Small Group Yosemite and Giant Sequioas Day Trip from San Francisco

Amazing amazing day! Phil was a wonderful guide and fun and informative. Made some extra stops not on the regular tour to point out some “WOW” views and allow us to take pictures. A million thanks for the most memorable part of our trip!

Great trip Long day but worth it. Our tour guide had actually lived in the park and knew it inside out. Climbers on El Capatan were unbelievable.

Excellent trip. Brian is the best guide. Thanks for everything. On time. Safety. I love this trip with my friends

Loved our tour guide Brian, he was super professional and knowledgeable. Excellent tour a must do if you are in San Francisco

This tour was great and we got to see great views with a knowledgeable guide who kept us on a schedule to avoid major crowds!

Such a great experience. The tour guide Phil is very knowledgeable and friendly. He knew the best spots in Yosemite for a photo op. Also he shared so many interesting facts about different areas on the way. Strongly recommend.

Brian was amazing, he texted the night before of the tour to making sure we have the meeting place address, advised when booking that my family and I won’t be staying in SF area.. He knows his way around the park and know when to be at the place in the perfect timing to get good pics.. He was absolutely wonderful, O will highly recommend him!!! Thank you Brian!

Expensive. Why? Compared to other tours I have been to. VAN-NOISY. Noise from the loud music, back and the doors. At one point we could not hear the guide because he did not use his mic. Noisy loose shaking door. Whistling air and noisy engine in my back. I endured this throughout the ride. You have to talk over the oldies music to be heard. Music themed in groups of COVID, FIRES, a LOT of 60's songs. 11 people 5 of whom are 20's-30's, a couple in their 30's, the rest in their 40's-50's. We are not a bunch of old people. It was annoying and made the ride uncomfortable. Silence or radio would've been better because the radio plays a variety of songs. Get those CDs and have random people of 20's50 yo listen to all of them. Ask if they would enjoy their ride listening to it all day. Accommodation offered by other tour vans this van DOES NOT have: Cup holders USB chargers on each seat Unlimited free cold water bottle Unlimited Free snacks Good time management Breakfast stop was at a grocery store. There's no cup holders in the van. IT was uncomfortable to eat. Suggestion-gas station or 7-11. Plan your lunch and dinner stops. We ate dinner in the parking lot, sitting here and there like homeless people. Prolonged stops at Half Dome, Tunnel view, El Capitan, Bridal Falls seriously. 15 min stops is all you need for photos. He gave us an hour to hike Yosemite the shortest of which is 2 miles. Our group range from fittest to very fit. A well planned trip would have given us ample time for hike, enough time for photos, and enough choices for meals. You do not need to sit and watch climbers climb at El Capitan for almost an hour. I know because I've been to other tours. Bindlestiff Tours have the best customer service and the most organize tours. Learn from them. Last-Introduce your passengers to each other. Not just to some. This is your job as a guide. What I detested was the obnoxious yellow signs taped in the van's walls saying something like this "In the US tipping is necessary. Standard rate for chauffers/guides is 20% of the total fee" EXCUSE ME? You are more expensive than Europe. I think it's rude. I would be paying $140 in this case. *Room temp water bottles was offered in the evening after the hike. But most of us already bought our own water when it was not offered to us in the beginning.

The tour itself is amazing, and Phil was an awesome guy. The park was quite empty because of the pandemic, so we had a lot of time for photo ops. The tour operator was responsive when I texted them. They handled all the ticketing process so that was a breeze. All we had to do was to show up at the hotel lobby and the whole trip was taken care of. The reason for one start taken off was about the AC. After one long day in the park and it was in the middle of the summer, the AC was dead. It felt like the sauna the whole time we were on the way back to SF. All in all, great experience. This is your tour if you're short on time.

Phil went above and beyond. We booked months in advance for a tour through Extranomical that unfortunately cancelled on us the day before the trip. Viator and Phil from the Best Bay Area Tour company pulled through with less than 24 hours notice! He was extremely personable, patient, and went above and beyond to make sure we had a great experience. He knows all of the best spots and trivia to go along with it. Thanks Phil!