Enjoy a relaxing drive south past Silicon Valley and through Gilroy and Castroville, the garlic and artichoke capitals of the world before arriving in Monterey.
We arrive in Monterey along the awi-inspiring Monterey Bay. We will stop at the town’s famous Cannery Row to grab a coffee and fresh pastry at Steinbeck Plaza.
Drive along the rocky shores of Pacific Grove, known as “Butterfly Town USA” because of the thousands of Monarchs which migrate every year. ]We will drive down the private 17-Mile Drive through Pebble Beach -- famous vistas, exquisite homes, and maybe some local wildlife. Stops along the way may include Bird and Seal Rock and the Lone Cypress. And golf lovers will be able to stop at the famous 18th green at Pebble Beach.
Free-time in Carmel-by-the-Sea – a storybook village with artisan bakeries, exclusive stores and wine-tasting. You will have time to experience the charm of town that has attracted writers and film-industry luminaries for over 100 years.
Shoreline drive to Bixby Bridge and Hurricane Point. This is a great time for photo stops of these icons of Big Sur that many people will recognize from many films and television series.
Stephen was great! We covered a lot of ground and saw a ton of sights. Absolutely recommend this tour - you get your money’s worth. Bonus stop on the way back to SF at a farm stand to shop and use bathrooms. Bought the best strawberries I’ve ever had in my life.
The tour was amazing! The places were absolutely gorgeous & Brian, our tour guide, was awesome! He picked us up from each hotel, tell us every story of every corner we go through, play really good music in the van and also gave us bottles of water. He also had pictures of the stuff he was speaking about & a collection of videos if the traffic got heavy. Highly recommend this experience!! It was great to visit this places with someone who clearly loves them!! Don’t doubt on booking this tour!
Our driver and guide, Brian, was the absolute best! First, he made sure that were all sure of our pickups by sending us a personal text and email. He got us excited about the trip by highlighting beautiful pictures of what we were expected to see on our trip before we started our journey. He was upbeat and so friendly and called everyone by their name. He played music that appealed to our age group during our ride and also showed interesting videos. He was very knowledgeable and sincerely enthusiastic of his surroundings, and he worked really hard to ensure that we had a good time.
The Big Sur Monterey tour was terrific. Our tour guide Steven of Best Bay Area Tours picked us up right on time. Steven was fun and informative and is a great tour guide.
In a few words; exceptional, Steven was a very good driver and with knowledge, this trip was my dream came true, Ali from Chicago
Every stop was amazing!! The trip was a day well spent with so much Information and great stops along the way. Brian was so knowledgeable about all of the locations, and even had awesome videos to watch along the way and great music to pass he time while driving. Great Experience!!
This was an Excellent Overview of Monterrey, Carmel, 17-mile Drive and Big Sur. I will definitely come back on my own to see some the the places covered on the tour in more detail. The tour includes a brief breakfast stop in Monterrey due to the early start and then a photo stop at Lover's Point. This is followed by the 17-mile drive with stops at Bird Rock and Lone Cypress, while pointing out various golf courses on the 17-mile drive. We then stop at the Pebble Beach Visitors center, followed by lunch in Carmel and a photo stop at Hurricane Point when one can see the Bixby Creek Bridge in Big Sur. This this first point where one can legally stop to get a picture of the famous bridge, but it is a good distance away, so a zoom lens would be preferred. On the way back, one stops at a farm for snacks and a bio break. Well organized and implemented. Our tour guide Steven was excellent throughout. Unfortunately for the photos, fog followed us most of the time.
The driver cum tour guide was helpful and responsible. He would contact me one day before the trip. He also picked me up at my hotel instead of designated hotel. He also dropped me off at my second hotel after the trip. Very much appreciated for the flexibility and always enthusiastic in bringing us around. I like his attitude and service. Excellent
Great experience...recommend it
Our tour guide was Brian. He was outstanding. We could tell that he truly enjoys his job. He was very knowledgeable about the area We truly enjoyed this tour
Amazing tour. The tour guide Brian was great and very helpful with everything, shared a lot of local information about the places and helped us take amazing photos.
We had such a great experience with Brian! English isn’t our first language, but he explained everything so clearly and made everything easy to understand. He was friendly, knowledgeable, and took us to some really special spots that we definitely wouldn’t have discovered or reached on our own. We learned a lot and got to see a completely different side of the area thanks to him. as first timers in this area - the tour made it even better! highly recommend
A must do! BRIAN our tour guide is one in a million!! Not a detail left out..he takes pride in his job . Thank you for a wonderful experience.
I highly recommend this tour . The hotel pick up made it so easy . The van had big huge windows to see all the attractions. The best part was our guide, Brian. He grew up in Monterey and had a lot of interesting stories to tell. He was knowledgeable, kind and helpful.
Bryan was excellent and very knowledgeable. He was also funny and helped us in taking pictures of our family so we could get everyone in the photos. This trip is definitely for older people not small kids or even teens they will get bored because they don’t appreciate it or at least mine didn’t
We had a Wonderful Time! Brian our guide was professional and knowledgeable of the areas we visited. This one comes highly recommended for sure!!! #goodtime.
Derek our driver and guide what a top bloke. Did everything to make our trip enjoyable. Plenty of info on sights, highly recommend this trip and Derek
Trevor is the perfect driver/tour guide! I would give him 5/5 stars! He's jolly, optimistic attitude, transparent to us with the traffic situations, very accommodating always offering water and helping us with pictures, and he knows a lot of stuff about the places we went to. We enjoyed the Big Sur, Carmel by the Sea, Pebble Beach, Cannery Row and Monterey. Highly recommend this activity, and bring your family/friends.
A fantastic trip out, with some amazing scenery and lots of photo ops . Timings for stops perfect as it kept you busy and didn’t feel you eere on the bus all the time. Just to say that Trevor was a fantastic guide, warm, helpful, knowledgeable & he was happy to engage with all the group and give it a personal touch. He also took some great photos for us all.
The tour was spectacular! Trevor was such an amazing guide and very flexible! We would definitely go back for more!
Our tour guide Derek was amazing! He was friendly, knowledgeable, and made the entire tour enjoyable and stress-free. We learned so much and had a fantastic time. Thank you for making our trip so memorable. Derek also offered to take our photos.Highly recommended!
We had a fun time on the Big Sur/Monterey/Carmel from San Francisco tour. Our guide’s name was Trevor and he was very personable and did a great job making sure we were able get enough time at all the stops. I definitely think this tour is worth booking since it’s a convenient way to see the amazing coastline outside of San Francisco without worrying about the driving!
My dad and I really enjoyed the Big Sur/Monterey from San Francisco tour. Our guide, Trevor, was really friendly and did his best to make sure our group was able to have a great time. There were several stretches of Route 1 that made me glad we had Trevor to driving. I definitely think this tour is worth your time and money since it’s a convenient option to explore the amazing coastline outside of San Francisco. As a golf fan the stop at the Pebble Beach course was also a highlight!
This was one of the most fun, hassle-free, and best value tours I’ve ever been on! Our guides, Brian and Derek were very friendly and personable as well as very knowledgeable about all the areas we visited. They got in contact with us via text the night before to confirm pick up location and time which was super helpful, and even shared photos from the tour with us! Me and my whole group felt like we got to see a little bit of everything with 0 stress which was the goal! It was so much better than renting a car and trying to drive to see everything ourselves. This was a perfect tour for all ages; everything was easily accessible and the timing for each stop was perfect. I will definitely be booking through this company in the future!
Brian is highly energetic and cooperative to work with each of the traveller. Sets up cameras and telescope for the group!
Thank you Brian for the very well organized trip to Carmel - Bixby Creek Bridge - Monterey. Enjoy the beautiful nature for a full day and gain valuable local knowledge. Thanks for this first class trip and the amazing photos! Cheers!
Tour didn't go to Big Sur as was advertised. Views were spectacular, but didn't need 1.5 hours for lunch in a tourist trap and meal recommendations were poor. Guide was very good on wildlife and had zoom cameras so could spot animals and sent us pictures. A lot of interesting videos on the coach , which it would have been better to send links before hand, so that we could concentrate on the scenery. Nice trip, but poor value for money, didn't deliver what was advertised. compared to all trip I took the day before to Yosemite with Extranomicsl and to the Grand Canyon
Amazing tour. Right off the bat we knew Brian was going to show us a good time. Loved all the fun facts. We love naturalists! Views of my dreams. Photos don’t do it justice.
Hour guide tour Brian was the best! He pick up us at the hotel at the exact time he said and he made the drive super fun with all his fun facts and stories of the area! He is a local, born and raised on the pacific so he knows everything and take you to the right spots so you can enjoy the tour 100%. He brought water and binoculars, and he took us amazing pictures with his professional camera. Really recommend this tour, you we'll an amazing atmosphere and the small group is a plus!
It’s a long day depending on where you start. We lucked out and had Beautiful Weather. Our guide Steve is really good at what he does. I would recommend having coffee only at the first stop. The lunch stop offers a better experience. That said, Tidal Coffee in Monterey has excellent coffee and serves a huge breakfast burrito that’s plenty enough for two.
WOW. This tour, guided by Steve was truly magnificent. Visually spectacular, comfortable ride, plenty of CLEAN stops and a wealth of knowledge and humour to go with it. Highly recommend this tour.
Steven was an excellent guide! He made the trip a lot of fun and had great information to share. The scenery along the coast was incredible. This is a must-do if you are in Northern California. I’m glad someone else was doing the driving so I could sit back and take in the amazing views! I would highly recommend this trip!
Brian was so courteous and great. From Bixby to San Francisco fun tour. Would recommend for a whole day excursion.
Amazing tour - Brian was great!!
Brian’s by far the best tour operator we have dealt with. He communicates start to finish the plans for the day. He also provides insight only a local would know. We intend to hunt him down for other tours in the future. We were able to grab outstanding pictures thanks to Brian knowing the right spots that were not overly populated.
It was an absolute amazing experience. Stephan was great and I would highly recommend this tour if you wanna see the best top view around Big Sur!!
Don’t miss this tour! It’s the best! Brian was an excellent tour guide, he knew all the best spots and had wonderful stories about each town. I had the best experience and got to pick sea shells too!
Lots of fun. Nice atmosphere . Relaxed, not hurried. Iconic photo stops. Videos supplemented our drive. Close up wildlife photos .
Steven was great and the views were incredible.
Fantastic day out. It is a long day but 100% worth it. Brian is a local to the area you visit and is very knowledgeable about the wildlife and the places en route and that you visit. Great idea that he breaks up the journey with a couple of relevant programmes to watch on the mini bus too. I would definitely recommend this trip!
Absolutely loved this experience. Brian was an incredibly authentic, knowledgeable, and thoughtful guide, and the whole day felt perfectly curated without ever feeling overly touristy. The route along Highway 1, Big Sur, Monterey, and Carmel-by-the-Sea was stunning from start to finish, with iconic stops and viewpoints where we could take amazing photos and truly enjoy the scenery instead of being rushed. Every stop felt worth it. What made the experience stand out even more was the atmosphere in the group and the attention to detail. Brian coordinated everything smoothly via SMS, picked us up directly at the hotel, brought binoculars so we could spot otters and sea lions, and shared photos from his professional camera with the group the very same day. Comfortable bus, great views throughout the drive, lots of interesting local knowledge, and genuinely one of the highlights of my time in San Francisco.
It was a lovely experience and Brian did a great job making us comfortable and giving enough time at each of the spots . It was a complete value for money. I would highly recommend it .
Kurt was a great driver and guide. He used our names when visiting with us. He took great care of all his passengers and shared lots of information about sites as we made our way to Bixby Bridge. He watched the time for our stops closely, so we wouldn't be late getting back to because of heavy traffic. He sgar d his strawberri s and cherries when we stopped at a fruit stand. He's a great guy!
The tour was well planned. Our driver/tour guide Kurt was great
We had a great time on this tour. Kurt, our guide, was very knowledgeable and welcoming. There were plenty of opportunities for exploring and photos during the day. We particularly enjoyed Pacific Grove and Carmel-by-the-sea. We highly recommend this tour, especially if you are lucky enough to get Kurt as your guide!
I researched a lot before booking this tour, turned out to be a great decision. Small group, hotel pick-ups, perfectly curated comprehensive itinerary, beautifully managed. But the best part was Brian - he was so nice & helpful. Created a great environment throughout the tour, played fun music and knowledgeable documentaries and turned into a photographer as well. This one is a no brainer - just book it. Zero complaints.
We had a great day and would like to thank Brian our tour guide for his good humour, great hospitality and knowledge of the coast line. We’re also glad to have chosen Best Bay Area Tours for their small group numbers and professionalism.
This trip was awesome. The highlight was going to Big Sur. The views were amazing. Brian was our tour guide, and he was phenomenal.
I've been on several guided tours, and this company takes the cake as the best tour company. I was lucky to go to two of the tours they provided during this trip and I was blown away at their communication, knowledge, and well thought out itinerary. Both Brian and Kurt were exceptional guides who pointed out fun facts and histories of locations we passed by. Music and movies provided were informative and fun. They even brought binoculars and telescopes for us to use to spot animal life. They took the best photos on our phones for us too. I can't recommend them enough! Book the trip.
Excellent and knowledgeable tour guide, explain very detailed information on each spots, very comfortable and safe ride
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