11-Nights Best of the West

San Francisco

Blessed with a viable fog-cooled and sun-kissed climate and a dramatic landscape, the San Francisco Bay Area is a visual feast where neither water nor hills are ever too far away. Add to this the cultural medley: Within every neighborhood, from Santa Cruz to Oakland to Mill Valley, a diversity of tastes and interest is thriving. See it in the cuisine, the bookstores, the arts, and the recreational opportunities. To embrace all San Francisco has to offer get out and explore. Walk the streets, drive across the Bay Bridge, go south down the peninsula to Silicon Valley and cruise along the San Mateo coast. Find great sights, museums, art, culture, and family fun attractions. There is a plethora of attractions and activities to satisfy the desires of every one who visits.

Phoenix

Phoenix has garnered well-earned praise as one of the world's top five golf destinations. As the sixth-largest city in the United States, with nearly 1.3 million residents, Phoenix offers a multitude of cultural and recreational activities. Greater Phoenix gives visitors the opportunity to enjoy countless activities ranging from outstanding museums, galleries, performing arts, fine dining, horseback riding and cowboy shoot-outs. The climate makes outdoor activities, such as desert jeep tours, hot-air ballooning, and water recreation a way of life.

Modesto

Modesto is located in California's Central Valley, approximately 66 miles from Yosemite National Park and 68 miles from Sacramento, the state's capital. Visitors enjoy downtown Modesto's restaurant's and nightlife as well as Modesto's museums and historic homes and neighborhoods.

Los Angeles

Much of Los Angeles lies in a fairly flat basin, surrounded by mountains and ocean. Although the Santa Monica Mountains, one of the most unheralded of the city’s remaining natural treasures, splits LA between the familiar sights of La-La Land to the south and the charmless suburbs to the north, the metropolis is easily traversed. Places for visitors to explore include Hollywood, Mid-Wilshire, the central strip of Wilshire Boulevard with faded Art Deco "Miracle Mile" zone and good museums, and the beach towns of Santa Monica and Venice, where visitors can stroll along the former’s remodeled pier and Third Street Promenade outdoor mall, or visit the latter’s famed Muscle Beach and oceanside Boardwalk. Lengthier trips to LA may include the old-fashioned charm of Old Pasadena, home of ever-popular Rose Parade and Bowl, Downtown, site of much city heritage and setting for what skyscrapers the area does have, the South Bay, the place to find the region’s second biggest city of Long Beach, and Malibu, where visitors can try to get a glimpse of movie stars and assorted celebrities.

Las Vegas

Las Vegas is one of the nation's hot spots. There are nightly shows, great dining, and world famous live entertainment to thrill and dazzle every visitor walking down the strip. Las Vegas is the largest city in the nation for gambling and entertainment. Casinos continuously amaze with their shows, attractions, and non stop gaming. Las Vegas has many local attractions and entertainment. World famous shows such as, Tom Jones, David Copperfield, Siegfried & Roy, and Steve and Eddie are here. Casinos offer live entertainment, fine dining, and all types of gambling to fit everyone's desire. Las Vegas also has great shopping, museums, and some of the nations best golf. Although Las Vegas is primarily known for gambling, everything else is worth offering here as well.

Flagstaff

"Flag" (as it's called locally) is the largest population center north of Phoenix, home of Northern Arizona University and gateway for many of the state's northern travel attractions.

At 6,970 ft/2,125 m, Flagstaff's climate is very different from that found in the desert commonly associated with Arizona. You may need a sweater even in the summer, and in winter it can be bitterly cold and snowy. Enough snow falls for skiing at the Arizona Snowbowl, and the sunset views from the Snowbowl are terrific any time of year.