Day Trip to Monterey and Carmel via California Coast
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Day Trip to Monterey and Carmel via California Coast

By Tower Tours - San Francisco Sightseeing Specialist
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The California Monterey and Carmel day trip with transportation from San Francisco offers must-see coastal views, and you won’t miss a thing since you don’t have to pay attention to driving the windy roads. Enjoy free time on Monterey’s Cannery Row and at Carmel by the Sea, with optional upgrade to include a Monterey Bay Aquarium ticket.

Ages 4-99, max of 40 per group
Duration: 11h
Start time: Check availability
Mobile ticket
Live guide: English
More

Highlights
  • Ride down Highway 1 from San Francisco to Monterey and Carmel
  • Take in the California coast views from a coach bus’ wide windows 
  • Upgrade to add admission to the Monterey Bay Aquarium
  • Pickup and drop-off at select hotels for your convenience 

  • Air-conditioned vehicle
  • Live commentary on board
  • Fuel surcharge
What's not included
  • Food and drinks
  • Gratuities

This day trip to Monterey and Carmel from San Francisco starts with pickup at select hotels (or airports, with advance notice). Your bus drives you down Highway 1, with sweeping cliffside and ocean views of the California coast. Your guide narrates as you go. During the day, enjoy free time in Monterey’s Cannery Row and at Carmel by the Sea. You can choose to upgrade and save time by adding a Monterey Bay Aquarium admission ticket. Your tour route also stops at Pebble Beach Golf Links, Bird Rock Beach, and Lone Cypress for photo ops. Your Monterey and Carmel day trip ends with a drop-off back in San Francisco.

Start:
  • San Francisco, CA, USA
    Tour departure and meeting instructions will be provided to you at tour confirmation.
End:This activity ends back at the meeting point.

    • Not wheelchair accessible
    • Pushchair accessible
    • Service animals allowed
    • Infants must sit on laps
    If you have questions about accessibility, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 7116P4

    • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
    • Children must be accompanied by an adult
    • Most travellers can participate
    • This experience requires good weather. If it’s cancelled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
    • This experience requires a minimum number of travellers. If it’s cancelled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund
    • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 40 travellers

    • For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.

    If you have questions about this tour or need help making your booking, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 7116P4

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    Itinerary
    • San Francisco, CA, USA
      Tour departure and meeting instructions will be provided to you at tour confirmation.
    • Pass by
      Tower Tours - San Francisco Sightseeing Specialist
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    About the operator
    Don’t take it from us – here’s what people have to say about this operator:
    • Tower Tours - San Francisco Sightseeing Specialist
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      United States
      Joined in July 2009
    • A7932FCkareng
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      5.0 of 5 bubbles
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      A fantastic day out
      What a great day. A 27-seater coach and only 2 of us on it. Most companies would have cancelled due to lack of numbers but our trip went ahead. Our driver, Grady, gave a very comprensive narative on things along the route and the history of winemaking in California. Being just the two of us, we got special attention at both wineries and more than the normal amount of tastings. Just a fantastic day all round.
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    • Happiness12448509059
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      Half-Day Wine Tour Highly Recommended
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      Great day! Wonderful memory!
      This tour was great, Vlad was THE best tour guide, his commentary was fun and extremely informative. I feel like I learned so much about wine country just on the ride out in the morning! This was a great day and something that I would suggest to my family and friends. The people I met on the tour and at the wineries were so much fun, the staff made it a really great experience.
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      Sonoma wine country
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    • bigcaro1973
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      We had an hour at the first winery. The guide who served us the wine tasting talked so much we didn't have time to even see grapes! The first 30 minutes he only talked toward one group of people. Our group of 6 didn't catch much information. We asked him to talk our way and he did after. The wine was good but we wasted too much time with his stories about stuff that wasn't about wine. The small bus and the lady driver were excellent! She had the roof off to drive to the second winery! There we had really great wine and great information from the guide. It was a good visit.
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    • Wayne M
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    See all 1,186 reviews
    These reviews are the subjective opinions of Tripadvisor members and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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    4.0
    4.0 of 5 bubbles45 reviews
    Excellent
    28
    Very good
    10
    Average
    2
    Poor
    0
    Terrible
    5

    Aoi D
    3 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    The sights were beautiful as expected. Narrative information from driver George was very interesting. The aquarium admission (not included) was $50 per person and it was a line to get in and PACKED inside. We felt like we should go because it is a worthy cause and a big part of what Monterey is known for, but in hindsight, we might have preferred seeing the other sights.
    Written 22 May 2022
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

    Compass363701
    Rockwall, TX2 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Jul 2022 • Couples
    The drive down the coast and pebble beach were the definite highlights. The knowledgeable driver was nice but the bus could use a little updating and/or upgrades. At times, it was uncomfortably hot and the one speaker that worked happened to be above my head. Since there is really not enough time to visit the aquarium in Monterey, consider extending the time in Caramel and decreasing the time in Monterey.
    Written 7 July 2022
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

    Samrat H
    7 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    May 2021 • Friends
    It is a wonderful daytrip thanks to our guide George who patiently talked about all the interesting and historical facts of each and every spot we visited. The whole trip is well planned and includes all the major view points. On top of that, you would be lucky to have George as your tour guide :)
    Written 23 May 2021
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

    KittyK1
    Newry, UK83 contributions
    1.0 of 5 bubbles
    We booked this tour with yourselves in good faith. A little disappointed when you couldn't take us and transferred us to Grayline.

    We had a very disappointing tour mainly due to coach. It was late arriving and I has to make an international call to see if they were still coming.

    Because we were the last pick up, the coach only had two seats together at the very back. Understandably, I am travelling with my husband and wanted to sit together. Unfortunately, when the driver would say, look to your right, all we could see was the lavatory. When he said look to your left, the window had condensation between the glazing. I tried to clean the window and mentioned it to the driver at the first stop - Moon Bay. He confirmed it was condensation and there was nothing he could do. 

    To make the best of a bad situation, we took to getting up and looking out the back window but there was a toilet seat behind our seats which made it even more unpleasant. 

    I booked a 6 hour trip because I didn't want to be sitting on a coach any longer. We were collected at 8am this morning and we are still on the coach, its 18.45. We are only at San Jose and have at least another hour at least to go. The driver announced he was making several stops in San Francisco before fishermans wharf being the last stop. I would say it will be after 9pm before we are back at our hotel. 

    I couldn't see the majority of things he was pointing out and the trip was over 12 hours long. We had dinner reservations which we had to cancel. 

    Written 21 October 2022
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

    Kristine M
    3 contributions
    1.0 of 5 bubbles
    Jul 2023 • Solo
    Providing a functioning bus is how you improve your tours. You do not leave 60 people standing at the corner of Mason & Post for 2 hours waiting for a replacement bus which never arrived. Then, tell those same people that they'll "get refunds". Kudos to Tower and Grayline for ruining my vacation because they have no idea on how to create a backup plan when a mechanical breakdown occurs. Many thanks for ruining my vacation Grayline & Tower Tours. I will never forget.
    Written 1 July 2023
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

    Sally p
    Harpenden, UK6 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    May 2022
    You'll be very lucky if you get George as your driver for this trip - his commentary was fabulous and we learnt so much - he's also an excellent driver. This is a great wasy to spend a day, the coastline is rugged and dramatic and the stops were all great. We enjoyed seeing Monterey and Carmel too, very different to San Francisco! Would highly recommend.
    Written 23 June 2022
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

    Stephen R
    3 contributions
    1.0 of 5 bubbles
    Booked this trip some time ago and was really looking forward to it. Got down to the office an hour before only to be told that the trip had been cancelled the day before due to low numbers wishing to do the trip. Really disappointed and would not advise anyone to book it.
    Written 19 May 2022
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

    mark g
    1 contribution
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    May 2022 • Family
    George the driver was brilliant. Knowledge of the area was fantastic.. we took our 4 year old and 1 year old.. they offer car seats for both.

    George actually made the trip!!😀

    You get 2 hours in Monterey Bay, so if your planning on going to the aquarium your will have to be quick. George drops you right out side.

    You get an hour in Carmel, which is more than enough.

    Loads of rest stops/picture stops.
    Written 18 May 2022
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

    perthpeeps
    Perth, Australia3 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Jul 2019 • Couples
    My husband and I are interested in the tour. Does this trip include a possible stop to the pebble Beach pro shop?? Thank you
    Written 8 July 2019
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

    Gelsys F
    17 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    After an incredibly bad experience with Gray Line of San Francisco we were about to give up on booking any other tours here. But we ended up booking with Tower Tours to visit Monterey and Carmel... I must say it was one of the best decisions and experiences ever!

    We were picked up at our hotel, taken to the main office to process paperwork, which was fast and painless! Soon after we boarded the bus, we were greeted by our tour guide, Patrick. What a nice man! He was funny, entertaining, polite, professional, and a great driver!

    I highly recommend Tower Tours, as they are reliable, not crazy expensive, and the trips are totally worth it - Thank you for making our honeymoon better than what it is!!!
    Written 20 January 2018
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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    *Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.

    Day Trip to Monterey and Carmel via California Coast provided by Tower Tours - San Francisco Sightseeing Specialist

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