Northern California Reviews

Surprisingly we were the only Australians on this Trafalgar tour. Unfortunately most of the Americans in this full tour travelled with friends and didn't mix that well despite my going around to every group at the welcome reception and introducing myself.

Great accommodation and included meals. Free time was usually for shopping which I don't enjoy, ...read more so perhaps more alternatives need to be provided. The trip to Virginia City wasn't that interesting and maybe somewhere else could be considered. Sarah our TD was amazing. She mixed well with all the group and her preparation was entertaining, informative and faultless. We were very lucky to have her.

Global Journeys got a great price for our flights but we were never able to check in online... some thing to do with American Airlines system. I also got my initial boarding pass with the dreaded SSSS for some unknown reason.
Charged full price for Monterey Bay Aquarium despite most of the group being over 65 and entitled to a US$10 discount.

The Tour director made the tour interesting and fun. For a short tour, we've seen and done a lot. The highlight for us is the Hot air balloon flight in Napa Valley which we highly recommend. We've done a lot of tours with Trafalgar before and we have been happy with them so we will definitely use them again. The same goes for Global Journeys, we ...read more are happy with the service we received from Madeline Lewis. Thanks.

Our tour highlights - Nappa Valley Wine Train Excellent. Lake Tahoe, Yosemite National Park, Monteray very very good. Also of course San Francisco. Old Sacramento a waste of time, too long spent there. There were too many opportunities for souvenir shopping and they were pushed so much. We really enjoyed the very good quality accommodation and appreciated ...read more arriving at an early time so we could relax and enjoy our surroundings. The happy hours provided at some of the hotels were appreciated especially by the New Zealanders and Australians because of the currency difference. A good opportunity to get to know fellow travellers.

We stayed in excellent hotels and saw a lot of California. Patrice Dias was an excellent guide and very caring. I had to go to a dentist when I broke a tooth and she arranged that. Another man had to go to hospital and she handled that very well. The tour was not too rushed and there was free time to do your own thing. We liked that.

The tour was a fantastic way to see California and a great combination of having a guided experience and free time to explore our own interests.