Tour Policies | Cal Auto Museum

Group & School Tour Policies

All school tours and group tours must be booked at least two weeks in advance with a minimum of 10 individuals.

We also cover the cost of buses up to $200, up to 1 trip per school per year.

Payment

A deposit is required to reserve the date and time for your tour. We require a minimum of 50% of the tour total to be paid when the reservation is confirmed with Museum staff. If the school is a Title 1 and requires an invoice for payment, accommodations will be made and final single payment must be submitted two weeks prior to the tour date.

The deposit is credited towards your total group admission fee. The balance may be adjusted based on the final size of your group, although must pay for the minimum of 10 visitors. The remainder of the balance is due upon the time of arrival and must be a single payment to get the group rates. The Museum accepts checks, all major credit cards, or cash. Payment may be made in-person, over the phone, or via an online link staff will send you.

If there are any issues or a specific process for your school district's payment process, please contact us at tours@calautomuseum.org.

Cancellations & Rescheduling

We require at least 72 hours’ notice in order to cancel or reschedule a program or tour. The deposit is non-refundable for tours cancelled less than 72 hours prior to the tour. If canceled over 72 hours prior to the scheduled tour, your deposit can be applied towards another tour.

Arrival Time

Please arrange for your group to arrive ten minutes before your scheduled program. This will allow your group plenty of time for payments to be settled and groups to be arranged before the tour starts.

Late Arrivals

If you are aware that you are going to be late for your scheduled program, please call the Museum at (916) 442-6802 as soon as possible. Please note that the program length may be adjusted due to late arrivals. We will do our best to accommodate in cases of emergency, but late arrivals of more than 30 minutes may forfeit their scheduled program and deposit.

Schedules

All tour programs may be scheduled for any day but Tuesday, starting at 10 am.

Group Size

Groups must have a minimum of 10 individuals to reserve a school or group tour. Smaller groups need not make a reservation if they do not require a docent-led tour. If you would like to reserve a docent-led tour for a smaller group, you are still required to pay the minimum rate for 10 individuals, regardless of group size. If group sizes change significantly from when the tour was booked, you must contact the Museum so we can accommodate the changes.

We recommend that school and group tours be kept to under 40 people for docent-led tours. Larger tours with more than 40 may tour with alternative formats or staggered arrival times. Please contact tours@calautomuseum.org to arrange for groups of over 40. The Motorworks Tour has a maximum of 25 at a single time.

School Tour Chaperones

We require one adult chaperone for every 10 student visitors ages 5 – 17 and one adult chaperone for every 5 students under the age of 5. These adult chaperones are admitted free of charge. Additional adult chaperones will be charged the additional adult chaperone rate. School tours must have the required amount of chaperones to begin their tour.

Teachers & Instructors

If you are interested in a custom tour for your class based on a specific exhibition, theme, or area of the Museum’s collection, please contact frontdesk@calautomuseum.org to make arrangements. Please inform us of any special objectives your group tour might have. The more we know, the better your experience will be!

Special Accommodations

Please inform us of any specific accommodations your group tour members may require when you book your reservation. This allows our staff adequate time to ensure that your needs have been addressed.