Yosemite National Park: Full Day Tour from San Francisco

Posted By : Sailorsgirl
We have visited many of the National Parks, but Yosemite is the king of parks. We visited in early May because after researching online it was suggested that May was a great time to visit before the crowds of summer. That turned out not to be the case at all. The first problem was that despite the thousands of visitors, there were no Park Rangers at the entrance collecting fees or passing out the park newsletter or brochures. National Parks are not well funded so we didn't understand why they would pass up an opportunity with so many paying customers. Also, if we had received the newsletter which always lists closing or delay areas, we would have turned around and left. Our plan was to visit the Valley then drive across and exit the Lee Vining East entrance. Our plan was to spend the night in Mammoth Lakes then on to Utah. When we arrived at Bridal Veil Falls and then the Valley, my husband went to the visitor center there and was told the road across the Park to Lee Vining was closed.

Construction at the tunnel paused our progress for almost 40 minutes while they let one side of the traffic through and held the other side. A sign warned people to stay in their vehicles but quite a few people paid no attention to the sign and the road worker had to continuously chase people back into their vehicles. We could see the line of vehicles behind us getting longer and longer.

We stopped at the Gift Shop, Market and Restaurant to find something to eat. The Gift Shop and Restaurant were closed and only open certain hours for each meal. Again, had we had a brochure or newsletter, we would have been aware of that. The entire area was packed with tourists, buses and RV's. Parking was very limited.

We did eventually make it to the Valley and got a photo of El Capitan. There was no room to park anywhere so we could only view it from the road. We turned back to exit the park which was another nightmare of lines of vehicles trying to do the same thing. I have a beautiful video of Bridal Veil Falls but was unable to download it here.

If May is the slow month for Yosemite, I would hate to see what it's like in summer.
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Posted On : 2024-05-11 13:28:22

Posted By : Derek_T
To drive along with the towering granite cliffs on either side was amazing, and to sense the power of nature standing before the Lower Falls. A memory I will not forget, for the wrong reason, is to see how the dairy farmers keep their cows in pens and not let them graze on grass and move around. How can you as a country allow that?
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Posted On : 2024-05-09 19:43:02

Posted By : Sarah_v
This trip was a perfect way to get a taste of Yosemite Park. Heather was our driver and she made the trip really comfortable - some narration, some down time, plenty of stops for the bathroom which broke up the trip a lot. Also the bus was really comfortable, and had wifi.
The park itself is absolutely stunning, it took my breath away.
The only thing I was a little disappointed in was the itinerary made it seem like there was more stops in the park itself to see things, there was just one (El Capitan and Bridalveil Falls) then your 3 hours in the valley.
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Posted On : 2024-05-09 13:48:56

Posted By : KIMBERLY_A
This tour was great. We had Jack as our driven and Joseph as our tour guide. They were both great and had a sense of humor. We saw some reviews about smaller vans but we went on a motor coach. It was very comfortable and the giant windows are a must for the views! Yes the drive is long and the time you are there seems short but really I could spend days there. It’s just so beautiful. The time allowed was perfect for us to do and see everything we wanted to. They tell you exactly how to go to make sure you make the most of your time there. For us, this was the best option for us to hear and learn about everything that we needed to know so we didn’t miss anything. Driving on our own, we would have missed some of the picturesque stops. I read many reviews and saw some negatives about overbooking and rudeness- we did not have this experience at all. Everything was great and beautiful. Oh- and a not so easy tip- it rained the day before we went… so when we went there was still snow on the ground in places. This not only made for some diverse and beautiful views but with it warming, it also made the water flow in all kinds of places. We saw so many waterfalls. It was perfect and I can’t say enough about the team who took us out.
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Posted On : 2024-05-07 23:13:35

Posted By : Hassan A
Gray line as a travel/tour company leaves me with a feeling of dissatisfaction, their current staff is uncaring and sometimes hostile. They canceled this trip and due to technical issues I missed the notification. I showed up to the pickup point unaware that the trip was canceled last minute. Another bus driver for another trip was there and me and a few other travellers who also had issues asked him for help and questions he quickly became hostile and kicked us to the curb. The supervisor also was very uncaring and unsympathetic to our situation. Be very careful booking with this company as I have spoken to other travellers and they told me they were also abandoned. Will be booking with another company next time I travel and I urge you to do the same.
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Posted On : 2024-05-02 10:39:13

Posted By : Su S
It was a beautiful day and our driver, Jerry, gave us historical info on the ride out there. He also maneuvered those crazy switchbacks with ease. He maximized our experience with a few scheduled stops at " must see locations" and gave excellent recommendations for our free time. This was a bucket list trip I hadn't been able to do with my dad decades ago, so I opted for the small group trip. I truly loved it!
I also want to note that our small Mercedes bus did start to lose power on the Bay Bridge on our way back. Our driver was amazingly calm, explained to us the situation, and expertly steered us (even without power steering) to Harrison Street by the Embarcadero before we had to disembark. I still tipped him because he was fantastic!! (Ironically, I was headed to Gott's at the Ferry Building before going back to my hotel, anyway.) A truly perfect and memorable day!!
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Posted On : 2024-04-28 12:23:59

Posted By : Staceywho
Very long day but for us worth it as we don’t drive so was the best way to see the park. We lucked out on the weather which meant the views were STUNNING.

It took around 4 hours for us to get to the park with a short stop in Oakdale for lunch supplies and snacks, some delays on the road due to restoration works but stopped at tunnel view, bridalveil falls, Yosemite falls viewpoint and valley view. The delays meant we had around 2 1/2 hours of free time which we used to visit the visitors centre and walk to the falls.

We travelled in the mini bus which wasn’t the most comfortable for a long journey but great to get us to eat of the stops.
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Posted On : 2024-04-28 12:02:11

Posted By : Stacey_W
This was a very long day but as someone who doesn’t drive was the best way for us to see Yosemite. Took around 4 hours to get there with a brief stop for lunch supplies and snacks, minute we entered the park though the views were amazing. We had great weather so tunnel view was stunning, followed by stops at Bridalveil falls and Yosemite falls. There were some restoration works on the roads which caused delays meaning we would’ve had less than 2 hours free time rather than advertised 3 hours but thankfully our guide allowed us a little extra so we had 2 1/2 (we used this to walk to the falls, visitors center and rangers station). On the way home we had a stop at valley view before the long drive home. So all in all, it was a long day but for me - completely worth it.
We travelled in a mini van as only 16 of us on the tour which wasn’t the most comfortable but was great for navigating us to all the stops
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Posted On : 2024-04-28 11:39:06

Posted By : Jaime_H
Its was a great experience every stopover it nice and the best part the winding road , its so amazing when you reach the top road..
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Posted On : 2024-04-21 00:30:14

Posted By : Diane_M
The bus ride was long but it's 150 miles to Yosemite. Thomas made the ride very enjoyable. Once we got to Yosemite park, he stopped several times for us to take pictures. The park was beautiful and it was snowing so that made it even more spectacular.
Thomas is a nature lover like me and my daughter so that really made the trip special. I can't praise Thomas enough. He even gave us a good recommendation for dinner when we got back.
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Posted On : 2024-04-04 18:51:53