CALIFORNIA COAST, CULTURE & CUISINE

ABOUT YOUR EXPEDITION

California Coast, Culture & Cuisine: Exploring "The American Mediterranean"

California’s San Francisco and Monterey Bay Areas are blessed with diverse landscapes and temperate microclimates, fascinating history, and world-class food and wine. Known as “The American Mediterranean,” they boast several large metropolitan areas, small rural towns, national and state parks, countless vineyards, and immense spans of permanently protected pastoral lands. All of these highlights make the area a must-see destination for nature and culture lovers alike.

Starting and ending in San Francisco, this unique tour explores three of Northern California’s most beautiful counties: Marin, Sonoma and Monterey—picturesque areas, rich in natural, political, and cultural history. Begin your adventure with a walk across the Golden Gate Bridge to Marin County, where you’ll hike under the canopy of the tallest trees on earth and along the wild coastline of Point Reyes National Seashore. Continue to the small-town city of Sonoma, the heart of Sonoma County, to learn its important place in California history, taste wine at California’s first winery, and wander Jack London’s idyllic estate. Next, travel south to Monterey to discover incredible marine wildlife, walk along Cannery Row, and hike spectacular coastline along the northern reaches of Big Sur before returning to San Francisco for your flight home.

At the end of each action-packed day, delight in comfortable, well-situated hotels and inns, delicious farm-to-table restaurants, and fabulous local wines and beers. With two nights in each county, you’ll get a broad perspective of coastal California while enjoying rich historical tours, daily 3-to-5-mile moderate hikes, and culinary and wine-tasting experiences to inspire your palate. For those who appreciate both the finer and the wilder things in life, this is one trip you won’t want to miss!