Easiest way to visit Hearst Castle?
Mar 27, 2015, 8:52 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Salt Lake City
Programs: Delta, Hertz, Hilton, Marriott
Posts: 4,921
Easiest way to visit Hearst Castle?
We have to fly into CA. We'd like to visit the castle with as little as possible driving.
Amtrak it to San Luis Obispo? Are there overnight tours from LA?
Tours from Monterey?
We've been wanting to see this place forever, but the driving thing has always stopped us.
Any advice is welcome.
Amtrak it to San Luis Obispo? Are there overnight tours from LA?
Tours from Monterey?
We've been wanting to see this place forever, but the driving thing has always stopped us.
Any advice is welcome.
Mar 27, 2015, 10:13 am
#2
Moderator: Travel Safety/Security, Travel Tools, California, Los Angeles; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: LAX
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Posts: 20,625
We have to fly into CA. We'd like to visit the castle with as little as possible driving.
Amtrak it to San Luis Obispo? Are there overnight tours from LA?
Tours from Monterey?
We've been wanting to see this place forever, but the driving thing has always stopped us.
Any advice is welcome.
Amtrak it to San Luis Obispo? Are there overnight tours from LA?
Tours from Monterey?
We've been wanting to see this place forever, but the driving thing has always stopped us.
Any advice is welcome.
American Star Tours: 805-481-4646
Breakaway Tours: 805-783-2929
California Parlor Car: 800-227-4250
The Wine Wrangler: 805-238-5700
Ride-On TMA: 805-543-7862
Santa Barbara Transportation: 805-549-0402
Silver Bay Tours: 805-772-3409
Quest Transportation: 805-545-8400
Key Holidays: 800-783-0783
Breakaway Tours: 805-783-2929
California Parlor Car: 800-227-4250
The Wine Wrangler: 805-238-5700
Ride-On TMA: 805-543-7862
Santa Barbara Transportation: 805-549-0402
Silver Bay Tours: 805-772-3409
Quest Transportation: 805-545-8400
Key Holidays: 800-783-0783
Amtrak has a package that include transportation, hotel and castle tour.
The drive from Monterey to San Simeon on Highway 1 is spectacular, but the road is too winding for large tour buses.
Mar 27, 2015, 10:33 am
#3
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Central California
Programs: Former UA Premex, now dirt
Posts: 6,531
It looks convoluted but you may be able to put together a bus trip from San Luis Obispo using the county's Rapid Transit Authority if you don't want a package tour. You would use bus 12 from SLO to Morro Bay and change there to bus 15, which goes to the Hearst Castle entrance station.
http://www.slorta.org/
Once there, you join the chosen tour. A bus then takes you up the hill to the actual castle. There are several different tours, for which you can make reservations via the website.
http://hearstcastle.org/tour-hearst-castle/daily-tours/
This all sounds like a rather tiring, all-day excursion so I'd think a couple of nights, or at least one night, at a hotel in SLO might be in order. I'd also make a call to the SLO RTA to verify the routes you need are still running at the time you wish to go.
Frankly, the AMTRAK tour listed above sounds a lot better, even if it might cost more.
http://www.slorta.org/
Once there, you join the chosen tour. A bus then takes you up the hill to the actual castle. There are several different tours, for which you can make reservations via the website.
http://hearstcastle.org/tour-hearst-castle/daily-tours/
This all sounds like a rather tiring, all-day excursion so I'd think a couple of nights, or at least one night, at a hotel in SLO might be in order. I'd also make a call to the SLO RTA to verify the routes you need are still running at the time you wish to go.
Frankly, the AMTRAK tour listed above sounds a lot better, even if it might cost more.