[MattW]

Hi guys

Im quite keen on a trip over the pond this yr but have never been before. Whats the best airport to fly into for Yosemite? Thinking of going around end of september beginning of october and have a budget of £800-1k. Is that a realistic budget for a 2 week trip? Anyone know of good places to find cheap flights? Any other Yosemite knowledge grateful!

Matt

[Nibile]

hey matt,
i've been there in 2001 so...
anyway i think it's best to fly into frisco, then it's just three hours driving from there to the valley.
yosemite is expensive, as all mega turistic places are, so maybe you want to try and book a place at camp 4. otherwise there is a hotel and another place where you sleep in big tents.
dont' know about your budget, i've heard nasty stories about people not being allowed to enter usa because of lack of money to prove they could stay there without committing crimes or working illegally.
i think doylo could give you more info.

i don't know if you've already made up your mind, but with that money you could spend alot more than two weeks touring europe.
good luck anyway.

[MattW]

Cheers for the reply,

Yeah Europe trip is there as a plan B currently. Im not sure if i could get the funds together in time for America so just trying to price it up. Desperate to go at some point though. I got back from font a couple of weeks ago and already restless! A week in font then popping over to Italy may be an option, been keen to check out Mello for ages too. So many places on the list to visit, if i get half way through it i'll be happy.

Matt

[jed]

dont' know about your budget, i've heard nasty stories about people not being allowed to enter usa because of lack of money to prove they could stay there without committing crimes or working illegally.

I love america ... not!!!

(im attempting to bring "not" back.... not!!!!)

 

[Jaspersharpe]

I'd just stay in Font. But then I'm a boring bastard.

[MattW]

I have heard some horror stories about trying to get into the US, plus i might catch that fat disease they all seem to have.

[SA Chris]

After flights you won't get much change to fund the rest of the trip from £800, probably not enough to keep immigration happy. Make sure you have at least first night booked in a hotel, as you will need to supply an address. Agree with others, long way for two weeks if your funds are limited.

[The Sausage]

Are you going for bouldering or routes? It'd be warm at that time for bouldering. Reckon Magic Wood in september would be miles better value for money. The bouldering's better anyway...

[Jerry Morefat]

800-1k is plenty for Yosemite. I went last year from the middle of September to the beginning of October. Flights cost £480, return to san fran, although my friends got cheaper flights. If you stay at camp 4 it's only $5 a night, so you won't be breaking the bank. You can't book camp 4 in advance unfortunately (although there are other more expensive campsites where you can), you have to turn up in the morning to get a space. We heard stories of people queuing up outside the campsite around 4 in the morning, although I think this is unnecessary as we got there at 8 and got a space. In fact after the first week In October, the camp site was pretty empty. If there isn't space you can get a wilderness pass for around $5 (I think) a night and bivi, so its not a disaster. If you do book one of the more expensive campsites, you will need to at least 3 months in advance I would say as they book up very quickly.

There are supermarkets in the park, although they are quite expensive, it is best to go shopping before you enter the park. You don't really need a car when you are in the park as there is a free hopper bus that takes you to the main crags, although to get to the crags further down the valley like the cookie cliff and the rhostrum you will have to hitch (pretty easy). Getting to the park from san fran via public transport takes about a day and costs around $40 one way as i can remember.

We gave camp 4 as our address to the immigration official which seemed to satisfy her. We didn't have to prove how solvent we were or anything like that, just telling the official we had credit cards, overdrafts and enough money in our current accounts seemed to be enough.

[Stubbs]

Now now Sausage, I'm sure you were still in your trad gnarler stage when you went to the valley last, remind me to show you the new bouldering guide next time you came around, I reckon there's now at least four times as much developed bouldering as Magic Wood, a lot of which looks very good and isn't near camp 4 so you don't have to deal with the smelly aid climbers staring at you...

I went at a similar time a couple of years ago, i think we managed to get flights for around £650-700 although i can't really remember now, so yeah your budget is looking a little tight.  I you want to get in one of the nicer campsites (i.e not camp 4) you'll have to book in the next few weeks when the spaces become available on the National Parks website, the spaces go fast too.  It was pretty warm in the the days but early mornings/late evenings were pretty good temps. If you can leave it a few more weeks late oct/early november would be better.

I think you can get the greyhound from SF to the town just outside the park and then get a bus into the valley. once you're there you don't really need a car as there's regular shuttle buses. 

Like Nibz said groceries etc are pretty expensive inside the park, but not really bad, and there's certainly enough basics in the shops that are  cheap enough to make dirtbag meals.

If you are going for bouldering you should check out the new supertopo bouldering guide for inspiration, there's some great looking stuff now.

A final thought is if I was going to fly all that way again I reckon I'd be going back to Bishop before I went back to the valley....

[Adam Lincoln]

I have just got back from doing a month there. Drop me a PM if you need any more info.

[AndyR]

Exchange rate is very favourable for you sterling types to visit the US. Personally, if you've never been to yosemite, then I would recommend it - quite simply stunning and unique part of the world.

[MattW]

Cheers guys, plenty to think about! If my car mot doesnt rape me next week then its sounding tight but doable.

[Nibile]

give a call if you come to italy.