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Calgary-San Francisco
12 Day Luxury Bus Tour
$1,199dlb. occ Oct 12, 2008
Price Includes: all travel, hotels & applicable taxes

San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, Carmel

	Day-1 Calgary to Butte or Helena, Montana. Pick-up at the Days Inn South (previously the Stampeder Inn) at 3828 MacLeod Trail South. Pick ups also at High River, Fort MacLeod and Lethbridge where we also have a coffee/breakfast stop. After stopping for some Duty Free shopping at the Border, we will commence through USA customs and enjoy scenic Montana, with Lunch at Great Falls, Montana before finally arriving around 5.30pm to 6:30pm in either Butte or Helena, Montana.
	Day-2 Montana to West Wendover, Nevada. We have a beautiful drive today through Montana, Idaha, Utah and finally to our nights destination of Wendover, Nevada staying at the Nugget Hotel Casino. This lovely hotel casino has a wonderful, free all you can eat buffet and nearly 1,000 slots as well as 49 table games and gift shop etc. Minutes before we enter Wendover, you will see the great salt lake which is mostly famous for the numerous land speed records which have been set there. The vast and mysterious salt flats are a delight to behold. You will have plenty of time to try your luck at the slots and table games that this casino has to offer.
	Day-3 Wendover to Reno. We will travel through some very scenic desert vistas before arriving late afternoon for a nights stay at the Circus Circus Hotel Casino right in the heart of downtown Reno. On the way to Reno we will make a breakfast stop in Elko, Nevada. The Elko area is the largest producer of Gold in the United States, making it the third largest producer of gold in the world. Next we will make a lunch stop in Winnemucca, Nevada. Butch Cassidy's last bank robbery in the US occurred in Winnemucca on Bridge street.
	...cont Circus Circus is connected via and indoor promenade to the Silver Legacy and Eldorado Hotel Casinos. This offers you all the fun and excitement of downtown Reno within one mega complex with resturants, casinos, coffee shops, gift shops and so much more to enjoy. We will arrive early afternoon in Reno so that you can spend some fun time strolling through Reno's downtown core at your leisure.
	Day-4 Reno to San Francisco. Reno to San Francisco for 4-nights at the Raddison Hotel on Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco's foremost seaside neighborhood. Ghirardelli Square is four blocks away and the shopping and tourism of Pier 39 is two blocks from the property. Easy light-rail access to anywhere in the city is available on the MUNI's F-Line, located just across the street. Both Union Square and the Moscone Convention Center are less than two miles away. Don't forget the Sea Lions who lazily enjoy their lifestyle at Pier 39 just sitting around and enjoying life. As the only Hotel Located directly on Fisherman's Wharf, the Radisson is a prime location for exploring San Francisco's famous landmarks and attractions.
	Day-5 Free professionally guided San Francisco tour today exploring all of San Francisco's highlights with the rest of the afternoon off. The side trips are all Free and Optional so it is up to you to decide if you want to join or just enjoy the spectacular location of your hotel and go on your own and explore. When exploring San Francisco by yourselve's, nothing could be more fun than using San Francisco's MUNI F-line opposite your hotel, which serves as a main lifeline in the City. The F-line connects the commercial, financial and retail districts of Market Street to the Castro district and San Francisco’s grand waterfront and popular tourist area, Fisherman’s Wharf.
	....cont. All streetcars in San Francisco are "vintage," meaning they are actual antiques built between the 1890s and 1950s. Since 1995, and the opening of the F-line, Muni has acquired 32 streetcars from cities all over the world. One nice attraction in San Francisco is Lombard Street. There is not another road in the country, or the world, as crooked as Lombard Street. It looks the way it does for its steepness. This road was built so that cars could navigate the road safely. Traffic congestion used to be a problem so the idea of one-way traffic was devised, and now you can only travel in one direction in a car down Lombard Street. This heavily photographed street is paved with bricks, and all-year round, perfectly manicured flowers.
	Day-6 Today you will get dropped off and picked up at the Boarding area for a free Alcatraz tour. Tour includes boat ride to and from the Pier as well as tour of Alcatraz Island as well. From the mid 1930's until the mid 1960's, Alcatraz was America's premier maximum-security prison, the final stop for the nation's most incorrigible inmates. Today, Alcatraz is a place of contradictions, with a grim past and an enduring future as one of San Francisco's most prominent landmarks and tourist attractions. Most of you are probably familiar with the famous film "The Birdman of Alctraz" and you will see his actual jail cell during your visit. Al Capone (aka..Scarface) and George Kelly (aka..Machine Gun Kelly) are amongst some of the most famous inmates too. The rest of the day you have off again to enjoy San Francisco at your leisure.
	Day-7 Carmel and Monterey free side tour. Your tour includes Monterey Peninsula, a sightseeing wonder along 17-Mile Drive on your way to tour Carmel. 17-Mile Drive is a scenic road through Pacific Grove and Pebble Beach, California, much of which hugs the Pacific coastline and passes famous golf courses and mansions. It also serves as the main road through the gated community of Pebble Beach. From 17-Mile Drive you can see the famous greens of the Pebble Beach Pro-Am Golf Tournament. You get ample time to tour Carmel's many art galleries, which have made Carmel famous, and time for shopping or just sightseeing in the town's many quaint shops. Clint Eastwood was former Mayor of Carmel and it is very easy to see why he feels so strongly about this famous artistic Californian town. Also included is free Wine tasting at a local Carmel Winery.
	...cont. Carmel-by-the-Sea, sometimes abbreviated as Carmel, is a small town endowed with a rich artistic history situated on the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey County, California. In 1906, the San Francisco Call devoted a full page to the "artists, poets and writers of Carmel-by-the-Sea" and in 1910 it reported that 60 percent of Carmel's houses were built by citizens who were "devoting their lives to work connected to the aesthetic arts." Early City Councils were dominated by artists and the town has had several mayors who were poets or actors including Herbert Heron, founder of the Forest Theater, and actor-director Clint Eastwood, who was mayor for one term, from 1986 to 1988. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 4,081.
	...cont After departing Carmel, we have a scenic 15 minute drive to a local Carmel Winery for a free tour and wine tasting. You will be greeted with a taste of Chateau Julien wine at the grand front entrance of the Estate. An experienced winery guide shares the history of Chateau Julien Wine Estate and the essence of winemaking throughout a tour of the 16-acre Estate including the Chateau, Chai (barrel room), vineyards and cellar operations. The full production Wine Estate allows you to learn about every aspect of winemaking, from the vine to the bottle. Contingent upon the winemaking activity, you may have the opportunity to see grapes being pressed or taste the clusters right off the vines. A variety of six different Chateau Julien wines will be tasted throughout the tour, concluding with a taste of Juilen Port or Carmel Cream Sherry in the majestic Great Hall. You are given the opportunity to purchase wine or special gifts if you so choose, but your wine glass is yours for free.
	Day-8 San Francisco to Reno. We say farewell to San Francisco and drive back to Reno for a 2 night stay again at Cirus Circus again. On the way back to Reno, we will make a 3 hour stop at Steve Wynn's Thunder Valley Casino in Rocklin California just to break up the day a little with this first class mega casino. Thunder Valley offers a truly unique opportunity for fun and relaxation. From the dramatic entry to the spectacular Falls Bar. Thunder Valley provides Las Vegas excitement, glamour and action. with thousands of the newest games, and is the most exciting entertainment destination Northern California has to offer. With a spacious gaming floor that includes over 2,700 state of the art slot machines and over 98 gaming table and fabulous fine dining and casual restaurants.
	Day-9 Today we depart for a leisurely scenic drive around Lake Tahoe stopping for many picture opportunities along the way. We will tour the whole loop of Lake Tahoe which is divided between Nevada and California, from South Lake Tahoe to Kings Beach. For untold centuries before explorers John Fremont and Kit Carson discovered Lake Tahoe in 1844, the Lake Tahoe Basin was a summer gathering place for three bands of peaceful Washoe Indians. Lake Tahoe held a spiritual meaning for the tribe and many sacred ceremonies were held along the southern shores. The California Gold Rush lured emigrants and fortune seekers to the rugged Sierra. Prospective miners used passes to the north and south to circumnavigate the treacherous Tahoe Basin. The first West-to-East road across the mountains, the "Bonanza Road," was built to handle travelers eager to cash in on Virginia City's massive Comstock Lode which was discovered in 1859. Highway 50 now covers this route.
	Day-10 Reno to Wendover, Nevada. This morning we continue to travel eastwards to West Wendover, Nevada again for another nights stay with a free buffet dinner included. We stop in Winemucca, Nevada for breakfast and Elko, Nevada for lunch before arriving in Wendover for the evening. Hollywood filmmakers sometimes use the historic Wendover airfield to shoot movies like ConAir, or that Formula One racing teams regularly test-drive fast cars here. But six decades ago, the airfield concealed a huge secret. It was the site where the crew of the Enola Gay trained before the B-29 plane dropped Little Boy, the atomic bomb that devastated Hiroshima 60 years ago today and helped end World War II. Now under restoration effors, Wendover airfield also has an air museum well.
	Day-11 Wendover to Butte or Helena, Montana. We say farewell to West Wendover, Nevada this morning for our last nights stay for this tour in Butte or Helena, Montana. We again pass the Great Salt Lake in Utah on our way back to Montana as well as passing Salt Lake City. We stop in Ogden, Utah for breakfast and Idaho Falls, Idaho for lunch. Now is the time to just sit back, relax and reflect on all that you have seen and done on this tour as so many special moments and memories will continuously arise in your mind to create a wonderful smile that sums up a tour that has covered many miles, many states and so much history.
	Day-12 Montana to Calgary. Our last day of this tour. We will make a 30 minute stop at the Duty Free Store at the Border for your last minute shopping needs and then on to Lethbridge for lunch before driving back to Calgary. We hope you had a wonderful time on this tour and had the opportunity to cultivate many lasting friendships with your fellow travellers and have fond memories of the rich and diversified landscapes and cities you have travelled through .

Arguably the most fun way to discover San Francisco is by the Cable Cars!

Sea Lions resting at Pier-39, just a few minutes walk from your hotel.

Hwy-1 south of Carmel, California

Scenic Lake Tahoe is included as one of our Free side trips.

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