Take a San Francisco half-day tour to pack in the city’s top sights in a convenient way that leaves you with plenty of time to spare so you can enjoy the city however you wish. With a driver-guide, travel the city by bus, stopping at major attractions like the Golden Gate Bridge and Twin Peaks, and neighborhoods like North Beach and Chinatown. Plus, you can upgrade to include a San Francisco Bay cruise, a half-day bike rental, or admission to Aquarium of the Bay.

Tour all the city highlights, including Golden Gate Bridge, Chinatown, and Fisherman's Wharf
Photo stops at Vista Point, Twin Peaks (weather permitting), and Golden Gate Park
Optional upgrades for a cruise, bike rental or aquarium admission

What's Included

Transport by air-conditioned luxury coach
Narrated bus tour of San Francisco + Plenty of photo stops
4h Bike Rental (if option selected)
Bay Cruise if option selected.
Aquarium of the Bay Entrance Fee if option selected.
Choose from two departure locations in San Francisco: Fisherman's Wharf or Union Square

Food and drinks.
Gratuities
Hotel Pick-up & drop-off Not included

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting points

Select a meeting point

Type to search

Start time

08:40 AM

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Your tour starts with pickup from Union Square or Fisherman's Wharf by air-conditioned bus. With your driver-guide, travel through Golden Gate Park, checking out the ample green space, windmills at Ocean Beach, and the bison paddock.

Drive down city streets lined with the colorful Victorian and Queen Anne homes that San Francisco is known for, and hear from your guide about the area’s history, from the American Indians to Spanish settlers to the Gold Rush. Ride along the Barbary Coast, and cross the Golden Gate Bridge, where you’ll stop at Vista Point for a photo op.

Other sights you see include the Palace of Fine Arts, the Presidio (a former Army post and now a national park site), Fisherman’s Wharf, and the neighborhoods of Chinatown and North Beach. Look out at Alcatraz Island, and stop at Twin Peaks (weather permitting) for a panoramic view that can’t be beat.

Optional upgrades include a cruise on San Francisco Bay to take in the sights from a different vantage point; a half-day bike rental to cruise around at your own pace; or admission to the Aquarium of the Bay to learn about native marine creatures.

Gray Line San Francisco (Pass By)

Departing the heart of Union square, the coach makes its way to the Golden Gate Bridge. On your way to the Golden Gate Bridge, travelers will see: Union Square: Theatres, shopping, hotels

Van Ness Avenue (Pass By)

We make our way north on Van Ness Avenue. Famous for being used as a firebreak, by the US Army during the 1906 earthquake and fire.

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Please contact us 48 hours prior to tour date to confirm your exact departure location (2 options)
Please bring your paper or electronic voucher with you on the day of your tour to be redeemed upon pickup or check in at one of our tour offices.
If you choose the option that includes the Aquarium of the Bay Admission, please visit their site for Aquarium of the Bay hours.
If you choose the option that includes the Bay Cruise Adventure, please visit the Blue & Gold site for the seasonal schedule.
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible

Service animals allowed
Near public transportation
Infants must sit on laps
If you choose the option that includes the 4h Bike Rental: Bike reservation is not mandatory but we always recommend a reservation in order to hold you bikes and streamline the pick up process. Contact for booking confirmation at specific time.
Information if you choose tour with 4h Bike rental: For all riders’ safety, Unlimited Biking do not recomend any riders who are 300 pounds and over as this exceeds the weight limit the manufacturer has advised for the bike’s build. We apologize for the inconvenience, but we do prioritize your safety during the ride.
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 45 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 good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
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

You can leave your coat and water on the bus, so bring them.

Reviews

4.0

527 reviews

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

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 527 reviews

Fruitful city tour

Stella_H, Feb 2023

Thorough concise SF city tour we had a very knowledgeable tour guide Joseph and our lovely driver Gerald 😍 a great way to explore the main attractions of San Francisco

Response from Host, Feb 2023

Dear Stella, We appreciate your feedback and it made us feel so happy to see that you enjoyed our San Francisco Grand City Tour. Thank you for choosing Gray Line and for giving us a 5-star review. It was a pleasure serving you. We hope to welcome you back again soon!

Wonderful

Benita_R, Dec 2022

Everything was awesome and the guide Michele was knowledgeable and fun. Would highly recommend this tour.

Response from Host, Dec 2022

Dear Benita, Thank you for sharing your experience with us and choosing Gray Line to bring you to the San Francisco City Tour. Thank you for the compliments to Michele, our your guide. It was a pleasure serving you. We hope to see you again soon.

city tour

Melanie_T, Nov 2022

our driver Archie was very informative and very friendly taking us to all the best sights in san francisco

Response from Host, Nov 2022

Hi Melanie, We’re so happy to hear that you enjoyed San Francisco City Tour and look forward to welcoming you again soon!

Excellent guide & tour...

Cyrus_F, Oct 2022

Excellent guide & tour driver.. Very informative & fun trip.😁😁😁😁😁🎈🎈🎈I’m recommending this trip to my friends in Alaska.

Response from Host, Oct 2022

Appreciate your review and support, Cyrus! Thanks for recommending our service to your friends. Any bit of awareness helps us a lot. Hope we can welcome you back soon Ignacio Gray Line San Francisco

Cancelled without Notice

Carl_C, Sep 2022

We arrived at the pickup point and were told that the tour had been cancelled months before. Which was odd because my credit card was charged the day before the tour was to have begun.

Worth the experience.

Craig_G, Aug 2022

We had an EXCELLENT tour GUIDE with a thorough knowledge of the city and its history. It was a joy to listen to him tell all about the famous buildings and landmarks.

Response from Host, Sep 2022

Dear Craig, We’re so happy to hear you had a great experience at San Francisco Grand Tour. Your review made our day! Our whole team works very hard to keep our customers happy, but we can only do it thanks to amazing customers like you. Thanks again, and we hope to serve you again soon. Sincerely, Gray Line San Francisco

Best city tour, enjoyed every minute.

PRADIPKUMAR_M, Aug 2022

Tour guide Michelle gave in depth history of San Francisco City. Bus was comfortable. Pick up was good. Enough waiting time to see all places. The oldest building 1788, was memorable.

Response from Host, Sep 2022

Dear Pradi, I shared your comments with our entire team at Gray Line San Francisco. When we hear from happy customers like you, we spread the positivity around! Hope to serve you again soon.

Great views

MariaTerersa_T, Jul 2022

The places that they took us were beautiful, and the tour guide was very knowledgeable. The bus was very timely, but we only stayed in each place for around 15-20 minutes. One of the only things that I will say about this was that when we were off the bus, the tour guide didn’t have a microphone so it was difficult to know whether or not he was speaking. So some times we would just be taking photos without knowing that he was speaking. We also took the bay cruise, the views were wonderful; however we couldn’t hear anything on the speakers while we were sitting/standing outside.

Bus / ferry tour combo

Filipe_S, Jul 2022

We got the combo, bus city / ferry bay tours. Thebus tour was great, a lot of explanations on the city history and the spots. The only thing is get a jacket, even in the summer you can get 50F during the day. Also the food Fog is unpredictable so be aware that you might not see all the spots, specially the golden gate Bridge. The bay tour was not so great, the company did not know how to proceed with the viator ticker and how to redeem it. The trip around the bay is ok but you get to hear (if you go close to the speaker) the same thing that was explained in the bus tour.

Response from Host, Jul 2022

Hi Filipe_S Thanks for taking the time to share your experience. We're happy to see that you enjoyed our city tour. Unfortunately, the weather in San Francisco changes a lot, and you always need to carry a jacket. Hope we can welcome you again soon. Ignacio Gray Line San Francisco

San Francisco: I Don't Know How To Quit You!

Roman_C, Jul 2022

This was my tenth trip to SF. I had always wanted to visit the Palace of Fine Arts. To my surprise, that was one of the stops. It is very beautiful. The weather was quite cool...in total contrast to the sweltering temperatures in my hometown of Austin, Texas. I'd like to recommend the Snow Garden restaurant in Chinatown. It's a small place that serves a delicious sweet and sour chicken with steamed rice.

Great tour!

Jerome_A, Jun 2022

Was a wonderful tour! Our tour guide was very knowledgeable, and we went to a lot of places we never would have thought of! Highly recommended.

This tour was a wonderful...

Argelia_A, May 2022

This tour was a wonderful choice for my friends and I, the guide was a wonderful person, really enjoyed it, the driver was amazing too , I would give them my 5 stars but I have a little inconvenience because they forgot to give us our voucher for our Bay Cruise so we had to make some phone calls but hey, they were very nice and they help us right away to fix this little inconvenience, so if you are going to have a Bay Cruise don’t forget to ask for them right away ,, but everything was AMAZING!!!!

Response from Host, Jun 2022

Hello Argelia_A Thanks for your kind words about our tour. I'm glad to hear that our customer service department could resolve your inconvenient quickly. Hope to welcome you back again Ignacio Gray Line San Francisco

Joseph the tour guide and...

Gary_P, May 2022

Joseph the tour guide and James the driver were awesome! My friend and I really enjoyed the city tour.

Response from Host, Jun 2022

Hello Gary Thanks for your lovely comments about Joseph and James performance. They, with their knowledge, give extra value to our tours. All the best, Ignacio Gray Line San Francisco

Provide better instructions on tour location

Ronda_D, May 2022

Attractions were nice and Tour Guide was good. My issue is with Graylines. Tour started at 8:40am. They ask you to come early about 15 minutes. I get there at 8:37 but still there before time to leave. The building is vacant, no furniture inside. There is no one standing in front of building. There are 2 huge buses on the other side that day Coach 21 and a black bus that says Tower tours. I contact company as they don’t list name of tour company but get no answer. I then sent them a text. Another lady comes up for tour. We stand there as all 3 buses start to depart. Company responds 1.5 hours later and says oh go to Coach 21 there should be a small sign in the wi Dow that say Grayline. So why is this not in the instructions. If no one will be at the building they listed tell people to cross the street and look for Coach 21 buses and list the tour company you’re using. 3 different buses were lined up for different tours it’s up to consumer to figure out which one? On tour day before I was told driver name and type of bus. When they were late I got a text with details. If I came after the departure time I wouldn’t have any complaints. But I saw 3 buses lined up for several minutes and no one at checkpoint.

Response from Host, May 2022

Hello Ronda, thanks for your feedback. We will revisit the departure instructions we set, to make sure we minimize the misunderstandings you faced. The departure is set in this location because it has white zones that allow the transportation to get on board. We do have employees in front of the location 20 minutes before departure time to check in with all our customers On the other hand, we're happy to hear that you liked the attractions visited and our tour guide. Regards Gray Line San Francisco

It was great, learned a...

Cynthia_H, May 2022

It was great, learned a lot about San Fran. Our guide was very knowledgeable. I missed how I was supposed to get the aquarium tickets, so we’ll miss out on that

Response from Host, May 2022

Hello Cynthia_H I really appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback and being so open with us. We hope you'll come and see us again soon! Ignacio Gray Line San Francisco

Best way to see the city

Mark_P, Apr 2022

Was only in the city for a few days and this tour in my opinion was the best way to see a large part of the city and get the biggest bang for your buck

Response from Host, Apr 2022

Hello Mark Thank you for posting your opinion on our tour. I am incredibly delighted to see you had such a great experience with us. I agree that this city tour is the best way to see the city. We offer many photo stops, like The Palace of Fine Art, Golden Gate Bridge, Lands End, Golden Gate Park, Twin Peaks, and Mission San Francisco de Asis, joined by a professional tour guide. Hope to see you soon for another great experience, Ignacio Gray Line San Francisco

Stunning landscapes and great information

JOAQUN_G, Mar 2022

We had a great experience thanks to Joseph and Archie, two amazing hosts with deep knowledge on the city and useful tips that will help you enjoying your stay in San Francisco. Highly recommended!

Response from Host, Mar 2022

Hi JOAQUN_G Thank you for posting your opinion on our tour. We are happy to see that you liked our driver Archie and guide Joseph. Both are locals and have a unique passion for this city. We hope you'll come and see us again soon! Ignacio Gray Line San Francisco

Wonderful tour. The city...

Taron_S, Mar 2022

Wonderful tour. The city was beautiful. The tour guide and driver were very knowledgeable. Will recommend you try it.

Response from Host, Mar 2022

Hi Taron_S Thank you for sharing your experience! We're happy to see that you liked our driver and tour guide and you enjoyed our San Francisco Grand City tour. We can´t thank you enough for recommending us to future travelers! Ignacio

Excellent tour to see all the main points of San francisco!

marianne_e, Feb 2022

There were only 7 of us on our tso it was very personal. Our driver Jack and tour guide Michelle were extremely knowledgeable, friendly and enthusiastic. We were lucky to go across the golden gate bridge which was my favourite part of the tour. Also stopped at land's end and twin peaks which had a very high up view of the whole city. Just stunning and not rushed at all. The other people on the bus were very nice to chat to and shared our experiences. I had the bay cruise option so they dropped me off at Pier 39 for that which I also loved. I gave them both a tip for giving me a perfect day and one to remember! Thank you!

Response from Host, Feb 2022

Dear marianne_e, it is not every day that we receive feedback as detailed and thoughtful as yours. But trust us when we say that it does not go unnoticed. Your comment has given us valuable insight into the services that we provide at Gray Line San Francisco. We sincerely thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with us. Looking forward to seeing you again soon and thanks again! Xavier General Manager Gray Line San Francisco

Good Photo Opportunities!...

Alexis_B, Jan 2022

Good Photo Opportunities! Comfortable bus and a great way to spend a morning in San Francisco as a first timer.

Response from Host, Jan 2022

Thanks for your feedback, Alexis. We are glad you liked the San Francisco panoramic tour. Please visit us again soon. Andrea Customer Sales Manager Gray Line San Francisco

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