In this land of scrappy startups and tech giants, hop in a Tesla for a whirlwind tour of America’s most innovative companies and the amazing scenery in between.
Whether you’re traveling for work or play, sometimes, there’s just one day left for you to really explore the underbelly of a particular destination. Because you certainly don’t want to look down from your departing plane’s window seat thinking you missed that opportunity. With that objective in mind, we’re unveiling our new “Local Deep Dive” series.
You certainly won’t cover all the things to do and reasons these destinations are great in these Valencia Group destinations in just one day. Instead, we’ve focused on a particular aspect of the local culture and found immersive tours or strung together a number of experiences ourselves to give you one jam-packed, themed day trip.
Our first installment: getting inside the brain of Silicon Valley and out into the beautiful surrounding Santa Cruz Mountains and coast of Northern California. If you’re considering things to do in San Jose, California, it’s time to start your motor – but, not just any motor.
The Experience
A Tesla driving tour among Silicon Valley tech giants
What You’ll Find
Futuristic vehicles, NorCal vistas, exclusive Silicon Valley access
Where to Stay
Hotel Valencia Santana Row [San Jose, California]
In Silicon Valley, it’s all about speed. Whether it’s inventing the latest and greatest gadget or futuristic $150,000 cars, this tech hub’s roads are paved by thinkers and tinkerers. So, there’s no vacation experience more fitting than literally hitting those roads to get an up-close-and-personal look at the area’s digital giants.
Silicon Valley tours with Club Sportiva aren’t your grandfather’s passive double-decker bus jaunts, though. Here, your wheels are a 691-horsepower Tesla Model S P85D that silently rockets from 0 to 60 in 3.1 seconds. Your guide? The iconic Pacific Coast Highway and the winding roads of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Club Sportiva puts drivers behind the wheel of the electric sedan – which they bill as the closest thing to piloting a spaceship down the highway – to cruise up and down the coast. Oh, and the P85D comes equipped with autopilot, just in case the Pacific Ocean views are too good to keep your eyes on the road.
You will want to make pit stops, however, as the very roads you’re traveling are home to expansive tech campuses, like those of Google, Facebook, and Apple. Through Silicon Valley Tours, you can book custom packages in which former employees of those industry disrupters will take you on guided tours of the facilities’ public spaces, like Google’s sculpture garden. It’s the best way to get detailed insider knowledge of those very private campuses, as the campuses don’t offer their own public tours.
If your tank has more room for Tesla time after the end of your driving tour (Club Sportiva tours require reservations and range from $649 to $999), Tesla’s flagship showroom is located less than a football field’s length away from Hotel Valencia Santana Row’s front door. Just be warned: Stepping back into your sedan or crossover back home is going to feel like starting up a ride-on lawn mower after you visit this space-age candy store.
