There are many tours offered from San Francisco to Yosemite and, like you, I did my best to find the best one. The tour overall wasn't bad; however, it was not worth the premium I paid over the competitors' pricing and the description wasn't entirely accurate.
- It absolutely is not a 20 hour tour. This must be a typo. The van left SF around 7 and returned 8:30.
- In March, the roadside fruit stand you stop at along the way must be closed, because we stopped at a regular grocery store.
- The short rest stop on the return trip is at a gas station. If you are diehard excited about the biodiesel van, realize they fill up with regular diesel for the return trip.
- Nothing delayed us (no traffic, slow travelers returning to the van, line at entry, etc.) however our time in the park was 2.5 hours. The driver was worried about hitting traffic on the return.
- The 1.5 hour driving tour reflects the time it takes from entering the park to get to the parking location, with time for photo ops. This was not a guided tour by any means. Our 'guide' was a driver who did not tell us much of anything. What do you expect with no PA system on the van?
- Finally, the vehicle was like an executive minivan. I literally had less room in my seat than I did on the airplane home from San Francisco.
Do you want to spend over 8 hours cramped in a seat smaller than the one you get from an airline?
Одговор домаћина
Apr 2018
Thank you so much for your feedback, and we are sorry to hear that the tour was not everything you hoped it would be. We will be sure to change our page description to make sure a better time estimated is reflected - we typically estimate that the total trip time takes about 13-15 hours.
In regards to our biofuel vans - Incredible Adventures strives to run 100% of our fleet with fully petroleum-free alternative biofuels. We’re proud to say that all of our vans leave San Francisco every day with a full tank of biofuels. However, due to the lack of supply in certain areas that we visit, we’re occasionally forced to supplement. There are no alternative fuel stations in/near Yosemite National Park. Many stations around California have closed or dropped their alternative fuel selections due to heavy government regulations and lack of demand. Although we’re constantly researching fuel stations offering alternative fuel blends in their tanks, this proves difficult in remote areas. Travelling from San Francisco to Yosemite National Park and back (round-trip) is impossible on a single tank of biofuel. With our mini-coaches’ smaller tanks, we maximize our usage of biofuel and supplement with diesel given the availability in the surrounding area. We train our drivers to fuel up with the least amount of petroleum fuel as possible. If you see our vehicles fueling at traditional gas stations, they are often only putting in the number of gallons it requires for us to safely return to our station, Dogpatch Biofuels, back in the city.
We hope this gives you some clarity! If you’re ever back in San Francisco, we hope you’ll return for another tour with us so you can spend more time enjoying all the beauty in Yosemite.