Jimmyboy418

Senior male looking to one-day tour Yosemite via bus/coach from SF hotel in October to see the usual, non-strenuous tourist sites. I contacted Crossroads Tours and asked them questions about their one-day tour and never got a reply.
Who is good, trustworthy and is expert at showing off Yosemite--in a rush.
.Suggestions?

janisj

Check Viator. They are merely a re-seller of tours offered by other companies. Bit they are a good first place to look because they list most of the legitimate tours. You can then book through Viator (paying a little bit extra) or with the info you get off the Viator listing can usually find the actual tour operator and book directly. Sometimes takes a little detective work . . . Or just book with Viator and be done with it.

Christina

I think Viator is the best place to find something like this also. When I have booked through Viator, I have never paid more than direct, either, tour companies use it because it gives them marketing and a website that steers them customers, so I presume they pay Viator a fee for that. Anyway, I have found a couple times which company it was and I never paid more using Viator, so it isn't a given that you will pay more that way.

Jimmyboy418

Thank you.

I called them today (the call center is in the Philippines) and tried to explain my wishes, with limited success. I will try it by email tomorrow with, hopefully, better results.

Jimmyboy418

I called them today and had a hard time explaining what I wanted (the call center is in the Philippines and there was a language problem). But I will try again tomorrow via email.
Thanks!

janisj

I don't understand why you need to call them . . . the tours are all fully described on their website . . . 99%+ of their customers book on-line.

Jimmyboy418

Not all the information I seek is described on their web site; hence the call to them to get the information I need.

janisj

Well - since Viator is just the re-seller they very likely don't know the exact details you want/need.

Which tour is it -- since many of us live in northern California we may know the answers better than Viator does (or not)

(Disclaimer - I have a relative in the tourism industry . . . in a different part of the world . . . who has several tours listed on Viator. Viator really knows nothing about the details of his offerings -- just the schedules, basic itinerary, price, and the fee he pays to Viator)

Jimmyboy418

Anyone have an opinion about this tour, or the company, Crossroads Tours?

https://www.yosemite1.com/san-franci...y-motor-coach/

MmePerdu

The tour description says, "We leave early morning from the San Francisco Bay Area . . ." That seems very unspecific to me so I'd want to check that the pick-up location is convenient from where you'll be staying for an early departure & late return.

tomfuller

Be aware that there is an Amtrak bus-train-bus connection that will get you to Yosemite. Bus 6610 leaves the Transbay Temporary Terminal at 7AM daily. The bus connects (guaranteed connection) to train 710 which takes you from Emeryville to Merced where you get on a YARTS bus (Amtrak 8410) into Yosemite at about 1:30PM. The one way fare is less than $40. There are park operated buses that get you around the park.
You might want to either stay overnight in the park or between the park and Merced instead of trying to return to San Francisco on the same day that you left.

janisj

Re that tour: As far as I can see the only stops are for lunch and briefly on Northside drive (that is what's called 'Valley View') and a stop on Southside drive before leaving. All the rest of the 'sites' are listed as 'view' which means seeing from the minibus. This will be sandwiched in between two 4+ hour drives from/to San Francisco.

(In tour descriptions 'Visit' means get off the bus and walk around/actually visit, 'Stop' means stop but not explore/visit. and 'View' means view while driving past. )

So it looks like about 10 hours on the bus and a couple of hours off it . . . your choice.

MichelleY