Travel by minibus from San Francisco to Yosemite National Park on a small-group day trip to one of the most visually stunning places on earth—considered the crown jewel of America’s national parks. This full-day itinerary takes you through the orchards of the Central Valley to Yosemite Valley, stopping first for a stroll through a grove of giant sequoias. Find plenty of photo ops of Half Dome, El Capitan, and Yosemite Falls. Numbers are limited to 15 passengers to ensure a personalized experience with your knowledgeable guide.

Yosemite National Park day trip from San Francisco with an informative guide
Walk under ancient redwood trees and hike during free time in Yosemite Valley
Hotel pickup and drop-off included by minibus
Small-group tour limited to 15 passengers ensures personalized attention
Please bring proof of COVID vaccination

What's Included

National Park fees
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

Meeting And Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Type to search

Start time

06:00 AM

Pickup details

Hotel pickup time in the following zones: Fisherman's Wharf/Lombard Street Corridor: 6am - 6:20am Union Square/SOMA: 6:20am - 6:40am

What To Expect

After pickup from selected hotels in San Francisco, board a comfortable minibus for the drive to Yosemite National Park. En route, make a snack stop among the fruit and nut orchards of the San Joaquin Valley before continuing on to the Sierra Nevada foothills and California Gold Country.

Entering the national park via historical Groveland, 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 Bay Bridge (Pass By)

Drive across bridge on the way to Yosemite

Tuolumne Grove of Giant Sequoias

See some of the biggest trees on the planet.

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
Children must be accompanied by an adult
Car seat required for children 8 years old and under; not provided
Wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation

Infant seats available
Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
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.
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
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

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

about cancellations.

Frequently Asked Questions

The answers provided below are based on answers previously given by the tour provider to customers’ questions.

Q:What is the policy on face masks and attendee health during Small Group Yosemite and Giant Sequioas Day Trip from San Francisco?

A:The policies on face masks and attendee health are:

Face masks required for travelers in public areas
Face masks required for guides in public areas
Face masks provided for travelers

Q:What is the policy on sanitization during Small Group Yosemite and Giant Sequioas Day Trip from San Francisco?

A:The policies on sanitization are:

Hand sanitizer available to travelers and staff
Regularly sanitized high-traffic areas
Gear/equipment sanitized between use
Transportation vehicles regularly sanitized

Q:What is the social distancing policy during Small Group Yosemite and Giant Sequioas Day Trip from San Francisco?

A:The policy on social distancing is:

Social distancing enforced throughout experience

Q:What measures are being taken to ensure staff health & safety during Small Group Yosemite and Giant Sequioas Day Trip from San Francisco?

A:The policy on staff health & safety is:

Guides required to regularly wash hands

Traveler Photos

Traveler Tips

It is a long day but definitely worth every penny!

Overall it was a good trip, well worth having to get up early in the morning.

Excellent - It is a long day but well worth every second of it.

Reviews

5.0

987 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 987 reviews

Small Group. Guide tour...

Sales_T, Aug 2022

Small Group. Guide tour is friendly and very know the area. However if the guide tour could lead us the way by himself would be the best.

A great way to see...

Lynn_R, Aug 2022

A great way to see Yosemite in a day! Would recommend this small group tour. Our tour guide Brian was the best

Wonderful well paced tour

Emily_H, Aug 2022

A really well paced day tour to the well known parts of Yosemite which was beyond our expectations. Our guide Alberto was well informed about the whole area and took our needs into consideration, providing well timed stop offs for toilet and refreshment breaks as well as the best areas for experiencing the park. The pick up and drop off from our hotel was much appreciated and the travelling comfortable. We have some wonderful memories, thank you.

Fantastic trip!

Sarah_A, Aug 2022

An incredible day with an amazing guide, Victor. A very long day but he packed a lot in. We travelled as a family and everyone agreed it was simply a wonderful trip. Victor made the very long journey as entertaining as anyone possibly could!

Amazing trip to Yosemite

Colette_L, Aug 2022

Alberto was a very professional, helpful and friendly tour guide. He went out of his way to make the experience comfortable and interesting for us with good humour and great organisation during the day from early until late!

Amazing

Randy_S, Aug 2022

An amazing experience seeing the wonders of Yosemite and the towering sequoias. Our tour guide Victor took care of us, shared interesting stories and even had relevant movies to keep us occupied on the long drive back to SF. I’m sure it will be a highlight of our vacation!

The tour and the guide,...

Zalan_V, Aug 2022

The tour and the guide, Victor was exceptional. I highly recommend it if you visit SF. Well organized tour with many places for good photos. He’s good driver, and good guide too. So overall, it worth the money

Sites great, but guide a bit odd

Alicia_R, Aug 2022

Sites were great. The guide was very odd and was complaining about other drivers which I found unprofessional. Also, don't sit in the back of the van, it was very hot and rough where we were getting tossed around a lot

Response from Host, Aug 2022

Thank you for your feedback. We will speak with the guide.

Bad Journey

Robert_M, Jul 2022

It started on a low note when we were told to be ready @ 5:45 am and didn’t show until 6:10 am. Careless driver, passed car on curvy road out of Yosemite with approaching car, everyone in bus traumatized. He seemed to be in hurry everywhere we went. General driving was erratic, life of passengers threatened. Refund requested. Chauffeurs license should be reevaluated. Instead of being enjoyable this was a traumatic experience for all.

Response from Host, Jul 2022

We expect this kind of review from one of the most unpleasant passengers we’ve had on our bus in a very long time. We will not respond to an exaggerated work of fiction.

Highly recommend

Sally_I, Jul 2022

What an amazing day. Our guide, Brian, is an expert in the park, it’s history and geology. Not only did we see some incredible views but learnt so much about Yosemite. The trek to see the giant sequoias was fun. Brian took us to several view points we wouldn’t have otherwise known to see dancing waterfalls and cooling streams. In addition we had 1hr 40mins free to explore and, at Brian’s suggestion, trekked to a nearby waterfall which you could go under. A big hit with the kids. Thank you Brian

Yosemite Exploration In One Day

Penny_L, Jul 2022

It was a full day! I thought we had a good size group of 12 people and we all fit comfortably in the van. Alberto was an excellent driver and tour guide. He was prompt in picking us up at 5:45am from our hotel and returned around 8:00pm. The drive from SF to Yosemite was about 3 hours with one stop along the way. As a surprise to us, when we arrived, we could actually smell the smoke and feel a little of the ash from the wildfires south of us. Although the wildfires caused much smoke in the air and sky, we were still able to see and get a sense of the magnitude of the size of the iconic rocks. No one can predict the weather but it was a good day regardless. Alberto took very good care of us and we felt it was well worth the trip.

Victor was a friendly and...

CHRISTINE_M, Jul 2022

Victor was a friendly and fun tour guide he keep us entertained on our drive with games and movies and about what we were seeing. he was very informative. He was on time for picking us up and got us back when he said he would

Worth it!

Deepika_B, Jul 2022

Best trip to take if you're in the bay area for a short trip. Our guide Phil made it even better! The mini bus was comfortable, only thing we wouldve appreciated was some arm rests to prevent us from feeling like we'll fall from the sharp turns! Yosemite was a vision to see and we were lucky to see some climbers as well. We get about 1.45 hours to spend time on our own. The sequoia hike back up was tedious if you're out of shape, but we survied so can you!

Brilliant Tour, Incredible Scenery and Wonderful Guide!!

niamhymullan, Jul 2022

We had an incredible time with Phil. He was so witty and knowledgeable, kind and attentive without being overbearing. The info he shared about SF, CA and Yosemite was fascinating, and the stop at a family-run fruit stand/store was really special; again demonstrating the benefit of a tour as we would never have known to stop there!! It was a great bit of California to see and support. The photo stops were brilliantly planned and his insider advice as to where to go for the best shots resulted in us getting some great pictures too. Finally, the group that the tour brought together was lovely and efforts made up front in the day to get us all chatting and relaxed paid dividends. The carefully curated and sometimes hilarious themed playlists really added to the journey.

Long day but worth every...

Jerome_B, Jul 2022

Long day but worth every minute. Victor the tour guide was so very attentive and covered everything you would want him too. Yosemite is breathtaking!

Such a wonderful day in...

Rebecca_M, Jul 2022

Such a wonderful day in Yosemite National Park. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking. The van picked me up at 5:30am and we didn't get back until after 10:30pm so it was a very long day but worth it to see Yosemite. We stopped in Oakdale on the way out there to get lunch. They have a deli section which you can grab a sandwich from and snacks. Stopped there on the way home for a quick dinner too. Would definitely reccomend this tour for anyone who doesn't have much time in San Fran but still wants to see the best sites in Yosemite.

Not recommended due to safety concern

Michael_S, Jul 2022

Unfortunately I cannot recommend this tour. Our driver for the most part was great however he drove us back with headphones on his ears so loud he could not hear his passengers requests. He was also using his phone constantly to play music for himself. So much so that he was constantly veering off the road and driving over the rumble strips. I fear one day he will be in or even cause an accident…

Response from Host, Jul 2022

So sorry you had this experience. We will speak with the driver.

Fantastic guide ( Victor...

Paul_C, Jul 2022

Fantastic guide ( Victor ), stunning day, fantastic scenery. Would recommend the small group tour, long day but well worth it.

Magnificent scenery

Martha_S, Jul 2022

A very beautiful trip to take. Our guide, Brian was super and caring guide. Spent enough time at each stop.

Amazing day!! Would recommend!

Anna_O, Jul 2022

We chose this tour because of the excellent reviews and we weren’t disappointed! The tour was incredible. It was so well organised from start to finish. Brian was an amazing tour guide, so enthusiastic and knowledgable and a great photographer too! We were able to see so many amazing things plus had plenty of free time to explore Yosemite and the giant sequoias. The group size of 14 was perfect and the group were lovely. We did plenty of toilet and food stops along the way. We wished we’d taken swimwear as during the free time there’s an opportunity to swim in the river and waterfall. Although the drive was long Brian kept us entertained with documentaries and films about Yosemite so the time flew by! The day was definitely worth the early start and long drive. Would recommend this trip to anyone! Thanks Brian!!

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Product code: 36001P1

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Small Group Yosemite and Giant Sequioas Day Trip from San Francisco

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