Book Direct with the Owner at Monterey & Carmel Explorer with USA Accommodation in San Francisco, for all your Attraction and travel needs.
Itinerary3.9 based on 10 reviews
Our Extranomical tour of Monterey, Carmel, 17 Mile Drive, etc. was great. We've taken tours with them before and will continue to use them in the future. The motor coach was clean and comfortable. George, our driver / guide did an excellent job- he pointed out points of interest, gave us history of the areas, described current events, and more to make our tour both enjoyable and educational. In addition, one of the members of our party uses a folding wheelchair and the company and George handled the logistics of this perfectly. Taking this tour with Extranomical is highly recommended.
Based on my experience I'd give this tour no stars. Why? Simply because they canceled it and I never got to see Monterey and Carmel. I know things can happen and mistakes can be made BUT NOT when you are told days in advance that your tour is confirmed as well as your hotel pickup time! I confirmed this tours days in advance and the day BEFORE the tour. I was told my pickup time and everything looked great until I received a text message to call them regarding the tour. I was on a Yosemite tour at the time but I managed to break away and call. Worst call ever. I was told they had to cancel the tour due to lack of people. Are you kidding me? You JUST confirmed the day before and now it's canceled?? I was SO upset since my days were all planned and I had NO time to reschedule anything. I booked way in advance so that I had a tour each day. I knew we'd never return to San Francisco so we wanted to get it all in. The tour company of course gave me a full refund as well as a certificate for a complimentary tour for 2 people in the future which I won't be using since I'm not returning to SF. I can give it to a friend or family member but I doubt anyone is going there anytime soon. Yes they tried to make it right BUT not while I was there. I can't go back in time. It's very upsetting that this happened to me. Just beware that's all I'm saying. The tour company took full responsibility for the issue but that doesn't help me much. I would never book through them again since they gave me misinformation and since it was last minute I couldn't fix anything with another tour. I knew I'd only visit SF just once. Try going with another tour company that's more organized. Do your research. This company will try to defend themselves and so be it but it still remains that they were at fault and ruined part of my vacation.
I highly recommend this tour. The scenery on the way to Monterey is gorgeous, and our tour guide, Constantine, was friendly and knowledgeable. The hours flew by. I chose the add-on option of visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium and it was well worth it. The jelly fish exhibit and the open seas exhibit are not to be missed. At each stop along the way Constantine would provide helpful additional information. It was a very good tour overall.
We were picked up at our hotel promptly at 8 am by Tower Tours and taken to their main office where we were handed over to another tour company (Extranomical Tours) and relegated to a small and cramped 13 seat van (every seat occupied).The van was noisy (windows constantly rattling, rather small and uncomfortable seating and difficult to see the vistas as van was so low - nothing like a highway coach). We were almost tempted to cancel the tour on the spot when we saw the van. Not a pleasant experience and we were very disappointed and upset with the mode of transportation. I note in the Tower Tours brochure where it states that on "Mondays, Wednesday and Saturdays this tour is operated by Tower Tours. Additional days operated by a partner company". Our tour was on Saturday, Nov 2 and should have been operated by Tower Tours. If we were in a highway coach (like all of the other tours that morning) our experience would have been much more enjoyable.The contents of the tour were fine and the driver/guide Constantine was very good. Your thoughts? Robert Kane Kane Travel Agency 506-653-0948
Patrick was the best tour guide - very friendly with lots of interesting facts as we toured through all the scheduled stops. Our only suggestion - more time in Carmel and less time in Monterey. Also, the Tower Tours desk was not staffed and we had to ask the hotel concierge how we go about finding our bus and then we had to travel to the main office to pick up our tickets and get on our designated bus for our tour. Other than that it was one of the highlights of our trip. Thank you!!
This trip to Carmel and Monterey was magnificent. The drive was pleasant and lots to see along the way. Our tour guide, Danilo was informative, funny and well organised. He was also a very safe driver and really took pride in showing us this gorgeous area of California. At each stop, he did a head count to make sure we were all on board. It was a full day and we saw lots. There was plenty of time to see the Aquarium at Monterey, have lunch and a stroll down the main street. Well worth the trip and I would highly recommend this tour.
First, I'd like to start this review by making it clear I don't make a habit of posting negative reviews. I much prefer to praise the exceptional experiences I've had over the past 6 years - please see my profile for evidence of this. I definitely don't make a habit of "trashing" restaurants, hotels, or tour operators. However, my experience with Extranomical has been awful, and I would encourage anyone reading this NOT to book with them. ----- Lesson #1 - Extranomical's Cancellation Policy is a Lie First, let me write about the first tour I booked - Muir Woods and Winery Tour. Due to a change in vacation plans, I cancelled this tour over a week in advance and my refund was confirmed. I was glad I had booked Extranomical for this reason. However, almost 4 weeks later I have still NOT received my refund, despite being told it had been "processed". Lesson #1 - the free cancellation is turning out to be a total lie (or at best, extremely arduous), so don't rely on this. ----- Lesson #2 - Extranomical don't give you what you pay for Now, onto the second tour which we did actually take - Monterey and Carmel Explorer. A few days before the tour, we received an email from Extranomical to say we had been outsourced to their "sister company" Tower Tours. We were travelling by this point so had no choice but to go ahead with the trip. We figured it may still be okay. We were picked up on the first day at the time advised and thought "Hey, this is actually a nice coach!". Unfortunately, the coach then dropped us at the Tower Tours office near Fisherman's Wharf, where we had to queue up to "register". We were clearly the last to be dropped off, as by the time we got on the rattly old tour bus, there were only a handful of single seats left, so my wife and I had to spend the journey apart. Lesson #2 is that Extranomical don't always put you on their own tours, regardless as to whether you book directly with them. ---- Lesson #3 - Extranomical Make Promises they Don't Keep The tour was fine until we reached 17 Mile Drive. At this point the bus driver advised a belt was about to break in the engine and so we couldn't proceed with the tour. To save us waiting on the side of the road, the driver took us to Bird Rock, where we sat in the blistering heat with no shade or AC for 90 minutes while the driver tried to get updates from the operator. Please note, I do not hold the driver responsible for this, and he did try his best to rectify the situation. Updates from the operator ranged from "You'll need to wait 3 hours for a replacement coach" to "The tour may be cancelled", none of which were consistent. Eventually the tour group took it into their own hands. Some took an Uber back to San Francisco, some took an Uber across to Carmel to wait for the new coach to arrive. When the driver proposed this plan to the Operator, they promised refunds for all Ubers, which have yet to be received!! We finally made it back to San Francisco at 10.30pm, which totally ruined our final night in San Francisco and the final night of our honeymoon. Upon contacting them, Extranomical kindly agreed to provide a full refund for the tour within 7 days. However, (you'll probably see a theme here) we have yet to receive this promised refund almost 3 weeks later. I realise that the bus incident is Tower Tours' responsibility, but Extranomical are accountable for everything before and after. ----- TLDR? In summary, Extranomical have over $400 of my money and despite telling me it has been "processed" almost a week ago after repeated chasing, I haven't received a refund. If you are thinking of booking with Extranomical, I strongly suggest you reconsider. As per my opening paragraph, I am not one to scaremonger - however, I don't want anyone else to go through this same experience. My final lesson... I now find it highly suspicious that Extranomical have so many positive TripAdvisor reviews from users who have only ever posted a single review... Check it out for yourself. I can't believe I never noticed that before, I feel like such an idiot. If you do book with Extranomical, please be prepared to be outsourced, lied to, and ignored. I'm happy to be contacted directly if you want any further information or recommendations for your trip.
USA Accommodation welcomes Monterey & Carmel Explorer in San Francisco CA, we offer an experience that takes you on a journey of a life time in San Francisco. For all your attraction and things to do, book your adventure today.
Is Monterey & Carmel Explorer in San Francisco your attraction or tour on USA Accommodation, please claim your listing and subscribe to update your contact details and receive your phone calls and emails from your clients.
copyright © 2026 USA Accommodation. All rights reserved.