Yosemite Close Up Tours

Just take the newspaper and the map at the entrance of the park or use your printed guide, that’s an equivalent and easy substitute for this expensive tour which honestly isn’t worth the money.
Due to the good reviews, we decided to book the ‘Yosemite Valley Plus Glacier Point Tour’ to obtain an efficient and easy overview of Yosemite. But the trouble already started with the pick up which was first too late and second resulted in some discussions about the number of people who actually booked the tour. Disregarding the fact, that the number of tickets of a digital booking system must be available somewhere with no room for any misunderstanding, the discussion started again and again at each and every pick up point. In the end, our van was completely packed, followed by two cars with four additional customers who didn’t make it in the van. As the lunch was also picked up ‘on the way’ (a sandwich, a cookie and an apple) and the discussions and phone calls about the real number of booked tickets took their time, it lasted about three hours until we even saw the first interesting part of Yosemite. That’s just an annoying way to blow up a tour to 9 hours! The next day, the same route took us one hour, driving with our own car.
As for the tour guide… Ira certainly is a cool guy who knows his stuff. But he’s definitely no tour guide. As a tour guide you actually have to take care for your group. But Ira didn’t take care when one of the tour members fell, he accidentally remembered in the afternoon that he had free water for everybody on board. He made fun of guests who asked for a ‘proper’ toilet and he explained stuff, no matter if everybody’s around or not. Just imagine you have a stop in Yosemite valley and everybody’s asked to come back to the bus at a certain time. Some people (but not all) are at the bus at that specific time. The rest of the group is somewhere nearby, listening to Ira’s stories. Also, the stories were all quite interesting but for a tour they were too specific and above all unstructured, missing general information about the park itself and a golden thread which you are able to follow.
So there’s only one conclusion: save your money and explore Yosemite on your own. It’s easy to drive and with the information provided by the park rangers at the entrance, the interesting points are easy to identify. And if you need more information, ask a ranger or drive to one of the visitor’s centers.

Stayed at less expensive hotel in Mariposa. Tour picks you up at your hotel and the fun day begins. Daniel, our guide/​driver, was easy going, knowledgeable, and had a nice voice that could be heard in the van. We got an different point of view in that Daniel is an experienced rock climber. The tour is an good, easy-​paced, day in the park.

We recently visited Yosemite with my elderly parents, so I chose Yosemite Close Up Tours because they offer smaller vans and more personalized service. We were not disappointed! We were very privileged to have just the four of us on our tour. Our tour guide was Dan and he was just great! We were all impressed with his vast knowledge of the history of Yosemite, the foliage and wildlife, not to mention his rock climbing experience. He shared many stories and answered our multitude of questions with patience and knowledge. We were able to take our time and not feel rushed. Dan was prompt and professional. We all thoroughly enjoyed the entire day. Now, I have just one small suggestion… the van was pretty dirty, and I know it must be difficult to keep the floors clean with people getting in and out all day, but someone should see that at the very least the windows are touched up every night and the van should be cleaned on a regular basis.

We had the very good fortune to have Ken as our tour guide. It was perfect! Ken has a profound knowledge and love for Yosemite. As an elite rock-​climber he has a perspective on the park that is unique. Though we are not climbers or even particularly outdoorsy, we learned and greatly enjoyed the information and tales. We have done many national park tours and enjoyed none more than Ken’s. All the basics are there; i.e., easy reservations, timely pickup, comfortable van, good lunch. Beyond that, the knowledgeable presentation fulfills all I look for in a tour. I would easily anticipate that any other guides Ken has selected would be equally entertaining. Highly recommended.

The absolute best tour ever! Daniel was not only very informative but with his rock climbing background, gave insights and took us to places that other tourists never see. He was patient, kind and funny and had the unique ability to make each stop fun and a learning experience. I have taken many tours in many different cities but this tour was by far more personal and enjoyable.

One of the best tours we have ever had. Ken, our guide, knew Yosemite national Park as well as anyone. He provided in-​depth knowledge regarding the park, it’s geology and geography, and was always thoughtful and responsive to questions. I would highly recommend this tour.

We Loved this tour! There were only 8 of us in the very air conditioned van, they were all from different countries and wonderful to meet. I definitely recommend our tour guide Ira! He was funny, knew everything and discussed all of the specific interests of each of us. If I went again, I would ask for Ira.

In short this was an epic and amazing tour!
Read on if you want details of why.
We got very lucky by picking up one of those brochures at our hotel. We made reservations the day before (I recommend doing it in advance though, we got very lucky!). Ken is a wealth of knowledge and probably the best tour guide I have ever had on any tour of a park, museum, anything. (He has a co-​worker but we did not get a chance to meet them, but having been trained by Ken I would find it hard to believe they are any less stellar then his teacher.)
With an amazing back ground in geology, and ex professional rock climber he has a unique and captivating way to guide you through this incredible National treasure. A comprehensive history both of how the rocks got their shapes and names, as well as the people that made this area their home all the way to notable individuals that have helped make the park what it is today.
This is an easy and very accessible tour for people of all ages. Ken is very flexible and allows you more then enough time to take in the sites and as many photos as you want. Any small walk/​hike he takes you on is well worth the journey and very easy (well the last one is a little tougher but it’s well worth it for the view).
Bring your best camera, get some rest the night before and have a great time!

We had our tour with Ira on a cold rainy day. We thought we were doomed and picked the worst weather possible to do the tour. But Ira was still able to go above expectations. We did a custom tour, so he was able to cater to our small groups sight requests. Ira was able to show and take us the best views of the sights. Ira used to be a photography teacher so was also able to give us some good tips along the way to shoot. We had a blast with him, and wish we could get this type of service everywhere that we go. He was funny, welcoming and made us feel safe in a new environment. Since we had couple of other days left on our stay, he also gave us some tips and advice to help preplan the rest of our vacation. He came with a wealth of information and knowledge and felt like a great history lesson along with our walks. I rarely write Unilocal reviews, but had to just for the amazing experience.