Best 17 Mile Drive Tours & Trips

This tour suits travelers who want the main sights rather than a resort-style break; if Barstow Outlets and Grand Canyon West Rim are priorities, the route makes sense. I expected Barstow Outlets to be the highlight, but Grand Canyon West Rim ended up being the place I kept talking about after the trip because the two stops felt completely different. For pure scenery I would rank Barstow Outlets first, but Grand Canyon West Rim had the better atmosphere and was the place where I wanted a little more time. The itinerary is not built around one flashy selling point; a broad first-time overview of the West together with stops like Barstow Outlets and Grand Canyon West Rim made it feel like a well-rounded route.

The best part was not one single attraction but the combination of a mix of coast, city and national park with Golden Gate Bridge, which made the itinerary feel more complete. Several people in our group mentioned a mix of coast, city and national park afterward, which says a lot because it is the kind of feature that is easy to overlook before a trip. Before leaving I barely noticed a mix of coast, city and national park in the description, but in practice it was much more noticeable than it looked online. Driving from Golden Gate Bridge to San Francisco myself would have taken a lot of energy; being able to rest during the longer stretches made me enjoy the walking much more.

I was worried group travel would mean a lot of wasted waiting time, but the days around Golden Gate Bridge and 17-Mile Drive moved along with fairly clear meeting points. On a first visit to California, I did not want to spend every evening rebuilding the next day's route, so having transportation between Golden Gate Bridge and 17-Mile Drive handled was a relief. Because the tour covers a wide area, a significant amount of driving is a real factor. Reading the schedule in advance helped; none of the busier segments came as a surprise. If I return to California, I would probably stay near Golden Gate Bridge for several days, but for a first visit I was glad to also see 17-Mile Drive and Bixby Bridge.

I earned bonus points by booking this tour through the mobile app, and customer service helped me apply them instantly when I called. Small touches that made a big difference for a first-timer like me.