Recently Viewed
Yosemite Day Trip: Early Entry and Top Sights
4.3
3,476 Ratings
San Francisco
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.
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
Highlights
-
San Francisco - Embark on an awe-inspiring tour of Yosemite National Park, renowned for its majestic granite peaks, cascading waterfalls, and picturesque 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…
- San Francisco - Embark on an awe-inspiring tour of Yosemite National Park, renowned for its majestic granite peaks, cascading waterfalls, and picturesque 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 - Delight in the scenic drive as your guide narrates the story of how a glint of gold in the American River ignited the California Gold Rush.
- Oakdale - Pause for breakfast and enjoy a quick meal at a nearby supermarket or Starbucks.
- Yosemite National Park - Relish a scenic drive into Yosemite National Park as you approach a breathtaking viewpoint immortalized by photographer Ansel Adams.
- Tunnel View - This iconic vista point offers sweeping views of El Capitan, Bridalveil Fall, and Half Dome.
- Bridalveil Fall - Take a short walk to the base of this 617-foot waterfall, famous for the mist that dances in the wind.
- Sentinel Bridge - Capture a stunning reflection of Half Dome in the Merced River as you cross Sentinel Bridge.
- Yosemite Valley - The heart of the park, where visitors have 2–2.5 hours of leisure time to enjoy lunch and explore. Stroll to Lower Yosemite Falls, hike the Meadow Loop, or simply relax and take in the views at your own pace.
- Yosemite Falls - During your free time in the valley, walk to Yosemite Falls—one of the tallest waterfalls in North America. Enjoy the scenery, take photos, and appreciate 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 conquer 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 striking spires of Cathedral Rocks.
- Tuolumne Grove of Giant Sequoias - Spend 1 hour and 15 minutes hiking among 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 allocate 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
- Park Entry Fee for U.S. Residents
- Five hours inside Yosemite Park with early bird entry
- Live local expert guide (English)
- Free unique geo-based audio guides in 8 languages
- Hotel pickup and drop-off from most major San Francisco hotels
- Comfortable transportation with onboard WiFi
- Park Entry Fee for U.S. Residents
- 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
- Guide Gratuities
- Food and drinks
Additional Information
Experience more of Yosemite in a shorter time with early park access. This guided day tour from San Francisco, available all year, showcases the park’s main attractions, such as Yosemite Falls, El Capitan, Tunnel View, and the famous Giant Sequoias of Tuolumne Grove. Enjoy 5 full hours in the park, soaking in the stunning views and landmarks. For the…
Experience more of Yosemite in a shorter time with early park access. This guided day tour from San Francisco, available all year, showcases the park’s main attractions, such as Yosemite Falls, El Capitan, Tunnel View, and the famous Giant Sequoias of Tuolumne Grove. Enjoy 5 full hours in the park, soaking in the stunning views and landmarks. For the ultimate Yosemite adventure in a single day, this tour is ideal.
- Non-U.S. residents aged 16 and older will be charged an additional $100 park entry fee per person after completing their booking. This fee will be collected by the tour operator via a separate payment link. Note that holders of the “America the Beautiful Non-Resident Pass” do not pay the $100 fee; the $250 pass covers up to 4 people at the entrance.
- From November to March, when the trail is unsafe due to snow and ice, we replace the Sequoia hike with extra time in Yosemite Valley.
- The tour stops around 8:30am for breakfast, 1pm for lunch, and 6pm for dinner on the way back. Meals are not included.
- California law requires tour guests to bring a car safety seat for all children under 8 years and under 4’ 9” (1.4 meters) in height
- Winter in Yosemite is much colder than San Francisco. Wear warm clothes and shoes with rubber soles and good traction.
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.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.3
(3476 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Long
Sep 4, 2025
Amazing experience! - We had such a great time on the tour. I felt like it gave enough time to see a bit of what Yosemite has to offer. Sharon was an amazing tour guide!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Allantv422mo
Aug 28, 2025
Great experience - Great tour of Yosemite and Sequoias with Dustin! went on a Wednesday, where crowds were relatively low. Dustin gave us ample time for photographs and sightseeing (particularly with the Sequoias and the Yosemite Falls). It was a long day, but would definitely recommend
Review provided by Tripadvisor
A8715fljuanv
Aug 10, 2025
Great trip for short stays in San Fran areas - Great trip for for our family of four from NY two kids 13 and 16
We only had two days in San Fran area so were unsure if we should do the tour and maybe just rent car ourselves and go but we ended up doing tour and although a very long day pickup at 550 and returned closer to 930pm it was worth the tour
They stop about two hours in helps break it up nicely / it’s a shopping center in the morning but they have Wendy’s and kfc and a few other places that work better for the evening stop ( no Starbucks fyi )in the lot as well but for breakfast the supermarket had sandwiches and also deli counter where we ordered some sandwiches for the park ( fyi the driver provides many snacks and drinks to choose from so don’t worry if you don’t bring enough .. the park itself is so immense the tour definitely helps just pick the important sites .. first stop was 15 min then the next stop was the two hour stop where you can go to the river and the waterfalls ( fyi not much water coming from water falls this time of year) but the view and hike are great to the falls with many people climbing a lot of rocks not high but definitely must be careful .. we stopped at the shop and cafeteria as kids wanted some other lunch ( they do have a Starbucks there fyi) after this we went to the river where many other Yosemite visitors were swimming and hanging out (if we had more time we probably would have went in)but at this point the two
Hours to return to bus was running out so we headed back .. the driver Glenda was informative about the history and sites of the park and would gladly recommend her !! Great experience for the kids and us overall ( one last tip the last stop at the giant sequoias is a good mile and half down and same on way up but uphill and I would say challenging for sure so bring waters and would not do if any mobility issues
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kristina
Jun 1, 2025
Amazing beauty & perfect tour for below to average hiker. - The tour started at 5:20 on the dot! Our tour guide Gino is very punctual and kind about it. This is great to make sure we saw everything we could. Gino knows his facts and history and provides a narrated history over the speaker during part of the drive. Once reaching Yosemite his instructions were clear and allotted time slots were noted so we remained on track. Gino was spot on with his timing for the Sequoia hike! Im an below average hiker and made it back with just 5 min to spare. I highly recommend this tour. It takes the stress out of planning as long as you're not trying to hike all day. Lunch stop was plenty of time to dip in the river so if it's hot prepare to eat your lunch by water & dip. Gino made a great time and was a gentleman. I highly recommend this tour for all ages, young & old.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Aashrayas
May 20, 2025
Shoutout to Andy Howse, our tour guide! - Very well organised. Andy Howse, our tour guide was brilliant. Cheerful guy, kept us motivated throughout the trip and shared the history of California, like no one else. The trip was fun because of Andy!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Joemoakrose
May 20, 2025
Getting to know Yosemite National Park - The trip was long but worth xq the scenery and forests, with Redwoods, were spectacular.
The very professional and friendly driver!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Centrefoldhhh
May 18, 2025
Great day to Yosemite, highly recommended - We had a fantastic time on this tour, our driver Glenda was great and very informative. We had brought snack and drinks not knowing Glenda had some available included in the tour. Glenda made the day great with informative commentary, perfectly timed rest stops and made a long day enjoyable.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Michael_m
Apr 26, 2025
San Francisco to Yosemite - Amazing experience and highly recommend this tour. Don’t hesitate to do the day trip from San Francisco it was simply awe inspiring
Review provided by Viator
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
Louise_c
Oct 13, 2025
Yosemite great, but a little too far - We were staying at fisherman’s wharf so the journey to Yosemite was a long way. We got the coach at 05:20 and didn’t get back until 21:30. However all that time travelling, we only spent 3 hours in total in Yosemite.
The driver, rob, was really good though
Only scored 3 stars as it was too much time on the coach
Review provided by Viator
