Take a journey around San Francisco's top sights in a retro way with this "painted ladies" tour by vintage Volkswagen bus decorated with long gorgeous eyelashes so you can't miss your tour vehicle. You'll pass by neighborhoods like Chinatown, Union Square, Pacific Heights, North Beach, Haight-Ashbury, the Marina, and Hayes Valley, plus see the Palace of Fine Arts, Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Park, Civic Center, and more.

Explore San Francisco by restored VW bus and enjoy access to places larger buses can't reach
Stop for photo ops of landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge and Painted Ladies
Hear about the city's history while listening to songs from the 1960s and '70s
Sip provided California white wine and local craft beer on the afternoon tours
Choose between a shared small group tour or a private tour just for your own party

Why Travelers Choose This Tour

These VW buses only seat up to seven people—making this a super-fun and intimate San Francisco experience.

What's Included

Small group tour
Professional Tour Guide
Snacks
Bottled water
Local Bottled Craft beer and Wine on the afternoon tours
Access to local vintage points where large buses are banned from
Alcoholic Beverages on the afternoon tours

Gratuities

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting points

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End point

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What To Expect

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
Not wheelchair accessible
Minimum number of 3 people applies. There is a possibility of cancellation or rebooking to another time after confirmation if there are not enough passengers to meet requirements. In the event of this occurring, you will be offered an alternative or full refund
Portable wheelchair ok
Booster seats are available on request if advised at time of booking
Recommended tip amount :$15-$20 per passenger. (Did you know that tips make up a large amount of our tour guide income in the US?)
Note that each vehicle seats up to 7 people total. We can still accommodate larger groups seated in separate vehicles.
Stroller accessible

Service animals allowed
Near public transportation
Infants must sit on laps
Everyone in your group needs to complete our digital waiver.
Anyone showing symptoms of COVID 19, including fever, cough or shortness of breath won’t be able to participate.
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 8 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Traveler Tips

It is also nice to be able to bring luggage onto the tour.

Picture perfect weather, a GREAT guide (from Austria) made for a delightful tour!

This is definitely a great way to venture out across the city.

Reviews

5.0

955 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 955 reviews

Great Tour

Ebony_J, Mar 2023

I booked the store as a solo traveler for my birthday. And I had a fantastic time. The tour guide was very friendly and informative. I highly recommend.

Great trip

Josh_B, Mar 2023

Brilliant tour guide (Josh) with lots of local knowledge and banging sound track, particularly loved going past Hendrix’s house. Josh kept spirits high despite the wind and rain with his humour and knowledge.

Fun tour!

Jennifer_A, Mar 2023

Armando did a excellent job keeping the tour fun and interesting. He gave us valuable tips you could only get from a local. I highly recommend Armando and this tour!

Awesome and one of a kind city experience

Vladislav_M, Mar 2023

Awesome two hours tour in a stylish VW bus that turn heads on every street. Content of the tour is great and they also provide beer and wine if you go in the afternoon. Gage is a great guide.

Great guide, cool way to...

Adrien_D, Mar 2023

Great guide, cool way to discover part of the city. Would recommend it to someone who does not have a lot of time yet wants to see city highlights

Amazing tour with our...

Janie_J, Mar 2023

Amazing tour with our guide. He made the trip memorable and fun. Highly recommend this trio for families or couples.

March 2023 Painted Lady tour

Rhonda_j, Mar 2023

Armando was so knowledgeable and made the experience very memorable. My 86 year old mother was made to feel extremely comfortable during the tour. I highly recommend this trip for anyone interested in a good time that is very informative.

Not worth the money

suesimpson, Feb 2023

New driver, needs a lot more experience in driving, information, not cut out for the job, description of tour not what you recieve!

Response from Host, Mar 2023

Hi Sue. Ouch, that is harsh. We like to give our new guides as much encouragement as possible. Driving these hills in SF is not easy task. Our new guides get trained 3 months before we put them out on their own. The owner of the company was on board to make sure that everything was running smooth. Not sure why you thought it was not worth the money as the other people tipped $80 on top of it. We are saddened to see that you didn’t Enjoy the tour. Sometimes traveling solo can be challenging in a group setting. We encourage our customers to speak up in the moment and let our guides know that the tour is not up to their expectations. Luckily based on our 99% great reviews this does not happen often. We will make sure to keep training our new guides and relay this review. We aim to please and we strive to do better each time. Hope you can have some compassion for this steep learning curve and rigorous process our new guides go through. May you be happy and fullfilled🙏

Buttercup was fun!

Heather_M, Feb 2023

Loved travelling the city “Buttercup”. We had a great tour and Armando was so informative and engaging!! Would definitely recommend.

So Fun!

Laureen_R, Feb 2023

This was SO MUCH FUN! Our group was a blast, the sites were perfect and tour guide fun and provided a lot of rich history and information.

Great San Francisco Hippie Ride!

Maribeth_E, Feb 2023

We had a blast traveling with Armando in the hippie van. He showed is all the sites! We had an awesome day!

Loved this tour! Had a...

Jacklyn_S, Feb 2023

Loved this tour! Had a limited time in San Francisco before heading to Napa Valley, so this was a great way to see some of the SF sights and hear more about the city's history. Our tour guide Armando was very knowledgeable and friendly. Would highly recommend!

Extra man in the van…

Lisa_B, Feb 2023

Was a great tour. Caio was very knowledgeable and entertaining. The only reason I did not give five stars is because the tour was listed as a max of seven passengers, but an eighth passenger was added to our group of seven, making the van much too crowded.

Response from Host, Feb 2023

Hi Lisa, So happy you and your group joined us! Our group tours can seat up to 8. You booked a group tour, not a private tour. It sounded like a private tour would have been a better choice for you. On our private tours you get to have the bus all to yourself for min of 3 hours.. We will even pick you up at your hotel and drop you of where you want. Next time please give us a call directly so we can help assist you with any questions you might have. Hope this helps clarify? Thank you so much for choosing us and we are happy to see you had a great time with Caio. ❤️

Stupendous San Francisco Tour

Laurie_R, Feb 2023

Info on Janis Joplin’s home, Jimi Hendrix’s home, the psychedelic shops in Haight-Ashbury, The Presidio. And Rosie not running very well!,

Wonderful

Abdul_E, Jan 2023

Armando is the shiznit! Excellent guy. Friendly and fun. Made it a worthwhile trip. Gave excellent information and was very communicative beforehand with recommendations on things to do and places to go. Small group setting making it very personal and not rushed. Would recommend highly!

Worth it!!

Michelle_H, Jan 2023

Kyle gave an excellent tour and provided many interesting facts. His sense of humour and energy shone through during the tour.

Great city tour!

Kavita_J, Jan 2023

Our guide Tiger was very knowledgeable and enterprising! This tour is a great option for people that are pressed for time and yet want to make the most of their visit to SF. Highly recommend!

great discovery

Julia_B, Jan 2023

A very interesting discovery, Lots of essential information about the city. The guide was very helpful and very king.

Was enjoyable and...

Jennifer_O, Dec 2022

Was enjoyable and relaxing even though Daisy the car broke down twice🤣. Our guide was great and entertaining

Great tour!

Marlo_L, Dec 2022

We appreciated how knowledgeable Armondo was!! He gave great food and places to visit suggestions. It was timely and we saw so much in a short amount of time!

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