California...Here We Come is not being offered this year. A variety of other spectacular tours to see America by rail are currently available for travel.

Westbound on Amtrak's California Zephyr takes you along one the United States' Great Rail Journeys. Take in the dramatic scenery of the Great Plains, Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada Mountains on your way to San Francisco. A taste of San Francisco, then head South on Amtrak's Coast Starlight. Visit Santa Barbara and the Danish town of Solvang. From Santa Barbara take the Pacific Surfliner to San Diego, where you will explore Southern California. Homeward bound on Amtrak's Southwest Chief.

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Colorado Rockies • San Francisco • Santa Barbara • Solvang • San Diego
Call 877-929-7245 for air and rail fares and schedules from
your city to and from Chicago.

• San Francisco, everyone's favorite city by the Bay. Sightseeing; ride the cable cars; free time to ex-plore. Fisherman's Wharf, the Golden Gate Bridge and the view from atop Twin Peaks will thrill you.
• Fall in love with beautiful Santa Barbara. The flowers, the Spanish architecture, the parks and the mild temperatures provide a wonderful experience.
• You may never visit Denmark; but, after your visit to Solvang, you will have experienced perhaps the next best thing. Danish architecture, windows, gaslights and cobblestone streets abound.
• Two full days in exciting San Diego. What a conclusion to your visit to the Golden State. You'll tour the city, cruise its harbor and visit its world-famous zoo.
• Westbound 2300 miles from Chicago to San Francisco on the California Zephyr, including the spectacular Colorado Rockies and the Sierra Nevada Mountains (over the famous Donner Pass).
• Travel south on Amtrak's premier train, The Coast Starlight, through the towering Santa Rosa Mountains and along the picturesque Pacific Ocean coast line to Santa Barbara.
• Return on the famous Southwest Chief through Arizona and New Mexico. You'll follow the route of the pioneers along the Santa Fe Trail.

• Round-trip transportation by Amtrak rail and connecting motor coach.
• First-class hotel accommodations with private bath for six nights.
• Private-room sleeping accommodations on the trains for four nights ($695 additional per person for an upgraded Bedroom).
• Sightseeing in San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Solvang, and San Diego.
• Admissions to many attractions.
• Baggage handling, taxes & tips.
• 17 meals.
• Services of a professional tour guide

Day 1: En Route
All tour members will meet the tour director in the Metropolitan Lounge of Chicago's Union Station. They will board the famous California Zephyr in mid afternoon. The Zephyr features the double-decker Superliner equipment. Relax in your comfortable private Roomette bedroom sleeping accommodations. Upgraded Bedrooms are available at an additional cost. After settling in, you may want to go to the glass-walled Sightseer Lounge car. All meals on the trains are included. Coffee and bottled water are available for sleeping car occupants in their car. Enjoy a full-course dinner in the diner tonight. (D)

Day 2: En Route
When you awaken this morning you may look out your window toward the West and thrill to the sight of the towering Colorado Rockies in the distance. Plan to get up early, have a piping hot breakfast in the dining car and find a seat in the glass-walled lounge car for the spectacular scenery that will unfold before you the rest of the day. The Zephyr will pull out of Denver this morning and begin its climb over the ice and snow-covered Front Range toward the Continental Divide. The mountain vistas continue until late afternoon. (B, L & D)

Day 3: En Route/San Francisco
Today's scenery will be almost as spectacular as that experienced yesterday in Colorado as the Zephyr climbs over the high Sierra Nevada mountains through the famous Donner Pass. From rugged terrain and pine trees to lush greenery and palm trees . . . this landscape contrast will occur in just three hours. Your arrival in the world-famous "City by the Bay" is scheduled for early evening. You'll transfer to the attractive, centrally located Chancellor Hotel. It is located near Union Square. (B & L)

Day 4: San Francisco
You're free this morning to ride a cable car or just wander through Union Square. After an "on-your-own" lunch,you'll embark on a three-and-a-half hour sightseeing tour of San Francisco, including Chinatown, Golden Gate Park, Jackson Square, Telegraph Hill, the Presidio and Fisherman's Wharf. The afternoon's tour will end at Fisherman's Wharf. Some will want to have dinner in this area and return to the hotel on their own. Your tour director will suggest some moderately-priced dining options as well.

Day 5: En Route/Santa Barbara
You'll check out of Your hotel this morning and transfer by motor coach to the Oakland Amtrak Station. You'll depart on the Coast Starlight, Amtrak's premier train. Relax in a comfortable reclining coach seat with leg rest. Lunch is available in the Starlight's dining car. Snacks, sandwiches and beverages are available in the lounge car. The scenic highlights of the day will be the traversing of a number of mountain ranges and about 100 miles of rolling along the awesome Pacific Ocean coastline. Be sure to be in the Sightseer Lounge car.

Your arrival into Santa Barbara is scheduled for early evening. Your delightful hostelry for the next two nights is the former Virginia Hotel (now Holiday Express) located in Center City. This classic, 1920s era boutique-style hotel is located in center city near many shops, galleries and fine restaurants.

Day 6: Santa Barbara/Solvang
You'll embark on a two-hour sightseeing tour of what many consider to be America's most beautiful city. You'll see many examples of the city's Spanish past, including the Mission Santa Barbara and El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historical Park. The Court House, with its massive murals and tile floors and walls, is not to be missed. After the city tour you'll re-board the motor coach and continue on 45 miles to one of California's most popular attractions. You may never travel to Denmark, but after your visit to Solvang you will have experienced perhaps the next best thing. Danish architecture, windows, gas lights and cobblestone walks abound. Solvang's distinctively Danish flavor pervades its roughly 300 stores. There will be time for an "on-your-own" lunch at one of Solvang's attractive restaurants. The pastries are awesome! You'll have some time to explore Santa Barbara on your own when you return to our hotel at mid afternoon. Your tour director will host dinner tonight at a nearby restaurant. (CB & D)

Day 7: En Route/San Diego
Breakfast in the hotel is included this morning. You'll transfer to the Santa Barbara Amtrak station for the morning departure of a Pacific Surfliner for the six-hour, 232-mile run along the coast to San Diego. At certain points along the way, the train parallels the beautiful Pacific Ocean. You'll pass through the heart of Los Angeles and then travel along the Pacific Ocean beach south of there. Our home for the two nights in San Diego will be the Courtyard by Marriott. The hotel is conveniently located near Old Town, a section of this beautiful city that preserves the town's Spanish-Mexican heritage. (CB)

Day 8: San Diego
Breakfast will be included each morning in San Diego. This morning you'll strike out on a San Diego city tour. You'll get off our motor coach at Cruise Ship Terminal, where we'll embark on a one-hour cruise of the fascinating San Diego Harbor. Your additional stopovers include: downtown's famed Gaslamp Quarter, the Hotel del Coronado, the Embarcadero, Balboa Park and Old Town. These are just a few of the breathtaking sights on the popular narrated tour. Enjoy an "on-your-own" lunch at Seaport Village. The afternoon is free to explore nearby Old Town. (B)

Day 9: San Diego/En Route
Today is the day you'll visit the renowned San Diego Zoo, one of the greatest zoological gardens in the world. You'll depart from our hotel at 10:00 a.m. First, you'll take a tour of the entire zoo complex on a double-decker conveyance. You'll have time to explore the zoo on your own and have lunch.

At 2:00 p.m.you'll transfer the short distance to the Amtrak station whereyou'll depart at 3:00 p.m. You'll arrive in the Los Angeles Union Station at 5:45 p.m. At 6:45 you'll board the famous Southwest Chief for Chicago. You'll again enjoy private-room sleeping accommodations, all train meals and other amenities experienced on the California Zephyr. Enjoy a full-course dining car dinner upon departure. (B & D)

Day 10: En Route
You'll want to take advantage of the fascinating scenery of Arizona and New Mexico the train will pass through during the day. You'll have time for a train side walk in Albuquerque at noon. Native American vendors will have attractive jewelry for sale. (B, L & D)

Day 11: En Route
The Southwest Chief will roll across Northeast Missouri, a corner of Iowa, and all of Illinois before your late afternoon arrival in Chicago. Some tour members will change to trains bound for Midwest, Eastern, and Southern home cities. Others will stay in Chicago and fly home tomorrow. (B & L)

   

   

   

California...Here We Come is not being offered this year. A variety of other spectacular tours to see America by rail are currently available for travel.