Yosemite and Giant Sequoias One Day Tour from San Jose

Begin your tour of Yosemite’s awe-inspiring monuments with a pickup in San Jose

Departure time: 6:15 am
Departure: Signia by Hilton San Jose
Duration: 15 hours
Free Cancellation: With 24 hours advance notice
Ages: All ages
Ticket: Email and mobile accepted

Highlights

  • The most time in Yosemite National Park—over 5 hours
  • Unique Giant Sequoias hike in Tuolumne Grove (conditions permitting)
  • Five more stops to explore Tunnel View, Bridalveil Fall, Yosemite Falls, El Capitan Meadow and Valley View
  • 2 hours of free time to explore Yosemite Valley
  • Fully guided by a Yosemite Park expert
  • Convenient pickup at the Signia by Hilton San Jose

What’s Included

  • Pick up in downtown San Jose
  • Park reservation and entry fee (pay at checkout)
  • Hike to Yosemite’s Giant Sequoia redwoods
  • Local expert guide (English)
  • Foreign language audios in 8 languages

What’s Not Included

  • Meals or beverages
  • Guide gratuity
Please note: This season’s greatest-of-all-time waterfalls have led to a surge in Yosemite park visitors. So you can have the best possible experience, our new “early bird” itinerary is designed to beat the crowds and avoid delays at the popular attractions. Please note the new earlier hotel pickup times.

Description

Experience Yosemite in a Day from San Jose

Join us on this breathtaking tour of Yosemite National Park, whose towering granite peaks, cascading waterfalls and nature trails are perhaps the most stunning in the world. This award-winning tour spends the most time in Yosemite and includes a unique hike among ancient Giant Sequoia trees.

Your tour begins with a convenient hotel pick up in San Jose. Sit back and enjoy the scenery as your guide explains how glitter in the American River sparked the California gold rush; what geological forces made Yosemite’s dramatic landscapes; and the role John Muir played in the formation of America’s first protected wilderness.

Be Blown Away by Awe-Inspiring Valley Views

After entering Yosemite National Park, we’ll make our way to a scene made famous by photographer Ansel Adams. Take a moment at Tunnel View. Capture yourself with El Capitan, Half Dome, Sentinel Dome, Glacier Point, and Cathedral Peak as your background.

Once you’ve had your fill of photographs from this perch overlooking the valley, the tour will arrange a memorable stop where you can get eye to eye with wispy Bridalveil Fall.

Have Your Own Yosemite Valley Adventure

After arriving at our main stop in Yosemite Valley, you will have 2 hours for lunch and exploring on your own. The free time options include hiking to Yosemite Falls, meandering through Sentinel Meadow, checking out the Ansel Adams Gallery and more.

Take a Moment with More Iconic Monuments

Your Yosemite experience stops next at El Capitan Meadow to learn more about the world’s largest granite monolith and its climbing culture. As we are leaving Yosemite Valley, we will make our final stop at Valley View which serves up a panoramic landscape framing the Merced River, El Capitan and the imposing spires of Cathedral Rocks.

Feel the Quiet Grandeur of Giant Sequoias

The highlight of our tour is still ahead of you as we head to the Tuolumne Grove of Giant Sequoias. In this beautiful grove, you’ll have the chance to get up close and personal with some of the largest and oldest trees on earth.

When the Tuolumne Grove trail is snow-covered or unsafe, we always spend extra time in Yosemite Valley. 

By the end of the day, you’ll have experienced some of the most incredible landscapes in the world and captured memories to last a lifetime. Don’t miss out on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to explore Yosemite National Park with us.

Itinerary

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  • 06:15 AM to 10:30 AM - San Jose Pickup, Head to Yosemite

  • 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM - Admire Views of Yosemite Valley

  • 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM - Explore the Valley On Your Own

  • 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM - Stops at El Capitan and Valley View

  • 3:30 PM to 5:30 PM - Hike to Giant Sequoia Redwoods

  • 5:30 PM to 9:00 PM - Return to San Jose

Times listed are approximations. Traffic and unforeseen events can cause delays.  Please do not make flight/travel arrangements on the same day as your tour

What Our Guests Are Saying About Us

What a day!!!

Once I got in the van, the adventure started! I felt safe, knew where we were going and the plan for the tour. Bud driver and guide were super friendly, went out of their way to make the most of the experience and were very thoughtful of the needs of the visitors. They really made it a great day I won’t forget. Thank you for a great experience, I’ll be back!!!

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Viktoria Rethmeier , Google

I had a blast in Yosemite

I didn't know if one day was going to be enough, it's obviously not enough but Lars my tour guide did a great job with explaining everything and giving us tips about the park. I loved the giant sequoias hike, shared the road with some chipmunks and deers.

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Fer Mijangos, Google

I had a blast in Yosemite

I didn't know if one day was going to be enough, it's obviously not enough but Lars my tour guide did a great job with explaining everything and giving us tips about the park. I loved the giant sequoias hike, shared the road with some chipmunks and deers. I liked the fact that he gave us free time to do what we wanted to do, I like hiking so I used my time for that. He did a great job telling us about Yosemite and the area's history, being a mexican I really enjoyed listening to the "other side of the border" version.

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Fer Mijangos, Google

The Yosemite Tour with Giant Sequoias was incredibly well planned and on point.

It was perfect to see everything you want to see in one day there in Yosemite. The short hike of 50 minutes to see the Giant Sequoias was perfect to get a feel of this kind of experience there, and the shuttle rides around the main sights and to the picnic area were perfect to keep you cool (with A/C) and rested.

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DG, Google

The Yosemite Tour with Giant Sequoias was incredibly well planned and on point.

It was perfect to see everything you want to see in one day there in Yosemite. The short hike of 50 minutes to see the Giant Sequoias was perfect to get a feel of this kind of experience there, and the shuttle rides around the main sights and to the picnic area were perfect to keep you cool (with A/C) and rested. Everything I wished to see was seen on the tour with time to stop at each. John, our guide, was entertaining and smart. He handled the whole day with care and great attitude. I would book again with this company and I highly recommend this tour!!

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DG, Google

We travel often and don’t usually use tour companies

We travel often and don’t usually use tour companies but we are so glad we went this route for Yosemite! Our tour guide Denise was so personable and a wealth of knowledge about not only the park but also the Bay Area and regions we drove through.

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Erin Harris, Google

We travel often and don’t usually use tour companies

We travel often and don’t usually use tour companies but we are so glad we went this route for Yosemite! Our tour guide Denise was so personable and a wealth of knowledge about not only the park but also the Bay Area and regions we drove through. She had great recommendations for after the tour, gave us as much time as she could inside the park and had such a positive outlook on life in general. This company and industry both are better with Denise in it! Thank you for helping us make memories that will last a life time, Denise! Look us up if you make it to the Midwest!

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Erin Harris, Google

I went on this trip from San Jose and can highly recommend it.

I went on this trip from San Jose and can highly recommend it. It was a long day which started with a limousine pickup that took the small number of people from the Fairmont San Jose to a meeting point with the bus that would take us to Yosemite. The total drive was about 4 hours, but was quite interesting.

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Karim Maarouf, TripAdvisor

I went on this trip from San Jose and can highly recommend it.

I went on this trip from San Jose and can highly recommend it. It was a long day which started with a limousine pickup that took the small number of people from the Fairmont San Jose to a meeting point with the bus that would take us to Yosemite. The total drive was about 4 hours, but was quite interesting. The views were very nice and along the way our tour guide Denise gave us a lot of interesting information about the area we were driving through. Once we arrived to Yosemite, we proceeded to an area with the giant redwoods. We had about an hour to hike down to the redwoods and back up again, which was enough to enjoy them. Then we proceeded to a viewpoint over Elcapitan and half dome. The views from there were quite nice. After that we had some free time and were given some tips on where to go. I hiked to the waterfall and walked around a river there. The views were amazing and I also saw some wild animals. Finally, we went to another viewpoint, which was up close to Elcapitan. There Denise gave us so much information about the climbers there and shared a lot of interesting stories. Then began our long drive back home. All in all I would definitely recommend this trip. Especially if you only have one day. Otherwise, you should think about staying over at least one or two nights. There was so much to be done there.

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Karim Maarouf, TripAdvisor

We had a great day with Rob as our guide.

He was helpful, humorous and a very safe driver-thankfully. The tour itself was great. We were able to see highlights such as the giant sequoias, bridal veil falls, El Capitan and half dome. Rob lent us his binoculars to view climbers on El Capitan. What a place!

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Jessica Thiessen, Google

We had a great day with Rob as our guide.

He did a great job explaining what each sight was. He also gave lots of info about San Francisco on the way down which was great. Great trip overall. We loved it!

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Jessica Thiessen, Google

It's a great tour

We had a female tour guide who was also our bus driver. I don't remember the name but she is excellent at her job. Entire tour she shared enough information related to the history of the place etc. It made the tour all the more engaging and entertaining.

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Nikunj B , TrustPilot

It's a great tour

We had a female tour guide who was also our bus driver. I don't remember the name but she is excellent at her job. Entire tour she shared enough information related to the history of the place etc. It made the tour all the more engaging and entertaining. Yosemite is magical and one day tour isn't enough. But if you are short of time and get the most from your day, choose this tour. Few things to keep in mind. Keep your water bottles and food with you. Go on weekdays for better all round experience. If you want to travel solo and website doesn't seem to allow solo booking, contact their customer support and convince them.

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Nikunj B , TrustPilot

Our guide Mike was super professional

Our guide Mike was super professional all the time and our whole trip was really fun with him! I'd definitely recommend this tour to other friend!

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Suhye Seo, Google

So much fun!

I’ve been dying to see Yosemite for years. I am a flight attendant and had a long layover in San Jose. I ubered 30min to the 7-eleven pickup area. The tour was great! Loved my guide. I had 2 hours to explore and hike the lower area of the Yosemite falls.

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Brenna Skipper , GetYourGuide

So much fun!

And we had an hour and a half to go look at the giant sequoias. That walk was about 2.5 miles, going uphill back. It was tough but the trees were beautiful! (It’s optional whether you wanna walk the trails or not there).. the stops for food on the way there and back we’re great too!! Highly recommend this tour! :)

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Brenna Skipper , GetYourGuide

It definitely beats driving yourself!

It definitely beats driving yourself to and from the park after a long day of hiking, but I'm glad I read through ALL the reviews before going - the San Jose groups gets picked up by a shuttle that takes them to Livermore where they wait for the bus with everyone from San Fran.

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Daniel Lim, GetYourGuide

It definitely beats driving yourself!

Our Van was on time, you also definitely have to count on the other 30ish people in the tour group to make it back onto the bus on time when we stop for food or pictures. However, if you pack your patience cap its still a wonderful day. Our tour guide, Andy, went above and beyond. He was super knowledgeable both about the history of the area, but is also a geologist and has a lot of experience with the outdoors which he was very excited to share. He also went out of his way to help take pictures for people on our tour who wanted photos of themselves with the iconic sites.

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Daniel Lim, GetYourGuide

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FAQs

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  • Can I be picked up from a different location other than Signia by Hilton San Jose?

  • What do I need to know about the pickup in San Jose?

  • Where can I park my car near Signia by Hilton?

  • How will I recognize the vehicle that will pick me up?

  • What do I need to know about the Giant Sequoias hike?

  • Is a day enough time to see Yosemite?

  • How can I travel around the park during my free time?

  • Can I use my annual pass for the United States National Parks to enter Yosemite for free?

  • Do you offer this tour in different languages?

  • What should I bring with me on tour?

  • Are meals included? Can I buy or bring my own?

  • What stops do we have for photographs?

  • What can I do during my free time in Yosemite Valley?