A Friend in Town

The Premier Personalized Tour Service for the San Francisco Bay Area

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We can pick you up anywhere within 90 minutes’ drive of San Francisco — at your home, hotel, or the airport!

Yosemite National Park (Overnight) Tour

Tour Highlights

  • yosemite_halfdomeTwo-hour open-air drive (narrated by Park Ranger docents) where you may see the magnificent Yosemite & Bridalveil Falls, unique Half Dome and other Yosemite Valley landmarks
  • Lunch in the uniquely beautiful Ahwahnee Hotel
  • Sunset at Glacier Point, 3,200 feet above the Valley floor
  • Time for hiking, bicycling, rafting, photography or a tour of the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias (some of the tallest, oldest and most impressive trees on earth)

Why Go On an Overnight Tour with Us to Yosemite?

Why tour Yosemite with A Friend in Town and not just rent your own car or go with one of the other Yosemite tour companies? Because driving yourself, you'll arrive too tired to enjoy your first day and whoever drives will have to rest the second day in order to be ready for a 4-5 hour return trip. (The computer map may show less than 4 hours, but you'll need to slow down during the last hour in the mountains and maybe stop en route for gas, snacks, the privy.) Most other tour companies cram Yosemite into one day, which saves you the expense of lodging, but leaves you precious little time to appreciate this very unique place. Or, you can get there on your own with Amtrak — if you succeed in reaching the station in time, and if you want to devote most of a day just getting there, and most of another getting back. We pick you at your home or hotel, take you to the Park then to whichever lodging suits you best, and do it all so that it minimizes your stress, maximizes your enjoyment.

Our Yosemite Itinerary

We leave early, in order to arrive in time for a meal at a national treasure, the Ahwahnee Hotel--unique in its siting and classic beauty. Afterwards, you board the two-hour Tram Tour, which orients you to the best-known landmarks (Half Dome, Bridalveil Falls, El Capitan) of Yosemite Valley. We then check-in to whichever hotel, lodge or campground you've arranged, and (if you so choose) we take you up to Glacier Point, over 3,200 feet above the Valley floor, to observe sunset as you've never seen it before.

The next day you have eight or more hours! to: hike up to the Falls; go bicycling; raft down the Merced River; take the Park Service's bus tour of the incomparable Mariposa Grove (giant sequoias); visit the Pioneer Center and its Miwok Indian 'village'; shop for souvenirs… whatever you choose. We meet for a light dinner around 5:30, check out, and depart for home (arriving 4+ hours later) having experienced, in a more relaxed way, one of the most spectacularly beauty-full places on the planet.

Available April through October: However, finding available lodging may require several weeks/months' advanced notice (depending on the season) Contact us for suggestions.

Our fee for this tour is $1,575 for 1-5 people, and does not include lodging. You may decide to stay at the historic, luxurious Ahwahnee Hotel, a tented cabin in the Valley itself or a motel in a nearby community. (Sometimes we may be able to help you find a place to stay...the earlier the better.)

Call: 1-800-960-8099Reserve Your Tour