A Day Trip to Yosemite National Park from San Francisco

If you followed along with out Californian adventure back last September, you’ll know we managed to squeeze in A LOT into the two weeks we had on the West Coast. During our short time in San Francisco, we decided to take a day trip to Yosemite National Park. I’d previously been in 2017 and knew it was still quite a length journey from San Francisco. Stefan wasn’t too keen on driving it so we booked through Gray Line San Francisco to do their Day Trip Yosemite National Park from San Francisco. I thought I’d do a blogpost all about it as I got loads of questions about it on TikTok.

The trip cost £155 per person and included return travel on a luxury coach, entrance fee into the national park, a guided tour around the main sights and free time in Yosemite Valley. Pick up points in San Francisco was from either Fisherman’s Wharf or Union Square (on Post St) which was great as we were staying at Hotel Zeppelin on Post Street. We literally couldn’t have been any closer to the point. As you can imagine, it’s a long day and pick up was 6.30am so we could get a start on our 200 mile drive to the national park. The drive took around 4 hours including a stop off.

I mentioned that the coach was described as luxury and I’d say it was. The seats were comfortable, spacious and could recline. I’ve seen mixed reviews on the state of the coaches so I can only speak about our experience which was pleasant. We had a tour guide called Brian who was very entertaining and knowledgable on everything. Around half way to Yosemite, we stopped in the Central Valley for a supermarket and restroom stop. The supermarket was called Raley’s. It was clearly a hotspot for tours to be stopping at but Stefan was OBSESSED with their deli counter and sandwiches. Obviously, I used it as an opportunity to stock up on American candy, drinks and snacks.

The drive to Yosemite National Park was pretty spectacular, the closer we got to the park the more insane the scenery was. We arrived to the gates of Yosemite National Park at around 10.30am where we were all provided with maps and guides. There is a fee to enter the US National Parks but this was included in our trip fee. I absolutely love Yosemite and find the landscape just incredible.

Our first stop of our Yosemite tour was Tunnel View which I hadn’t actually done when I visited in 2017.  I have no idea why we didn’t go as this view is iconic and I’d say is the ultimate must visit for Yosemite. We had a 20 minute stop off at Tunnel View to take a few images and just stand in awe of what was in front of us. Tunnel View provides a ‘tunnel view’ of the valley and iconic view over El Capitan, Half Dome and Bridalveil Fall. We took hundreds of photos at the Tunnel View point and I’d brought a tripod with me which turned out to be pretty handy here. These iconic views over Yosemite National Park will never get old.

We then got back on the coach before heading down to Bridalviel Falls. Our allocated time here was just 10 minutes which felt slightly rushed as by the time we’d walked from the road to the falls, we could take like two photos before having to walk back. However, You can see these falls from a few viewpoints around the park including one on our way out of the park so I guess there’s that.

We then made our way through the Valley to the main car park for Yosemite Valley for our free time. Through the valley we got some great views of El Capitan and Half Dome. Once parked up we had three hours of free time to explore the area. Unless you are wanting to do a mega hike, this was ample time to explore the immediate Yosemite Valley area.

We headed straight towards Yosemite Falls which wasn’t too far from the car park. The paths and trails are just so lovely to explore. Whilst there is hundreds of tourists wandering round, you aren’t far away from a quiet and peaceful trail where you can be at one with nature.Yosemite Falls are a pretty impressive sight to see, it is the highest falls in the National Park (& one of the tallest in the US!). From the base, you can only really see the lower falls but further from a distance you can see the whole thing and again, this is another MUST SEE when visiting Yosemite National Park.

After we took 100’s of photos, we headed towards the Welcome Centre which was about 15 mins along the main road. I remembered their been a really nice restaurant when I visited in 2017 but sadly it was closed but there was a deli here. Also at the Welcome Centre was a gift shop, art gallery, exhibition centre and wilderness centre with loads of information about the park and the Indian heritage. There is also a library here and even a cemetery!

We then decided to head back to where we was dropped off. There was a few more restaurants, cafes and shops here. It also seem to have a lot of lodges and places to stay. I got a bite to eat from the canteen which had a fair few options but of course, I got chicken tenders and fries. There was also a pretty decent gift shop where I picked up a t-shirt for my Dad and a Starbucks. After another mooch near to the Yosemite Falls, it was time to get back on the coach. We did also stop off at two other viewpoints on the way out of the park. The first one was across from Bridalviel Falls with the Merced River in the Foreground and the second was a high point overlooking the valley.

The trip back to San Francisco took slightly longer (around 5 hours) as there was a lot of traffic the closer we got to the city. We stopped off back at the same place in Central Valley for the restrooms, to stock up on snacks in Raley’s and I actually got my first ever Wendy’s for my dinner! Wendy’s got the approval from me! The coach stopped off at Fisherman’s Wharf first before heading to Union Square, where we back in our hotel room and pretty much in bed for 9.30pm.

is it worth taking a day trip from san francisco to yosemite national park?

I’ve had a lot of people ask is it worth doing a day trip? Why not do the drive ourselves to Yosemite? Isn’t it too far to go just for a couple of hours? Personally, for us, i thought this was a great option for us. Stefan didn’t want to do the long drive ahead of our coastal road trip. Also, we were pressed for time on this holiday so it worked well to do it in all in a day which I wouldn’t really advise if you’re doing it yourself. It was a long day but the coach was comfortable and we were still back in our hotel for 9.30pm. The trip itself, you got a great taster of Yosemite National Park and saw all of the highlights. Obviously if you want to do and see more, you’ll need to be there longer. I 100% think it was worth doing the day trip for us, we had an amazing time and just absolutely loved it.

If you have any questions about the trip, do get in touch. Have you ever been to Yosemite National Park?

Book Now: A Day Trip to Yosemite National Park from San Francisco

XOXO

Read more: Five Places I Loved Eating at in San Francisco