Yosemite Tour: Explore Giant Sequoias & Falls

3,289 Ratings

San Francisco

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Embark on a thrilling day trip from San Francisco to Yosemite National Park and its awe-inspiring Giant Sequoias. Marvel at towering cliffs, majestic waterfalls, and iconic landmarks like El Capitan and Half Dome.

Duration: 15 hours

Cancellation: 24 hours

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Highlights

San Francisco - Embark on an awe-inspiring tour of Yosemite National Park, renowned for its majestic granite peaks, cascading waterfalls, and scenic nature trails. This acclaimed tour offers the most extensive time in Yosemite and features a special hike among ancient Giant Sequoias.
Your journey begins with a convenient hotel pickup in Downtown…

San Francisco - Embark on an awe-inspiring tour of Yosemite National Park, renowned for its majestic granite peaks, cascading waterfalls, and scenic nature trails. This acclaimed tour offers the most extensive time in Yosemite and features a special hike among ancient Giant Sequoias.

Your journey begins with a convenient hotel pickup in Downtown San Francisco.

San Joaquin Valley - Enjoy the picturesque landscapes as your guide narrates the tale of how a glimmer of gold in the American River sparked the California Gold Rush.
Turlock - Pause for breakfast and grab a quick snack at a nearby supermarket or Starbucks.
Yosemite National Park - Enter Yosemite National Park via the Arch Rock entrance and proceed to a breathtaking viewpoint immortalized by photographer Ansel Adams.
Tunnel View - Pause at Tunnel View. Capture a photo with El Capitan, Half Dome, Sentinel Dome, Glacier Point, and Cathedral Peak as your backdrop.
Bridalveil Fall - Stop at the base of Bridalveil Fall, where misty cascades and towering cliffs create one of Yosemite’s most stunning scenes.
Sentinel Bridge - Capture a perfect reflection of Half Dome in the Merced River as you cross Sentinel Bridge.
Yosemite Valley - Enjoy Your Own Yosemite Valley Adventure. Upon arrival in Yosemite Valley, you’ll have 2 hours to enjoy lunch and explore at your leisure.
Yosemite Falls - During your free time in the valley, take a stroll to Yosemite Falls—one of the tallest waterfalls in North America. Relish the views, take photos, and absorb the power and beauty of this natural marvel.
El Capitan - Reboard the bus and head to El Capitan Meadow, where you’ll stop to admire the world’s largest granite monolith and the legendary climbers who scale its towering cliffs.
Valley View - As we depart Yosemite Valley, we will make our final stop at Valley View, offering a panoramic landscape framing the Merced River, El Capitan, and the imposing spires of Cathedral Rocks.
Tuolumne Grove of Giant Sequoias - Hike through a tranquil forest to reach a grove of Giant Sequoias—some of the oldest and largest trees on Earth. Standing among these giants is a humbling and unforgettable experience.

*When the Tuolumne Grove trail is snow-covered or unsafe (November-March), we always spend extra time in Yosemite Valley.

Groveland - Enjoy a scenic drive through the historic town of Groveland, a charming Gold Rush-era village with rustic buildings and rich California heritage.
Oakdale - On the return journey, we’ll stop for dinner at a plaza offering fast food, a sandwich shop, a taqueria, Hawaiian BBQ, and a supermarket—something for everyone.
San Francisco - Conclude your adventure with a comfortable ride back and drop-off in San Francisco at your original pickup location.

What's Included

Hotel pickup and drop-off from most major San Francisco hotels
Comfortable transportation with onboard WiFi
Yosemite entrance fee and daily permit
Five hours inside Yosemite Park with early bird entry
Live local expert guide (English)
Free unique geo-based audio guides in 8 languages

What's Not Included

Guide Gratuities
Food and drinks

Additional Information

Avoid the crowds with early park access and explore more of Yosemite in less time. This year-round tour departing from San Francisco showcases the park’s main attractions—from majestic granite cliffs to thundering waterfalls and serene sequoia groves.
Enjoy 5 full hours within the park, visiting Yosemite Falls, Tunnel View, El Capitan, Bridalveil Fall,…

Location

Hilton San Francisco Union Square

O'Farrell Street

Meet at the Mason Street entrance (Eastern entrance) at 5:50 am.

Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings

4.3

(3289 Ratings)

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Alanc740

Mar 12, 2025

Well worth it! - We did the one day tour of Yosemite from San Francisco. Our guide Andy was great. Very informative and interesting. Mildly entertaining. Quite helpful. Didn't get to see Sequoia but that's a weather thing. It's a hard job and he did well. I couldn't drive that much in a day. The bus was clean and tidy. My only real knock is the bus needs some repair. All seats have cup holders but 80% were broken. There's USB chargers but all the ones around me were broken. The AC was broken which we didn't figure out till 1/2 way home so the last 2 hours back were miserable; ironic in 50 deg weather.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Sivasakthya_m

Dec 29, 2024

Great option for a one day guided tour to Yosemite - The bus ride was smooth and everything was on time. Our guide Deby was very accommodating, and a great driver. She had a lovely sense of humor which made the long drive enjoyable. She also played “Free solo” movie/documentary during the return journey which was a fun watch. Unfortunately we could not go to sequoia due to bad weather but that meant we got to spend more time at Yosemite. Overall, definitely a great option for a one day guided tour if you are visiting for the first time.

Review provided by Viator

Melissa

Oct 23, 2024

Yosemite experience - The whole experience was amazing and Andy Howse only made it more enjoyable. He was knowledgeable and made sure we had enough time to take in all the beauty from the park! :)

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Vrushali_p

Oct 21, 2024

Beautiful valley tour - My day trip to the Yosemite valley was an amazing experience. The tour guide Glenda was an amazing driver and host. I would highly recommend this quick day trip. Be prepped for a long drive.

Review provided by Viator

662aleydac

Oct 18, 2024

Yosemite experience - The views were mind blowing and the connection with nature was amazing. Andy, our tour guide was extraordinary. He was knowledgeable, kind, funny and super energetic. The trip was almost four hour drive but felt short because Andy will sing songs and teach us history of California and yosemite. We really enjoyed this experience with Andy and feel more inspired to take care of our only Home, planet earth. Yeehaw 😎

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Gitasb

Oct 18, 2024

Beautiful Yosemite - Yosemite is beautiful and when you're short on time a day trip is the best way to experience it all. The trek to Sequoias was fun too. The views along the drive were breathtaking and an exposure to the almond and walnut plantations were a first for us. The trip although exhausting was satisfying at the end of the day. Andy Howse our guide worked hard to make our trip enjoyable and shared a lot of information with us. He was witty and talked us through the whole trip. Jason the driver was great too. The bus broke down for a bit and we lost some time which is not ok on an already tight day. We requested for a drop off en route near Emeryville since we were already late by an hour which was not accommodated. Other than these two issues, the trip was fantastic.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

470rayannep

Oct 17, 2024

Breathtaking Photos and Experience - Andy Howse was amazing- he kept it real and was a great historian. He explained the history of Yosemite and the valley well. He was great at pointing out different trees and plant life. The hike down into the sequoia grove was amazing but difficult. Andy was very encouraging and took great photos for us. He was patient and kind with the difficult hike back to the bus. I really recommend Andy and this experience!

Review provided by Tripadvisor

D3010jmdebbiee

Oct 17, 2024

All day trip to Yosemite Valley with Andy Howse and Quan - Original bus had AC issues so we got a nice big comfy bus. Picked up from our hotel at 5:30 am Got to see a beautiful sunrise. Stopped at a store to get breakfast and lunch to take with on the road trip. Passed almond orchards and walnut orchards and Andy told us all about them. Andy was a delightful tour guide, very personable and funny. He even sang to us many times, made us all smile. We asked many questions and Andy was very knowledgeable about the area and history associated with it. He loved to answer our questions. He is quite the historian, we learned a lot. Walking through the forest with the Ponderosa trees and the Douglas firs and it smells so good. Saw El Capitan, the largest slab of granite that makes up some of the mountains, the largest waterfall in the US, also half dome.. We were behind schedule due to a couple of the tourists not returning to the bus on time but that’s ok. Why complain? We are in the middle of the mountains with fresh air, blue skies, puffy white clouds and it’s a gorgeous day. Much better than sitting in the office at work! So all is well! Off to see the sequoias. Start at an elevation of 6200 ft, hike down 400ft and back up again. Difficult but could’ve been a lot worse. Andy took our pictures with our phones saying “who’s a beautiful tourist” and then we said “I’m a beautiful tourist” which of course made us smile and laugh once again. Beautiful trees, so majestic and beautiful. 3000 year old “big red” we took pics with then another dead sequoia, lived for 6000 years old and now dead for 3000 years. Just amazing Andy also gave us some tips on how to take beautiful scenery pics, like Ansel Adams. Setting out for San Francisco again, 83 hairpin turns. Reminded me very much of India. Curvy, narrow roads right in the edge of a mountain. Thank you to our driver, Quan, you did a great job!!!!! Kept us safe which is much appreciated!! 6:30pm sunset was just as beautiful as today’s sunrise Since Andy sang to us multiple times, I asked him if he would sing happy birthday to my mom and another passenger, John, who shared that same exact birthday as Mom, both will be 81years old. He accommodated and the whole entire bus chimed in. It was great, like icing on the cake. Mom has limited mobility and Andy and Quan took great care of her, very accommodating. Big hugs at the end of our trip to Andy and Quan, It was a long day but well worth it!

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Bolisetty_r

Dec 31, 2024

Please change the title... - Please change the title of this trip for winter to national park only. Why Giant Sequio is mentioned when it’s clear that it’s closed for Nov to April.

Review provided by Viator

Dennis_d

Nov 5, 2024

Information given doesn't discribe what you will see. Trip was to long a bus ride to an back from San Francisco - The park and it's peaks and valleys were so beautiful. We never saw a sequoia tree. If you are not physically fit to do a 2 mile step hike with limited time you won't see any. Not sure we saw redwoods either. My tree identifier app said the big trees were pines.

Review provided by Viator

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From $219

up to 15 guests

1 - Adult