The USA Tour 2027

Four nights round California, driven in the guest’s own car, hired or bought for the trip, from Los Angeles to Long Beach by way of Yosemite and Death Valley.

The vehicle arrangement is the unusual part. Shipping a car from the UK, hiring one out there, or buying one for the trip and importing it home afterwards are all offered, with the operator naming a partner for the last of those.

Los Angeles is the official start, then San Francisco up the coast. Yosemite follows, where a permit is required in season and the mountain passes are the reason to go: Tioga Road crosses the Sierra at nearly 3,000 metres and is only open in summer. Mammoth Lakes comes next in the alpine country east of the crest, with a three-course dinner included, then Death Valley, where the salt flats at Badwater sit 86 metres below sea level and the summer temperatures are the highest recorded anywhere. San Diego and its coast follow, and the route closes at Long Beach, full circle to the waterfront.

Luxury accommodation throughout, handpicked dining venues, private events and the Mammoth Lakes dinner are all included; international flights, the car, fuel and the Yosemite permit fees are not. Shipping a car door to door is quoted at £5,995, which is the same as the tour price itself and worth weighing against hiring. Late spring and early autumn are the window, since Tioga Road is shut in winter and Death Valley in July is genuinely dangerous. Five days for that much of California is a quick trip rather than a tour, and anyone shipping a car would be well advised to add days at either end rather than fly home immediately.