shopping, dining and gaming that make Vegas the playground that never sleeps.

Las Vegas - Death Valley National Park

Hotel: Stovepipe Wells Village

Spend the morning at leisure in Las Vegas. Depart at noon for the drive across the Amargosa Desert to Death Valley National Park. At Zabriskie Point you can admire the panoramic view of this seemingly endless, unchanging valley.

Death Valley - Yosemite National Park

Hotel: Best Western Yosemite Way Station

Today offers a complete contrast in landscapes from the desolation of Death Valley as the drive takes you into the high Sierra Nevada Mountains via Bishop to the Tioga Pass and Yosemite, one of America’s most scenic national parks. Here among pine trees, cascade the silvery waters of the Yosemite Bridalveil Falls. Massive ice-shaped formations rise sharply from the valley floor in the sculptured beauty of El Capitan and Half Dome. Overnight in the Yosemite National Park area. From early November to late May the Tioga Pass may be closed due to weather or road conditions. In which case you will need to drive the southern route through Bakersfield and Fresno into the Yosemite Area.

Yosemite - San Francisco

Hotel: Holiday Inn Civic Center

From Yosemite, take a drive across the state of California and return to San Francisco.

San Francisco Departure