San Francisco Full-Day Tour: Cable Car, Foot Exploration
4.5
54 Ratings
San Francisco
Experience the best of San Francisco in a day with our full-day tour. Ride the iconic cable cars, explore hidden gems, and enjoy breathtaking views. Avoid the crowds and immerse yourself in the culture and history of SF. Book now!
Duration:
8 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- The Embarcadero - Your guide will help you orient yourselves, by telling you the history and background of the Ferry Building and downtown San Francisco.
- Nob Hill - Take the cable car up steep Nob Hill to see the grand mansions of the San Francisco’s first millionaires.
- San Francisco City Hall - Go inside our beautiful City Hall and learn about the important events which took place there.
- Hayes Valley - See this picturesque new area, near the San Francisco Civic Center, with it’s collection of great street art and small coffee shops.
- The Castro - Experience this historic neighborhood, hugely important in the LGBTQ movement, of which San Francisco is a world-wide symbol.
- Mission Dolores Park - One of the loveliest parks in SF and possessing great views of downtown.
- Haight-Ashbury - This is where the hippie, anti-Vietnam War, movement really started in the 1960’s. The neighborhood still maintains much of that same aesthetic (as well as being a great place to have lunch).
- Painted Ladies - An icon of San Francisco. What trip here would be complete without seeing these beautiful, Victorian houses, with their amazing views of SF?
- Lombard Street - One of our most famous landmarks, we walk down the steep, curved street - and you’ll get some great photos for Instagram.
- North Beach - Walk through this historical neighborhood, San Francisco’s very own Little Italy.
- Chinatown - We finish your tour in San Francisco’s famous Chinatown, with a visit to a back street fortune cookie maker. What better way to end your amazing day in SF.
What's Included
- Contribution of $1 to Climate Cents for every guest.
- All Metro travel included (USD20 value).
- Insightful Tour Guide.
- 2 cable car rides and 1 historic streetcar journey included (subject to availability).
What's Not Included
- Gratuities not included, because voluntary. If you enjoy tour please allow 15-20%.
- Lunch/Snacks are not included.
Additional Information
Experience a unique side of San Francisco in just one day with our tour. We navigate through the city using various forms of transportation such as a cable-car, tram, and bus, to discover hidden gardens, mysterious stairways, and breathtaking rooftop views. You’ll dodge the throngs of tourists at popular destinations while soaking up the local culture and history of SF.
Beginning your journey near the Embarcadero, we board a cable-car to reach Nob Hill. Following that, our next stops are either the City Hall or the Cable Car Museum, where we take a quick peek inside before grabbing a coffee in the charming Hayes Valley.
Subsequently, we proceed to the Castro and saunter through the picturesque Dolores Park. The first part of our tour wraps up in the iconic Haight neighborhood which offers great lunch spots.
Post lunch, we take you to see a classic representation of San Francisco, the Painted Ladies, which is then followed by a meander down another SF signature, the Lombard Street. Our tour concludes with a stroll through North Beach and Chinatown. By the end, you will have experienced an unforgettable slice of San Francisco and carry with you beautiful lasting memories.
- Aim to get to the meeting point 10-15 minutes early. If you’re late you will miss the tour.
- This tour is not recommended for children under 15 y.o.
- By making a booking for this tour you agree to be bound by Real San Francisco Tours terms of service.
- Please note cable car and streetcar operations can be affected by events and technical issues beyond our control.
- This is a walking tour and we move at a reasonable pace, climbing several hills and sets of steps. It’s not suitable for people with mobility issues.
Location
Market St & Drumm St
The guide will be checking in guests at the cable car station on the corner of Market and Drumm Street (by the Robert Frost marker), from 15 minutes before the tour is due to begin.
Be sure to allow extra time for traffic and finding parking. We CANNOT wait for latecomers, there are other guests.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.5
(54 Ratings)
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Jacquie_c
Mar 24, 2024
I really recommend it! - My most great memory of the tour is how our guide was so knowledgeable of San Francisco history, and how he explained everything with such accuracy and patience to the ones that had many questions
Review provided by Viator
Jonathandb5457lj
Mar 16, 2024
A great way to take in the streets of San Francisco - This walking and public transport tour gave us a great insight into the history of the places we visited and allowed us better access to sights than if we took a tour bus. Our tour guide Mark was very knowledgeable and had a story for every street we walked on. He was flexible as to how much time we spent at each place as we were the only bookings for the day. The buses and cable cars were mostly frequent with very little waiting time between sites. Would recommend this tour if you don't mind a bit of walking and want to get an insight into the history of San Francisco.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Safari23136591787
Mar 2, 2024
Comprehensive one day tour of SF highlights - My friend and I really enjoyed this well curated and comprehensive one day tour of SF's "highlights". I'd highly recommend it especially if you are short on time and want to maximise your SF experience.
Our native San Franciscan tour guide Mark, particularly added to our enjoyment of the experience with his broad knowledge and engaging manner. Whilst it was a long tour (approx 8 hrs including lunch break) , time slipped by quickly.
We'd highly recommend it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
G9600kostephenl
Mar 1, 2024
A Real Experience! - So glad I booked this tour as I never would have managed to see everything I did on the tour exploring the city by myself.
Tour Guide Mark was fantastic and a passionate San Franciscan who was a wealth of knowledge and was more than happy to help with questions and requests throughout the day! Mark was also funny and friendly and made the day enjoyable for everyone on the tour.
So many places of interest were seen during the day and we only really walked up one very small hill as Mark had structured the tour so we took Cable Cars, Street Cars or Busses up all the hills - well planned!
If you have limited time in San Francisco and want to see as much of this beautiful city as you can then this is the tour for you!
Thoroughly Recommended!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Explorer819003
Feb 24, 2024
Best Way To See the City - This by far is the best way to tour. You get to stop and walk in some of the most famous buildings in San Francisco. The experience of riding a street car and other forms of public transportation gives you the feel of not just being a tourist. Our tour guide was phenomenal providing all kinds of knowledge and history on personal level that you don’t with other tours and is flexible to make sure you see the sites that are important.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
724brandyb
Feb 20, 2024
The best experience with a knowledgeable local - Mark was an incredible guide! So much knowledge from someone who has lived in the city for 40 years, seen its evolution, and still actively participates in many of its traditions and sub communities. Could not have asked for a better day!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Travellat0r
Feb 12, 2024
Get up close - The best way to both see and understand the city and its history which I don’t think you can really do from a coach. Our guide had spent most of his life in SF and knew it extremely well. He was knowledgeable about its history from Victorian times through the seventies and to more recently. He had many interesting anecdotes to tell - he worked hard! It was fun using the public cable cars, street cars and buses and we covered a lot over the day.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Anne_f
Feb 2, 2024
Outstanding experience! - Incredible tour guide. Mark was so knowledgeable and kind. We saw so much of the city, more than we could do alone in three days. We highly recommend him and this tour. Worth every penny!
Review provided by Viator
Richard_m
Jan 20, 2024
Excelente - Excelente
Christopher was very knowledgeable, informative and attentive
Thank you
Richard and Lorraine
Review provided by Viator
Mary_r
Jan 23, 2024
San Francisco - A City which has many variations - It was great to use all the different methods of Transport available San Francisco. The guide was extremely well informed,we learned a lot.
Review provided by Viator
