Yosemite National Park and Giant Sequoias Day Trip from San Francisco in San Francisco booking from $199.00

Yosemite National Park and Giant Sequoias Day Trip from San Francisco

Overview

This experience to the towering granite cliffs and gushing waterfalls of Yosemite National Park and its Giant Sequoias takes off 365 days a year. This is the only 1-day Yosemite Valley tour from San Francisco where you will experience the solitude of the Tuolumne Grove of Giant Sequoias, the largest living things on the Earth. Your heart will race as you enter Yosemite Valley for 5 glorious hours to enjoy Lower Yosemite, Nevada and Bridalveil falls, then take some moments at El Capitan, Half Dome and other iconic monuments.

City: San Francisco

Thu 26 Dec

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Starting at $199.00

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Thu 26 Dec

Starting at $199.00

Make a reservation

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What's Included

Guide Gratuities (for Private option ONLY)

Expert guide and commentary

Hotel pickup and drop-off (most hotels in downtown San Francisco/Fisherman's Wharf area, but do not pick up outside SF city limits)

Additional Info

Wheelchair accessible
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Service animals allowed
Public transportation options are available nearby
Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Access to the Sequoia Grove can be difficult during winter months, generally October through April, and other activities may be substituted at the discretion of the guide
During winter months, temperatures in Yosemite can vary drastically to the ones in San Francisco. Therefore, it is recommend to wear winter clothes, especially shoes or boots with rubber soles and treads
California law requires tour guests to bring a car safety seat for all children under 8 years and under 4' 9" (1.4 meters) in height. Any guest that does not provide their child's safety seat at the time of the tour and does not inform the tour operator may not be allowed to board the tour and will not be subject to refund.
As tour sizes vary, transportation is in a 13-passenger van or up to a 41-passenger tour bus
Tour makes stops at approximately 8:30am for breakfast, 1pm for lunch and on the trip back for dinner. Meals are not included
Audio links are available in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, German, Korean, Chinese and Japanese. Specify language at time of booking under special requirements.
For hotel pickups, please select the Hilton Union Square if your hotel is not listed
The Giant Sequoias Grove is located at a higher elevation and the hike is dependent on trail conditions, especially from October through May. Ice and snow might make the trail unsafe to hike. The decision of whether it is safe to go on the hike will be made on a day by day basis. Therefore, a visit cannot be guaranteed. However, while the trail might be closed, guests get to spend more time in Yosemite Valley. There you can see all the other great sights Yosemite has to offer, including El Capitan, Inspiration Point, Half Dome, Yosemite Falls and more.
Exact destinations & itinerary may differ due to weather, road conditions, and your guide's discretion.
For Private Tour option, size of vehicle will be dependent on size of your party

What To Expect

San Francisco Bay Bridge

The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, known locally as the Bay Bridge, is a complex of bridges spanning San Francisco Bay in California. As part of Interstate 80 and the direct road between San Francisco and Oakland, it carries about 260,000 vehicles a day on its two decks.

Sierra Nevada

The Sierra Nevada is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin.

Big Oak Flat Road

Traveling the historic Big Oak Flat Road from the western entrance of Yosemite National Park across to the Tioga Pass entrance on the east, provides drivers easy access to the stunning beauty of Yosemite’s high country landscapes.

Yosemite Valley

Yosemite Valley is a glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada mountains of Central California. The valley is about 7.5 miles long and approximately 3000–3500 feet deep, surrounded by high granite summits such as Half Dome and El Capitan, and densely forested with pines.

Tuolumne Grove of Giant Sequoias

Tuolumne Grove is a sequoia grove located near Crane Flat in Yosemite National Park. It is about 16 miles west of Yosemite Village on Tioga Pass Road. The grove contains many conifers, including a few Sequoiadendron giganteum as well as Abies concolor and Pinus lambertiana. Weather permitting

Tunnel View

Tunnel View is a scenic viewpoint on State Route 41 in Yosemite National Park. Visitors have seen and documented the iconic and expansive views of Yosemite Valley from the overlook since its opening in 1933.

Ansel Adams Gallery

Gallery showcasing & selling photography by celebrated landscape artist Ansel Adams, among others.

Bridalveil Falls

Bridalveil Fall is one of the most prominent waterfalls in the Yosemite Valley in California, Yosemite National Park.

El Capitan

El Capitan, also known as El Cap, is a vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park, located on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The granite monolith is about 3,000 feet from base to summit along its tallest face, and is a popular objective for rock climbers.

Half Dome

Half Dome is a granite dome at the eastern end of Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park, California. It is a well-known rock formation in the park, named for its distinct shape.

Lower Yosemite Fall Trail

A quarter-mile (one way) hike to a spectacular mist-blown view from the base of 320-foot Lower Yosemite Falls. Lower Yosemite Falls Hike is a must visit for its accessibility and proximity to this massive waterfall and has spectacular views of both falls.

Merced River

The Merced River in the central part of the U.S. state of California, is 145 miles (233 km) long. Tenaya, Yosemite, Bridalveil and Pigeon Creeks join the Merced River in Yosemite Valley.

Yosemite Falls

Yosemite Falls is the highest waterfall in Yosemite National Park, dropping a total of 2,425 feet from the top of the upper fall to the base of the lower fall

Valley Visitor Center

The Valley Visitor Center is located in Yosemite Valley and is the largest and most comprehensive in terms of displays, books, postcards and maps. The Valley Visitor Center is open year round and offers natural history displays, audiovisual programs and is staffed with individuals who are happy to answer all your questions.

Treasure Island

Treasure Island is an artificial island in the San Francisco Bay and a neighborhood in the city and county of San Francisco. Built 1936–37 for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition, the island's World’s Fair site is a California Historical Landmark.

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Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Traveler Photos

Reviews (1000)

kimtaraSG

Oct 2022

The tour was average. Gino was our driver and guide. He's fine, but he's ok but he can be such a perfectionist. Please inform us at the beginning of the journey if we are not permitted to use the restroom on the bus. The restroom was used by two passengers, and Gino is irate. He keeps saying that it's just for emergencies. What is an emergency, exactly? Isn't going to the bathroom an emergency? Unless he wants us to pee on the seats on his bus? Also, perhaps as a result of the broken bus door, the first portion of the excursion was chilly. The door was not properly shut, allowing outside wind to enter as the bus drives off. The bus door vigorously trembles as it drives along as if it were about to come off. He had to hear from a passenger that the bus is cold before attempting to fix the door. But the bus door was simply not shut correctly the entire trip. Gino was also extremely picky about the garbage we were tossing. We can't just throw stuff away since some trash needs to go in its own bin. In addition, Gino never stops chatting. While some of the things he stated were intriguing, it can grow tiring to listen to him babble nonstop, and most of the time I simply could not understand what he was saying because of his consistently broken microphone or his thick accent. His jokes were also not funny. Maybe 1 or 2 but most of the time I would rather have him quiet. It would be nice to have some silence while we enjoy the view. The tour was also rather hurried because you only get around 10 or 15 minutes at each stop, despite the breathtaking view. Gino simply slowed down the bus while we snapped pictures because there are some spots where we are not permitted to stop. You can forget about shooting pictures if you sit on the left side of the bus. (Therefore, seat to the right.) Extremely disappointing, the Sequoias. Gino simply tells us that the trek down will take 16 minutes and the hike back up will take 20 minutes longer (majestic tree, but we literally only see one). The majority of us only congregated at one location where a sequio tree was, despite the fact that there was another route that would have led us to the sequoia tunnel tree. Gino being our guide should have given us tips on what exactly we should see in sequios. But this place was the most rushed and honestly not worth paying to be rushed. Additionally, we had two to three hours of free time in Yosemite Park during which no recommendations for what to do were made. We were just given maps and told to come back at the stated time. We used Google Map to find great, intriguing areas to explore on our own because we were a little lost. Heads up, he explained tipping to us at the end of the tour saying that it is customary and even had a sign pasted in the bus about tipping 20% being customary. It's as though he was forcing us indirectly to tip and the moment he mentioned it, it feels like he was not generous at all throughout the entire trip being our supposedly "guide". Don’t tip because you are not obligated to do so unless you really want to. Don't get me wrong; Yosemite was beautiful to see. But it was simply rushed. This will work well if you enjoy short quick trips like this (snap a picture once and go), but if you prefer to observe nature and be in awe of it, this won't cut it.

Response from Host

Oct 2022

We are saddened to hear that Gino did not enhance your tour to beautiful Yosemite Valley. Your comments are helpful and we will address all of the issues you point out. Please call Guest Services @ (415) 357-0700 to discuss our Satisfaction Guarantee. Again, we are sorry that your experience was not up to tour standard.

flavia_d

Oct 2022

It is a long trip, left at 6am and returned at 11pm, but it is well organized to allow shopping for water and snaks. The views as amazing! And it is just an appetizer as the time is short! But worth it!!! Travel with very comfortable shoes and evaluate if you can face the climb back to the bus in time after visiting the giants trees. The guide was talkative and nice, but sometimes spoke too fast to foreigners full comprehension.

Response from Host

Oct 2022

Thanks for taking the time to review you tour. We will talk to your guide and raise their sensitivity to foreign language speakers. Travel safely home.

Laura_P

Oct 2022

I would give this a 4 star rating! We would have liked more time at first stop in Yosemite. Hard to enjoy the walk down to see the Giant Sequoias and make it back in 90 min. Felt rushed! Loved not having to personally drive and our driver, Gino did a great job getting us there and back safely! I will say I closed my eyes a lot! Hehe! It is a long day with a lot of riding which we expected! I am not certain if we would do it again just because going on our own may have allowed us more time in the places we wanted to see closer!

Response from Host

Oct 2022

Thanks so much for your recommendation. It's no secret that it takes a while to get to Yosemite from San Francisco but it is sure worth it...and nice that it can be experienced in one day. All the best!

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Yosemite National Park and Giant Sequoias Day Trip from San Francisco

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