Wow! What a perfect tour with no effort from us. Kristina had the most amazing trip set up. A…read moregreat hotel at a great location! Our tour guide, Lori, a true "local", was friendly, knowledgeable, and super attentive. We went to the Hearst Castle and did some fabulous wine tasting. The Hearst Ranch Winery was a beautiful setting. Willow Creek Winery's owner, Brian, was super friendly and informative. The day was perfectly paced and no detail left undone. Thanks for such an excellent day!

What an amazing experience, we had never been wine tasting. From the beginning booking process with…read moreKristina was flawless and tailored to what we wanted and even what we didn't know we wanted. Our guide Lars was extremely courteous and knowledgeable, he explained the history of the region, the differences in wines and was able to get us situated with the winery we chose to have lunch at. Very laid back and made us feel comfortable from pick up to drop off. Highly recommended.

We came here with Scouts for a private program and overnight camping adventure. What a special…read moreexperience! The staff here were so friendly and knowledgeable, their love of the rescue animals came through to how they shared this with us and the large group of kids. Programming might be unique but we had meet and greet of various animals, a night hike at a ranch next door, and tent set up / camping overnight. Lots of rare animals including kangaroos, bald eagles, capybara, spider monkey, python, etc Unique up close experiences including feeding kangaroos bread and bananas, feeding capybara corn and lettuce, holding a tarantula, petting a porcupine, alligator, river otters hunt for live fish, etc Facilities included clean bathroom/shower, kitchen area with running water, fridge, grill, fire pit, shaded central hang out area with couches, picnic tables, kids games, and parking. Also super kid friendly with sand play area, train ride. Also two onsite "tents" Highly recommend checking this out - does require a booking. Note that a single family can book for a private experience.

I brought my fiancée to Paso Robles for the animals (not the wine) to celebrate her 30th birthday…read more This was 100% the best animal experience we've ever had. Spoiler-wise - I was very happy that I did not read too many reviews prior to our visit. The surprise of meeting each animal was a delight, and probably would not have been as joyful if I knew what to expect or was expecting to meet a specific animal that was not part of the tour. Don't read further if you'd like to have a similar experience as us! *** We arrived early and were immediately greeted by Lisa, an animal caretaker veteran who runs the rescue with her husband. I obviously did not do enough research because I expected more guests, but quickly realized that it was just our small group of 2. Lisa purposely keep tours to a smaller group to reduce stress to the animals. Lisa was incredibly knowledgeable, easy to talk to, and clearly passionate about her work. She made us feel comfortable right away, and tailors the tour based off her observations of us, the guests. We interacted with owls, a hawk, river otters, a talking raven, teenage capybaras, an elder spider monkey, a sloth, a laughing kookaburra, an armadillo, a ruffled lemur, and many more critters! Each animal interacted with us on their own accord. She never forced an animal to do something they did not want to. After the tour, she welcomed us to explore the facilities and we saw some warthogs, eagles, and a fennec fox. All I can say is that the price was worth it! My childhood dreams of being a zookeeper fulfilled.

Tour guide was very informative and aware of his local history. Very engaging and loves to collect…read moreand share ghost stories. His mission is not to give you the creeps from a spooky ghost story, but to lay out the facts of each story. He is instead an engaging historian.

This trail is a great way to explore some of the central Cali coast! And PRO TIP: there are about…read morefive other beaches used by the Elephant Seals so their breeding season is a wonderful time to visit (winter months). And these are much less crowded view points than the main one. Another tip - sunsets along this trail are positively magical too! The Pacific coast along this trail is packed full of giant boulders for the waves to crash against- just gorgeous views all around. And bonus - you get to see the Piedras Blancas Lighthouse from several different angles and view points too! You'll see lots of wildlife too - ground squirrels, tons of birds, definitely Elephant Seals, and sea otters if you're lucky and have a good eye. AllTrails says this trail is just over 5 miles with 252 feet elevation gain. I honestly didn't notice any elevation gain - seemed flat to me but probably bc it's so gradual. The trailhead is located at the larger, paved parking lot in the main Elephant Seal vista point (the north view point). From that location, it's about 2 miles to the end. There's a lovely, more wild beach area at the end of the trail that puts you pretty close to the seals too. It's fenced for their safety (and you're lol) but the views are fantastic. The trail can get muddy in places but they installed boards and bridges in those spots - it's pretty well maintained. No bugs in winter either. But my understanding is it gets pretty buggy in summer and watch out for ticks! Parking is in the two lots for the "Elephant Seal vista point" and is free and ample. There are no bathrooms anywhere around here so be prepared.

The trail runs from the paved elephant seal viewing parking for near two miles, to a half mile…read morenorth of the Piedras Blancas Light Station, which offers spectacular scenic vistas of the coastline and opportunities for wildlife viewing. The trail includes coastal bluff, grassland, and wetland areas, however, no dogs are permitted.

Absolutely one of the best food tours we have experienced! Booking was easy through Angee. A day…read morebefore and day of reminders of the upcoming tour date and time was very helpful) Initial email after booking explained everything from parking to tour meeting place. On the day of we met Angee inside our meeting place (Old San Luis Bbq). She was very helpful answering all of our question. Great energy and her enthusiasm set the tone for our amazing food tour. Very knowledgeable about history of SLO, restaurants and hotels. Our tour took about 3.5 - 4hours and we didn't walk too far in between places. Must sign up for her tours if you are ever in the SLO area!! She is the best!!

Amazing epic food & drink tour. Very informative about history of restaurants we visited. The tour…read morewas entertaining and would do another one with her. Thank you Angee

Absolutely loved this sweet little farm. From the moment we arrived, you could feel that it was…read morebuilt with love and a spirit of adventure--something that really shines through in how warm and welcoming Tina is. Every animal is clearly treasured and comes with its own story. They're incredibly friendly and so comfortable around people, which made the experience easy and truly enjoyable. We even had the chance to step into the pen with the goats, llamas, and potbelly pigs, and also saw a variety of chickens, ducks, and farm dogs. The tour lasts about an hour--just the right amount of time. Tina even joked about our group all wearing white tennis shoes...on a farm?! Happy to report back that the pens are so well maintained that we left with completely clean shoes! Thank you for a great experience!

I went to the giving tree for open farm days and loved getting a tour of the animals and being…read moreloved on by all the goats. I'm hoping to eventually take one of her cheese making courses. Also, the goat milk lotions are amazing!

I love these curated tours. I make it a point to do look up one at each place I travel to. We made…read moresure to get Thom to do the tour. The guide makes a difference!

5 Stars Plus!!!!! Tom was informative, interesting, knowledgeable, and entertaining on our tour…read more He made the information personal and within a few minutes we felt like we were old friends sharing information (with Tom being the expert of course). We happened to be the only ones on our tour so he was able to personalize it for us and answer all of our questions. As a former History teacher I thought I knew about California history - but he had great inside information that brought the time period to life and gave us the "back story" to some of our state's most important milestones. Thanks again, Tom! Hope to join you on the Cannery Row tour soon!!!!!

What we learned today from Gael on our "Carmel Walks" guided walking tour through secret pathways,…read morehidden courtyards, award-winning gardens and enchanting storybook cottages ~~ ALWAYS go off the beaten path instead of just sticking to the sidewalks! In downtown Carmel, LK and LEAP! Go for it when you're wondering what's beyond that courtyard, above or below that staircase, through that overgrown trellis or around that corner! Keep alert, look left and right and embrace that serendipitous beckon to delightful places you'd never expect! Such a charming and delightful two-hour walking tour!! Gael herself was a treasure and kept us entertained with her warm and witty dialogue! SO worth your time and $$!! (Wear your most comfy and stable shoes!)

Our tour guide, Gael, was simply amazing! She is so knowledgeable about the Carmel area, and makes…read morethe tour fun and interesting. We enjoyed that our tour was led by a local that really loves the area, and hopes that you will too! Gael is super funny, and extremely kind, answering all of our questions with passion. Our tour was two hours, but we would have loved hanging with Gael all day!!

You come for the history or the views - either way you can't beat it!…read more Our tour guide was pretty funny and sarcastic - he was super knowledgeable on the Hearst family. It's incredible to see how innovative all of this was during the time it was built. We only did one tour that probably only covered a tiny portion of this place. It's $35 per person. The photo is cute that they take and print / but i wish they didn't print it before we bought. It seems like a waste

Many moons ago, my parents took me to Hearst Castle when I was like 8 years old and I thought I was…read morein a magical land. As an anniversary weekend trip, my husband and I visited together since he loves architecture and works in high end construction. I purchased the Grand Rooms tour for a 10am time slot. We arrived early enough, got good parking under the car port, and checked in. They were able to get us in earlier for the 9:40am tour. We boarded a bus that took us up the hill and we got to listen to a nice introduction of the Hearst Castle property. The tour was about a little over an hour long. The outside views and the pools of course are the highlights of the tour. The rest was very interesting to learn about the history and the works of Julia Morgan. With my adult eye, the castle was not as magical as I remembered but it was nice to revisit again. We almost did 2 tours, but I am glad we did just the one tour as I was already tired by the end of it due to the heat. Also, there were only porta-potties available for restroom use at the main entrance of the information center when I was there and it seems like it has been like that for a while just as a heads up if you have specific bathroom needs.