I wish I could tell you wonderful things about this trip I was so looking forward to do with my two young sons. I am writing this to warn others and hopefully prevent this from happening again. The day of our tour we were picked up on time and greeted with courtesy.
The tour company, Best Bay Area Tours, knew about heavy snow conditions in Yosemite as they were in contact with the park rangers, despite that they proceeded with the tour drove us all the way to a nearby town under heavy snow conditions and asked us there if we wanted to return to San Francisco or hop on a larger bus that was there from the same company to continue the tour. Given that it was so overcast, it was still snowing, the heavy snow was melting on the ground (very slippery and wet for those without snow or rain shoes), we were not going to complete the tour as described (the hike to the Sequoias was closed) or even walk around in the valley comfortably, led me and others to the decision to return to San Francisco.
The driver asked us many times to make sure what our decision was and said we needed to call the company to discuss any refunds.
We were picked up at 5:30 am and made it back to San Francisco around 2pm, where the weather was wonderful. We were tired from riding in the van for so long and quite disappointed that we didn’t complete the trip and lost most of our day on the van.
When I contacted the Best Bay Area Tour company, I was told I was getting a partial refund because it was my decision to return and the person responsible even sent me a picture of people standing in the valley taking pictures. I latter learned that those who made it spent most of the time on the bus and just got off the bus to snap a few pictures.
I paid $537 and was issued a $200 that I am supposed to get in a few days.
In sum, the Best Bay Area Tours company, knew about severe weather conditions in the park, decided to proceed with the tour to push the decision onto customers to cancel so they didn’t have to issue a full refund. I feel very aggravated from being treated this way on top of the disappointment of not completing the visit to Yosemite.
Odpowiedź od gospodarza
Mar 2025
We have no control over the weather. On the date of your tour, we got most of the way to the park, you and your group expressed your concerns to the driver. We were lucky enough that another company that we work with had room in the bus to take our other passengers to the park so we could turn around and bring your inappropriately dressed group home. It was you that forced this decision. When you contacted us, we offered you partial refund, which we thought was fair considering it was your decision. The people that did complete the trip were anything but disappointed.
Again, we are terribly sorry that you had that experience, but we have no control over the weather.