Yosemite National Park and Giant Sequoias Tour from San Jose

Don’t recommend

The sequoia hike was my favorite part of the trip,and the bus driver Gino was great, he was an excellent driver, However, this company desperately needs to update their buses! Our bus reminded me of a school bus, very bumpy ride! . I was at the last pick up, so had no choice but to sit in the very back on the bench seat. My seat had no air vent. (other seats had air). And I had severe motion sickness due to the winedy roads. If I were to do another bus tour in the future, I will make sure it is a newer coach bus. Overall would recommend you research other options.

Yucemite

Amazing tour and great tour host. Full of energy and was brilliant. Was fantastic Thank you so much and will come again next time too

Very poor transportation the bus was awful

Terrible bus for a 15 hours trip!! Other tour companies had a normal buses but what this agency had was awful! Yosemite is a beautiful experience but don’t go with this Extranomical tours !!!

Fun experience at Yosemite

Yosemete was very beautiful. The tour gives you some time to experience as much as possible but there’s so much to see here. It’s not enough to see it all in a day. I was also hoping to see more sequoias. The only thing I would improve is the transportation. For long distances, a coach bus with a bathroom would’ve been far more comfortable than the bus they provided. The ride was terribly bumpy in the back half of the bus. We could’ve also saved time by not having to stop as frequently for restroom breaks.

Awesome Guide and Tour

The tour was very well planned. There were restroom stops after every hour and a half. The guide Glenda was very good. She was very very friendly. She had cold water, soft drinks, snacks and took care of all the people. Definitely ask for her if you plan to take this tour.

Good day in Yosemite

It was a long day, but a great day. Our tour guide was David and he was wonderful. Great stories, knowledgeable about the park and was kind enough to slow walk with me on the return hike from the sequoias.

Great overview of Yosemite National Park.

This was a great overview of Yosemite National Park. Our guide, Randall, gave great information about the Central Valley, small towns along the way, and then made sure we knew where to take the best pictures at every location in the park. His directions were clear and he problem-solved well. It was a long day, but a well-executed trip. The only change I would make is finding a better location to stop for dinner on the way home.

Excellent trip

Our guide David was excellent. Everything was on time and perfect. Would love to do with other family members. We booked from SJ, CA. Taken to Livermore on time. Bus from SF arrived on time and we met David. Breakfast, lunch and dinner stops places were not crowded. David was excellent, explained all very clearly. Took us near all important places in Yosemite.

Outstanding Guide Outstanding Tour

Andy is a rockstar - best guide for Yosemite - history, geology, biology, photography - singing, dark humour, non stop briefing throughout the tour. Keeps u totally mesmerised. Outstanding Well planned tour. 17 hours completely worth it

Driver

The views were amazing , the driver was careful and well versed in his history and important features and history Wonderful trip It takes time to get to the vistas , but well worth the drive

Great tour guide but not a fan of the old shuttle bus

The tour guide and route planning are great, however, personally, I was dissatisfied with the old vehicle, small seat, and bad smell. It was my first time joining the tour trip so maybe this is just what this price offering, otherwise, if the points I mentioned not bothering you, this is a tour trip you should consider for mobility, and they have deal on Groupon

Great Trip

24 Feb 2024 - Had extra time at Yosemite as the Giant Sequoias was closed. Guide (Andy Howse) and Driver (Alfie) were professional and helpful, making this day tour very wonderful! Will definitely recommend others to join this tour if they have time in San Jose or San Francisco!

Super fun tour to Yosemite National Park

We had an amazing tour with Extranonical to Yosemite National Park in winter. With our funny and helpful guide Andy and our lovely driver Jeremy, we went on an adventure through the snowy mountains of Yosemite. It was fun, stunning and a real pleasure. Thanks guys!

Phenomenal Yosemite tour!

Amazing 1 day tour. Tour guide Andy and driver Jeremy were an amazing team. A lot to see in one day but Andy kept us on track and knew where to take the best pictures. Would highly recommend this tour. Saw the sun rise and set. Both beautiful scenes.

It was the highlight of the summer of 2023

First of all, we had the best tour guide his name is Andy Hows!! He was responsible professional and caring. He deserves a big reward.

Realistic Expectations

This tour originates in SF. You will meet up with the bus that will take you to Yosemite in Livermore, CA. Expect the tour group to be large. Our bus was full - 50+ people. Seats in the back of the bus, near the restroom, were the only pairs of seats available in Livermore. The engine is in the back of the bus. During our drive to Yosemite, our guide outlined the day’s activities. Several stops for photos, free time in Yosemite Valley to explore & have lunch, more photo ops, and to end the day, the highlight of the tour - Hike to the Giant Sequoias. His description of the hike was unsettling. He described it as “killer”, and I’m not meaning killer-good. He meant killer, as in dangerously difficult. There is a 7.58% grade incline (400’/1 mile) on the hike back. That’s strenuous, but doable for us, given time for adequate breaks along the way. Our expectations for this tour were to visit the first national park, enjoy the beautiful sites, take a bunch of pictures, get our nat’l parks passport stamped, and hike to the giant sequoias. I love trees of all kinds, so I was really looking forward to this part of the tour. The stops for photos were crowded with other tourists - to be expected in a national park. We got great shots at each one, with our guide’s help to get photos of the two of us. Before our stop in the Valley, we were told to return to the bus by a certain time. We also learned that there was not an opportunity for a passport stamp at this stop-disappointment #1. Our options were, to go without, or use our free time to hike to & from the Visitor’s Center to get the cancellation stamp. The hike to the visitor’s center was 20-25 minutes one way. It would have taken most of our available time to get the stamp, so we decided to get them online. We opted to go with our guide the the base of the falls, where we enjoyed the sound of the falls and a relaxing picnic in the nearby area. When the bus returned to take us our next adventure, our guide did a headcount. One of the passengers was missing. A young man, who had left his backpack on the bus and apparently went adventuring on his own. We overheard the guide discuss the situation with someone, who tried to call the lost passenger. There is zero cell service or wifi in the valley, so no surprise he did not answer. After waiting 20 minutes, the guide made the decision to leave this person behind. There seemed to be little concern for his well being or his options to get back to SF/SJ. It was unsettling. Disappointment #2. On our way to the highlight of the tour, our guide once again described the hike as “cardiac event”, “not recommended for anyone on heart medication or who had knee problems”. He like to refer to his hikes as “dangerous, and dangerous is fun”. We were allowed 1.5 hours for the hike to and from the trees (that are only visible at the end of the trail). The NPS postings at the site recommended 2-3 hours. It was raining when we arrived, and our guide made a point to mention that forest fires most often start with lightening strikes during a thunder storm. For crying out loud! We made the decision not to make the hike. We knew we could do it given adequate time to hike up the incline on the way out, but we were concerned that we wouldn’t make it back in time, and could be left behind. Disappointment #3. Are we glad we went to Yosemite? Absolutely. Would we recommend this tour? Probably not.

Great trip but felt unsafe due to bad coordination

Yosemite park was a great place but the tour company did not make us feel safe. We had taken the San Jose to Yosemite tour. We were aware that this will mean that they will put us on an SUV from San Jose to Livermore, and then we get on to the main bus that takes us to Yosemite. On the way back, our tour guide drops us at the Livermore empty parking lot and just leaves. He didn't call the driver who was supposed to pick us up. Essentially, we were left to fend for ourselves. We felt super unsafe as tourists just waiting in the dark for someone to come and pick us up. The area did not seem safe. Luckily, one of the tourists had the driver's number, the driver picked up the call, and came after 20 mins. The driver said that no one has contacted him and asked him to come pick us up early ( so I think we were dropped off early, and the tour guide or maybe the tour organizer didn't inform him that we are there ). The tour guide actually said " I wouldn't know " when asked about the pick up situation. Although, the experience was otherwise great ( the tour guide was actually a nice orator), but safety comes first. I should also note that the extranomical tours phone number was not working ( no one picked up and it went to voice mail). Leaving tourists in the dark, in the middle of nowhere, with no information is not fine!! I saw the same review by other people about the san Jose trip. The tour company seems to apologize and give their number ( which didn't work when we needed them ). So doesn't seem like they will fix the situation. Best is to get the trip from San Francisco ( not San Jose). I think everyone who took the trip from San Francisco had a smooth experience.

Communication lacking and San Jose’s an afterthought

On the whole, this was a perfectly good tour, but I can’t give it a full recommendation because the communication was really lacking. One big point, this tour is long. It was a busy weekend and we were told to arrive at 5:15. We didn’t get back to San Jose until 10 pm. Back to communication: First, the motor coach does not pick up in San Jose. You meet out front of a hotel in San Jose and private SUVs take you to Livermore to meet the big bus. This fact was poorly communicated. We showed up at the hotel and three suvs arrived, late, and said they were taking us to the bus, about 25 minutes. Poor communication 2. In the 45 (not 25) minute ride, the driver said nothing before dropping us in front of a 7-11 in Livermore. The SUV drivers disappeared into a Starbucks and all the tour clients were standing outside a 7-11 wondering when we will see a bus. Thank goodness it wasn’t raining. My son was worried it was a scam. Nope, not a scam, just more poor communication. The bus eventually showed up and we learned this was a joint trip with tour clients from San Fran. No problem but the the guide never went over the days itinerary. We never really knew what was next. Simple fix: explain the days plan. The tour itself was very good once in the park. The bus takes you to several scenic spots in Yosemite, and you don’t have to navigate the mountain roads or fight for parking. The views are great and the park is magnificent. Hard to take a bad photo. Our guide, Gino, was also good. He’s funny and genuine even though he is a little hard to understand sometimes and he mixed up his rights and lefts a few times. Perhaps if I was taking the tour from San Fran, I would have another opinion, but the San Jose extension feels cobbled on so I can’t recommend this tour without flagging the shortcomings in logistics and communication. I took this tour because I wanted to see Yosemite but could only dedicate one day to it. So it met my bucket list need. But on a holiday weekend the wait to get in was signicatnt, like 2 hours! And the park was packed. If I have a chance to return to Yosemite, it will be a weekday when school is in session.

Would never do it again. Beautiful sites, but for 250 not worth it. You can drive and see the sites for less than 50 bucks 🤷🏼‍

I was unaware I would be leaving my car in a parking garage for a hotel who didn't know a tour was using them for a parking garage. We then were ubered and dropped off at a 7/11 to wait for bus who was late. We waited 25 mins from time uber dropped us off til bus picked us up in front of a 7/11.. If we were a family this would've been unacceptable. But it was just me and boyfriend. This tour needs to be more specific and tell you that there are no sequoia trees until May! Not that if "weather permits" came to see trees and no giant sequoias!!

Day in Yosemite

We booked the trip to leave from San Jose never in the description was it mentioned that we took an Uber from the hilton to Livermore equally it was never mentioned that an Uber would pick us up from Livermore my link did not work and a gentleman who came with us but not part of our group had to call someone to sort it out as his link didn’t work NOT GOOD ENOUGH this has to be explained before you book. The driver left us to fend for ourselves. Yosemite is beautiful and not my first visit but the bus driver needs to understand we do not need a constant narrative for what seemed like the whole journey I just want to relax and enjoy the journey it was way toooooooo much he needs to be quite and drive

Pleasant trip with great tour

My tour guide and driver Rob was amazing. He was very friendly and patient, esp not everyone on our bus was fluent in English. He knows Yosemite very well and gave useful recommendations on how we should spend our free time and where to take good photos. The tour company Extranomical Tours arranged Uber to pick me up from my hotel to the meet-up location, which was extremely helpful. Overall it was a very pleasant trip.

Guide difficult to understand, passenger nearly left behind

The park is beautiful and the day was well planned and contained a lot of impressive views. But the tour as such was pretty horrible. The driver had a heavy accent and was difficult to understand so that we didn’t get the experience of an informative visit. One passenger was left behind and the driver only noticed after we had all but left the park as he didn’t count the passengers on the stops before that. It took us three hours in all to go back and collect her. At that time the gas was dangerously low so we had to stop to refuel. All in all the trip lasted until nearly midnight. It seems dangerous to let one man drive for 18 hours, even if he had two breaks during the day. I was really relieved that we didn’t have an accident and made it home alive. In other words: don’t take this trip if you value safety on the road and aren’t prepared to get your information on Yosemite from Wikipedia.

Amazing tour to Yosemite for the first time

It was a very nice experience. Our first time to Yosemite. We took the tour from San Jose. There was separate transportation from San Jose to the meeting point in Livermore before taking a larger bus to Yosemite. The transportation to and from Livermore from San Jose was smooth. The tour company set up Uber rides and it went well. Just don’t click on the text link until you are ready to be picked up. Everyone at the tour company was very helpful and quick replies to my questions via text. We really enjoyed the tour guide as well. He was informative and made several stops that led to amazing pictures. Would definitely take another tour with them again!

Yosemite in a day

A Great full-day tour that covers it all. Very pleasant to have someone else drive & narrate, so you can just enjoy… Our driver/tour guide; Ben was great! He was very skilled, knowledgeable, and friendly! Leana at the office was also very nice & helpful in coordinating our transportation. Thanks!

Brilliant trip with limited time in the area

I was in San Jose area for 4 days so I didn’t get much time to see things, this trip is a full day but well worth it. The tour guide Roman was excellent, he was very friendly and and even more informative. I was afraid that this trip would only be a bus tour but there was plenty of times to get out and go for a hike. You are shown all the major attractions both from a far for good pictures and up close for a walk. I loved walking round Yosemite valley, I asked Roman for a more challenging hike and he recommended a good route, I got round and had plenty of time to get a souvenir from the gift shop. I highly recommend this trip if you can’t (or don’t want to) go to Yosemite for more than a day.

excellent trip

tour guide Denise was excellent, very lively n knowledgeable. she brought the yosemite experience to us in a difference view poibt

Amazing

Our tour guide, Denise, was awesome! She was very helpful and knowledgeable of everything. She gave us the human side of Yosemite. We highly recommend her.

Memorable trip

It was fun, very beautiful. The trip was delayed by 30 mins due to other passages being late. But they did a great job in covering all the spots of Yosemite. Sufficient time and we'll coordinated.

Unforgettable trip to Yosemiteite

Had a very good guide (Dennis from Extranomical tours)for our one day trip to Yosemite National park. Her knowledge was very good and she was very courteous and patient

A memorable trip!

Pros * Driver was excellent and super friendly. We could see he was super passionate! * Very nice coverage of places and ample time at Yosemite highlights. All in a day! Cons * We had to take shuttle from San Jose to Livermore to get on the bus. And wait 30 mins in Livermore to actual bus to Yosemite. * We we finally boarded the Yosemite bus from Livermore, we had to sit on the last row in the bus :( Me and my wife, both 65+ had a bit of hard time getting on and off at every stop henceforth. I recommend to have few seats available for elderly in first few rows!

All that glitters is not gold

There is much hype of the park, except rocks, there is nothing extraordinary. The bus was pathetic, for hours together there was no rest room, and the bus also does not have stoppages for it. The driver was very unfriendly. Could not get the feel of the tour. At the final stop, were left to wander in the park with no guide. It was a complete waste of money.

Great plan

excellent plan when you have little time, beautiful site, it is just great, you visit the strategic sites of the park, good photos .. I recommend not going at the end of summer, the waterfall will be dry

What an amazing experience

Being a tree surgeon you would expect the last thing i would want to do is pay to see more trees, but its been a dream of mine to see the giant sequoias in real, words cannot describe the size of these trees and the power they posses over the surrounding area its amazing. To top it off got to enjoy the national park and spotted a few bears. I would recommend this trip to anyone because there is something for everyone.

Different from order

I orderd equipment of a Japanese guide on this tour. And I received a message that my tour would be guided in Japanese. However, this tour had no one and no explanation that complete above request. So I had to join this tour with an American driver guide whose English was hard to understand for nonnative persons. The tour delayed more than an hour, cause the gude's poor management and bussy traffic. Exactly, the landscape was very beautiful, but I finished this tour with complaints.

Yosemite

Trip and driver/guide was great bus was a little better than a school bus uncomfortable ,suspension was awful

Yesomite national Park & Sequia

Excellent trip to Yosemite, Sequoias is a disappointment as there is only one tree and not such a giant.

See Yosemite without the hassle of driving!

I'm so glad I booked this trip. I don't think I would have been able to make this drive on my own. As a solo traveler this tour was perfect. Josh was an A+ driver and excellent guide. Thank you, Josh!

Perfect for a day visit !

If you just have a day to spare, this is a great tour to book. Timely pick up and sufficient stops in between. Our driver and guide Phil was extremely passionate to show us the best. We got adequate time to visit all the tourist areas and extra time to spot some bears as well 😀.

Great trip!

Your guide Jake was awesome. He was overly accommodating and went out of his way to make everything great. Memorable day in Yosemite!

While my tour of Yosemite was...

<p>While my tour of Yosemite was amazing, out tour guide Aoka was awesome, the tour company was not. I paid a premium to leave from downtown San Jose instead of San Francisco. The morning of the tour I was waiting at the hotel at 6:30sm as instructed. Instead of a bus, coach or van an Uber driver pulled up, asked me my name and told me to come with him. Tour company called while this was happening and confirmed that I should get into the Uber. The driver then drove me for a ways out of town, pulled into a strip mall parking lot and told me we were here. I asked where I was supposed to go and he said he wasnt sure, and left me in the middle of the parking lot, I had zero idea what was going on. I called the number from the tour company and she told me to go hang out in the Starbucks and a van should be there in about 20 minutes. Sometime later I get another call saying that my driver has been waiting for me at the 7-11. I now board a full bus. We drive for about an hour, pull into a grocery store and we are told to shop for all the food we will need for the day, bus is locked for 1/2 hr so youre forced to walk aimlessly around the store. Great, amazing day touring Yosemite. Our driver was great, informative albeit a bit cheesy, but really put the effort into a nice day. Time to go home, once again after our mandatory 1/2 hour grocery store stop this time on our way home, I get dropped off in the middle of a parking lot, its DARK, Starbucks is closed, my phone battery is on fumes only half the buss charging ports worked after a 13hr day and Im suppose to wait there alone until a third party Uber driver is called and arrives. I had a dude in pickup truck harassing me while I waited for the Uber to arrive. Unsafe, unprofessional and NOT what I signed up for. What a disappointing ending to an otherwise beautiful day.</p>

The tour was very good, nice stops...

<p>The tour was very good, nice stops and the tour guide Denise was friendly and informative. A few things though, I booked the trip departing from San Jose paying a premium over the tour departing from San Fransisco, the tour company wanted me to make my own way to San Fran for pickup anyway. I had to send quiet a few emails to explain I'd be departing from San Jose as the tour website described. Also we happened to book the tour on Martin Luther King Day a holiday in America, this means entrance to National Parks is free for the day, we however still paid for the price of park entrance in our tour cost. Basically the tour company had us pay the price of park entrance when there was no need to do so which I felt was dishonest.</p>

Great experience

It was an amazing tour, the place is beautiful, our guide Gino was funny and very nice. We had a great time, I recommend!

Worst experience

1. I was supposed to pick up at 6:20am in front of the hotel for the Yosemite tour. But the tour guide mistook my pick up point and I waited over 45 minutes. She didn’t give me a call. I did. *I asked the concierge to talk the tour guide by phone directly since I’m not a native English speaker. It was ok because it happens sometimes if there is miscommunication. But the tour guide didn’t say even sorry and she blamed it on me in front of every tourist in the bus although I showed the confirmation email. 2. The tour guide didn’t give me a call to delay a pick up time from Yosemite. I gave a call and the staff said the tour guide gave me a call and left the message. But there is no message. I was in the hotel lobby in Yosemite 30 minutes prior to the pick-up time, so the signal was good. 3. I took a seat when I return from Yosemite because I was the first to arrive. But the tour guide asked me to move the other seat next to the person who joined alone because I’m alone. And the person who arrived late(the last) had a seat only by himself. Even he joined the tour alone. It was pretty unfair and I felt really sad. 日本人の方は、英語が話せたとしても、絶対に日本のツアーに参加されるべきだと思います。

Black liquid coming from the ceiling on the bus...

Black liquid dripped from the bus and stained my clothes. It ruined my trip. It's unacceptable, so I hope they can do something about it.

Een "must see"

Een prachtig park. Zeker de moeite van een bezoek waard. Een kundige buschauffeur die ons veel interessante informatie gaf. Wel vond ik de prijs ex San José best hoog: $ 207.-- voor slechts 1 dag. Daar kwamen nog alle maatlijden plus een (flinke) fooi voor de chauffeur bovenop. Desalniettemin was het de moeite en het geld waard.

返金を希望します。

電話では日本語を受け付けていないようなので、こちらに書き込みます。以下の理由により返金を希望します。 ・５歳と9歳の子連れなのにバラバラの席に座らされた。 ・日本語ツアーなのに、何も日本語に対応していなかった。 ・一人分の席に納まらない人の隣に座らされたので、体が常に通路側へはみ出していた。 ストレスのせいか、妻は体調不良を訴えています。 以上。