America’s Golden West at Christmas

Day 1: UK/Las Vegas
Depart on your scheduled flight to Las Vegas. On arrival, you will transfer to your hotel for a three-night stay in this exciting, exuberant city.

Day 2: Las Vegas
After your included tour of the city, there’s plenty of time to explore Las Vegas at your own pace. You might choose to explore the famous Strip, with its glitzy, glamorous hotels and casinos – such as the Hotel Paris Las Vegas, with its Eiffel Tower replica, or the pyramid-shaped Luxor. Tonight, join an optional Las Vegas by Night tour to see these fabulous sights lit up against the desert sky.

Day 3: Las Vegas
You can take an optional air tour to view the majestic splendour of the Grand Canyon today – or experience the sheer scale of this 14-mile wide gorge from the Skywalk, a horseshoe-shaped viewing platform which extends 70ft out across the canyon. You’ll be guaranteed some stunning, panoramic views of this unique natural wonder.

This evening, enjoy some free time in Las Vegas – there’s always plenty of star-studded shows to choose from, or you could try your luck in one of the casinos.

Day 4: Palm Springs
Today, you’ll arrive in Palm Springs for a one-night stay. Nicknamed ‘America’s Desert Playground’, this unique city is the perfect place to rest, relax and soak up the sun, as well as enjoying the breathtaking natural backdrop provided by the desert mountains. It’s easy to see why stars such as Frank Sinatra and Bob Hope had holiday homes here.

Day 5: Los Angeles
Before arriving in Los Angeles, we include a visit to the beautiful and vibrant seaport of Long Beach. You might like to visit the former Cunard White Star liner Queen Mary, now permanently berthed here and transformed into a hotel, restaurant and museum. There’s even a shopping mall on board – the Queen’s Market Place.

Or why not visit the Aquarium of the Pacific, a world-renowned research facility and tourist attraction. Here you’ll find 11,000 ocean animals in a spectacular aquarium. You can even touch the sharks in the Shark Lagoon!

After your Long Beach visit, you will continue to Los Angeles to begin your two-night stay in one of America’s most exciting cities.

Day 6: Los Angeles
Get to know more about LA ’s many attractions this morning with our included city tour, featuring the Hollywood Bowl, Sunset Strip, the Farmers’ Market and Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, with its Hollywood celebrity handprints, footprints, and autographs etched into the theatre’s concrete forecourt.

This afternoon, you might like to join our optional visit to Universal Studios, where movies are brought to life. You can enjoy thrilling rides and attractions at this exciting LA theme park.

Day 7: San Luis Obispo
Today is the first day of your spectacular two-day drive up the magnificent Pacific coastline. You’ll travel through the affluent beachfront community of Malibu and through Santa Barbara, often nicknamed the American Riviera thanks to its balmy Mediterranean climate. Your overnight stay tonight will be at San Luis Obispo an ideal mid-point in which to break your journey between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Day 8: San Francisco
Follow in the footsteps of historic Spanish missionaries today as you travel along El Camino Real – ‘The Royal Road’ – and continue your journey northwards. Passing through Carmel and Monterey, you’ll experience the famous 17-Mile Drive, hugging the coast and providing you with a breathtaking ocean panorama, before you arrive in San Francisco for a three-night stay.

Day 9: San Francisco
On your morning sightseeing tour, you’ll take in all of this and more besides, also visiting Golden Gate Park, the Civic Centre and Chinatown. Alternatively, join one of our optional excursions including a harbour cruise which passes underneath the Golden Gate Bridge and sails close to Alcatraz Island, with its infamous prison. Or you might like to take a helicopter flight under the bridge. If you prefer, explore at your own pace using the famous San Francisco cable cars – or you could take advantage of this versatile city’s excellent shopping facilities.

Day 10: San Francisco
Enjoy a free day in San Francisco.

Day 11: San Francisco
Transfer to the airport for your return flight to the UK.

Day 12: UK
Arrival in the UK.

Please note

Accommodation throughout is in hotels of a comfortable standard, typical of the hotels you will stay in are:

Stratosphere Hotel in Las Vegas
Renaissance Palm Springs in Palm Springs
Courtyard by Marriott Sherman Oaks in Los Angeles
La Cuesta Inn in San Luis Obispo
Radisson Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco
The Stratosphere is located right on the Las Vegas Strip and includes a revolving restaurant among its many features. Hotel Zoso, in Palm Springs, boasts a spa (at additional cost) and al fresco dining, while the Best Western Carriage Inn, in Los Angeles, has a cocktail lounge and exercise facilities. All hotels also feature pools.

All your hotel bedrooms will have TV, telephone and en suite facilities.

Hotels will be confirmed in your final documentation.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Included excursions and visits

Las Vegas city tour
Long Beach visit
Los Angeles city tour (half day)
San Francisco sightseeing tour (half day)

Optional excursions

Las Vegas by Night tour
Grand Canyon flights
Universal Studios, Los Angeles
San Francisco harbour cruise or helicopter flight

Your holiday includes

Scheduled flights
Overseas transfers and other transportation
10 nights’ accommodation on a room-only basis
The services of a Travelsphere Tour Manager and Local Guides
Hotel porterage (one bag per person)
All airport taxes and security charges
UK Airline Passenger Duty
All state and local taxes

With 50 years’ experience in arranging escorted tours to exciting destinations across the globe, Travelsphere have built an excellent reputation founded on quality and value.

By choosing a Travelsphere escorted holiday you can travel with confidence, knowing that every aspect of your holiday has been carefully planned and arranged from start to finish. Further to this they are ATOL bonded and members of ABTA.

Travelsphere’s thorough planning of travel arrangements, itineraries and accommodation combined with the unique insight of their knowledgeable Tour Managers and Local Guides will enable you to experience the culture, traditions and hidden away places less accessible to other travellers.

Our Opinion
“Travelsphere are one of the biggest names in the Escorted Tour market. Finely tuned over the last 50 years their tours have been tried, tested and refined by thousands of customers.”