My husband and I just got married and decided we wanted to do something big and awesome on our last…read moreday of our honeymoon. I did a bunch of googling of different options we could do and decided Yosemite Flight Tours was the way to go because of what they toured and the price was the best!! I emailed them, hoping we could get a last minute flight. Mark emailed me back promptly and said we could fit in a flight early morning a few days later after a storm, which was perfect for us so we did it! The process for payment with Randy at the office and everything was so so easy and simple!! And quick! No stupid gimmicks to get more money it of us, no hidden fees, no crazy paperwork or anything. I would give them a 5-star rating just on that alone but if I could give them more than 5, I would for the tour itself!! Mark was SO nice and SO knowledgeable about everything there could possible know about Yosemite and the surrounding areas... the glaciers, the fires, the landscapes, hiking, climbing, etc... he knows it all. You could tell he was passionate about what he did. It made me smile listening to him just talk nonstop about everything knowing it wasn't just a "job", it is what he loves and wants to do. He was just so awesome. Not only was Mark awesome at the tour aspect of things but also flying the plane itself. He was such a great pilot. Such a smooth takeoff, turns, landing everything. It was just all sooo perfect. Thank you Mark for everything you do. You all were amazing and I will always and forever tell everything I possibly can about you guys! Thank you!

What a cool experience. Got there for the 10:00 am tour, and I was the only guest. The walk to…read morethe cave is only about five minutes, but there's no shade so the earlier the better as the temps heat up. Inside the cave is about 50°. I have no issues with claustrophobia, but if you do there is one tight squeeze that might be a problem. Cash, my tour guide, turned off the lights (after asking my permission) and we experienced total darkness for maybe thirty seconds. It felt like two hours, and I hated it , but still neat and recommend trying if offered. Use the hand rails. They are there for your safety.

The drive here is much more involved than Mercer Caverns with more windy and narrow roads. Once you…read moreget closer the space opens up to a large parking lot and shop you meet at. We were the only ones that signed up for the earliest tour that day and were lucky to have a private tour. The tour has informative history about the caverns with landmarks along the way. The most interesting thing we didn't know about is they have caving adventure tours where you shimny through holes and narrow spaces with a guide but our kids aren't old enough to partake. This was the first show cave in California and townspeople lived in them during harsh winters in the 1800s. There was a bar inside and a church and nails were even given to people to carve on the walls. Because of this there are signs of harm everywhere with soot, broken formations, and dirty coloration from human hand oils and even champagne poured on a rock formation. The caverns are huge and beautiful with some jaw-dropoing rooms. The walking tour is very safe though we loved the slight danger and claustrophobic feel of the Mercer Caverns. When you leave the shop has some cool historical items pulled from the caves on display like glass bottles, etc .. that are worth checking out.

My kids are grateful and blessed that you were able to get them safe to and from CCT Camp 2026…read more Thank you!! God bless!

We had an amazing experience! James, our driver, was on time, drove incredibly smoothly, and was so…read morepatient with our group, even with a bus full of noisy kids. He spent about 12 hours with us and never once complained. He was always helpful, especially when unloading our bags, and made the entire day run seamlessly. One of the highlights was when he happily stopped so we could watch and take pictures of a bear we spotted in Yosemite. That extra bit of flexibility made the trip even more memorable. I also tend to get carsick, but both of our drivers were exceptionally smooth behind the wheel, so I never had any issues. The bus itself was spotless, comfortable, and well maintained. We couldn't have asked for a better experience. I would absolutely recommend this company and would happily use them again!

AWESOME 6-day raft trip down the Selway River in N.E. Idaho near Missoula, MT. The river,…read morecampsites, participants, scenery, etc., were great. We had fun and the trip was smooth and went off without a hitch. What made the trip superb were the guides: Izzy, Emma, Kenny, and Woody. The were personable, informatice, accomplished, .... They took care of EVERYTHING! On top of the everyday everything, they made a birthday cake for someone on the trip including the candles.

Amazing tour! I went as a chaperone for a field trip and the guides were so knowledgeable and…read morehelpful throughout the whole trip. We were safe the entire trip and had loads of fun. I would definitely recommend going with ARTA if you get the chance!

We had a great driver (Juan) and an excellent and knowledgeable tour guide for our tour…read more Saturday, July 21 | San Francisco Bus Tour We departed the Marriott Hotel at 9:00 AM and headed to the Oakland/San Francisco Bay Bridge. As we crossed the bridge we saw Treasure Island and passed through the short Yerba Buena Island Tunnel. On the other side of the tunnel the San Francisco skyline shrouded in fog came into view. We took the first exit on the right and proceeded to the Embarcadero. As we traveled along the Embarcadero we saw the Ferry Building at the foot of Market Street where a Farmers Market was in progress. As we continued we saw many restaurants and piers. We passed the Exploratorium, the cruise ship terminal. (The Port of San Francisco hosts over 80 cruise ship calls and 300,000 passengers annually at the James R. Herman (Pier 27) and Pier 35 cruise terminals.) We passed Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf, The Cannery, Cable Car turn-a-round and Ghiradeli Square. All along the Embarcadero we had great views of the Bay and Alcatraz. Next, we traveled for a few blocks on Van Ness Avenue and then turned West on Lombard Street. We traveled down Lombard to the Palace of Fine Arts, our first stop. The Palace of Fine Arts was originally constructed for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition. We took pictures and then returned to the bus. Upon leaving the Palace of Fine Arts we traveled north towards the Golden Gate Bridge which we learned that the name has nothing to do with the color of the bridge which is International Orange. We traveled across the bridge which was barely visible because of the fog, which is typical for this time of year. (Most homes in SF do not have A/C because of the natural air conditioning of the fog.) At the end of the bridge we pulled into the North Golden Gate Vista Point. We took pictures, but the bridge was obscured by the fog and we could not see San Francisco at all. Benjamin Robinson took a group picture of all of us and the grandchildren of George Andrews--the first cousins. Following that, we traveled back across the GGB to SF past the SF Presidio on Presidio Parkway. We turned west on Geary Street and took Geary to Lands End Lookout. We were able to spend a little bit of time here to visit the visitor center and take pictures. From Lands End Lookout we were able to see the ruins of the Sutro Baths, the Cliff House, Seal Rock, and where the San Francisco Bay pours into the Pacific Ocean. Benjamin Robinson was able to get a great group picture and he was able to get into the picture as well. Upon returning to the bus we traveled for a few blocks along Ocean Beach on the Great Highway and then turned up John F. Kennedy Drive into Golden Gate Park past the Beach Chalet and the Dutch Windmill. (Golden Gate Park is 20% larger than Central Park in NYC.) We continued on JFK Drive passing buffalo, soccer fields, manmade lakes, barbeques, and bounce houses until we stopped at the Music Concourse. The area of the Music Concourse includes a stage, Japanese Tea Garden, de Young Museum, and the Academy of Sciences. We departed the Music Concourse and continued through the park past the Conservatory of Flowers which first opened in 1879. It is the oldest building in GGP. Upon leaving the park we turned right on Stanyan Street and then left on Haight Street where we entered the Haight-Ashbury district that became a very popular place for hippies and flower children especially during the Summer of Love in 1967. We continued up Haight past Ashbury and made a circle around to see the "Painted Ladies" (restored Victorian homes painted with at least three colors) and then down to Oak Street to an area named the Panhandle. We made a right turn on Oak. We turned left on Franklin and then right on Grove. We passed the War Memorial Opera House (first meeting of the United Nations was held there), Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco City Hall (London Breed is the first African American female mayor of SF), and the Old SF Public Library which is now an Asian Art Museum. We drove up Larken Street and turned right on California Street. We went to the top of Nob Hill where we saw Grace Cathedral, the Masonic Temple, Pacific Union Club, the Fairmont and the Mark Hopkins hotels. As we continued down from Nob Hill on California Street we crossed Grant Avenue in the heart of Chinatown. We made a left turn on Kearny Street, a left turn on Broadway, and a right turn on Columbus. We passed through North Beach and from the bus we looked up Lombard to see the "crookedest street in the world." From Columbus Street we made our way to Pier 39 where the bus driver dropped us off for one hour. He picked us up at 3:00 PM and took us back across the Oakland/San Francisco Bay Bridge to the Marriott Hotel by 4:00 PM. We had a great time. Everyone was thrilled at the sites and there was such a beautiful spirit of family love.

We had a wonderful driver Blake who drove our group from LARPD to Oracle Park and back. He knew the…read moreway perfectly and drove the bus expertly! Made it so much more relaxing! The bus was clean and comfy. Nice air flow and no bad odors! I would go again and hope to have Blake as a driver again! Thank you!

The trip lead, Dana, was super well-organized and knowledgeable, regularly checking in on how…read moreeveryone was doing - a great natural leader. Our guide, Kylen (?) was a MASTER oarsman (best I've ever seen...), giving us clear instructions when we came upon some unusually challenging rapids. In some sticky situations that other boats got into, he was right ON IT to help them without hesitation, often seeing a problem before anyone else had. I felt completely safe in his care. He also "read the group" really well, connecting easily with everyone. Despite his amazing professional skill and emotional intelligence, he was very low-key and humble... to me, that's a sign of a lifelong learner. This was our 4th trip with OARS. There's so much care into the preparation, the selection and training of the guides and the well-oiled execution on these trips. We're already planning our next!

I've done a couple trips with OARS now: two on the South Fork of the American River and a 2 day…read moretrip on the Tuolumne. OARS does not disappoint! From incredibly attentive and knowledgeable guides to luxurious camping accommodations, they take care of you. All you have to do is show up and paddle. Maybe you don't even have to paddle if you're sitting in the gear boat. The American River trips are an easy day trip from Sacramento or the Bay Area. If you're looking for a little more adventure, a multi-day guided whitewater trip is so fun, with lots of downtime to swim, look at the stars, play games, and eat yummy food. There's no freeze dried camp meals here. Everything is boated in and prepped on the beach for you. So good. All around, so good.

We took a tour with my mom, 90-year-old uncle, and cousins that were here to visit. It was super…read morefun. Jorge was fantastic! He made sure my uncle was comfortable and cared for at each stop. We loved the views and the wine at Aloria, which we had never tried before.

Hopped on the Whiskey Wagon on a whim and had an absolute blast!!! I live in San Andreas and…read morebetween work and property maintenance I hardly ever get out to do anything fun, add that to the recent storms and I've been too nervous to drive the icy windy roads at night. Gold Rush Tour Company gave me a completely stress free night, all I had to think about was what to order at each stop. If you're a local who needs a stress free night out I 100% recommend the Whiskey Wagon and Gold Rush Tour Company in general. If you're visiting the area and don't love planning every minute of you trip, you can trust Gold Rush Tour Company to show you the best of what Calaveras has to offer!

I planned my cousins bachlorette trip up here mid march (St. Patricks day weekend). I was trying to…read moreplan a girls day out, and definitely wanted to do some wine tasting but didn't really want to be a Designated driver. I found Courtwood by searching online, and I'm SO happy I found Chris @Courtwood! I was a little bummed I didn't find any available tours on their website, so I reached out via email. Chris promptly sent a reply with pricing, details, and that it would be quite packed in Murphy's, so she would take us on a private tour around the outlying wineries (good call, none of the wineries were too packed and we had a lot of "private time" at each vineyard). Chris picked us up right out front of our hotel right on time, had a smile and made sure she knew who the bride was and made her feel extra special! We stopped at Twisted Oak, Chatom, Ironstone (for lunch), and Aryael Vieux (TOP FAVE!! I'll be reviewing these wineries soon). Chris took care of everything, all we had to worry about was sipping wine and having a wonderful and relaxing time. Hanging out with Chris was like having another friend just along for the ride! We picked up a loaf of fresh bread at one of the wineries, and mentioned that we wanted to get some butter later on, Chris told us she needed to pick something up too and that we could come with her! I can't say enough good things, they even include a slideshow of your trip (chris takes photos throughout the tour) and email it to you promptly after your tour. If you are in the area, I would definitely come here and take a tour with Courtwood,

I really don't have enough good things to say about Chris at Courtwood Wine Tasting Tours. I was…read moregiven the task of setting up a wine tasting tour in the Murphy's area for a bachelorette group of 9 people. We stayed in Angel's Camp in a friend's cabin, and being unfamiliar with the area, I completely put my trust in Chris to arrange everything for us. She exceeded my expectations (and made me look like I had done a lot more than I had!) She asked a lot of questions about our group and the types of wines we liked so that she could tailor the tour very specifically. Preferring the boutique wineries to the large scale Ironstone types, Chris took us to six different wineries that ranged significantly from Twisted Oak, to Prospect 772, to Aerial Vieux. As a large group Chris coordinated with Kristen, who also leads tours in the area to caravan us around in their large air conditioned vans. It seemed like she had personal relationships with the various winemakers and their staff and was able to get us some kind of behind the scenes cave tour/vineyard tour/private tasting room access everywhere we went. I have to say the best thing about the day was the lunch. Chris set it up on a long table outside Chatom winery and it literally looked like something straight out of Sunset Magazine. She brought local cheese and interesting dips, and the salads were presented in ball mason jars. It really was so well done, I think Chris might have a future in putting on lunches in addition to taking tours! After the tasting, Chris and Kristen took us into Murphy's, waited for us while we had dinner, and then took us all the way back to Angels Camp. I highly recommend Courtwood for small and large tours alike. Chris was just wonderful!