GoCar San Francisco Tour: GPS-Guided Storytelling Experience
4.5
784 Ratings
San Francisco
Experience the exhilarating GoCar San Francisco Tour, a GPS-guided storytelling car that brings the city to life. Discover the sights, buzzed about by the press and nominated by Time Magazine as a cool invention.
Duration: 5 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Palace of Fine Arts Theatre - The Palace of Fine Arts in the Marina District of San Francisco, California, is a monumental structure originally constructed for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition in order to exhibit works of art presented there. One of only a few surviving structures from the Exposition, it is still situated on its original site. In addition to hosting art exhibitions, it remains a popular attraction for tourists and locals.
What's Included
  • Map
  • Tank of gas
  • Rental of GPS touring car
  • Rider orientation
  • 8.75% environmental fee for carbon offset, gasoline and tire recycling
  • Helmets
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Collision Damage Waiver (CDW), approximately $19
Additional Information

Experience San Francisco in the most thrilling, amusing and educational manner with our pioneering GPS-led narrating car! This ingenious chatterbox on wheels guides you through the city and highlights the landmarks that embody the essence of San Francisco. You don’t want to miss what the media is enthusiastically reporting, what tourists can’t stop talking about, and what Time Magazine pronounced as ‘one of the year’s most revolutionary creations’.

  • GoCars hold a maximum of 2 people. Prices are per GoCar - not per person.
  • Pickup location must be chosen at time of booking. This is the location where your GoCar will be reserved
  • Driver must be 21 years or older to rent and must provide a major credit card and valid driver’s license at the time of check-in. A driver’s license must be in the customer’s physical possession (no photocopy). For foreign customer’s, an international license is not necessary.
  • Passengers must be 4 years of age or older - and small children must safely fit into one of our DOT approved helmets. The GoCar is registered as a motorcycle - but a motorcycle license is not required to operate the vehicle.
  • All renters must be able to read, understand and sign a liability release and waiver form (standard participant agreement)
  • On the day of rental, a $500 security deposit will be held on the customer’s credit card. If a CDW or SLI insurance plan is selected, a $300 security deposit will be held. The security deposit is released when the GoCar is returned.
  • Foreign language options are available in French, Spanish, Italian and German
  • For the safety and comfort of passengers the maximum height is 6’4” (1.9m) and maximum combined weight of 500 lbs (226.8 kg) for two passengers
  • Can you stop along the way?
  • Yes, you set your own pace. The car always knows where you are and you can park anywhere you want (motorcycle parking or car parking) for as long as you want, and as soon as you start to drive again, the car will begin to talk!
  • Do you have to stay on the tour?
  • Absolutely not! If there is a San Francisco sight you wish to see but is not yet included on the tour, just use the map provided to navigate your own way through the city streets.
  • Vehicles:
  • Are controlled with a motorcycle-style handle, throttle, and hand brakes. The 3-wheeled cars seat two and have a lockable trunk for your things. Their small size makes parking a breeze, and in San Francisco - a major bonus!
  • How fast does the car go?
  • Up to 35-mph. Note that drivers in San Francisco do not typically drive fast, therefore an average speed of 30-mph or less can be expected while driving.
  • Can you cross the Golden Gate Bridge?
  • No, but the tour will navigate you to Fort Point. Here the bridge soars about 200-feet above your head. It is possible to gain pedestrian access to the bridge span from the car park at the bridge vantage point.
  • What is a CDW?
  • Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) is an optional form of insurance similar to rental car insurance that limits your liability in case of accident. It is non-refundable. If you opt to purchase the CDW your deposit for rented a GoCar is only USD$300.00 instead of USD$500.00
Location
431 Beach St
Beach Street
Tour departs from Fisherman's Wharf • Located Taylor Street • Phone +1-415-441-5695. Open 10am - 6pm.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.5
(784 Ratings)
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127bonnieg
Mar 26, 2024
See SF in a different way! - The whole experience is something not to be missed. The staff was helpful and informative. The GPS led route was amazing and the informative recorded dialogue came in at just the right time. Terrific family thing to do when visiting SF!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Cem
Mar 19, 2024
Easy way to see many highlights - Weather was also great. This gives you an opportunity to see the highlights. Also quite fun to drive them. We did the 3 hour tourr
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lisa_o
Mar 18, 2024
Great way to see San Fransico - The GPS was very easy! Loved the entire experience. It was easy to get in and out at stops. My favorite part was twin peaks and the amazing view. I would recommend renting the max hours allowed.
Review provided by Viator
Kate_m
Mar 2, 2024
A must do - This was a fantastic day. We did the long tour and loved every minute. I recommend everyone see the city this way and would do it again in any city that had it.
Review provided by Viator
Leanne_f
Feb 2, 2024
Best way to see San Francisco. - The GPS guided tour was excellent. So informative and easy to navigate. All the sights are covered with detailed commentary.
Review provided by Viator
Derpaulinatorrr
Jan 28, 2024
Most fun way to experience San Francisco. Highly recommended - One of the (if not THE) highlight of our visit to San Francisco. In short: You get one small very fun to drive car which also talks about everything you see and where to drive for 2 people. I strongly recommend booking the 2 hour package and going in the morning for the „early bird package“ which adds an extra hour for free. What to bring: Definitely a jacket and wear something warm beneath (it is always windy in San Francisco and not too warm and you are sitting in a vehicle with no roof). I also strongly recommend sunglasses or clear glasses (especially for the driver) the windshield doesn‘t really do anything. Maybe bring a beanie or a headband if your ears get cold easily (the provided helmets will fit over it). Be advised: As the car has only a moped engine and isn‘t allowed to go over 30mph (45kmh) you are not allowed to cross the golden gate bridge with it. Long version: We had 2 hours prebooked but as we booked them for 10am we got offered the „early bird package“ which added an extra hour for free. As we had 3 hours we took the „3 hour tour“ towards golden gate park and back via the famous Lombard street. It takes up about 2h30min (even less for us but I guess there was not a lot traffic). So it leaves you quite enough time to get out and take a few pictures of the sights you want to see and also take some detours (it offers a few of them where it continues to talk and give directional information). The car: The small car is operated like a motorcycle but you don‘t need a motorcycle license and it is very easy and fun to drive even for someone who never sat on a motorcycle in his life. Next to the passenger seat you have a small tablet which shows your route on a map and also has little markers where the car has something to say. I would recommend to have a passenger as you have someone, to talk to which is always more fun. And 3 hours of driving can get quite exhausting. You can stop the tour at any time (car is key operated) and the GPS will automatically continue as soon as you switch it back on. You also have a little lockable trunk. The route/GPS: You tell the staff which route you want to take and it will appear on your GPS as soon as you start driving. The GPS will tell you which lane and which turns to take very accurately so you actually don‘t really have to look at the tablet. You also have a timer on the screen which shows you how long you have been under way. There are a few detours preprogrammed in the GPS which are marked with different colors to your main route where the car will continue to talk about the sights and give you directional information. It also will tell you, when there is a detour coming up. Sadly it not always says how long the detour will be so you can plan to drive back to the base on time. We took the red tour (towards golden gate park) and it was very worth it as I think you can walk the city centre (which is the other route) because the sights were amazing and the roads were not too big and very fun to drive. The detours: We took the detour to fort point (directly below the golden gate bridge). It takes only 5 minutes if you drive through. But it is a very nice place to get off for a minute and take some very nice pictures with the bridge in the background. We also took the detour for stow lake which took under 10 minutes and made a short toilet break here. We made a short stop after the sutro heights where you have a lovely view over the ocean and beaches below. As we had quite a lot of time left after driving down Lombard street (you‘ll only need a few minutes to get back to base from here) we took the detour to coit tower as well which took about 15 minutes (without a stop because there was no parking space at the tower). The view was great. If we had known we would have had the time we would‘ve really liked to take the detour to see the painted ladies as well (GPS said it takes about 15 minutes) instead of the coit tower. I think we had about 1h10min left on our GPS when we arrived at the turn off for this detour (I give no gurantee about the time). I think if theres not a ton of traffic you should be able to do all the marked detours well within the time frame. Maybe this helps you calculate your drive. Driving off the route: Of course if you want to you can completely do your own tour with the car. However the car will not talk about the sights and will also not give directional information as long as you stay off the programmed route. we switched routes at the end because the coit tower is a detour from the city centre route and theres only a block between the two routes after Lombard street (I think the car even offers you to drive straight ahead to get to the tower). Getting back afterwards required to take a hop off the route because the car is not strong enough to go up the hill to the end oft the curvy part of Lombard street. If you drive off the given route I would recommend a passenger to guide you. I would also really recommend to stay on the route because it is beautiful and fun and you get nice information. The price: I know it is not a very cheap experience but I think if you take the early bird package for 3 hours it is very well worth it. Summup: A very fun way to experience San Francisco and see and learn about a lot of things you will probably miss otherwise. It was a very nice addition to the big bus tour reaching a lot of new places and telling different things about the few sights both tours cover. Would definitely recommend and do it again anytime.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Temog155
Nov 19, 2023
Go karts in San Francisco. - Wonderful experience. Great service. It was really fun. I will do it again and again. This guided sightseeing tour is gray to visit San Francisco. It is a must
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Julie_t
Mar 23, 2024
Great fun! - Zipping around town was super fun! We loved seeing all the sights but missed a couple turns because the volume kept changing even though we had the knob all the way up. We missed some fun facts as well. All in all we had a great time!
Review provided by Viator
Srilakshmi_k
Jan 30, 2024
It’s a fun experience... - It’s a fun experience touring around SF, except for the noise from the car. May be an electric car would be better.
Review provided by Viator
Amie_w
Dec 18, 2023
Cool concept. Would do again for new locations. Just know what you’re getting in advance. - I was disappointed that the car didn’t have a heater option as I was promised at time of booking (being as it was in the winter). The guaranteed trunk space wouldn’t hold 1 or two small backpacks, just 1-2 water bottles and a clutch purse. It would have been cheaper to book directly through the company vs third party on viator, I learned upon arrival, even as a walk in. They definitely had lots of cars available for a winter booking. The directions were good and the stops were beautiful. We had the car for 5 hours and could have gone longer if we took advantage of more stops if doing more than a quick picture. Many places were crowded enough that parking was still a challenge for at least half the stops, even as small as it is. My husband and I are both small framed people and it was tight quarters (which we enjoyed, but I don’t know how larger people would fend). There is no reverse and it does not corner on rails like one would assume with a motorcycle type frame. Max speed is about 30 mph. The tour guide info was interesting and we enjoyed it minus being quite cold.
Review provided by Viator
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