yosemite close up private tours

During our USA 'Grand Tour,' in late September we lobbed into Yosemite, relying on finding a local tour. A Yosemite Close Up competitor kindly referred us to them. Ken promptly followed up our inquiry. Next day, we were delighted by the Yosemite Valley Plus Glacier Point tour led by Daniel, a keen rock climber & naturalist. The natural wonders of Yosemite were made very accessible for us and the lively natural history discussions suited my curiosity as a working geologist. Daniel's care and attention of his clients is quietly efficient and unassuming. Highlights included the informed watching of the rock climbers on El Capitan, a wonder of another kind. Highly recommended.

My husband and I took an amazing tour of Yosemite with these folks. Our guide's name was Daniel. He was incredibly knowledgeable, knew the park, the geology(he is an avid rock climber as well), the plant life and the folklore of the place. You are taken in their van to see and experience all of these wonderful sights without worry. They even provided a nice picnic lunch which was great. The tour groups are small (we had nine in ours) which lends itself to asking all kinds of questions which were thoroughly answered. The tour is fine for people of all ages. The oldest in our group was 81 years young and Daniel helped her on a small hike all of the way to the top of Sentinel Dome! I have posted our picture there. Don't miss out on this tour.

We absolutely loved our day in Yosemite! With limited time, and not wanting to drive ourselves, a tour was our best option and this one was highly recommended and we can see why!Daniel was our guide, and we had only 4 people on our tour which meant we had plenty of time and had all of our questions answered. Daniel took us to key points, taught us about the trees and wildlife and the rock climbers who brave half dome. The waterfalls weren't really running as it was early fall and they were in a drought, so we will have to return in spring which is the best time for waterfalls. But that didn't ruin the day, we still saw amazing scenery and wildlife, including a bear in a tree and a mama bear and her two cubs fishing.Lunch was surprisingly nice for a packed sandwich and snacks galore, and plenty of cold water was on offer. If you're short on time, don't want to drive Yosemite, or just want the extra information you get from a tour and guide, we highly recommend this group!!

We called into the tourist office at Mariposa and explained that we'd been driving a long way and wanted not to drive around the park. We were not told that there is a free shuttle bus but we're sold a 98$ trip with this company. It was a small group but we started an hour late because they had forgotten two people. The driver cum guide was quite rude and shouted if we asked a question he wasn't ready to answer. He thought he was being funny but was not very friendly and left it to the men in the group to help women in and out of the van. He had some information but not as much as we would have hoped but when he delivered any information he did so in an annoying fuddy duddy old fashioned school master way asking questions and being exasperated if we got them wrong. Not the best guided tour.

We three senior ladies stopped at the Mariposa visitor center for maps and Yosemite information and Ken Boucle of Yosemite Close Up Tours was in there. Having no intention of taking a tour as we like to do things on our own, after visiting with Ken, we booked for the next day. We learned so much history, geology and lore from Ken and Lisa on our full day tour. 9 people in a van. Not a big bus. Ken is a descendant of Galen Clark, the "father" of Yosemite. We went back to the park the next day on our own knowing which areas we wanted to revisit after our tour. Fun, informative tour.

We took this all day tour on Sunday when the Meadow fire was spreading. The knowledge Ken and Lisa shared at each stop and on the road was amazing. If we had driven ourselves, we would have missed so much. The small size of 6 made the tour more personal and the questions each person had was answered with interest and professorially. It was a long day for a couple seniors, but worth every minute of it. I would recommend to everyone.

We were lucky to have Ken Boche as our guide for the day, he made a long day very interesting with his quick wit and very good knowledge of the park, such wonderful views.

Our visit was illuminating, and in many parts of Yosemite 'close up'. We had a knowledgeable tour driver/guide who had answers to almost all of our questions. He drove us a close as possible to the many points of attraction in the Central Valley, to minimise the distances we had to walk. He pointed out animals that seemed to stray into his points of vision much more often than ours - no doubt experience had taught him the most optimum viewing areas. Educational, entertaining, and - at times - fun. We certainly enjoyed ourselves. This season had been one of drought - we'll visit again on our next trip to California, when there is likely to be more water to highlight the beauty of the many waterfalls in Yosemite.

This was an excellent day's outing and our tour guide, Ira, was fantastic, and you will love his bear hat. We were with a great group of people and everyone got on well. My only gripe was the toilets, yuk, and there was only one lot of toilets open, so as usual women have to stand in line, hopefully the other toilets have been re-opened. There is a $20 entry fee per vehicle to the park which lasts for 7 days.

Through this tour we experienced the Yosemite national park in one day. Ira was a wonderfull tourguide, he knew the greatest spots from the park and took the time to explain everything to us. He also helped us in planning next items from our trip, like recommening angels landing in Zion and nice places in Death Valley. He works with small vans and therefore you get a more personal experience of the park, it felt like a private guide. Nice lunch was included. It is for the entire famiy.We recommened this tour to everyone who wants to enjoy all Yosemite beautifull spots and scenery. Regards Jeff and Helena from the Netherlands.

My family-two teenagers ages 15 and 19 booked a tour with Ira and Daniel the evening before as we arrived late from LA that night to Mariposa. It ended up being the most incredible tour we have ever been on. Ira and Daniel were both knowledgeable and enthusiastic about Yosemite-their excitement was passed onto the whole group, even the 4 teenagers present. we didn't want to leave, but had to be on our way to San Francisco that night . This tour made our trip to Yosemite unforgettable. Had we toured the area ourselves we would have probably been in and out of Yosemite in 2 hours. Thanks Ira and Daniel for a great time. Carol , Mike, Laura & Robby

My husband and I vacationed in Mariposa, CA for 4 nights. We had such a lovely time on our van tour with Ira and Daniel. They picked us up at 7:30am. Immediately after introducing ourselves everyone in the van became friends. Ira's knowledge about Yosemite was top notch as he talked about the different pine trees, wildflowers, bugs, animals... They kept us happy with lots of bottled water, and a wonderful sack lunch which we sat by a stream to eat. We took our shoes and socks off and waded in the river as we looked up at El'Capitian. He drove us up to Glacier Point, and was able to walk around for about 1/2 hr. We hiked 1 hour to see and take pictures of Vernal Falls. Well worth the money for this trip as we didnt get back to our Hotel until 9:00 at night! Long day, but lots of wonderful memories were made.

Booked this tour up after arriving in Yosemite and wasn't 100% what to expect. What a choice. Ken picked the small group up from the hotel and after a few minutes of meeting him it was clear it was going to be an excellent day. He really knows the park and his passion for park is clear. Incredible knowledgable about everything to do with the park and taught the group about the history and the geology. Ken wants everyone to share his enjoyment of the park and he couldn't help himself when seeing other people not on his tour lost or unsure of what they were looking at, by helping and assisting. The fact that he has been around the park since the late 1950s helps him create the perfect tour. Ken has hiked every peak, and climbed every mountain face (many first ascents!!) the stories are amazing. Everything about the day was first class. I'd go on his tour again and again. If you visit the park then look this tour up and go along. You won't be disappointed.

Ken & Lisa made the tour special and their knowledge was very interesting.The tour was in a small group taken in a mini bus this made us feel we had special attention.They provided a pack lunch.we saw a Black bear at a safe distance.If we had driven ourselves I am sure we would would have missed a lot of great views.

We had a lovely, interesting, fun day with Ira. He picked us up at 7.30am and we had a very interesting political discussion with him, before picking up 2 other couples. Ira is passionate about Yosemite: he explained the geography, flora and fauna in an interesting, funny manner. We visited many areas that we would not have seen and he showed us some fantastic views from Glacier Point. We picnicked beside a river at the foot of El Capitan and Ira set up binoculars so we could watch the climbers.The highlight for my husband was the Vernal waterfall - I chickened out halfway up because of the height!! When they came back, they were all drenched, bar Ira, who had been taking the photo's. Although it had been a long day, Ira wanted to make sure that we had seen what we wanted to see and more. We stopped again on the way out at the foot of El Capitan and we watched 6 groups of climbers at various stages of their climb and chatted to the wife of one of them!We were dropped off at 7pm, so I can say that this tour is excellent value. Ira is a funny, patient, laid back man who has a huge depth of knowledge about Yosemite and other subjects. As an ex teacher, he educates and doesn't lecture. I highly recommend Close Up tours, you won't be disappointed.