Great guided tours in SF
 

Hi everyone,

I'd like to hear about guided tours---walking or otherwise---that you've loved. I'm interested in city tours, neighborhood tours, historical interest tours, wacky tours...any and all!

I know about City Guides, the usual Gray Line-type tours, vampire tours, ghost tours, Duck tours (those amphibious vehicles), eat-your-way-through-Chinatown tours, cafe tours, and on and on it goes, but I've never heard feedback from someone who's taken any of them (except my sis-in-law, who said the ghost tour was just okay).

If you've loved any of these or know someone who has, I'd appreciate hearing about it.

Thanks!

Hi wandergrrl, for the first time in my life (I have lived in the SF/Bay Area all of my life) I took a walking guided tour some days ago.

If you check out "I love San Francisco by SeaUrchin" her trip report mentions it. You can check out what they have to offer at www.foottours.com.

SeaUrchin set it up. Tom our guide (5th generation San Franciscan) was a delight. As SeaUrchin mentioned in her trip report she called this company and made arrangements for a tour that was not listed on their website.

This is the only tour I have ever taken in SF so I have nothing to compare it to but I have to say it was fun and enjoyable. The cost was $35.00 pp and we tipped Tom $5.00 each.

If you type in Stu Dudley's name in the search engine you can hopefully find posts he has written that regard free tours given through the SF Library. His wife is one of the guides. They have always sounded interesting. Best wishes and enjoy beautiful and fun SF!

Thanks, LoveItaly! I read SeaUrchin's post, and I'd love to hear more about that tour. Was it great because the guy was funny? Did you all learn a lot about San Francisco---especially you, since you're a local---see cool places you'd never heard of, etc?

I'll check out StuDudley, too. I think the library tours and City Guides are the same.

Thanks again!

Hi wandergrrl, actually I didn't see any sights that I didn't know but somehow that didn't take away from the enjoment of the walking tour. Tom was great, his ancestors came for Cork County Ireland during the Gold Rush. He was a typical Irish/SF fellow, fun, well mannered and so full of enthusiam. Our group consisted of SeaUrchin and SeaShell, both beautiful and fun women, this is the second time within the last year we have spent some days together. The other couple were a delight. They were newlyweds and had just moved to the US from England. They were precious. So our small group of six worked out perfect.

Even though I have lived in this area all of my life I experienced two "new" activities, the walking tour and the tea tasting (I have always hated tea) that SeaUrchin suggested and I am so glad she did. The herbal teas of China were fantastic btw, my first experience. So different than drinking various teas in tea bags. So we can always learn something new and I have discovered that is so true when I have out of town guest.

BTW, we stayed at Union Square in downtown SF. I walked us up to NobHill where we met Tom, quite steep hills. But we managed just fine walking all around there than back to Union Square and than through ChinaTown and onto NorthBeach. The 3 hour tour actaully lasted about 3 1/2 hours. We are all great walkers thank goodness. Tom said most people take a taxi to NobHill to meet up with him so depending on how great of a walker you are you might want to do that.

Oh, one thing I did learn which I was quite interested in was where the various building materials on the numerous buildings were from, especially after buildings were restored after the SF 1906 earthquake. Something I had not known.

One thing we did not do on the tour although we were in front of it was to go inside Old St. Mary's Cathedral. We did go inside Grace Cathedral. But I took SeaUrchin and SeaShell in Old St Mary's the next day. It is the oldest Cathedral in SF so if you are interested you might like to do that.

I wish there had been one extra day so I could have taken then down Market St., to the Ferry Building and than for a walk along the Embarcadero..but a good reason to tempt them back. One could spend a month in SF and not see everything.

Please, do give us a trip report..I will personally look forward to it. And have fun!

My wife is the volunteer guide on the "Victorian San Francisco" tour this coming Saturday, Nov 26. A fun day would be to take the "Haight Ashbury" City Guides tour from 11 til 1, then the Victorian San Francisco tour from 2 to 4.

See www.SFCityGuides.org for details.

Stu Dudley

Living in SF, I can't recall taking any city tours except the City Hall, very interesting, informative, fun, and the guide said he took us where individuals are not allowed. Highly recommend this tour.

I also took Gray Line to Monterey (great!) and Parlor tours to Yosemite (bad).

Hi Stu, actually Saturday is November 25th and Sunday is November 26th.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your wife and loved ones.

Oops - her tour is on Sunday - not Saturday

Stu Dudley

We took the Victorian Home Walk in July of 2005 and thought it was excellent. Check out their website at www.victorianwalk.com

My wife also is the guide for "Landmark Victorians of Alamo Square" on Sat Dec 2. The tour usually (but not always) starts with a tour of the interior of one of the most outrageous Victorians in the US. Only 1 other Victorian (Haas-Lilenthal) is open on a regular/weekly basis in SF - so if any Victorian enthusiasts want to view an interior, the City Guides tour is the only other one available. Reminder - the guides are volunteers & the tours are free - sponsored by the library (donations welcomed, however)

Stu Dudley

Years ago I did a wok wiz tour..our guide was excellant. We learned about Chinatown architecture..things you would walk right past and not know..visited a fortune cookie place and had dim sum ..well explained. I was happry with tour, guide and teh dim sum for 35.00..you do need to wear good shoes, wathc for people and traffic...

Just emerging from a Thanksgiving stupor to say thanks to all who replied! I'll report back about any tour(s) I take.

And LoveItaly, I went into that tea shop---it was packed! I didn't get to try any, but the teas were so beautiful that it was worth a stop.

Thanks again.