Excellent tour, our guide Kurt was knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. Communication in advance was very good and additional pictures and info sent after the trip was very nice. I would highly recommend Bay Area Tours!

The weather was beautiful and the scenery spectacular. Viktor made the day even more special with his knowledgeable commentary, his humour and the care for his guests. I could not fault any aspect of the day. Sincerest thanks.

Our tour guide Phil Siegel was fantastic!!! What we loved the most was his enthusiasm for the sites and wanting us to get the most out of our time. One of the best sights was the climbers on El Capatan. Phil brought out telescopes and binoculars for even better views. The whole trip, 14 hours, was entertaining from the music on the bus to Phil's retelling of stories and legends to a movie at the end Recommend this trip!!

I could not flaw this day nor the tour host, Viktor. The day was seamless from pick-up to drop-off. at 5:40am Viktor picked us up from outside the hotel and even that early in the morning, had a bright smile. After everyone was picked up, we headed on our way where Viktor explained the itinerary for the day. The first stop is at Raley's in Oakdale (the perfect place to pick up a hand-made sandwich for lunch in the park) followed by a quick trip to Sons Farm Fresh market, where they gave us fresh fruit to try and a walk around their pumpkin patch and petting zoo. From there we continued upwards into the mountains where the park speaks for itself. For entertainment on the journey, Viktor told us many interesting facts about Yosemite National Park and played some interesting documentaries. We honestly saw everything one could possibly want to see in one day at the parks, lots of photo opportunities and a good amount of free-time to eat lunch and explore with your own family/couple. Luckily, we was ahead of time, so we was able to visit the Yosemite National Park sign for a photo before heading off to the Giant Sequoia Tree walk - which you should definitely not underestimate! It is a 400ft decline over a mile long which makes for a tough walk back up. If you can manage the walk, definitely do not miss out on this opportunity! Finally, we was on the way home and stopped in Oakdale once more to get dinner (there are a few local places alongside Wendys, Burger King and others). After that, we was back in the hotel by before 9pm. A very long day, but one well worth it. I couldn't have asked for a better group tour. Thank you!

We had the most amazing day in Yosemite! Viktor is the best guy he’s a vat of knowledge to get you round such an enormous place, he made the whole trip more fun.

This trip was great. We were initially going to drive to Yosemite but decided to take the trip due to time restrictions…so glad we did. Brian was our driver/tour guide. He was so knowledgeable and helpful, he really did go above and beyond! Yosemite is a beautiful place, we got to see all the main sights, the bus journey was comfortable with plenty of stops along the way. Yes it’s a long day but totally worth it. Great memories, thanks Brian!

We had such a great time on our day trip to Yosemite National Park and we’re glad we chose Best Bay Area Tours with a small tour group of around 15 people. Our guide, Calder, was really great and shared his knowledge of various areas that we drove through on our way to Yosemite and the various places we stopped in Yosemite. The mini van was comfortable enough (the seats at the back of the van were directly underneath the aircon unit which was quite loud) and the ~4 hour drive each way seemed to pass by pretty quickly. About halfway to Yosemite we stopped at Oak Ridge Plaza in Oakdale which has restrooms and a number of shops including a supermarket where you can purchase coffee, food, etc, there is also a KFC and Wendy’s across the car park area. We were super lucky with the weather as we had beautiful clear skies and hot temperatures. In Yosemite we stopped at Tuolomne Grove Trailhead to take a walk amongst the giant sequoia trees (the walk is medium level difficulty as the trail takes you downhill to the largest sequoia but then you need to walk uphill on the return leg), Tunnel View for an awe inspiring view of the valley, El Capitan and a few other places (all of which were great). We then had around 1.5 hours free time around Yosemite lodge area where we decided to go on a few short walks, walked through crystal clear waters of the river and purchased food at the lodge’s restaurant. We felt that 1 day for the trip was perfect for us as we didn’t have alot of time on our trip to San Fransisco and it gave us a good opportunity to get a feel for Yosemite. Having said that we’d love to go back at some stage and spend some more time exploring the area.

Kurt was a great guide. He was informative and very flexible, taking in the group’s needs. The Armstrong redwoods was a quiet, short walk (45 min) but lovely in that it was not crowded so you were able to take the enormity and peacefulness of the forest. After picking up lunch at a quaint little town we stopped at a beach and being a sunny day we relaxed in the sun and enjoyed the beach. Quick stops at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge and a walk through Sausalito. Fun day!

This is a great tour and Kurt our guide was just phenomenal. He was entertaining, informative, and very attentive to our needs. We went to some great photo spots and did a stunning walk too. Lots of in-bus videos on Yosemite too. A long day but worth every minute! Martin

What a great tour! As we talked the next morning, we decided we wouldn’t change a thing. Viktor was a great guide for the day #A-ma-zing! He communicated prior to the trip and was prompt, courteous, friendly, informative, funny, etc He made everyone feel comfortable in his “international family.” There were people from around the world on our trip. We made the trip so enjoyable . The trip was long but the stops along the way in the Cowboy capital of the world for breakfast and dinner, the on board informative videos and movies and Viktor’s well timed information, the trip was well timed. The whole point of the trip was Yosemite and the Giant Sequoias. And it did not disappoint. We stopped at key places to take in all the views. We had plenty of time to explore as a group and on our own. The views are breathtaking! One highlight was looking through Viktor’s telescope to see rock climber’s on El Capitan. What a great trip! Book it today!

This was one of the best day trips I’ve ever been on. I only booked the day before, and most tours were full up. I tried using one of the street vendors, who also couldn’t help me out, but a random contact from the bike shop helped me out. When I told the street vendor that I was going with this company she replied’ oh, they are the best, by name and by nature’. Every bit of the day was so well timed and planned out. Our guide, Calder, was a legend and so knowledgeable. It was a long day but well, well worth it.

Definitely a 10/10, I would do it again! You get to see a lot of the park for just a day trip, the views are incredible and there's a good balance of group and on your own time. Food options at the grocery stop were good. Kurt was awesome!!! He made the trip fun, comfortable and he knew so much about the park and SF.

This was a great tour. Brian totally made it fantastic for everyone. First time visiting Yosemite and we saw everything and he was extremely informative. Would definitely recommend!

Steve was awesome! Super funny and took us to all the amazing places! Highly recommend! Flew from upstate NY and he made the trip worth it!

The small-group day trip to Yosemite was amazing. Although it was a super long day - we got picked up around 5:30am and dropped back 9:30pm, it was definitely worth it to get out to Yosemite. Yosemite is beautiful - being from Australia I've never seen trees so tall! The "rocks" (they're really like mountains) are also incredible. As a nature-lover, it was definitely worth the trip. Doing a small-group tour was really valuable also. It meant that we got to know everyone on our trip, including our tour guide, and felt welcome asking him lots of questions. Our tour guide, Viktor, was awesome - very funny, friendly and lively. He was also super knowledgeable and I appreciated getting to learn the information and history of Yosemite, which comes with doing a tour vs just going yourself. It was a great experience.