Amazing experience with the join in tour. I was a little hesitant at first but I have made friends…read morefrom all over the country visiting. They offer a private side as well which the curators can plan and schedule for you. You give them an idea of what you want and they make the magic happen.

We went on a Platypus wine tour in 2019 and it was wonderful. We visited Lassiter winery, wine…read morecaves, and two other very nice wineries. We returned to Sonoma in 2026 with a small group and booked another tour. Booking and communication was a breeze. Very good. Ends up the property I rented offered a wine passport and we were to receive a discount. I called to confirm and they let me know the driver would apply the discount when we paid him the day of the tour. All sounded wonderful and was very clearly communicated. The tour in 2026 only went to 3 wineries. Two were just ok and one was not good. I don't think anyone on our tour purchased anything here. The time at each winery was like a typical tasting with some information on their winery. But no real information on Sonoma and Napa and the history of the area. At the end our driver had no clue on our discount and kept telling me he would get in trouble for charging me less. He insinuated I was making it all up. In the end he did honor the discount but seemed he did it as a favor not that it was a program that Platypus participates in. All in all I was disappointed in this wine tour and would no go on a platypus tour again and would not recommend them. Maybe we just caught them on a bad day. Luckily all the people on our tour were delightful so that made for a nice day.

This was an incredible tour! Lynda and Lori curated the best experience for my family. They took…read moretime to discuss with me what we were interested in and used their local knowledge to create a unique, personal, and one of a kind tour. We were able to meet with the owners of a Lavender farm and vineyard, as well as get private behind the scenes tour of the facilities and production... all while enjoying drinks and snacks. We also enjoyed a tasting room in Winters, and built our own bouquets at Roxie's flower shop. What made this tour extra special was the attention to detail, thoughtfulness in activities, and person touches from Lynda and Lori. We loved it so much we booked them again for a birthday party!

Had the best time with Yolo365 Tours and Tastings in Winters, CA. They are so much fun to spend an…read moreafternoon with. They were so responsive and helpful from the first communication to the day of, sharing what to expect, what to wear according to weather, to what not to do prior to the tour so we could be surprised by what we'd learn with them. They picked us up from the Winters Hotel in the tour cart and took us to some fabulous experiences at an aperitif tasting room, wine tasting rooms, olive oil tasting in old opera house (all included small bites), to shopping experiences. Was such a blessing during our "Girls Trip" weekend to learn about Winters and all it has to offer, plus they shared ideas of other places nearby to visit and enjoy on our own. We highly recommend Yolo365 for a fun-filled adventure while visiting the town of Winters!! Thank you Lynda and Lori!! We'll definitely be back!!

Took the guided tour at the Kennedy Gold Mine. Both myself and my boyfriend had not been to the…read moreKennedy Mine other than passing by it when in the area. They have a large outdoor area that has some of the old equipment on display. There is also a small museum area and gift shop. They have a cute little area with trinkets you can purchase. They staff was very friendly, greeted us with a warm welcome when we arrived. We had about a half hour before our tour started so we browsed the museum. There is a restroom located outside the museum in a building just across the walk way. Our tour was just over 90 minutes and our guide was extremely knowledgeable. The tour started in the museum, we watched a video on the mine as well as learned about the placer mining and hydro mining. We visited a few buildings around the property, saw how the large rock grinders work and the machinery used to extract the gold from the sand. How they tested samples. We were able to see the engineers office, the pay station, safe, office and bunk house. They have a small building dedicated to the 47 lost in Argonaut mine. It was really cool seeing all the machines they used and getting a history of the Mine back in its operating days.

Fascinating tour - learned so much about the gold mining industry and the history of the area. Bob…read moredid a great job making it interesting and educational. The foundation has done an excellent job restoring history and making it available to everyone.

Sip, savor, and enjoy the incredible flavors of the cheese Trail…read more The California Cheese Trail features 46 artisan cheesemakers in 24 counties who welcome visitors to their farms, cheesemaking facilities and retail shops, offer farm tours, cheesemaking classes and events. Before you embark on a cheese adventure, download the latest Cheese Trail Map, and pick 3-4 stops. These are my favorite three cheese makers. But honestly - I love all the cheese! Every cheese shop offered wonderful service. - - Marin French Cheese Co. offers classic, delectable cheeses, local wines and ample lunch options which you can enjoy in their beautiful picnic area. Nicasio Valley Cheese offers a delightful variety of handcrafted cheeses and local wines. Wm Cofield Cheesemakers offers a beautiful selection of handcrafted artisanal cheeses, local wines, and perfect charcuterie lunch boards.

The Cheese Trail has been a fantastic gift to send during the holidays. The Grilled Cheese, Please!…read moreAnd Cows & More Cows have been the favorite hits. It comes with a kooky cow tea towel that makes the experience complete! The cheeses are fresh from the farm and feel like a unique gift of love rather than a box of something I can pick up from Costco. Plus, it felt good to support small businesses who were hit hard with Covid. You can put your mind at cheese. Thanks for the smooth ordering and delivery Cheese Trail. Nothing gets feta than this!

Can't believe I haven't left this review sooner! What a fantastic outing, experience, workout and…read moreall around good time! HUGE TIP INCOMING: Bring mouth, nose & eye protection! Read on.... We were staying at the Ione Hotel and saw the flyer. What an interesting concept, but I'll bet they charge something ridiculous for it. Nope! Went to their website and all the details, waivers and booking were easily done through there. $99 for a tandem bike make $48.50 "doable" so we booked "The Golden Hour Ride" for the next evening. Directions were perfect, with vertical flags at the turnoff point, leading to a large gravel parking lot. The small ticket window is on a blue and white, refurbished train car, housing the gift shop as well. Once you're checked in, you can relax under the tent on the Adirondack chairs, play corn hole, watch the crew get the rail cars ready and take pics/video of it! Once the rail cars were ready, we were asked to find our car and stand by it. On the loading side, each car had the name of the Reservation - How cool! And smart - what're gonna do, have John Q Public argue about which car he WANTS to ride? No, a temporary label on the car is perfect. We felt special seeing our names, the company looks organized and everyone wins! After a brief but thorough coverage of safety details and how the cars function, the guides got us underway. Because these inactive rails cross active roads, the guides space themselves ahead, behind and in the middle of the rail cars. I really felt the whole team was extremely safe, professional and personable. The journey up to the Sunnybrook Turnaround (about 30 minutes), was fun and a small bit of a workout - that's coming from someone who has a hard time remembering what a workout is! Put your strongest peddler in the "driver's" seat or, in my case, the one who WANTS to peddle. (Pssst...this also means the person in control of the speed and braking on the return downhill, so chose wisely! Hubs figured this out too late. Sorry, bud, should've volunteered to peddle uphill!) The turnaround was before sunset and it was lovely. There were more red Adirondack chairs dotting the hillside, spread out, to give couples and families some space, but also some clusters a few feet apart, in case you're a larger group or feel like getting to know your fellow riders. We were at the turnaround for 20-30 minutes. Other couples, having done this before, brought some light picnic goodies and a blanket and toasted to the hills. Sláinte! Watching the crew turnaround the rail cars was really interesting. Again, professional and safe! The return was THE BEST! Downhill almost the whole way. Remember that HUGE TIP I mentioned at the beginning? Well, try not to smile as much as I did and definitely DON'T laugh heartily with joy. I think I scraped at least 3 bugs off my teeth and swallowed one more before I remembered to raise my scarf over my nose and mouth. Thank goodness I had my sunglasses! Some little buggers met their timely demise during my euphoric return. When we returned, I quickly bought one of everything in the gift shop, so delighted was I with this experience. I now tell anyone I hear heading north into Gold Country 'You MUST try the Rail Explorers in Ione, CA!' and I, myself, look forward to returning. But also...I just might pack my scarf and sunglasses and head to one of their many other experiences, soaring through the bluegrasses of Kentucky? And elevated train trellis over a gorge in Iowa?? Or maybe creekside in the Catskills??? I could plan whole vacations around this fun way of exploring. Cheers! "CC"

Fun & Unique Railbike Adventure, inspired by Korean drama!…read more Apparently, modern commercial railbike tourism in the U.S. goes back to 2012, when Mary Joy Lu saw a couple riding a railbike on a Korean TV drama. She was so intrigued that she flew to South Korea to meet the designer, which eventually helped bring the railbike concept to the U.S. Pretty cool that a Korean drama helped inspire this whole thing! Parking: Free and plenty of parking in the complex. Restroom: 1 unisex porta-potty. I did not see a large multi-stall air-conditioned restroom at all! They also have a small gift shop in case you forgot your hat or need drinks/snacks. There's a 20-minute break in the middle, then the staff turns the railbikes around and you ride back the same way. The railbikes are custom 2- or 4-seaters with electric pedal assist, so you don't have to work too hard to keep them moving. We even passed through some hidden seasonal sunflower fields! The ride back felt much faster because we were going downhill. There are several railroad crossings along the route. The staff will stop the cars and put up the road barriers/signs so the railbikes can pass. It was actually pretty fun waving at the cars as we went by, and they waved back! For the 4-seater, one person sits in the right-back seat and is basically the designated "driver." They control the brake and have to keep pedaling the whole time, while the other 3 people can take a break from pedaling whenever they want. The railbike was going a little faster than my comfort level at first but after a few miles I got used to the speed and was able to enjoy the ride more. A few things I'd improve: * No shoe/foot latch. My feet felt a little unstable when the railbike was going fast and I had to keep pedaling. * No roof/cover on the railbike. It was scorching hot during summer. * No restroom at the midway break area. * Although the website says small kids and dogs can join, personally I wouldn't recommend it for safety reasons. The railbike can go pretty fast, and there's no shade. Overall, a pretty unique experience in Sacramento County! Definitely worth trying if you're looking for something different and a little adventurous.

This couple were so lovely! First, we started off with a winery tour where he showed us many places…read moreon the property. We chose our wine from cellar and he left us at the top of the winery until we were ready to come down. His wife served us a delicious 20-something appetizer course. Everything from their farm and garden! Olive oil tea was amazing! You are also able to rent a room in their property as a bed and breakfast service!

For starters, what a special place! I went with family to MS Torun, and our experience went beyond…read moremy expectations. Imagine stepping into Europe in the gorgeous hills of Napa Valley. The property, the history, the knowledge, the wine, the food, the olive oil, and of course the owners, AMAZING. Sid and his wife were the best hosts ever. Having had the property for 23 years, you can see all the hard work, and love they pour into their land. I've been to a ton of winery's and this is by far one of my favorites. I definitely recommend this for your next tasting if you're in and around the Napa / Berryessa area.

We went on the cheese lover's tour, and it was amazing!…read more I thought it would be like wine tasting, trying a wide selection of cheeses, and it was so much more than that. We got to see an active dairy farm, saw the calves being fed, and saw where the cows get milked. We also went to see a goat farm and saw a baby goat being born right in front of us. Alex, the guide, was lovely and super accommodating. My husband had hurt his ankle just the night before and couldn't walk much, and she made last-minute arrangements for him to be taken around by a golf cart-like vehicle on the farms. Would 100% recommend!

Our family took the "Flavors of West Marin" tour with Alex and had a wonderful time. Alex is such…read morea warm and friendly person with a wealth of knowledge about the sustainable food industry and local business practices. Our tour began at Cowgirl Creamery where we had an excellent assortment of pastries from local bakeries and local cheeses. We learned quite a bit about different types of cheese and how they're made. We visited Hog Island Oyster company and enjoyed fresh and barbecued oysters while learning about how oysters reproduce and are harvested. We then stopped off at The Marshall Store for lunch. The food was outstanding and abundant and the scenery looking out on Tomales Bay was breathtaking. We then visited the Heidrun Meadery (another stop with a breathtaking view and setting) and learned about bee keeping and how meade is produced from honey. And we enjoyed sampling a nice variety of meade wines. Our last stop was Little Wing Farm where we learned about organic, sustainable farming and saw a nice variety of vegetables and beautiful flowers. One of the highlights was visiting the expansive quail pen, watching the quails freely roam around and seeing how they spray a dye on their eggs to help camouflage them. This tour was a treat for our eyes and stomaches and filled our heads with fascinating information. It was a day so well spent and truly memorable for our family.

My boyfriend and I had such an awesome experience here with Chris as our tour guide! We were lucky…read moreenough to be the only ones in the tour and got to ask a bunch of questions. Chris was wonderful at explaining the history and the science behind everything there and happily answered all our questions. We will definitely be coming back!

Ive been here 2x now. I took my 9yr old granddaughter yesterday and she was so excited to go down…read moreinto the cave. She was amazed by it and wants to see more caves in the area. She was fearful of the steep staircase at 1st- (she's afraid of heights), but once she got to the platform she chilled out. Our guide, Faith, was excellent. Cute gift shop. You can buy bags of mining rough in the shop to pan for precious stones and minerals at the outdoor sluice outside. You can pan for raw amethyst, rubies, Jasper, pyrite and arrowheads. Very cool place!

The staff was great. The facilities (not that I'm an expert) seem spacious and clean. The staff…read moreobviously care about the animals and are knowledgeable. They spent a lot of time explaining all the health care the animals have available. The tour was definitely worth the price. I read some of the negative reviews. These seem to be from a few years ago, so they are listening and correcting. The ONE thing that irritated me, my wife and others (judging from comments at the time): They start showing a documentary before the tour (show up at least 30 minutes early). They don't finish, but you can watch it all on streaming. The irritating part is they are preparing for the tour during the documentary. Lots of us would have liked to hear, but the manager and employees were all talking (or shouting) preparations. Maybe they could do this BEFORE the documentary or OUTSIDE?? But it is definitely five stars, even with this little glitch. Check it out and help the animals!

B. Bryan Preserve is a wonderful organization dedicated to protecting African wildlife. My partner…read moreand I did the self-guided driving tour in our own car, which was a great way to see some of the species up close. We went on a Saturday morning in February, so the experience was peaceful, quiet, and calm. While not a whole lot of animals were out during our slot (just doing their animal thing!), we were still able to see a nice variety of species. The absolute highlight was getting to feed the giraffes at the end of the tour! They are such majestic creatures, and it was a fun, interactive activity. We finished the tour fairly quickly since many animals weren't right up against the fence that day, but it's a fantastic activity to add to your itinerary if you're spending a full day exploring the coast. You can truly tell that the caretakers value and care deeply for these animals. It's a great experience that supports an excellent cause!