Read our answers to our frequently asked questions below. Please get in touch if you have a question that isn’t asked here, and check out our San Francisco Tours, Yosemite Tours, and our Las Vegas Tours if you’re ready to start planning your next adventure.
The route we drive is generally about 192 miles (309 km) one-way, and takes 3-4 hours depending on traffic. We try to break up the long drive with comfort stops along the way.
If you are traveling on our Yosemite Overnight Lodging Tour, we use our small-size vehicles and have limited luggage space. Each passenger may bring one overnight bag. The under-seat storage space will accept ~13.5″x12″x11″ if the item is hard-sided; slightly larger if it is soft-sided. If you have larger luggage, most hotels in San Francisco will store your larger luggage after check-out or before check-in (some charge a fee for this service. If you are traveling on our Yosemite 3-Day Camping Trip, you may bring luggage with you as we do tow a trailer with us on tour where you may store your belongings. It is locked when we leave camp, however, we are not responsible for lost or stolen items.
We do not have Wi-Fi onboard our vehicles, and there are many locations that we visit that do not have good internet accessibility such as in Muir Woods. If you are on a camping tour, there is often Wi-Fi at the campsite and if you are visiting a national park, there is often Wi-Fi available in the buildings. Please be prepared to have limited access to Wi-Fi on some tours.
There is limited USB ports in the vans for guests to charge their devices, but this is only while the vehicle is running. If you are on the Yosemite 3-Day Camping tour, there are also electrical outlets in the bathrooms at the campground.
Food and water are not included in most tours except for the Yosemite Camping Tour and private tours if requested. Please see the webpage for your specific tour to confirm this information. If your tour does not include food, your guide will always make stops and point out options for guests. You are also welcomed to bring food with you ahead of time. Additionally, for all of our tours we highly recommend a refillable water bottle.
There are no assigned seats, however, if you would like to show up at an earlier pick up we would be happy to help you determine that location.
We recently got a new, bigger tour vehicle named “Oscar” who can seat up to 32 people. We use this vehicle on some of our more popular tours, but sometimes run with smaller groups of 13. Please note some of our tours, including those out of Las Vegas are run through partners and may run with bigger group sizes.
Most of our tours are meant for the average hiker, however, our guides are experts in providing alternative options if you deem a hike to be too challenging for you.
If you have any issues finding your tour guide, please call our office number (415) 642-7378 and we can connect you to your guide.
We need payment ahead of time to save your seats for you on tour. If you would like to pay in cash, please give us a call so we can schedule a time for you to meet at our office to make payment.
We recommend tipping 10-20% of the tour cost. Offering a gratuity is never expected, but our hard-working guides truly appreciate it.
Most of our guests do wear sneakers on tour. If you feel like you need more ankle support, hiking boots work great as well. The most important thing is to wear something comfortable.
We can only allow service animals on our public tours as defined by the ADA: ADA 2010 Revised Requirements: Service Animals. We can take some other pets on private tours, but there is a pet deposit required.
Depending on the vehicle we have available for your tour, there may be limited space available to secure items like a wheelchair or stroller. Please note that we do not have a ramp feature and have a couple stairs to get up into the vehicle.
Weather in the mountains can be a bit unpredictable. You are best suited to bring layers with you no matter the time of year. For the most up to date information please check out the Yosemite National Park (U.S. National Park Service) website.
Sorry to say, the laws are applicable where you’re *consuming* the drinks, and not where you’re from. The liquor laws in California state that you must be 21 or over with a valid form of government ID to be served.
SFO is about 13 miles to the south of the city, and is not actually located in San Francisco proper. This means an added 20 minutes each direction to get to these hotels, which cuts into the precious time we have to take you to see the amazing views of Yosemite Valley (or worse, it cuts into your wine tasting time)!
If you’re staying at an airport hotel with a car, we can suggest a local hotel in the city that has very reasonable flat-rate parking. We also suggest taking BART into the city and meeting us right by the Powell St station at a central hotel meeting point. Give us a call and we’re happy to help you arrange your transportation to meet our drivers in the city!