Join us for a beautiful day in one of the most amazing places on the planet, Yosemite National Park!

Yosemite Tour Schedule

14 Hours

6:15 - 7:00: Pick-up at your San Francisco hotel. 7:00 - 9:00: Drive east towards Yosemite with a stop for snacks and restrooms. 9:30 - 11:00: Resume journey and arrive in Yosemite. 11:00 - 4:00: Spend the day in beautiful Yosemite National Park. 4:00 - 4:30: Start our ascent out of the Yosemite Valley. 4:30 - 6:30: Drive back to San Francisco through the Central Valley and stop for some food and restrooms. 6:30 - 9:00: Resume our drive back to San Francisco and arrive back at your hotel

About

Yosemite is described as the crown jewel of all the United States National Parks. Throughout the adventure, you will be guided by one of our extremely knowledgeable and friendly guides.

Our day will begin with your hotel pick up between 6:15-7:00 a.m. We will then drive east across the San Francisco Bay Bridge with views of San Francisco, Alcatraz, and the Golden Gate Bridge. We will continue on through the Central Valley (San Joaquin Valley) of California. The Central Valley is the largest food-growing region in the United States. We will drive past almond, walnut, cherry, and other fruit and nut orchards. After making a quick stop for snacks, we will continue on into the Sierra Nevada foothills and California’s gold country where we will drive through the historic gold country town of Groveland California and finally into the mountains and Yosemite National Park.

Once in the park, we will spend time (weather and conditions permitting) walking amongst the biggest living things on land, the giant redwood trees, also known as Sequoias. Yosemite’s giant redwoods amaze and astound. The largest tree is over 40 feet (12 meters) in diameter at its base and lives to well over 3,000 years.

After our hike to the trees, we will continue on to Yosemite Valley and drive to Tunnel View Vista Point where you will experience one of the most spectacular views of Yosemite Valley, a view that includes Bridalveil Falls, El Capitan, and Half Dome.

From there we will have a short drive to Bridalveil Falls and El Capitan. El Capitan is the largest exposed piece of granite in the world, rising 4000 feet above the valley floor. There, we may even spot some of the climbers as they ascend the sheer granite wall. Then it’s on to see Half Dome and also to the tallest waterfalls in North America, Yosemite Falls with its 1000 foot (300 meter) drop. Yosemite has more waterfalls than any other national park in the United States.

Now it’s time for lunch (not included) at the Yosemite Lodge and some free time to explore on your own. During your free time, you might hike along stunning trails, relax at the base of Yosemite Falls, or visit Yosemite Village.

After some time on your own, we will start our ascent out of the valley with another quick stop in the Central Valley for some food before we make our way back to San Francisco and your hotel. We return at approximately 8-9 p.m.

One of the many advantages of booking with Best Bay Area Tours is the small size of our groups (no more than 13 people). This allows for a more personalized tour with more time in the park, many more photo stops, and less time climbing in and out of overcrowded buses.