Small Group Yosemite and Giant Sequoias Day Trip from San Francisco
Recommended by 98% of travelers
San Francisco, USA
- 14 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Visit Yosemite National Park without the hassle of planning a long day of driving or coordinating park logistics from San Francisco. Traveling in a small group, you'll journey through California’s Central Valley before exploring Yosemite Valley’s most famous sights, including Half Dome, El Capitan, and Yosemite Falls. A stop among giant sequoias adds another iconic California landscape to the experience.
- Walk among ancient sequoia trees and enjoy free time to hike in Yosemite National Park
- Skip the transport planning with hotel pickup and drop-off by minibus included
- Enjoy a more personal experience in a small group limited to 15 travelers
- Explore beyond the city with a seamless day trip to one of California’s most iconic natural landscapes
What's Included
- National Park fees for US Residents
- 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
- Government FeesPlease note that new National Park fees apply for international visitors. If applicable, this fee is collected in-destination and not at the time of booking.
Meeting and Pickup
Pickup points
Select a pickup point
Pickup details
Hotel pickup time in the following zones: Fisherman's Wharf/Lombard Street Corridor: 5:15 am - 5:30 am Union Square/SOMA: 5:15 am - 5:30 am
Start time.5:30 am
Itinerary
After pickup from selected hotels in San Francisco, board a comfortable minibus for the drive to Yosemite National Park.
Entering the national park, 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.
Entering the national park, 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-Oakland Bay Bridge (Pass By)
San Joaquin Valley (Pass By)
1
Tunnel View
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
Merced River (Pass By)
2
Yosemite Valley
2 hours • Admission Ticket Included
3
Half Dome
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
4
Yosemite Falls
1 hour • Admission Ticket Included
5
El Capitan
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
6
Tuolumne Grove of Giant Sequoias
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
7
Bridalveil Fall
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Infant seats available
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Car seat required for children 8 years old and under; not provided
- Please Note: National Park fees may apply for international visitors. If applicable, this fee is collected in-destination and not at the time of booking.
- 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 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Can't recommend this enough! This is the best way to see a lot of Yosemite and the Sequoias when you only have one day! Both were stunningly gorgeous! Our guide, Trevor, was amazing. He clearly loves Yosemite and the Sequoias and was very good at sharing his vast knowledge and some really cool videos of the history of climbing El Capitan with us. He was so friendly and helpful and interesting!
Reviews
4.9
based on 4,246 reviews
Sort by: Most recent
Great way to see Yosemite without having to worry about driving or paying for expensive lodging there to spend the night! The bus was comfortable and had charging stations. There were bathroom and food breaks on the way there and back as well as in the park. Tour guide, Trevor, was positive and did a great job!
Never felt rushed at the stops and viewpoints, Time and stops were managed expertly by Calder who was a great guide for the day. Highly recommend this tour!
Yosemite was amazing!! The tour guide, Kurt, was spectacular. Very knowledgeable about the park and its history. Also very prompt on time and was very great at answering any questions we may have had.
Trevor was a great tour guide! I loved the balance of seeing all the top spots as well as being given some time to explore on my own (of course also with options and tips clearly explained). If you have only one day to spare would highly recommend this!
We had a great experience. The tour guide Trevor was great. Pickup time was on time. He was very informative and took great care to keep us on schedule. He was able to share a lot of information about Yosemite that we would not have known. His tips on all the best spots really helped to make the trip memorable.
I loved the tour. Derrick was great. Worth the trip. I didn’t know about the climbing culture. I would recommend to bring sandwiches so you don’t have to buy something in the park. That way you have more time to explore.
Our Yosemite tour was an excellent experience. Our tour guide Derek and the group were amazing. Derek was attentive and knowledgeable and extremely friendly. Everything about this adventure was professional and rewarding. Our tour guide Derek went over above to make his guest comfortable, paying attention to everyones needs. Derek was amazing and made this long day intersting and excitng. Thank you Derek! We loved you!
I really enjoy this tour, the scenery was amazing and our tour guide Trevor was attentive to participants, providing water, lending umbrellas and binoculars to see the rock climbers. Throughout the driving, he let us watched interesting movie about the climbers, and we get to appreciate the Al Capitan more. Highly recommended!
What A trip! Sharon was a wonderful guide, the best! She told us everything and more! We saw Yosemites best views!
The trip was excellent despite the fact that we got sick from being on a bus with eleven other people, three of whom were ill and should not have come on a 15 hour excursion. I would never sign up for such a long trip on a bus again. Yosemite was magnificent and a lot was packed in to this all day trip. My advice to the tour operator would be to train your guides better in terms of their interactions with passengers. Although our guide was knowledgeable she was most unprofessional in her dealing with us. We had a 5:20am pickup and were two minutes late because the hotel was late with a wake-up call. We were scolded by the guide who totally overreacted and wouldn’t even give us the courtesy of being able to explain why we were late. She said she didn’t want to hear what we had to say and was most rude. We felt very disrespected and never had such an experience like this on a tour before. Having spent time as a shore excursion manager on a cruise ship myself, I was especially sensitive to how poorly she handled the situation.
Sharon was a wonderful and knowledgeable guide. Loved learning about the history and science of the park
We squeezed this day tour into our holiday and we're so glad we did. It was amazing!
Early start from the hotel, plenty of stops on the way to grab some food and coffee.
Our guide, Kurt was great. He was enthusiastic from start to finish and it was a long day, can tell he loves the place. Full of information and answered all our questions.
The views are spectacular, I can't think of a more beautiful place I've been. Norway is similar, but this beat even that.
It's only a taste of Yosemite, but if it's all you have time for please do it. You will not regret it. Best day of our holiday by far.
Thanks Kurt!!
Beyond beatiful!!! Vicktor was the most FABULOUS tour guide ever!!! He made us feel comfortable tom the beginning! Highly recommend the tour!
Steven was absolutely amazing! Very knowledgeable about the park and especially about climbing. We watched a couple of documentaries that were very informative
This was a excellent adventure. Derek was a great guide with so much information .
We had a great time with lots of laughs ... great experience.
Viator was great .. I would recommend ..it..
Kurt was our guide, driver, and comedian 😂 He has a calm, easygoing demeanor but he was organized and thoughtful. Kurt is also knowledgeable and mindful of when he gives us information. He made sure everyone stayed hydrated, planned strategic bathroom breaks, showed us the best spots, and took great pictures. The ride included documentary showings, which helped contextualize the sights. We went on a beautiful sunny day in late October with a light breeze.
Best to get what you need at the first stop in Oakdale. The supermarket will have almost everything including restrooms. Kurt allowed us to eat in the vehicle so you can have a snack before or after you reach the site.
This tour far exceeded all expectations! You could not ask for a better tour guide than Kurt Hillbrand. His knowledge, expertise and true passion for Yosemite made all the difference. We watched “in flight movies” about thrilling rock climbers, he even brought a telescope and spent time pointing out the climbers on El Cap. We had a great group of 14, and his easy manner made sure we were all comfortable and generated a fun atmosphere. Took pictures for any who wanted. The van was very comfortable too with plenty of stops along the way. Highly recommend it!
The van arrived at our hotel at 5:30am and the first thing that I noticed was that the front right headlight was out. The driver was commenting on the trip but we were sitting in the back of the van and we could not hear his comments. When I addressed this issue with the tour driver I was told that the speaker system on the van did not work and that there was nothing he could do about it. The tour it self was fine.
Response from Host, Oct 2026
Our audio system on this van has been overhauled after your tour. Thank you for letting us know.
The park is gorgeous, went there in October, was a beautiful sunny day
The guide (Derek) was helpful and informative, making the overall experience positive
We went to
1. Tunnel view (photo stop)
2. Half dome view point (photo stop)
3. Lunch at Yosemite lodge (Free time = 1.5 hours , Walk to the swinging bridge)
4. El Capitan view point
5. Giant Sequoia Trail (1.5 hours)
Overall only one suggestion - it would be good if this tour didn’t have such a tight turnaround schedule - because that in my opinion led to some speeding (at times unsafe) on the way and back from Yosemite to SF
Amazing experience! From start to finish I felt so taken care of. Every detail had been considered and our host Trevor was very knowledgeable about the park. Would definitely recommend to any solo travellers who are nervous about going by themselves!
I had a great experience with Best Bay Area tours for day trip at Yosemite. The national park is vast and a pleasure to visit. Derek, our tour guide kept us informed on every stretch of the journey sharing history and importance of each location. The tour bus was comfortable with planned stops for breaks and time for small hikes. Highly recommended if time is a constrain in your plan and you would want to visit Yosemite in a day.
Great trip. Derek was an excellent guide! The scenery and views were incredible. We wish we'd have seen more wildlife.
My husband and I took this full day tour to Yosemite from San Francisco on a whim. Very convenient to be picked up/ dropped off at our hotel. Transportation was one of those luxury sprinter vans and the group size was good that it wasn’t more than 15 people. Our guide Trevor was amazing! He is so knowledgeable about everything and told us about the town we passed through the Central Valley Yosemite, fun facts about the climbers. It was amazing we learned a lot. Ample time to snake pit stop for bathroom, snacks, lunch. The timing is long but we were prepared it was going to be a long day. Recommend buying lunch at the first stop instead of eating the food in the cantina at Yosemite to save yourself time to explore more. There’s a couple videos Trevor played on the way going and back to pass the time by which were informative about Yosemite and Rock climbing. It’s a beautiful place we would go on a tour with the company again and if you’re in San Fran definitely recommend Trevor as a guide!!
Tremendous experience that you will not easily be able to duplicate with anyone else! Our tour guide Kurt was exceptional. It felt very personalized and our guide really fostered an environment that kept the group excited about what was about to come next. I would do it again.
Amazing first touch od Yosemite. Kurt is great guide with hudge knowledge also about SF. I recomend for people with limited time to visit park
Sharon was great. We were picked up right at our hotel. She gave us so much history about California and Yosemite. We even got to see climbers! Very enjoyable excursion with beautiful scenery.
It's a long day - around 4-5 hours travelling each way from San Francisco - but well worth it. The coach was small and cool and tour guide Alberto, who was excellent, made regular food/comfort stops. He shared a lot of information and a nice touch was playing documentaries on an overhead TV which were very informative and helped pass the time.
Yosemite itself of course is stunning. There was just the right amount of time at each stop to enjoy the experience and get photos.
The tour itself is wonderful . Concerns about the driver/guide .He is always looking in his phone , adjusting music and even putting lotion/sunscreen on his body while driving . He is distracting and not safe .
Kurt Hillbrand was well prepared, knowledgeable and friendly, offering valuable suggestions. Couldn't ask for a better guide.
Did the small group Yosemite + Giant Sequoias trip and honestly it was amazing. Our guide Derek was the best — super friendly, really knew his stuff, and made the whole day easy and fun.
The views were unreal. Standing next to those giant sequoias and seeing the valley in person is something else. Plenty of stops for photos, never felt rushed. Derek knew all the cool spots
Pickup was on time from our hotel and the small group made it feel personal. Totally worth it — ask for Derek if you can!
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