The Open Top Sightseeing Tour Showcases the Best Views in San Francisco
Sit back and enjoy the ride as you cruise through the city on an open top bus and learn about San Francisco's unique history. You have the choice of a personal recorded commentary or an entertaining live commentary.
You can hop-on and off the bus at many intriguing places, visit attractions or to get refreshments before hopping back on-board to continue your journey.
The tour's main highlight is the journey over the fabled Golden Gate Bridge and the stunning views back across San Francisco Bay from Vista Point. Don't forget your camera to help capture some memorable moments!
Capture the Views of San Francisco
Our sightseeing buses allow you to experience the amazing views of San Francisco from an open-top bus.
From the bus you can observe the stunning attractions of San Francisco, such as the Golden Gate Bridge, where you can savour the panoramic views from either side of the bay and delight in your open-top vantage point above all other traffic as you cross in both directions.
It is possible to leave the bus at any stage of your tour in order to explore San Francisco at your leisure.
Enjoy an Engaging Live Commentary
While you take in the wonderful sights of San Francisco, one of our experienced guides will provide you with an entertaining commentary, pointing out various landmarks and explaining their significance to the San Francisco story.
Whether it is your first time to San Francisco or you have lived here all your life, you are guaranteed to discover something new and interesting about the city.
The tour guides will do their best to give you an insight into the city's culture and are also happy to provide you with advice on places to visit, where to eat and drink, or anything else you wish to know about San Francisco.
Personal Recorded Commentary in a Choice of Languages
As you cruise through San Francisco you can enjoy an informative and entertaining commentary, through complimentary headphones provided as you get on the bus. Significant buildings and landmarks will be pointed out and you will gain an insight into the city itself.
The personal recorded commentary is available in your choice of 10 languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese, Cantonese or Mandarin Chinese.
Hop-on, Hop-off
The hop-on, hop-off facility is a great benefit of the San Francisco Sightseeing Tour that enables you to explore all the sights at your leisure. There are 20 locations where you can get off the bus to visit attractions and monuments or see captivating places.
This facility also gives you the freedom to plan your own itinerary and to visit the attractions that engage you. You can leave the open-top buses as many times as you want within the validity period of your ticket. Of course, you are welcome to remain on the bus for the whole of the tour if you don't want to get off.
Every 10-30 Minutes
Buses run every 10-30 minutes depending on the day of the week and time of the year and the first bus departs at 9:00am from Fisherman's Wharf. The complete tour lasts approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes; however you can start and leave the tour at any of the hop-on, hop-off points.
Get off the bus as much as you like to look around the many attractions in San Francisco, before re-joining the tour on one of the next buses to continue your sightseeing experience. This flexibility allows you to start the tour at your convenience and enables you to plan your journey with ease.
Enjoy 3 Free Walking Tours as Part of your Tour Experience
A qualified guide will lead you on a delightful stroll through one of San Francisco's famous areas. Along the way you will get a special insight into the area's history and culture.
Chinatown Walk
Hop off the bus at Union Square South for a guided walk through the world famous San Francisco Chinatown. See the magnificent Chinatown gates, the busy marketplace and the vibrant mix of historical and modern day culture. Listen to our qualified tour guide as they take you to the best places for authentic Chinese tea, dim sum, herbs and the fascinating fortune cookie factory.
The Chinatown walk starts at Stop 6: Union Square South and is available twice a day at 11.00am and 3.00pm. The walk lasts approximately 1.5 hours and finishes at North Beach, Little Italy.
North Beach Walk
Join us at North Beach, Little Italy for our historic tour of San Francisco’s eclectic North Beach district. This guided journey through Little Italy will open your eyes to the splendour of Washington Square, the incredible St Peter and Paul Church, and will provide you with a taste of the bohemian lifestyle that inspired so many of the artistically gifted San Franciscans of previous generations.
The North Beach walk starts at Stop 3 and is available twice a day: at 12.30pm and 4.30pm. The walk lasts approximately 1 hour and finishes at Washington Square.
Barbary Coast Walk
Enjoy a walk through what use to be San Francisco’s notorious Barbary Coast. The tour takes you through a nine block radius of what was once the haunt of the low and vile. Hear about San Francisco’s small beginnings, its boom-town growth (California Gold Rush) and the end of The Barbary Coast due to the Red Light Abatement Act.
The walk will take you through the present Financial District allowing you to see remnants of the past such as an old ship mast, passageways used for Shanghaiing and the hang outs of famous literary writers Mark Twain, Jack London, Ambrose Bierce, and Frank Norris.
The walk starts and finishes at Stop 4 and lasts for 1 hour.
Choose the Length of Your Tour
A 24 hour tour of San Francisco is the very best way to see the city in such a small space of time. It allows you to visit the most captivating and attractive landmarks, such as the Painted Ladies and China Town. It is possible to hop-off the bus at any time in order to appreciate these landmarks and attractions at your own pace.
You can also spread your tour out over a longer period of time as we also offer a 48 hour ticket. This way you can soak up the sights and cruise along with us at a more leisurely pace.
See the City by Bike
Cycling is a great way to explore San Francisco and to get a feel for this exciting city. So don't miss the chance to enjoy a free hour of cycle hire with your sightseeing ticket!
The free bike hire is available from any of the Blazing Saddles shops. The Blazing Saddles team will explain to you all there is to know about cycling in the city and they will provide you with all of the safety equipment.