Theme Tours

Do you remember back in the late 80’s, the popular, yet difficult to find character, Waldo, in the red-and-white striped shirt? My children loved trying to find Waldo in the book: Where is Waldo, by British illustrator Martin Handford. Waldo, was an inspiration for me when creating my San Diego winery tour company. Let me…

Don’t worry about getting your Christmas fix this season, San Diego County has many holiday-themed festivals to choose from. From Encinitas to Little Italy, from tree decorating to gingerbread house making, you can expect to have a Christmas packed day, even in sunny San Diego. But one unique festival sets itself apart from the competition….

Happy Father’s Day! We love our dads! But we think that when it comes to holidays, they don’t get a fair shake. After all, we just had Mother’s Day and all the stress that goes into trying to find the perfect gift for the moms in our life, and now here comes Father’s Day, less than two months later! What’s an offspring to do? Well, around here, we’re all about “fun” equality. We thought that you should bring the moms in your life on our tours for Mother’s Day, and now, we think that the best thing to do with the dads in your life this Father’s Day is, of course, bring them on one of our tours. You could just take them to dinner. But that’s so low key! Why not do something different and bring them on our…

Green beer is okay, but “going green” on one of our train tours is much better! We have barely recovered from Valentine’s Day, but St. Patrick’s Day is nearly upon us. As we adore Ireland with every fiber of our being (that’s where our lovely Shira Bliss is from!) we are happy to share some insider love with you. Now, you could celebrate the old-fashioned way – by pinching people and drinking green beer until you can’t look at anything green for the next month – but why go that route? Let’s Get Shamrocked! Here are our suggestions. Don’t let its reputation fool you. Ireland is not just a country of craic and Guinness. It is also a land of epicures and microbreweries, which in recent years have started springing up like mushrooms after a rain. Unfortunately, not many Irish…

It’s almost Valentine’s Day! It’s the most wonderful day in the world if you’re happily in love! If you’re looking for something to do with your sweetie any day in February, we have an idea for you. Here’s our idea: Love yourselves! Life is wonderful, especially with fine wine or beer paired with wonderful food and like-minded people. One of the best ways we know of to pamper yourself and make yourself happy is by indulging in the tastiest of food and drink. And we have the perfect time to do it – on one of our Valentine’s tours. Whether you’re coupled up or a singleton, we don’t mind. We love bringing people along for our Romantic Tours to show you the best of what San Diego has to offer. Everybody loves a lover, so love yourself! We love you. <3

Are you in town for the 34th Annual Breeders’ Cup World Championship this week? The Breeders’ Cup (@BreedersCup) is attended by people from all walks of life who travel from all over the world. Everyone is interested to see 187 of the world’s best thoroughbreds compete for $28,000,000 in purses and awards over two truly eventful days. Friday’s races begin at 3:00pm and Saturday’s races begin at 1:00pm. The highlight of this championship is the Breeders’ Cup $6,000,000 Classic which is considered to be the defining event of the international racing season and is held on Saturday night. 2017 is the first time the Breeder’s Cup has come to the beautiful Del Mar Race Track (@DelMarRacing). This racetrack opened in 1937 and can seat 44,000 attendees. The Breeders’ Cup Host Committee has chosen to celebrate all week long (October 28th-…

Halloween is coming, and we’re so happy it’s almost here! We wax eloquently about autumn in San Diego every year, but Halloween is really something special.  The leaves are turning colors on the trees (yes! That happens here!) and it’s usually just a bit cooler than September’s scorching heat.  But you know what makes Halloween…

Halloween is coming, don your masks and grab your bags and get ready for some old-fashioned trick-or-treating! Did you know the history of Halloween in the United States is also wrapped up in its long tradition of great beer. In 1620 the Pilgrims had been at sea for nearly two months and were off-course by the time they sighted land. While they had set a course for the Virginia colony they ended up in New England, and they had a problem—they were running out of beer. This was no small matter—water aboard ship was likely to become brackish and potentially deadly, while beer remained drinkable. When the first pilgrims settled in the vast sweeps of New England, there were pumpkins everywhere. Green pumpkins, blue pumpkins, yellow and pink, and mottled ones littered the ground along with the traditional orange. Their…

September is a very special month to us, and one that we always greet with great happiness. It’s California Wine Month! Not only does this mean the wine world is chock-full of wondrous deals and promotions that translate to more fun for you, it’s also one of the best times of the year for wine, at least in and around San Diego and – harvest time. We’ve talked about how great the harvest is in the past, but we’d like to point out that this is also a great time to get to know new vineyards in the region, especially since so many new ones are about to start sprouting up, since San Diego County recently changed the rules and made it a lot easier to cut through the red tape you need to start your own vineyard. So, come…

Whether it’s your Irish Roots, Shamrocks, Green Beer or Leprechauns, there are plenty of fun and festive traditions for everyone to enjoy for St. Patricks! Even though Ireland is far away, San Diegans know how to throw a great Irish Ceilidh! Shira Bliss, owner and founder of San Diego, Beer, Wine and Spirits Tours, and born and raised in Belfast, Northern Ireland says: “You’ll be chuffed to try one of our special St. Patrick’s Brewery or Distillery Tours that we’re running throughout the month of March! The luck of the Irish to you! Sláinte!” What started as a religious feast to celebrate the patron Saint of Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day has morphed in to an international phenomenon of fanfare and celebrations. The most prominent symbol associated with this holiday, the Shamrock, stemmed from the idea that St. Patrick used the…