San Francisco to Yosemite, Death Valley and Las Vegas two day tour

Itinerary

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Day 1 - San Francisco to Yosemite - 190 mi / 305.71 km - About 4 1/2 hours

Like all of our tours this is a small group trip. Our guides are very knowledgeable about the areas you travel through, as well as the geology, traditions and customs of the local people. Feel free to ask any and all questions!

And as with all our tours, there are frequent stops to take photos and admire the views. It is your tour - make yourself at home! The days and dates that the tour runs can be seen in the calendar at the top right of this page.

There is a similar tour that runs in reverse, from Las Vegas to San Francisco.

The hotels at which we pick up can be seen at the top of this page. Departure time is about 6.15 a.m.

Leaving San Francisco you will pass through the hustle and bustle of the city, before reaching more open country.

Day 1 - Yosemite National Park - 58 mi / 93.32 km - About four hours

Map

You will enter Yosemite from the west entrance, and travel through the park to Yosemite Village, which is down in the valley. The scenery is spectacular. Amongst the sights you will see is Yosemite Falls, the highest waterfall in North America.

For many the highlight of the trip is El Capitan, the towering rock mountain. If you look carefully you can often see climbers attached to the sheer granite walls.

You will be able to get yourself a bite to eat and perhaps buy some souvenirs.

Day

After visiting Yosemite Valley we will start climbing up into the mountains. There are frequent stops to admire the views and take photographs. The Tuolumne Meadows are a particularly beautiful alpine valley, surrounded by tall trees and lush vegetation.

We climb all the way to Yosemite's east entrance, on the Tioga Pass, at almost 10 000 feet (over 3000 metres). Just as is the case with the Grand Canyon and Zion, the east entrance is only seen by a handful of the huge numbers of people who visit Yosemite.

Day 1 - Yosemite east exit to Bishop - 90 mi / 144.81 km - About 2 1/4 hours

Map

The road drops in a hurry from the Tioga Pass down to the east side of the Sierras. As you might expect the views are spectacular, and we can stop wherever you like to take photographs.

The night is spent in the small town of Bishop, in a moderate category hotel.

Day 2 - Bishop to Death Valley - 94 mi / 151.25 km - About 2 1/2 hours

Map

The road to Death Valley goes through the small town of Lone Pine, where you can get a great view of Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous 48 states. It is amazing to think that in just a few hours you will be at the lowest point in the entire country!

Day 2 - Death Valley - 150 mi / 241.35 km - About 4 1/4 hours

Map

Death Valley is the lowest, hottest and driest part of North America. We will enter the park at the west entrance and drop down a steep hill, towards Stovepipe Wells, and and an impressive cluster of sand dunes along the way. Just past that is Devils Cornfields.

At Furnace Creek we will stop for a while, at the Visitor Center and gift shop, before detouring towards Zabriskie Point. After climbing to the top of the view point, we will retrace our steps a little and pick up the Badwater Road. Badwater is about 280 feet below sea level, and we will stop there for a while to take in the views, stroll around, and shoot some pictures.

Just past Badwater are some old abandoned mine buildings, another great photo opportunity.

We will leave Death Valley at the small town of Shoshone.

Day 2 - Death Valley to Las Vegas - 85 mi / 136.77 km - About 2 1/4 hours

The road through the desert back to Las Vegas passes through the small town of Pahrump (where brothels are legal}.

We drop off on the Las Vegas Strip and at one central downtown location.

Thanks for joining us!

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