Every few years we put together a holiday with so many unusual and attractive features arranged into a beautiful tour that travelers just hearing about it want to sign up. So, for 2027 our 'Gold Rush Adventure' offers up some of the most spectacular sights in North America including Lake Tahoe, Yosemite and Alaska's Inside Passage, by train & ship at the perfect time of the year. Nicer still, we have included brilliant sightseeing throughout, superb hotels and extra treats like a sternwheeler cruise on Lake Tahoe and a ride on the storied Virginia & Truckee Railroad in Virginia City, Nevada.

We begin in Reno with a two-night hotel stay and a welcome reception, a nice way to meet your fellow travelers. The next day, a short drive to historic Virginia City, Nevada, with time to explore this Comstock Lode mining center. A highlight is a ride on the Virginia & Truckee Railroad, the most celebrated short line railroad in America. Later, we drive over Carson Pass to visit Lake Tahoe and take a sternwheeler cruise on the cobalt blue lake to stunning Emerald Bay, a sight everyone should see at least once.

After two nights in Reno, we travel to Yosemite on Highway 120 over Tioga Pass, not only is this staggeringly beautiful but it is a rare way to drop down into the valley floor; enroute, we visit Tunnel View with its famous vista of the magnifient Yosemite. This is just one of two days we have in the park with ample time to see everything of interest; including a tour of the Valley floor that takes you on a two-hour passage through the park’s geology, wildlife, and rich history with plenty of time for the Visitors Center and the Ansel Adams Gallery. Later, we hop on a real steam train through the Redwoods aboard the Yosemite Sugar Pine Railroad.

After two nights in Yosemite, a special journey awaits as we travel north on “California Highway 49”, the “Mother Lode Highway” through towns from the Gold Rush era like Columbia, Angels Camp and Coloma, where gold was discovered in 1848. At the end of this drive, we visit Old Sacramento and tour the acclaimed California State Railroad Museum at the very spot the Sacramento started during the California Gold Rush.

Saving the best for last; after this great journey on land, we begin a special voyage from San Francisco round-trip to Alaska's Inside Passage aboard Princess Cruises with a stellar Alaska itinerary. We visit Ketchikan, Haines and Sitka, as well as a glorious full day in Glacier Bay National Park. This is perhaps the nicest way to see Alaska, unpacking only once with the joy of sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge twice. This vacation has only one flaw, it will sell out quickly so call soon. All Aboard!

Guests arrive and check in this afternoon. Later, we host a reception where you can meet your fellow travelers.

After breakfast, we enjoy a drive up Geiger Grade to the famous old west town of Virginia City; once the home of two great American writers, Lucius Bebee and Mark Twain.  We have time to explore before we embark on the Virginia & Truckee Railroad.  Then we cross over the Carson Range to South Lake Tahoe and enjoy a cruise to the incredible Emerald Bay.  We return to Reno for a special welcome dinner for our guests. 

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Today’s journey offers a rare highlight as we enter Yosemite Valley from the east over the Tioga Pass.  The road meanders over the Sierra range through Tuolumne Meadows, past Tenaya Lake and Olmstead Point, a breathtaking vista of Half Dome from the east.  We continue through the park with another photo stop at Tunnel View, with the view of the park made famous by American photographer Ansel  Adams.  This evening, we begin our two-night stay in Oakhurst. 

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After breakfast, we return for a full day of exploration of Yosemite with a guided and comprehensive valley tour. Bridal Veil Falls, Yosemite Falls, Half Dome, El Capitan, Vernal Falls, and the Cathedral Rocks are astonishing wonders. Another feature today is the Yosemite Sugar Pine Railroad steam train ride through a redwood forest once used to harvest timber.

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This morning we begin our land trip over the historic “Gold Chain Highway”; CA 49,  the fabled mining communities of the Gold Rush of 1848.  We travel through celebrated Angels Camp, Columbia & Coloma, where gold was first found on the South Fork of the American River.  A visit at James W. Marshall Discovery State Historic Park is included enroute.  Upon arrival in Old Sacramento where guests enjoy time at the California State Railroad Museum, considered one the best train museums in the World.

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After breakfast we depart for a scenic drive through the California Central Valley for San Francisco and the Ruby Princess.

In 1799, the Russian explorer Alexander Baranof founded New Archangel next to the Tlingit village of Sitka.This was the beginning of permanent Russian settlement in North America. But New Archangel was destroyed three years later by the Tlingit Indians in an attempt to reclaim their ancestral home.

A canoe slipped into the mouth of the Chilkat Inlet in November 1879, carrying Presbyterian missionary S. Hall Young and his friend, John Muir. Young told the Chilkat Indians that he wanted to build a Christian town. He chose space between two waterways, the Chilkat River and the Lynn Canal, and the town of Haines was born. During the 1900s, a permanent army post was built and named Fort William H. Seward.

Princess is one of the select few cruise lines permitted to cruise the pristine waters of Glacier Bay, the highlight of our 7-day Voyage of the Glaciers cruise. Just west of Juneau, this breathtaking national park and preserve boasts some of the world's most spectacular tidewater glaciers, such as Margerie Glacier, which often drops colossal chunks of ice into the sea. Not surprisingly, Glacier Bay National Park and its epic ice giants are part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site comprising Alaska's magnificent park system.

Ketchikan is known as Alaska's "First City" because it's the first major community travelers come to as they journey north. Located on an island, Ketchikan began life as an Indian fishing camp. The name Ketchikan comes from a Tlingit phrase that means "eagle with spread-out wings," a reference to a waterfall near town. . 

Historic Prince Rupert captivates both mind and heart with its maritime history and awe-inspiring scenery. Located near the Alaska panhandle, Prince Rupert was established in 1910 as the intersection of commerce and trade for First Nations people and continued to develop as a town when selected as the western terminus for the Grand Turk Pacific Railway.

Disembark this morning and travel home or linger longer in vibrant San Francisco.