New York to San Francisco - 20 Days

Arrive in New York City and make your own way to the hotel. This evening, meet your Tour Director. Please note: This tour may have travellers joining or departing at various points along the route, meaning group composition can change during the tour. Please also be aware that depending on group composition, guiding may be in additional languages as well as English.

New York City - Philadelphia - Washington DC. We leave New York and head to Philadelphia, where we spend the morning exploring the historic district of the City of Brotherly Love and the birthplace of the United States. See the Liberty Bell and stroll through Independence National Historical Park and the Mall. Later, continue to the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C.

Enjoy a city tour featuring some of Washington’s best-known landmarks, including the U.S. Capitol Building, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, the White House and Arlington National Cemetery, where the JFK Memorial is located. The rest of the day is free for you to explore some of the Smithsonian Institution’s many museums or take a walk along the banks of the Potomac River.

Washington DC - Gettysburg - Niagara Falls. Today we visit Gettysburg National Military Park, site of one of the most decisive battles of the American Civil War and where Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous address in 1863. We then continue through upstate New York to Buffalo and on to Niagara Falls, where the sound and mist of the falls fill the air.

Niagara Fallls - Detroit. After crossing into Canada, spend the morning taking in Niagara Falls. Walk along Table Rock and admire the powerful waters of Horseshoe Falls. An optional boat ride offers an unforgettable close-up experience. Later in the afternoon, we return to the United States and travel to our hotel in a suburb of Detroit, known as Motor City USA. The evening is at leisure.

Detroit - Chicago. This morning begins with a visit to the Rouge Factory, followed by the Henry Ford Museum. After time to explore the museum’s extensive exhibits, we visit the nearby Ford plant to watch a modern production vehicle roll off the busy factory floor. We then leave Detroit behind and travel along the southern edge of Lake Michigan to Chicago for our overnight stay.

Today we enjoy a short tour of Chicago’s highlights, including Lake Shore Drive, the Magnificent Mile and Navy Pier. The rest of the day is free for you to spend as you wish.

Chicago - Sioux City. Travel through the farm country of the American Midwest, with its corn fields, wheat fields and dairy farms. We then cross the mighty Mississippi River and continue into Iowa before arriving in Sioux Falls for the night.

Sioux City - Badlands - Mt Rushmore - Deadwood. We travel west across the grasslands of South Dakota to Badlands National Park, once home to buffalo and antelope and known for its dramatic, oddly shaped rock formations. We continue into the Black Hills, sacred to the Plains Indians, and visit Mount Rushmore, the vast monument honouring Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt.

Deadwood - Bighorn Mountains - Cody. Enter Wyoming, a state of mountain ranges, open desert and rolling grasslands, and continue to Cody for the night. If an overnight stay in Cody is not possible due to weather or road conditions in Yellowstone, the overnight stop will be in Billings or Livingston, Montana.

Cody - Yellowstone. Drive into Yellowstone, America’s first national park, and enjoy sightseeing in this vast geothermal landscape of geysers, waterfalls, wildlife and canyons. Highlights include Yellowstone Lake, Old Faithful, the dramatic falls of Yellowstone Canyon and the beautiful Hayden Valley.

Yellowstone - Grand Teton - Salt Lake City. Travel through Grand Teton National Park, weather permitting, and see peaks rising more than 13,000 feet above the valley floor. Stop at Snake River Outlook and take in the view made famous by Ansel Adams. Later, arrive in Utah and enjoy a short tour of Salt Lake City. Founded by followers of Brigham Young, the city is known for its orderly plan and Mormon heritage. See the State Capitol, Temple Square and the Tabernacle before arriving at the hotel.

Salt lake City - Bryce Canyon. Continue to Bryce Canyon, where a tour reveals a striking landscape of sandstone spires, pinnacles and the park’s famous hoodoos. This evening, weather permitting, look up at a brilliantly clear night sky filled with stars and constellations.

Bryce Canyon - Lake Powell - Grand Canyon - Flagstaff. Depart Bryce Canyon this morning and travel to Lake Powell, where deep blue water meets towering red-rock canyon walls. Lake Powell is one of a series of lakes created by the damming of the Colorado River. We then visit Grand Canyon National Park, one of the world’s great natural wonders. Stand at the rim and take in this immense mile-deep canyon, with its steep gorges, rising spires, extinct volcanoes and the Colorado River far below. Overnight in Flagstaff, a classic stop on historic Route 66.

Flagstaff - Seligman - Las Vegas. This morning we leave Flagstaff and continue to Las Vegas, the Entertainment Capital of the World. Along the way, pass through Seligman, a town on Route 66 that still feels frozen in time. The rest of the day is free for you to explore the famous Las Vegas Strip.

Las Vegas - Mojave desert - Beverly Hills - Los Angeles. Travel through the Mojave Desert to Los Angeles, passing landscapes dotted with distinctive Joshua trees. On arrival, enjoy a tour of the City of Angels, including Hollywood, the Sunset Strip and parts of Beverly Hills, before reaching the hotel.

Today, you may wish to join an optional full-day visit to Universal Studios, the world’s largest movie studio and theme park. Go behind the scenes of famous films or, for something more adventurous, try one of the park’s signature rides

Los Angeles - Malibu - Santa Barbara. Leave Los Angeles this morning and travel north through Malibu and on to Santa Barbara, one of California’s favourite seaside destinations. Palm-lined walkways and sandy beaches give the city its relaxed feel, while its mission and Spanish heritage reflect an important part of the state’s history. Along the way, stop at an iconic California lifeguard tower made famous by Baywatch.

Santa Barbara - Carmel - San Francisco. Today we continue north to Carmel, known for its galleries, boutiques and artistic character. After time to explore, travel on to Monterey and visit Old Fisherman’s Wharf. From here, stroll towards Cannery Row, immortalised in John Steinbeck’s novel. In the afternoon, pass through the fertile valleys of Castroville and Santa Clara on the way to San Francisco, the City by the Bay. The tour ends on arrival at the hotel.

Make your own way to the airport for your return flight.