I'm visiting San Francisco later this month for the first time and would like to use a touring service. Any recommendations, beyond Gray Line?

Also, is the day long tour to Yosemite from SF a worthwhile investment of time and money?

Try this tour for Chinatown:

www.wokwiz.com

There are a number of smaller, van-based tours that operate in SF that are not as impersonal as Gray Line. You can find them pretty easily by searching the web.

We really enjoyed the Gray Line tours. We took 2 of them. Our 2nd tour was with Ernie for the city tour. he is great-very personable!

I haven't personally been, but I've heard good things about walking tours of Chinatown and The Castro - and a Victorian walking tour.

(Note to self: Get out more in my own city so I can really answer these questions).

We did the Wok Wiz tour and the Victorian Walking tour. I would highly recommend the Victorian tour but thought the wok wiz tour was over priced and not so great. The owner Shirley Wong took us. She is a very nice person and entertaining to listen to, but we didn't do half the things that were advertised as part of the tour. We visited several merchants in the area so we could "shop". Then we had lunch in one of her favorite restaurants. I found myself wondering if she got a cut of the profits these different store owners made from our group of tourists! It was disappointing.

I did the Victorian house walking tour which was terrific. Last year we did a Chinatown walking tour which was also very good. If you're interested in more details, I know I have the phone number for the Victorian tour and can probably figure out which Chinatown tour we took (there are several).

Seems like the Victorian House tour is getting great reviews here. What is so great about the Victorian House tour?

ttt

We took the fire engine tour last Sept. Great fun and even my wife enjoyed it!

I visited San Fran in 2000. I also did the Victorian House tour and it was the best part of my visit. It's a 2-hour walking tour that leaves from Union Square. The tour mixes architectural information with SF history. You get to see some beautiful houses AND learn the stories behind them. And you get some good exercise so you can go eat later at one of the great SF restaurants!

Note that you only get to go inside one of the houses (an old hotel) - the tour is given mostly "from the sidewalks".

I've also heard good things about the firetruck tour.

We did the trolley tour and really enjoyed it.

Please, where do I find out about the fire truck tour? Website? Thanks.

www.fireenginetours.com

www.sanfranciscotours.com

Is there a website for the Victorian House tour?

http://www.victorianwalk.com/

The SF Main Library has a service called "City Guides." They are free walking tours in many different neighborhoods. They have a website -- don't know what it is off the top of my head, sorry. I've enjoyed all the walks I've taken.

PS -- Although the walks are free of charge, a contribution into the envelope that's passed around at the end of the tour is a good thing to do because it goes to support the public library.

Blue and Gold Fleet has various tours on and around the Bay. www.blueandgoldfleet.com

Roddy,
Kate's suggestion about taking the "City Guides" tour is EXCELLENT, I can't recommend them enough. Every time we visit SF we take a tour, they have all been fantastic (Palace Hotel, Cow Hollow, Market Street etc.) the website is: http://www.walking-tours.com/cityguides/summer.html Don't miss out on these