Behringstr. 42 - 44 * 22763 Hamburg * Phone + 49 - 40 - 393 393 * Fax + 49 - 40 - 39 00 589
We will enjoy the most beautiful National-Parcs of the world, grandios
Canyons, the exciting Cities of California and a lot of other unforgettable
Monuments.
Itinerary: City tour of San Francisco, excursions to Nappa Valley and Sausalito. Cross-Country via Yosemite Park - Monolake - Kings Canyon - Sequoia National Park - Bryce Canyon - Lake Powell - Monument Valley - Grand Canyon - Willow Beach - Los Angeles - Disneyland - Venice Beach.
Accommodations: Three nights at hotel in San Francisco, one night at camping site in Yosemite National Park, one night at camping site in Sequoia National Park, one night at camping site in Death Valley, one night at hotel in Las Vegas, one night at camping site at Bryce Canyon, one night at camping site at Lake Powell, one night at camping site at Monument Valley, two nights at Mather camping site at Grand Canyon, one night at camping site on Willow Beach, two nights at hotel in Los Angeles.
Meals: For your meals you should expect to spend approx. $20 per day
At Your Disposal: Camping equipment of foldaway tables and benches, double-burner gas stoves including bottled gas, several large cooking pots.
Tour Escort: Tour coordinator
Extra: Entrance fees, food, drinks, additional excursions by boats, canoes, motor bikes, horses, etc.
Climate: Day 66-92 degrees, night 46-70 degrees, water 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
California
Dreaming
A trip through the western part of the US is something that everyone, at one time or another, has wanted to do. But thinking about it and actually doing it are two completely different things!! Come join us on an Alternativ Bus Reisen tour of the West, and get to know your own country first hand!
We first board a plane and fly west until we reach what most people believe is the most beautiful city in America, San Francisco. San Francisco combines Victorian charm, sophisticated elegance, and California casual in the best of all possible settings.
Our bus will be at the airport to pick us up and take us to our hotel, the Alexander Inn. The inn is centrally situated: Market Street and Union Place are both just footsteps away.
After a quiet first evening, we'll start off the next day bright and early. First on our itinerary is a tour of the city. San Francisco is big but not overpowering. It has a charm many other big American cities often lack. Beautiful and highly original architecture is the rule rather than the exception. Such San Francisco highlights as the imposing Golden Gate Bridge, beautiful and calm Sausalito, or even the infamous island-prison of Alcatraz are must-sees. As is Coit Tower, which we can climb to get a 360-degree panorama of San Francisco's beautiful skyline. The attractions of San Francisco may not be easy to write down in a few paragraphs, but ABeR does know how to organize a great visit.
While in San Francisco, we'll organize excursions to Muir Woods National Park or Nappa Valley. Of course, if you prefer to discover San Francisco's charms by yourself, you can spend the day at the bustling sections of Chinatown, Fisherman's Wharf, and Haight Ashbury. We recommend a trip to Golden Gate Park or the enchanting, and authentic, Japanese Gardens.
The following day, we begin our journey through what is some of the most grandiose landscapes anywhere. Our first destination is Yosemite Park and Mono Lake. Here, we'll take a beautiful day-long hike to the Upper Falls, and, at the highest point, be rewarded with an astonishing view of Half Dome and Glacier Point. If you're a bit more adventurous, you can go by horse back to the foot of Half Dome and take a cool bath in the small pools in its sandstone. We'll camp out in tents right in the middle of one of the most splendid natural areas in the US, not far from several hot springs. Next morning, we whip up some eggs and bacon, fruit, anything that strikes our fancy. Then we head for Mono Lake. (For you Pink Floyd fans, Mono Lake appeared on the cover of Animals.) After, we'll continue our journey through Kings Canyon and, finally, reach the unparalleled beauty of Sequoia National Park. Where the road doesn't go around the trees, it goes through them!
The next stop on our exploration is Death Valley. Traveling along the highway in the early morning, the heat already rising off the asphalt, we may already want to raid the refrigerator stocked with ice-cold drinks! After spending the day taking in this otherworldly landscape, we'll spend the night right in the middle of the desert. The burning day temperatures will be replaced by temperatures that can fall below freezing. We'll have to take care to bundle up!
After
traveling steadily through the no-mans land on the legendary Route 66,
it'll be a sore sight for eyes as the man-made spectacular Las Vegas
rises up out of the desert. Las Vegas is the largest gambling center in
all the United States, a monument to money and glitz. What originally began
as a military outpost in the middle of the Nevada desert has been turned
into a night world of money-filled fantasy. But who, including us, will
be able to resist the huge gambling factories like Caesar's Palace and
the chance at winning at craps or on a one-armed bandit? A city where casinos
have no timepieces, Las Vegas lives at night, knowing no morning. After
breakfast, we'll head back into the wilderness of the West on our way to
another beautiful natural park, Bryce Canyon. Along the way, we
stop at Zion National Park, the oldest national park in Utah. Its
beauty is indescribable. Strangely alluring stone formations abound, natural
temples line the ridge to the peak known as Angel's Landing. The
path keeps narrowing until, finally, it is a few yards wide and either
side plummets almost 3,000 feet into the canyon below. Watch your step!!
Finally, we reach Bryce Canyon. Once again, we're surrounded by beautiful rose-colored stone formations, strangely eroded by wind and rain over hundreds of thousands of years. The magnificent colors of the canyon rocks change hour by hour, from white to red to brown to gold with stripes of lavender. Simply breathtaking! We spend the night in tents to be as close as possible to these beautiful natural wonders. The following day, after breakfast, we go on a hike through the park, giving you plenty of time to revel in the surroundings.
After lunch, we stop at Lake Powell on the border between Utah and Arizona. This is, without a doubt, one of the most dramatic settings in the entire Southwest. Flaming red sandstone formations set off by aquamarine water create an effect that is quite breathtaking. A dammed river has completely filled this mountain valley with crystal clear water. The light results in an incredible blue lake. Film enthusiasts will notice that this striking backdrop was used in the 1970's film series, "Planet of the Apes." If we're especially lucky, we'll be greeted at our campsite in Monument Valley with the sky blazing. Even better would be a huge rainbow spanning the entire scene.
After riding in comfort through the painted desert of Monument Valley, we come to the eighth wonder of the world, the Grand Canyon. In every direction, a monumental panorama presents itself to inconsequential man. One mile below the canyon rim, the mighty Colorado, the sculptor of this thrilling work of nature, flows majestically. The Colorado River winds through the entire canyon. We will take a six-hour long hike down into the canyon. Naturally, this proud territory does not lend itself easily to human touch, but we'll be greatly rewarded for our efforts. We will sleep the night right in the canyon and wake up the next morning surrounded by a colossal playground. The Grand Canyon is surely a once-in-a-lifetime experience that will never be forgotten.
On the way back to the West Coast, we'll rest at Willow Beach, not far from that man-made wonder, Hoover Dam. By nightfall, we'll have reached the biggest, most influential city of the West Coast, Los Angeles. On our last day of the tour, we can head for the fabulous film studios of Hollywood, the golden strands of Venice Beach, or the biggest and most popular tourist attraction of Los Angeles, Disneyland. If you don't feel like following the "established" trail, simply head off to the new shopping areas in Westwood or elsewhere. Don't forget that Southern California is the birthplace of great new American trends and fads as well as the home of old Mexican culture.
Next morning, we're off to Los Angeles International Airport for our flight back to New York. These last hours are for quiet reflection on the enormous variety existing in the western United States -- and on our new-found relationship to it.