san francisco self guided driving tour

TOURS All Destinations Hawaii. 49 Miles of Pure San Francisco. Alternatively, we also offer a fully guided free walking tour of Fishermans Wharf. And why not? Should You Go on a Driving Tour of San Francisco? London Ive been on tours where I was just bored listening to the guide. Alcatraz, the historic prison island of San Francisco. You can spot some of San Franciscos most famous landmarks from here. Here, youll get the inside scoop on how Hollywood uses this building as a stand-in for Washington, D.C.s Capitol building in all sorts of films. We entered San Francisco from the freeway from the downtown exit (Fremont Street). Get The Map. Like Pacific Heights and Nob Hill, Haight Ashbury consists of large Victorian houses but thats the only similarity. All rights reserved. To open in Google Maps click the icon in the top right corner. Next, we'll head up one of SF's famous hills: Theres a phenomenal view of the bay and of the city skyline once youre up there. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Refund Policy. The thing I love about these walks is that all 50 are printed on their own cards. There are also ferries to the historic Alcatraz Island, leaving from another terminal further north. Book your San Francisco bay cruise service now and discover Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge. The current route takes you through large regions of the city and does allow views of both bridges but no longer goes all the way to Treasure Island. This is based on an audio guide I did . As we make our way to the waterfront, we'll dive into San Francisco's maritime history and it's (literal) gold-digging past. Some of the best hotels near San Francisco City Hall include Hotel Whitcomb, Renoir Hotel, and the Hayes Valley Inn. Damien was the best! The tour includes 3 hours of media content, so we recommend planning for a minimum of 4 hours. Alamo Square has nice sets of Victorian houses, one of which is the famous postcard row that probably is the most photographed spot in all San Francisco. Explore the most photographed area of San Francisco, seen on the award-winning show Full House, the Painted Ladies are the iconic Victorian homes sitting on Alamo Square. My tour guide was very knowledgeable and friendly. Included with your San Francisco tour is a complimentary bonus tour of the Golden Gate Bridge. This comprehensive self-guided San Francisco City Tour covers everything from the Painted Ladies to the Golden Gate Bridge. Our drive through San Francisco brings us past a magnificent marble building: the San Francisco City Hall! The Action Tour Guide app functions as a guide, an audio tour, and a map all in one. $ 65 $ 50. There are a total of 19 stops to visit, and they are all in the same general location, so it shouldnt take longer than 1 - 2 hours to complete. Hit the road whenever youre ready, stop as often as youd like, and just enjoy the journey! Dont have the time or money to book one of our guided tours? Our post on walking the Golden Gate Bridge also includes several additional details about where to enjoy the best views of this landmark and things to do in the area. According to an article on the history of the drive, a few of the annoyances you may encounter during the drive include: If you do the drive from start to finish with just a few stops at the major attractions it should take you three to four hours to complete the drive. Over 50 points of interest in San Francisco! During your walking tour, you will learn more about 20 of San Francisco's top attractions. Feeling hungry? Chicago This is where you come for some of the most gorgeous views of the city. Big Island Tour Bundle. Most San Francisco seals travel south in summer to give birth to their pups and to be back here for winter. You'll hear historical facts about SF events such as the California Gold Rush and the 1906 Earthquake and Fire. You cant come to San Francisco and not set foot on the Golden Gate Bridge! We definitely came away with much more of an appreciation for Castro and the Mission (love Dolores Park!) San Francisco sightseeing: Market Street in photos, Cable car turning at the Powell Street cable car turntable. You can stop along the way to learn even more about each attraction - or even skip ahead if it's an attraction you already visited. This tour takes you along to visit many of San Francisco's must-see places while you are in control behind the wheel of our own vehicle. 2023 Expedia, Inc., an Expedia Group company. Recommended: Purchase one tour per vehicle. Activated by your GPS location, you'll hear about gold rush founders such as the scandalous Samuel . The tour works offline which means you do not need your phone network to enjoy the tour. It's also where Pebble Beach Golf Club is located, a legendary course that has attracted the likes of Teddy Roosevelt and Sir Winston Churchill. Want to work with us? The San Francisco Museum and Historical Society offers two self guided walks of the Barbary Coast Trail in San Francisco. Be sure to also check out our free, guided walking tours of San Francisco. Each of the following companies offers tours to Muir Woods. You will also see where some of the most famous people of the 60s lived including the Grateful Dead and Charles Manson. Hit the road whenever you're ready, stop as often as you'd like, and just enjoy the journey! Then its on to Chinatown and Manilatown, where youll hear about both historic districts long, embattled history. 1 Your California: San Francisco to Point Reyes tour begins. Looking upwards you will see how high these earthquake protected buildings are! SELF GUIDED AUDIO TOURS HAWAII. over San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge and north into misty coast redwood forests. This tour is also available as a PDF that you can download onto your smartphone, allowing you to save some money on data or even avoid using data at all! Our next San Francisco sight: the hippie suburb Haight Ashbury. If you have ever watched Full House, you will know what we are talking about. Everyone can listen at the same time! You can stop for photos, take detours, grab a coffee or break for lunch. Our self-guided tour of Chinatown includes a map that you can use to pinpoint the location of each individual stop, making it easy to explore at your own leisure without getting lost. SIGN UPFOR OUR EMAIL TO RECEIVE YOUR FREESAN FRANCISCO PLANNING GUIDE. Temporary new starting point address: Alamo Square Park, Steiner St, San Francisco. The streets here are so quiet and leafy that you couldnt imagine this is in a huge metropolis. The preceding steps require good internet/wifi access. To get to the end of the pier where the sea lions are you will need to walk all the way through the tourist zone, souvenir shops and carousels. Read reviews, compare customer ratings, see screenshots and learn more about San Francisco Audio Tour Guide. Stroll along the Rainbow Walk of Fame, check out Harvey Milk's old camera shop, and learn more about the history of this district at the GLBT Museum. Visit the top attractions, including: the Ferry Building, Coit Tower, Pier 39, Ghirardelli Square, Alcatraz, Palace of Fine Arts, Presidio, and the Golden Gate Bridge. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable, having grown up in the area, and pointed out not only historical places, but beautiful murals, homes and fun nooks and crannies (like hidden stairways to streets) that we never would have seen on our own. +1 646 4611355. With the bonus tour, youll get up close and personal with that famous landmark and even drive across it for some killer views! The app knew exactly where I was each time. Chinatown: This is one of the most visited neighborhoods in SF, since there is so much to see and do. I wanted to package my love of San Francisco into a Self-Guided Free Walking Tour and this is the result. Simplify your planning process to this neighborhood by taking a guided tour. Note, this is a self-guided driving tour : You will need to arrange your own means of transportation; Oahu; Big Island; Maui; Kauai; Utah. As the name suggests, the tour uses GPS to provide directions to each stop. Next, travel through the famous 17-Mile Drive and see Pebble Beach Golf Course. Fishermans Wharf was and still is a fishing harbor, but its new main focus has changed from fishing industry to tourism industry. The best of San Francisco isn't found in the typical tourist destinations. One of the major highlights in San Franciscos history was the Golden Gate International Exposition held at Treasure Island in 1939 to celebrate the building of both the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge, which had each only recently been completed at the time. North Beach: There is a lot of history in the North Beach district. To start exploring the Victorian quarters, first drive around Lafayette Park that has rows of pretty Victorians on all four sides. With its famous golden doors, beautiful stained glass windows, and gorgeous icons, youll be amazed. Alternatives include taking a tour bus that goes along most of the route or renting a bicycle and doing it on bike, which takes approximately six hours but eliminates some of the difficulties of having to drive in the city. Pacific Heights surprised us: all streets are lined with old-style Victorian homes. As we drive past, we'll admire these striking buildings and learn about how they came to be painted in such vivid colors. So we started with downtown San Francisco. Haight Ashbury has another kind of history. In the evening when the sun shines on the painted ladies from the west it makes them shine. You definitely have to include Pier 39 in your San Francisco sightseeing program. You only need to book one tour per vehicle, not per person. Let California Tours take care of all of your accommodations on a self-guided driving road trip vacation. Yosemite National Park (/ j o s m t i / yoh-SEM-ih-tee) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest.The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an area of 759,620 acres (1,187 sq mi; 3,074 km 2) in four counties - centered in Tuolumne and Mariposa, extending . We'll climb to the top of Coit Tower and get a great look at San Francisco from above. It wasnt just sightseeing it was a fun history lesson too. Just remember to bring a jacket it gets windy up there! No need to worry about driving in Central San Francisco. If you have decided that taking a stroll through San Franciscos most charming neighborhoods sounds like a good plan, weve got you covered with our Walking Tours of San Francisco. Open from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM daily. New York City Check availability. After that walk through Chinatown, which has some of the best food in the city, making it the perfect spot . This comprehensive self-guided San Francisco City Tour covers everything from the Painted Ladies to the Golden Gate Bridge. Id also done a tour with the sister company in Los Angeles several years ago. To get the best views of the painted ladies come here in the evening and look at them from the Alamo Square Park. Interested in creating custom self-guided tours for your customers? Start your self-guided tour at San Francisco City Hall. Summer of Love in Height Ashbury, San Francisco. Scenic 49 Mile Drive - San Francisco. San Francisco sightseeing by car: Alamo Square. Not all of the scenic drive is actually very scenic. Want to go back in time to the 1920's and 30's and the Golden Age of Hollywood? Ages 5-90. Explore all that San Francisco has to offer, from the twists and turns of Lombard Street, through the bustling streets of Chinatown, and to the top of Telegraph Hill! Self-Guided Driving Tour. >> Find additional self-guided tours plus some multi-day itineraries. From San Francisco: Highway 1 Self-Drive Audio Tour in English.