San Francisco

Small Group Yosemite and Giant Sequoias Day Trip from San Francisco

Badge of ExcellenceSan Francisco, United States

From USD 219.00

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Free cancellation
Up to 24 hours in advance.
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Kid-Friendly
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Unique Experiences
  • 14 hours
  • Pickup offered
  • Mobile ticket
  • Offered in: English

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Overview

Travel by minibus from San Francisco to Yosemite National Park on a small-group day trip to one of the most visually stunning places on earth—considered the crown jewel of America’s national parks. This full-day itinerary takes you through the orchards of the Central Valley to Yosemite Valley, stopping first for a stroll through a grove of giant sequoias. Find plenty of photo ops of Half Dome, El Capitan, and Yosemite Falls. Numbers are limited to 15 passengers to ensure a personalized experience with your knowledgeable guide.
  • Yosemite National Park day trip from San Francisco with an informative guide
  • Walk under ancient redwood trees and hike during free time in Yosemite Valley
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off included by minibus
  • Small-group tour limited to 15 passengers ensures personalized attention

What's Included

  • National Park fees
  • All activities
  • Hotel/port pickup and drop-off (from select hotels in San Francisco)
  • Local taxes
  • Food and drinks
  • Gratuities
  • No Pick-up/Drop-off from residential addresses or hotels outside of San Francisco

Meeting And Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Start time

06:00 am

Pickup details

Hotel pickup time in the following zones: Fisherman's Wharf/Lombard Street Corridor: 6am - 6:20am Union Square/SOMA: 6:20am - 6:40am

What To Expect

After pickup from selected hotels in San Francisco, board a comfortable minibus for the drive to Yosemite National Park. En route, make a snack stop among the fruit and nut orchards of the San Joaquin Valley before continuing on to the Sierra Nevada foothills and California Gold Country.

Entering the national park via historical Groveland, stop for a hike among Yosemite’s giant sequoias—ancient redwood trees whose trunks span up to 40 feet (12 meters) in diameter. Your drive continues into the Yosemite Valley, stopping at Tunnel View for the quintessential photo op of that includes Bridalveil Fall, El Capitan, and Half Dome.

After a close-up look at the falls, head to El Capitan, the world’s largest exposed granite monolith. Search for rock climbers ascending its sheer face, which rises thousands of feet above the valley floor. Then it’s on to see Half Dome and Yosemite Falls, whose lower and upper cascades form North America’s tallest waterfall.

During free time to explore on your own and purchase lunch (own expense), you can hike among numerous paths, snap more photos at the base of Yosemite Falls or visit Yosemite Village. Then meet back up with your guide for the return drive to San Francisco, with another quick stop for food in the Central Valley before your full-day tour ends with hotel drop-off.

San Francisco Bay Bridge (Pass By)

Tuolumne Grove of Giant Sequoias

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Tunnel View

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Bridalveil Falls

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Yosemite Valley

2 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Half Dome

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Yosemite Falls

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

El Capitan

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
  • Children must be accompanied by an adult
  • Wheelchair accessible
  • Car seat required for children 8 years old and under; not provided
  • Stroller accessible
  • Service animals allowed
  • Near public transportation
  • Infant seats available
  • Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
  • Travellers should have a moderate physical fitness level
  • The trip is accessible for most of the tour. However, at the end of the day, we go on a hike to see the giant sequoias. This is NOT advised for people with back, heart or knee problems. It is also not wheelchair accessible. Unfortunately, this is only way to see the sequoias.
  • There is a possibility that the Giant Sequoia hike will not be available due to winter weather conditions.
  • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travellers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

  • For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
  • If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
  • Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
  • Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
  • This experience requires good weather. If it’s cancelled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
  • This experience requires a minimum number of travellers. If it’s cancelled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveller Photos

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Featured review
Patricia_O
Vicky or was probably the best guide we have ever had. Witty, charming, and knowledgeable. You get to see everything! If you are able to walk faster you have time to get really close to the water falls. You see so much and there is a fair amount of walking but the photos you will get are amazing! If you are not in as good of walking shape you always have the opportunity to do what you are able. The only time it really matters is if you want to climb up close to the waterfalls. Be prepared-this is a long day so while we stopped at a supermarket on the way you may want to bring your own bottled water and some snacks with you. Your stop includes a place for lunch and you stop for dinner and can choose from a number of different fast food restaurants. Amazing experience and highly recommended. There were no delays in the plans-this tour is planned perfectly for those who want to see everything in a single day leaving from San Francisco.

Reviews

5.0
1,730 reviews
Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews
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Reviews by Viator travellers.
Showing 1-10 of 1,730 reviews
Enjoyable and great Guide
Eve_A, Sept 2023
The guide was very comical and entertaining so the journey to the park was enjoyable . The park was beautiful but the time allocated for the walk to see the sequoia tree could have been longer as the walking back with steep slopes for older seniors was tough and needed more time . We had to skip certain sights to make it back on time .
HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!!
lfmwright, Sept 2023
I had the best tour guide a group could ask for in Phil!! It was a small group and he made sure to introduce us to each other so that we could get to know each other as a group and be able to know if anyone was missing when it was time to gather to go to the next stop! Full of great information and hints as to where to get the best pictures, go to the bathroom and basically have the best all around day possible! took time to set up telescopes to see the climbers etc. and just made the trip a very enjoyable experience!!! HIGHLY RECOMMEND Phil and his Best Bay company!!!
Yosemite
Dawn_B, Sept 2023
The tour was exactly as described. Please note that it is a very long day. We saw all the sights listed and they did not disappoint. Sarah, our guide, was friendly, personable, and knowledgeable. I'm glad we took the time to make the trip. We have memories of an incredible park.
Recent trip
Kevin_G, Sept 2023
Excellent day Guide explained everything that was happening for the day and really looked after the group
Recommend - Fantastic Scenery, Great Guide, but watch out for the cramped seats
Simon_C, Sept 2023
The scenery fantastic, the guide, Steven was great m, being very knowledgable and approachable, but terrible jokes. The only issue was the cramped seating on the bus. We were next to last to board and the only seats available included one over the wheel arch, which for stints of 1.5 hours of driving between breaks was challenging.
Amazing day!
JoDelle_C, Sept 2023
Amazing! We saw all the high points in Yosemite an Steven was both knowledgeable and entertaining. Would highly recommend!
The whole trip was...
David_W, Sept 2023
The whole trip was terrific. Brian was an incredible guide and we would recommend him to everyone. All stops were fantastic for happy snaps.
Amazing trip. Would 100%...
Aakansha_G, Sept 2023
Amazing trip. Would 100% recommend anyone going to Yosemite. Host was very nice and knowledgable and loved the trip.
We had a great tour. The...
Jennifer_P, Sept 2023
We had a great tour. The scenery was majestic. We covered so much in the day. Our guide, Brian was fantastic. The walk to the giant sequoias was good but challenging.
Yosimite Extra
Carlton_I, Sept 2023
Brian worked very hard. He helped make Yosemite more memorable and feel safe. His emphasis on the climbers with videos and telescopes really showed the spirit of the park the scale of those rocks. Bravo!
Good Way to see/explore Yosemite
Anna_B, Sept 2023
Enjoyed seeing highlights of Yosemite and learning how it was formed. Our guide Steven was very knowledgeable about the park and made sure we saw the highlights including setting up a telescope so we could see several climbers on El Capitain. The only negative was the length of the trip which for the most part couldn’t be avoided given the distance from San Francisco to the park. However part of the length was attributed to the fact that Steven had pickups from what seemed like the entire metro area Nevertheless, we did enjoy the trip.
If you're on the fence about a day tour; don't be, DO IT!
Ondej_P, Sept 2023
This was the best tour, experience, adventure I've ever been on! Everything from the hotel pickup/dropoff, perfectly planned trip, awesome tips and a very knowledgeable guide. If you want to see the park, absolutely do it and pick this tour;) Thank you Phil for making our visit to SF unforgettable!
Great trip 😊
Christina_T, Sept 2023
Viktor provides good information along the way to entertain us. It was a long journey but it is worth it to see the famous monolith in Yosemite . Highly recommend to everyone and Viktor kept us up to date and was in time to pick me up and deliver me safely back to my hotel .
Great tour
Shareen_I, Sept 2023
Yosemite was absolutely gorgeous! Our guide, Viktor, was very friendly, fun, and knowledgeable. He made the long drive enjoyable. The hike to the Redwoods needed more time to enjoy the trees.
#bestguide #iknowit. Yosemite tour great!!
Steven_L, Sept 2023
Victor our tour guide was amazing, he was so knowledgable and funny. Showed us everything and great stops with best views also kept us entertained all day. Would highly recommend.
A Must-See Tour!
Carleen_T, Sept 2023
What a great find this tour was, we absolutely loved out! Travelling with a small group was more personal and better than in a large group. We stopped on the way to buy breakfast and lunch (if you wanted) then made our way to the star of the show Yosemite. We watched documentaries on the way which provided an insight into the history of Yosemite and the rock climbers, it was a good way to pass the time away. Arriving at Yosemite itself is absolutely breathtaking, pure unadulterated beauty everywhere you turn, it was so mesmerising. Our guide Steven was exceptional, knowledgeable, experienced with the Yosemite area and a genuine nice guy, he took us to all the good photo spots, provided historical talks, was punctual and most of all got us there and back safely. He is worth his weight in gold and then some, thank you Steven.
Amazing trip and fantastic guide.
Dawn_P, Sept 2023
This was an amazing experience. Yosemite and the giant Sequoia trees were awesome, an absolute must see! The small group bus was just right with the bonus of a screen to watch things on the way back such as a documentary on free climbing and information about Yosemite. Alberto the driver and guide was friendly, helpful and very knowledgeable. He was particularly accommodating after the trip as I had left my glasses on the bus and he went out of his way to ensure that I got them back safely by delivering them to my hotel. The stops for food and toilets were spot on. The only downside was that it was a fairly expensive trip and then you are expected to also tip 20%on top of the total cost which makes it quite a lot more overall.
The best tour of 3 we took
Joan_P, Sept 2023
Excellent tour. Phil was amazing. Wonderful selection of music. Well prepared for the trip. Really enjoyed seeing the climbers. Amazing
Excellent
Jonathan_A, Sept 2023
Thanks to Big C for everything including keeping our Prosecco cold for our toast ,defo would recommend
Awesome 🤩
Amina_s, Sept 2023
This trip was amazing and what made it more memorable was Steven!! That guy deserve a pay rise, we was entertained throughout the trip.
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