Monterey, Carmel and 17-Mile Drive: Full Day Tour from SF
Overview
Available languages
11 hours
Mobile ticket
Cruise along California's spectacular coastline on a relaxing day trip from San Francisco. Follow Highway 1 and enjoy stops at Pigeon Point Lighthouse and in Davenport for a quick coffee and snack.
Back on the road traveling by Monterey Bay and Peninsula, to the famous Monterey Bay Aquarium and Steinbeck's Cannery Row. Explore Monterey's charming shops or choose to go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Two hours is ample time for pictures and Instagram posts of everything you are experiencing.
See the stunning estates of 17-Mile Drive, as well as Bird Rock, Lone Cypress, and world famous, Pebble Beach Golf Course.
Arriving in Carmel-by-the-Sea, known for the museums and library of the historic Carmel Mission, and the fairytale cottages, and galleries of its village like center.
11 hours of breathtaking sightseeing, unique shopping, historical landmarks, mouth-watering culinary innovation.
Additional Info
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Service animals allowed
Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
What‘s Included
Transport by air-conditioned luxury motor-coach with a professional guide
Day-trip to Monterey and Carmel
2 hours stop at Monterey Bay
1 hour stop at Carmel by the Sea
Entrance fee for the 17-Mile Drive Included
Stops at Pigeon Point Lighthouse, Pebble Beach, Bird Rock and the Lone Cypress
not included
Food and drinks
Hotel Pick-up & drop-off
Monterey Bay Aquarium
What To Expect
Pacific Coast Highway
The lighthouse, constructed in 1871, serves as a guiding beacon for ships navigating the Pacific coast of California. It proudly stands as the tallest lighthouse along the West Coast of the United States and continues to play an active role in assisting the Coast Guard in navigation. During the journey, travelers will have the chance to disembark from the bus to capture memorable photos with the lighthouse as their backdrop or enjoy a brief stroll down to the nearby beach.
Pigeon Point Light Station
Tallest lighthouse on the west Coast of the United States. it is still an active Coast Guard aid to navigation. Explore the lighthouse or a quick walk down to the beach.
Options
Monterey and Carmel
Reviews
2,178 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Sightseeing the coast
uyen n,
Nov 14, 2025
- Review from Viator
4.00Beautiful way to see the California coast. Many different points of interest. Find it easier to have a tour group, cuz you just sit back and enjoy the scene s.
An excellent trip and would return to some of the places we visited.
Michelle R,
Oct 27, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00If you want to see the California coast this day trip from San Fran is not to be missed. I loved every part of this trip and the views were memorable. The driver/guide Thomas was friendly, knowledgeable, and he made it a relaxing day whilst also keeping to a busy itinerary of stops. I loved Monterey and Carmel.
Glad we took the tour
94MM,
Oct 26, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
3.00The scenery was spectacular. Also, we purchased tickets to the Monterey aquarium. Really special. Our tour guide -Jerry did not appear to be very informative. In addition, he didn’t have skilled people skills at all. He shared a lot about his cars, motorcycles and life. We paid a lot of money to learn about the area and sights along the way. He didn’t engage personally with the group. Great driver -just needs more training being a tour leader.
Amazing tour!
rebeccanW6723QE,
Oct 24, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Fantastic tour with Thomas! We did a full day in Monterey and Carmel with lots of stops along the way. Our guide was incredibly knowledgeable and helpful. We are visiting from Australia and thoroughly enjoyed this tour. It was a great way to see these towns and would highly recommend this!
Overview of the Monterey Bay coast
MaryEllen H,
Oct 19, 2025
- Review from Viator
4.00Our driver/guide, George, was an excellent driver, was very knowledgeable and kept an informative patter going during the entire long drive down to Monterey, Carmel, and back. I learned quite a bit and this kept the long drive interesting. The coach was clean and comfortable (I didn't use the on-board restroom so can't comment on that). Folks considering this tour need to be aware you will be doing most of your viewing from inside the coach. If your hope is to stop and see the seabirds, seals, sea lions, crashing surf, and so forth, this may not be your tour. Most stops (Bird Rock, Pigeon Point Lighthouse--?) are 15 minutes, time to jump out and take a few photos. The longer stops (Cannery Row/Monterey and Carmel) are in the center of town near high-end shopping. Finding lunch along Cannery Row left no time to walk the pretty trail along Monterey Bay. In Carmel, an hour in the shopping area was not sufficient to walk down to the water and enjoy the view. Overall, this long day tour gives an overview of the high-end shopping and mansions along Pebble Beach and the Seventeen-Mile Drive, but don't expect to spend time out enjoying the coastal beauty. That would be a different tour.
Spectacular scenery
lam917,
Oct 19, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
4.00Enjoyable day! George was our driver/tour guide, and he did an exceptional job of giving us history, data, points, and other general information. The drive is spectacular. Period. I would recommend sitting on the right hand side of the bus. Perfect amount of time in both Carmel and Monterey. Would’ve liked another 15 minutes at Pebble.
Carmel/Monterey
Elena S,
Oct 15, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00Worth it! A must-do!! Beautiful views and plenty of opportunities to take it all the sights along the way.
Great drive to Monterey and Carmel
laurahQ5735SR,
Oct 13, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Great tour. Our driver included a lot of his personal experiences in relating what were we seeing along the way. Enough time at the stops to enjoy the places we saw.
Amazing Monterey
Byron R,
Oct 13, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00George our driver was great. Covered so much history and fun facts of the area we traveled. Scenery was great too.
The description of the...
JoseFabio S,
Oct 12, 2025
- Review from Viator
3.00The description of the tour says it lasts 11 hours. So, if we departed at 8 am it should have finished at 7 pm, but we arrived at Union Square at 8:30 pm. No reason was given for the different arrival time (there was no traffic), which is a problem when you have dinner plans after the tour. The tour picks up passengers at 2 places: Union Square and Fisherman's Warf. Given that all the places visited were south of San Francisco, it would make sense for the tour to depart from Fisherman's Warf, go to Union Square to pick up the other passengers and then head south, but for some reason it was done the other way around: they asked the Union Square passengers to arrive at Union Square at 7:40 am, the bus then went north to Fisherman's Warf and departed from this second point at 8 am. This means that the Union Square passengers had to be on the bus for 30 minutes more than necessary, which is inconvenient on a tour this long. One thing that can delay a tour is guests returning to the bus after the alloted time on each stop, which is why it's important for the driver/guide to be firm about the times. This is also out of respect and consideration for the guests that arrive on time. Unfortunately, this didn't happen with our guide: on every stop someone was late and he never said anything. On the other hand, the guide gave many information and facts about the locations we went to or passed by, and the places we visited were very nice.
From $139.00
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