Take a self-guided audio tour onboard the world’s longest-serving aircraft carrier, the historic USS Midway. See the carrier’s 25 restored aircraft from the days of WWII to Operation Desert Storm. Visit areas throughout the Midway, from the crew's sleeping quarters to the pilots' ready rooms. Docents are available throughout the carrier and are eager to share their stories, anecdotes, and statistics, creating a picture of just how important the USS Midway was to the U.S. Navy. Most guests spend 3 to 4 hours exploring this historic aircraft carrier and learning its history. The included audio guide, available in 6 languages, will help you explore the dozens of highlighted areas across the massive ship.  There are family-oriented activities throughout the Museum. Included are 3 types of flight simulators, music videos, short films, climb-aboard aircraft and cockpits, and more. The Museum is located at the Navy Pier in downtown San Diego.

Come explore the fascinating Victorian mansion built by Winchester rifle heiress, Sarah L. Winchester. Marvel at this vast, strange and unusual place. Take a 65-minute guided tour of this architectural marvel, built for 38 years from 1884. Experience beautiful stained glass windows, ornate parquet floors, and turn-of-the-century craftsmanship. Discover strange oddities such as doors to nowhere, stairs to the ceiling, and windows in the floor. See rooms bare with remnants of the 1906 earthquake damage, and others furnished with lounge chairs, grand pianos, and chandeliers. After your tour, walk round the beautiful the gardens, and enjoy the fresh flowers, picnic benches and palm trees. Try your hand at axe throwing or the shooting gallery for an additional charge, or browse for souvenirs at the gift shop.

Visit the world’s only aquarium-planetarium-rainforest-living museum at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. The superb complex incorporates all 4 attractions under one living roof, with exhibits and shows that explain the universe! Don’t miss the African penguins – and 38,000 other live animals – at the California Academy of Sciences in the heart of Golden Gate Park, a must-see attraction in San Francisco. Rocket through the galaxy at the speed of light or journey deep into the oceans of the world as the Academy boldly brings life to life. Come face-to-face with snakes and piranhas, meet Claude the American alligator with albinism, and hang out with Pierre, Howard, Ocio, and the rest of the South African penguin colony. Stroll through the rainforest dome with its free-flying birds and butterflies and become immersed in the rainforests of Borneo, Madagascar, Costa Rica, and the flooded Amazon. Discover Borneo bats, chameleons, poison dart frogs, leaf cutter ants, gliders, snakes, and so much more. Catch the latest amazing digital planetarium show, taking you on a spectacular journey to the far reaches of the universe, held 7-10 times a day. Designed by award-winning architect Renzo Piano, the museum housed under a living roof will inspire lifelong curiosity for the natural world as you experience the depths of a Philippine coral reef, climb into the canopy of a Costa Rican rainforest, and fly to the outer reaches of the universe.

Spend the afternoon on a one-hour narrated cruise. Learn about the legendary past of California's capital city, from the first days of the Gold Rush to the booming metropolis that is here today. Set in Old Sacramento, California’s capital and the center of the state’s legendary Gold Rush story, cruises here drift down the scenic Sacramento River and provide a peek at historic sites and modern developments alike.

Discover a world of adventure with a full-day ticket to the Exploratorium in San Francisco, the only place in the city where you can touch, tinker and play with hundreds of interactive exhibits. The museum is conveniently located at Pier 15 between the historic Ferry Building and Pier 39 on the Embarcadero in San Francisco. Perhaps the most experimental museum in the world, the Exploratorium explores the world via large-scale art installations, studies of microscopic life, motion, color and light installations, and much more. Spread across six expansive galleries, you can embrace the wild wonders of the world and beyond with exhibits that you can feel, play with, and manipulate. A learning lab for all ages, it’s the best place to immerse yourself in San Francisco’s innovative culture.

Escape the crowds of San Francisco on a full-day guided tour to Yosemite National Park. See highlights, including Yosemite Falls and Inspiration Point. Enjoy seamless travel in a bio-fueled mini-coach. Heading east across the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge offers great views of the San Francisco skyline, Alcatraz Island, Fisherman's Wharf, and the Golden Gate Bridge. En route to the park the tour crosses through the Central Valley, where you will stop at a fruit stand for some local produce. Famous for its rich volcanic soil, the Central Valley is the largest agricultural region in the United States. The section the tour drives through is best known for specialty fruits and nuts such as almonds, walnuts, cherries, and strawberries. After this quick rest stop, you will enter the rolling foothills of the Sierra Nevadas. Continuing into the mountains brings you to California gold country and the gold rush town of Groveland before the tour winds its way into Yosemite National Park. On your 1.5-hour narrated coach tour of Yosemite's glaciated valley, you will see famous waterfalls and rock formations including Yosemite Falls, the tallest waterfall in North America. Continue on past El Capitan, Half Dome, Bridalveil Falls, Sentinel Dome, and much more. During the tour you will see Yosemite Valley from a number of great vantage points, the best of which is perhaps Inspiration Point. After the tour, you will stop for the afternoon near the base of Yosemite Falls. If you have not already picked up picnic supplies, there are many options for getting lunch in the park. You will have 3-4 hours of free time to explore the valley as you choose. You can walk to the base of Yosemite Falls, check out the visitor center, visit the Ansel Adams Gallery, stop in at the Ahwahnee Hotel, rent a cruiser bike, or hike some of the trails that originate from the valley. Although you could easily spend 3 weeks in Yosemite, the 3 hours you get on your own is enough time to understand why Yosemite is one of America's most popular national parks.

See the best of San Francisco on an English speaking walking tour and learn the history behind each turn from your guide. Take in the views of the skyline on your ferry to Alcatraz before exploring this notorious prison. Meet your guide at the north end of Fisherman's Wharf and start your experience by taking in the amazing views of the bay, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Alcatraz. Hear how San Francisco transformed from a sleepy village to a booming port city when gold fever swept the nation in 1849. Learn about the life of the Italian chocolatier Domenico Ghirardelli at the famous former chocolate factory in Ghirardelli Square. Stroll along the fog-lined waterfront and drool over the numerous stalls selling crab and clam chowder in sourdough bread bowls. Walk a portion of the historic Barbary Coast trail while your guide tells you about its colorful past. You and your group will then make your way to Pier 39 and admire historic ships in the harbor. Witness the colony of sea lions that have taken over many of its docks. Continue along the Embarcadero Promenade and learn about its evolution from a traditional maritime port to a modern urban waterfront filled with trendy restaurants and amusement piers. The walking tour concludes at Pier 33, where you will present your photo ID to receive your Alcatraz tickets. Board your ferry and enjoy a self-guided tour of Alcatraz upon the island.  Learn about the history of the cell house and its former residents with an award-winning audio tour available in multiple languages. You can expect to be done with the whole experience in the late afternoon.

Enjoy the scenic outdoors and rugged extremes of the western United States with a visit to Death Valley. Sample local treats and see Dante's View, Badwater Basin, and the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes. Begin your adventure with a pickup at your Las Vegas hotel and head out into the desert. Depending on your fellow adventurers, you may be able to request a customizable itinerary. As you drive, stop to explore the famous ghost towns of the Wild West, including Rhyolite, which came into prosperity in 1904 when gold was found. Pay a visit to the Goldwell Open Air Museum with its local oddities. Next, enter Death Valley, with a stop at Hell's Gate. Head out to the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes. Trek through the sand where Star Wars characters once walked, then take off to Furnace Creek Visitor Center, where the highest-ever temperature was recorded. Ask the park rangers questions or pick up a souvenir. Finally, visit Badwater Basin, with the lowest elevation in North America (282 feet below sea level) and then Zabriskie Point. Snap a selfie in the 150-mile-long park, a swirl of colors in the background.

Spend a day with a San Francisco local as you embark on a small group tour to area highlights. Enjoy a unique blend of nature and history as you stroll through ancient redwoods, see Sausalito, and board a ferry to Alcatraz. Choose your route option to visit Muir Woods or Alcatraz first. Begin your tour when you meet your guide in San Francisco. Depart for your chosen first destination, Muir Woods National Monument Park or Alcatraz. If you've chosen Muir Woods, admire the breathtaking majesty and fresh air of the ancient redwood forest.  Continue your day as you drive to the seaside community of Sausalito. Admire the Mediterranean flair and the large assortment of houseboats. Then, travel on a ferry to reach Alcatraz Island and enter the prison. While you explore, listen to the award-winning Cellhouse audio tour. If you've chosen to visit Alcatraz first, board a ferry to visit the famous island prison. Wander the halls with your audio guide and explore the island, then depart to visit the Muir Woods National Monument Park and the colorful city of Sausalito.

Discover the rich diversity of the world's largest LGBTQ community, the Castro, on this award-winning tour. Join a local LGBTQ activist who will guide you through over 170 years of San Francisco's diverse culture and its historical impact. Visit the Pink Triangle Park and Memorial and more. On your educational, inspirational tour, hear about the life and times of Harvey Milk, the slain supervisor and LGBTQ Civil Rights leader who later created the foundation of LGBTQ culture in this San Francisco neighborhood. Find out where he lived, worked, and advocated for equality. See Castro's abundance of historical LGBTQ sites representing the past, present, and future of this evolving sexual and gender-diverse culture. Pause for reflection in Pink Triangle Park and Memorial, which remembers the thousands of homosexual men persecuted during WWII.Continue to the AIDS Memorial Quilt and Names Project, the GLBT Historical Society, the Rainbow Honor Walk — bronze sidewalk plaques honoring famous LGBTQs who have made an impact in world history — and many more sites besides.