Looking for Yosemite tours from San Francisco

[YodasMom]

I'm looking for options for a post-DLR trip this coming summer.

Can anyone recommend a reputable tour or tour company that does tours from San Francisco to Yosemite? If not, recommendations for hotels inside the Park?

Also looking for some hotels in a safe area in San Francisco, probably in the Wharf area.

 

[Mkrop]

http://www.extranomical.com/YOSEMITE
https://www.facebook.com/#!/extranomical



We used Extranomical Tours out of San Francisco

 

[Unas]

Just be aware that the link that pp gave has you using public transit from the lodging that is outside the park. YARTS . . . Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System - http://www.yarts.com/schedules.html

 

[bcla]

Lodging inside is hard to come by. Reservations for Yosemite Lodge go on sale one year in advance and book quickly for spring to early fall. The Ahwahnee Hotel is more than $500 a night and then might be hard to reserve. Curry Village has only a few cabins and motel rooms; it's mostly canvas sided tent cabins. Housekeeping Camp is concrete walls with a fabric roof.

Your chances of getting a reservation at this point is low. The places outside like Oakhurst, Mariposa, etc are better.

If you want to try, all the inside park lodging can be reserved at yosemitepark.com. There are outside companies that add no value and tack a surcharge. Some even impose restrictions on cancellations tougher than the official concessionaire.

 

[Mkrop]

Just be aware that the link that pp gave has you using public transit from the lodging that is outside the park. YARTS . . . Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System - http://www.yarts.com/schedules.html

I dont understand what you mean...we had a private bus go to our hotel in San Fran and pick us up, at the crack of dawn, we then went to one other hotel than off to Yosemite for the day. We were with our tour guide Ronan, who was so funny and awesome, the whole day except when we got off the bus to wander around.

At the end of the day, he drove us all back to our hotels. Ours was the last stop and he had a wonderful conversation with my little guy about the day.

 

[YodasMom]

I dont understand what you mean...we had a private bus go to our hotel in San Fran and pick us up, at the crack of dawn, we then went to one other hotel than off to Yosemite for the day. We were with our tour guide Ronan, who was so funny and awesome, the whole day except when we got off the bus to wander around.

At the end of the day, he drove us all back to our hotels. Ours was the last stop and he had a wonderful conversation with my little guy about the day.

Thanks for your information, Mkrop!!!

How much time were you given in the valley to wonder around on your own? Could you see well from the van and how many were on your tour?

I've decided for this trip, that because I don't have a lot of time, that I will probably do the one day tour to YS and then come back another time to spend several days in Yosemite. I did check hotels last weekend and was able to find a room at Yosemite View Lodge, and even Ahwahnee, but since there are a could other things I want to do in SF, I will make it a one day trip to YS this time.

Still haven't decided on the tour company, though. I'm also looking at Best Bay Area Tours who have excellent reviews.

 

[Mkrop]

Thanks for your information, Mkrop!!!

How much time were you given in the valley to wonder around on your own? Could you see well from the van and how many were on your tour?

I've decided for this trip, that because I don't have a lot of time, that I will probably do the one day tour to YS and then come back another time to spend several days in Yosemite. I did check hotels last weekend and was able to find a room at Yosemite View Lodge, and even Ahwahnee, but since there are a could other things I want to do in SF, I will make it a one day trip to YS this time.

Still haven't decided on the tour company, though. I'm also looking at Best Bay Area Tours who have excellent reviews.

There were about 20-25 people on our bus, think of the type of buses that would take you to your rent a car. And some got off bc they were staying overnight in the park and had bought that package. We saw a lot even in the car. And I want to say we stopped 4xs in no particular order-

to see Half Dome that was a stop snap some pics and get back on,

then Redwoods, we got off for a bit and hiked down to the trees. This was a tough walk bc of altitude but we managed. He gave us like a 1/2 hour but did rush us bc the traffic getting in the park put us behind schedule.

The finally near the falls, this is where we had lots of time to ourselves. I forget how much but we wandered around a lot.

And the 4th time was near a lake again. It was so calm and peaceful. This was another quick snap and back on.

None of these quick snaps that I mentioned felt rushed.

We were told to pack a lunch and we ate on the bus. Told to bring lots of water.

We went on a Sat which I would not recommend bc this is why we hit so much traffic.

It was a great way to get an overview of the park. We are not big hikers. And now if we go back we have a better idea of how we want to approach it.

It was a beautiful tour, a beautiful place and we had the funniest tour guide ever!

 

[YodasMom]

We went on a Sat which I would not recommend bc this is why we hit so much traffic.

It was a great way to get an overview of the park. We are not big hikers. And now if we go back we have a better idea of how we want to approach it.

It was a beautiful tour, a beautiful place and we had the funniest tour guide ever!

Great! Thanks for the info!

I'm planning to go either on a Monday or Tuesday. Not sure if one of these days would be less crowded in mid-July.

 

[Unas]

I dont understand what you mean...we had a private bus go to our hotel in San Fran and pick us up, at the crack of dawn, we then went to one other hotel than off to Yosemite for the day. We were with our tour guide Ronan, who was so funny and awesome, the whole day except when we got off the bus to wander around.

At the end of the day, he drove us all back to our hotels. Ours was the last stop and he had a wonderful conversation with my little guy about the day.

The link you gave had a number of hotels which are outside the park and said to use YARTs for transport to the Valley.

 

[YodasMom]

The link you gave had a number of hotels which are outside the park and said to use YARTs for transport to the Valley.

Every time I click on that link, it goes directly to Extranomical Tours website, not to YARTS. Anyway, it's one of the tour companies I've considered.

 

[Mkrop]

Great! Thanks for the info!

I'm planning to go either on a Monday or Tuesday. Not sure if one of these days would be less crowded in mid-July.

I dont know, we went the beg of Aug

The link you gave had a number of hotels which are outside the park and said to use YARTs for transport to the Valley.

. Not when I click on it. Both that and the FB page are for the tour company we used.

 

[bcla]

Thanks for your information, Mkrop!!!

How much time were you given in the valley to wonder around on your own? Could you see well from the van and how many were on your tour?

I've decided for this trip, that because I don't have a lot of time, that I will probably do the one day tour to YS and then come back another time to spend several days in Yosemite. I did check hotels last weekend and was able to find a room at Yosemite View Lodge, and even Ahwahnee, but since there are a could other things I want to do in SF, I will make it a one day trip to YS this time.

Yosemite View Lodge is outside the park and probably the closest non-park lodging outside the park.

There are also vacation home and condo rentals inside the park. There are a couple of inholdings, which are on private land that wasn't annexed by the National Park Service. There's the communities of Foresta and Wawona (separate from the NPS's own Wawona area). There's also a community called Yosemite West with condos and vacation homes. It's just to the west of the park boundary, but the only road in/out is through the park itself.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yosemite_West,_California
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foresta,_California
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wawona,_California

I realize you're going to be doing a day trip this time, but I thought you might want some ideas for what to plan later. Of course if you're going to spend several days, you're probably going to need a car.

 

[YodasMom]

Yosemite View Lodge is outside the park and probably the closest non-park lodging outside the park.

There are also vacation home and condo rentals inside the park. There are a couple of inholdings, which are on private land that wasn't annexed by the National Park Service. There's the communities of Foresta and Wawona (separate from the NPS's own Wawona area). There's also a community called Yosemite West with condos and vacation homes. It's just to the west of the park boundary, but the only road in/out is through the park itself.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yosemite_West,_California
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foresta,_California
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wawona,_California

I realize you're going to be doing a day trip this time, but I thought you might want some ideas for what to plan later. Of course if you're going to spend several days, you're probably going to need a car.

Thanks very much for the info! I will keep it for next year. I also found availably at Yosemite Lodge in the valley last weekend for the 2 nights I was considering. I would assume they're taken now, but I will plan way ahead for hopefully next year! It's been awhile since I've been there, but it's a gorgeous park. It and Glacier are my 2 favorites!

 

[Mkrop]

I also noticed you mentioned hotels in San Fran. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express that was walking distance from Fisherman's Wharf. It was next to a Holiday Inn and that was where the pool was so you saw people walking from the HI to HIE in swimsuits and towels. We didnt have time for swimming so for us it didnt matter.

 

[YodasMom]

I also noticed you mentioned hotels in San Fran. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express that was walking distance from Fisherman's Wharf. It was next to a Holiday Inn and that was where the pool was so you saw people walking from the HI to HIE in swimsuits and towels. We didnt have time for swimming so for us it didnt matter.

Thanks! Decided to stay in the Union Square area. I've tentatively made reservations in the Union Square area at the Chancellor Hotel. Am also considering The Orchard Hotel.

 

[Unas]

Every time I click on that link, it goes directly to Extranomical Tours website, not to YARTS. Anyway, it's one of the tour companies I've considered.

Yep. Never said it took you to YARTS. Here is a quote from that page, similar to what it says about some of the other lodging.

Yosemite Overnight Tour - Yosemite View Lodge.

If you were staying any closer to Yosemite National Park, you would be in the Park! Located right at the entrance to Yosemite, this tourist class hotel is perfect for those wanting to experience the wonders of Yosemite with vacation style amenities. Support mass transit and take the YARTS (not included in price) from and to Yosemite Valley, and then use the FREE Hybrid Shuttles to get around and see the sights! Two outdoor swimming pools and one indoor pool are available to enjoy.

That won't be an issue if you just day trip. Are to ready to be on a bus for as long as that trip takes?

 

[YodasMom]

That won't be an issue if you just day trip. Are to ready to be on a bus for as long as that trip takes?

Not planning on taking a bus. It will be a van with a small group, no more than 11 to 13 people. And, yes, I've done this sort of thing before.

 

[knewton64]

I'm looking for options for a post-DLR trip this coming summer.

Can anyone recommend a reputable tour or tour company that does tours from San Francisco to Yosemite? If not, recommendations for hotels inside the Park?

Also looking for some hotels in a safe area in San Francisco, probably in the Wharf area.

here is another suggestion -



SYMG.com
(Southern Yosemite Mountain Guides.com)



They are often shown on the Live Well Network via the tv show, "Motion."


T.T.F.N.
&
Cheers Y'all

 

[YodasMom]

here is another suggestion -
SYMG.com
(Southern Yosemite Mountain Guides.com)
They are often shown on the Live Well Network via the tv show, "Motion."


T.T.F.N.
&
Cheers Y'all

Thanks! I'll check it out!

 

[Fantaluminishes]

We've been to Yosemite many times. We live less than 3hrs away, in the East Bay. Just went this past weekend. We never stay inside the park. For this trip we rented a house in Oakhurst. It's very close to the south entrance and Mariposa Grove. I wouldn't take a 1-day tour to Yosemite from SF. You'll spend too much time traveling. Just my opinion.

The two hotels in El Portal are very close to the Valley. A drive to Yosemite with an overnight stay will allow you to see the park during different times of the day, which is very important. This is your trip. But living relatively close to the park, and having been there many times, I wouldn't consider a day trip.