The Ultimate Student Travel Guide to California
Only in California can you ski in the morning, surf in the afternoon, and have dinner in a major city. With so many options planning your perfect trip to California might feel overwhelming. Experiencing a sub-par trip to California should never happen.
We know how to design your best California trip. You want to feel the wind in your hair as you experience the best of California. You and your students are laughing, playing, and making great memories. Your groups need to see all the top spots in California.
You and your students will experience California like pros. Of course, you’ll see the Golden Gate Bridge or the Hollywood Sign, but what about the unique places that only locals know? It’s the details that make the difference between the standard trip and your best trip. We’ll cover:
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Where to Stay -- Student Tours To California
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Where to Eat -- Student Travel To California
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What to see - School Trip To California
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What to see (Honorable Mention) - School Trip To California
With the right information, you’ll feel the Cali love on your best trip ever. Let’s get started.
Where to Stay -- Student Tours To California
Let’s start with the obvious. California is a highly populated state, and traffic is a reality. Staying in a hotel near your activities will maximize your time. No group wants to sit on a bus when they could be enjoying a hike or beach time.
Selecting the right hotel in California is the same as most other major cities. Your group needs a clean, comfortable and safe place to stay. Here’s how a morning at your hotel might look. After a restful night’s sleep, you and your students enjoy a hot American-style breakfast and head to your motorcoach. After a short drive, you start your morning activity. Do you want to have your toes in the sand or visit a World-Class Museum?
Depending on your length of stay in California, it will likely make sense to stay at more than one property. California is a large state. If you want to see more several cities, you’ll need to change hotels. Plan your best trip to California and stay at a comfortable hotel near your morning activities.
Where to Eat -- Student Travel California School Tour
You and your students will love the food on your tour. California is home to mouthwatering food from around the world. Maybe Burgers and Pizza are more your group’s thing? We’ve got you covered. When you eat in California, you’ll want the meals to feel like an activity. On your trip, food matters. Eat at places that you can only find in the Golden State.
California Cities Student Travel: Cities rich in American History
The California State Capitol - Sacramento and Gold Country
Tour the California State Capitol building in Sacramento. Meet a state senator and gain a deeper understanding of how politics work at the state level. Grab a pouch of saltwater taffy and walk the streets of Old Town Sacramento. Step deep below the streets of the old town and explore the underground catacombs in Sacramentos tour of the underground. Explore the railroad museum in Old Town Sacramento. Learn the old impact trains had on the development of California.
Head to the close-by Foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. Pan for gold in the same spot as the gold discovery in 1848. Enjoy a cookout-style meeting and feel what it was like to be a part of the California gold rush.
San Francisco Bay Area
Spend part of a day at San Francisco’s fun-filled Fisherman’s Wharf and Pier 39. Grab a clam chowder bowl or a piece of sourdough crust pizza and watch the seals play on the docks. Explore the shops at Pier 39 or eat ice cream and people watch. Then, walk a few piers down and step aboard a boat headed towards Alcatraz. Explore this former maximum-security prison. Explore the jail cells of famous inmates, Al Capone and Birdman. Take a guided audio tour and learn about the families who lived in the worker’s housing at Alcatraz. Hear the stories of how kids would travel by boat for school in San Francisco and come home to a life of quiet seclusion at Alcatraz. The Alcatraz tour will transport you from the life of a warden to a prisoner to kid living on Alcatraz.
You and your students will relax and learn in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Feel the rumble at the California Academy of Sciences’ earthquake exhibit. Step downstairs and see bountiful aquatic life in the Academy’s Aquarium. You’ll want to set the alarm and plan to catch the penguin feeding and planetarium movie presentations. The nearby Japanese Tea Gardens is a group favorite in Golden Gate Park. Sip warm tea as you and your students tour the expertly manicured grounds. Feel the serenity inside a major city.
Fell the wind in your hair as you wiz through the city on an iconic cable car
Los Angeles -
When you think of Los Angeles, it’s likely your mind goes straight to Hollywood and beaches and you’d be right. The attractions in Los Angeles are many. Santa Monica, La Brea tar pits, and the Natural History Museum offer a wide range of historic and cultural activities. Los Angeles is at the nexus of new and exciting change and at the same time revers old favorites like iconic restaurants and. Visit sites like Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Koreatown, and many more. Each ethnic neighborhood provides a unique culture and is part of the history of Los Angeles.
San Diego
San Diego history is steeped in military tradition and has its roots in Spanish and Mexican Culture. Step aboard the USS Midway Musuem and see what life was like on this Cold War-era aircraft carrier. Old town San Diego is home to some of the best Mexican food around. Old town is the location of the first European settlement in California. It is the oldest neighborhood in San Diego located in the heart of San Diego.
Transform your school trip to California into an experience of a lifetime.
Theme Parks -
-Sacramento - Marine World (Vallejo), Sunpsplash (Roseville)
-San Francisco Bay Area - Great America, Raging Waters
- Los Angeles - Six Flags - Magic Mountain, Universal Studios, Disney in Anaheim
-San Diego - San Diego Zoo, Animal Kingdom, Legoland, Seaworld
College Visits - high school and college transfer students love:
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-Sacramento - UC Davis, Sacramento State
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-San Francisco Bay Area - UC Berkeley, Stanford, University of San Francisco
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- Los Angeles - Six Flags - UC Los Angeles, University of Southern California, Pepperdine, Pasadena School of the Arts
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-San Diego - UC San Diego, San Diego State, University of San Diego
State Parks and National Parks -
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- -Sacramento - Yosemite (2.5 hours away)
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-San Francisco Bay Area - Big Basin, Alcatraz Island, Muir Woods, Point Reyes
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- Los Angeles - Joshua Trees, Death Valley, Santa Monica Mountains
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-San Diego - Cabrillo State Marine Reserve
Professional Sports
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Sacramento - Sacramento River Cats (SF Giants Minor League Baseball) Sacramento Kings (Basketball)
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San Francisco Bay Area - Oakland A’s and SF Giants (Major League Baseball), Golden State Warriors (Basketball), San Francisco 49’ers (Football), and San Jose Sharks (Hockey)
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Los Angeles - LA Dodgers and LA Angels (Major League Baseball), LA Lakers and LA Clippers (Basketball), LA Rams and LA Chargers (Football), and LA Kings (Hockey)
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San Diego - San Diego Padres (Major League Baseball), Anaheim Ducks (Orange County, Hockey)
Your Educational Tour to California
Plan a California trip that will inspire you and your students. No trip leader wants a ho-hum trip. Instead, you want to lead an exciting journey that you and your students will never forget. As a trip leader, you want to pick the best activities for your group. Below is your guide to your best California Trip.
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Where to Stay -- Student Tours To California
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Where to Eat -- Student Travel To California
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What to see - School Trip To California
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What to see (Honorable Mention) - School Trip To California
When your field trip is completed, you’ll feel proud of the journey you led. Your students and fellow chaperones had a great time. The food was delicious, and the activities were enriching. You and your students experienced the best of the big apple.
We can help you design a premium California trip that you and your students will love. If you want to lead an unforgettable California trip with your students, there are three easy steps:
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Click the let’s talk button, and on our call, we’ll listen to your perfect trip goals
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We’ll present you with two unique itineraries.
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You’ll select your itinerary and lead your best trip ever.
Click the Let’s Talk button to get started.
