Tours

2021 Local Tours

May 17-20: Wonder Valley
Ranch Resort Flyer

Jun 12: Hamilton Flyer

Nov 21: Hamilton Flyer

2020 Extended Tours

Oct 2-9: Upstate New York
Nov 4-17: Spain & Portugal

2021 Extended Tours

Feb 24 - Mar 17: New Zealand
May 13-25: France Magnifique
July TBA: Coastal Maine

Sep TBA: The Baltics Revealed
& Moscow
Nov 24-28: Nashville
Dec TBA: Santa Fe

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, most of our upcoming trips have been canceled. No new trips are planned so far. What we know right now is this:

The play HAMILTON at the Pantages Theatre has moved to the spring and fall of 2021. If you wish to attend then, please e-mail or call Helen with your spring or fall preference. You will be put on a new reservation list. Remember, if traveling with family or friends, please let Helen know when making reservations so you can sit together. Full refund checks for 2020 reservations have been mailed to everyone who already paid for their tickets.

The Wonder Valley Ranch trip has been moved to the spring. Everyone who has signed up for this trip will be contacted by Helen.

The Friends offers a variety of tours for the enjoyment and education of our members. Local trips include theater performances, museums, wine tours, and gardens. Trips throughout the United States and Canada are available during the year. Overseas tours to Europe, Africa, South America, Australia and Asia are also offered. Trip brochures can be found in the Friends bookstore. Some of the advantages of Friends tours are:

A tour director and local guide are provided for each tour.
Friends members receive a monthly Amigos newsletter with details on future tours.
Friends members receive a discount.
Transportation is provided from the Camarillo Library for each trip.
Chance to meet new friends, especially if you are new to the area.
Great for people who are single.

Read Our Tour Policies & Procedures

For more information about local tours, please contact Helen Andrews between 10:00 am and 6:00 pm at (805) 482-5269.

For more information about our extended tours, please contact Ginny Wooten at (805) 889-9752 or Carol Yung at (805) 987-5952.

Always include your name, phone number, and the date of the tour that you are calling about.

Additional details for upcoming tours are listed below. Dates for slide presentations and trip document distributions (for extended trips) are also shown. More information is added as it becomes available.

Sample Waiver Form

Complete itineraries are posted on the bulletin board in the Bookstore prior to trip.
Flyers are available in the Bookstore.

WONDER VALLEY RANCH RESORT

Monday - Thursday, May 17-20, 2021

$955 Members, $1195 Non Members
$100 deposit due on signup. Balance due on or before April 15, 2021

Board: 8:45 am Depart: 9:00 am

On our four-day getaway we’ll unpack only once and enjoy a leisurely stay at the Wonder Valley Ranch Resort. During our stay all meals are included, along with a nightly hosted “happy hour,” nightly original entertainment, and a variety of out-door activities, including canoeing, fishing, table games, horseback riding (additional fee) and more.
Highlights of our included day trips:

Visit Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park to see the largest living things on Earth – the giant sequoias – highlighted by the General Grant Tree.
Explore the Fresno County Fruit Trail through California’s agricultural heartland, with visits to local family farms to learn about growing and harvesting, and of course, sampling the fruit.
Visit Fresno for a family-style Basque lunch.
A guided tour of Forestiere Gardens, a one-of-a-kind underground garden.
Three night stay at an inclusive western-style resort nestled on 75 acres in the scenic Sierra Nevada foothills.

Tour Includes:
3 Night deluxe hotel accommodations with portage 8 Meals: 3 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 3 dinners
Services of a professional Tour Guide
Comprehensive sightseeing with a local guide
Admissions per itinerary
Transportation aboard a deluxe touring motor coach.
Day-by-Day Itinerary:
Day 1 – Monday, May 17th - Destination Wonder Valley Ranch. From the Camarillo Library we will travel by deluxe motor coach into California’s Central Valley. Following a morning rest stop and a stop for lunch on your own we will arrive at the75-acre all-inclusive western-style Wonder Valley Ranch Resort. The resort offers a wide variety of activities, including a swimming pool, spa, a lake for fishing and canoeing, tennis, basketball, volleyball, horseshoe pits, pool tables, horseback riding (additional fee), hiking trails, and much more. Upon our arrival in the late after-noon we will enjoy a historic tour of the ranch, followed by a nightly hosted “happy hour.” Following a delicious ranch buffet dinner, we will gather around the campfire with a singing cowboy and enjoy a horse-drawn hayride for spectacular views of the night sky. (Dinner included)
Day 2 – Tuesday, May 18th – Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks tour and lunch at General Grant Grove Restaurant. Following breakfast we’ll board the motor coach with our local guide for an unforgettable tour of two of our nation’s most spectacular national parks, Sequoia and Kings Canyon. Sequoia National Park is our nation’s second-oldest national park – established in the 1890’s to protect the giant Sequoia trees. A highlight will surely be the General Grant Tree, which is one of the largest trees in the world. We will take a guided walk on Grant Grove Trail where you will find trees that can measure 270 feet tall and 36 feet in diameter, with trunks weighing about 1,400 tons, with an estimated age of 2,500 years. We will make a stop at the Visitors Center and gift shop before traveling into Kings Canyon. Enjoy a buffet lunch at General Grant Grove Restaurant. Upon our return to the resort, take time to enjoy the resort amenities before our “happy hour” and dinner. (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner included)
Day 3 – Wednesday, May 19th – Fresno Farm & Fruit Trail, Basque lunch, Forestiere Underground Gardens. Follow-ing an included breakfast we will board the motor coach with our resort guide for sightseeing along the Central Valley. Located in the shadow of the vast Sierra Nevada mountains, the Central Valley has been blessed with the perfect combination of sun, soil, and water to produce an abundant variety of crops. We will travel amongst citrus groves, vineyards, plum, peach, nectarine, and walnut orchards. Along the Trail we will make stops at several family farms to learn about growing, harvesting and production of the crops, and of course sample the wares. We will stop in Fresno for a family-style Basque lunch. And a highlight of the day is a guided tour of Forestiere Gardens. This one-of-a-kind underground garden is a public jewel. For 40 years Baldasare Forestiere carved tunnels and crossed vines and trees to achieve the perfect mix of light and dark, fruit and flowers. It has to be seen to be believed. We return to the resort later in the afternoon to relax, enjoy the hosted “happy hour,” included dinner and original entertainment for the evening. (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner included) Day 4 - Thursday May 20th - Homeward bound. Enjoy an included breakfast before we begin our journey home. As we head south, we will make several surprise sightseeing stops, as well as a stop for lunch on your own. We will arrive back at the Library approximately 6:00 pm. (Breakfast included)

Deadline: Balance due on or before April 15, 2021 (6 spaces left)

HAMILTON An American Musical

Saturday, June 12, 2021

$175 Members, $190 Non Members

Board: 9:45 am Depart: 10:00 am

Today we travel to the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood for a performance of Hamilton.
This award-winning musical biography of Alexander Hamilton written by Lin Manuel Miranda is about taking your shot, speaking your mind, and turning the world upside down. Join George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, King George, Eliza Hamilton, and lifelong Hamilton friend and foe Aaron Burr as they all attend this revolutionary tale of America’s fiery past, told through the sounds of the ever-changing nation we have become.

*Tour Includes Orchestra seating (left/right), transportation, time for a pre-show meal on you own at the Farmers Market and the Grove shopping complex.

Deadline: SOLD OUT - WAITLIST

HAMILTON An American Musical

Sunday, November 21, 2021

$175 Members, $190 Non Members

Board: 8:45 am Depart: 9:00 am

*Tour Includes Orchestra seating (left/right), transportation, time for a pre-show meal on you own at the Farmers Market and the Grove shopping complex.

Bus #1 Deadline: SOLD OUT

Bus #2 Deadline: October 21, 2021