we are 3 women celebrating our 60th birthdays with a trip to SF for 7 days in July..we do not have an itinerary set up yet but we intend to see the city using MUNI for ferry bldg., coit tower, pacific hts., etc. However, we are considering using the Gray Line tours for 3 of the 7 days. We were interested in taking their tours to l)Monterey & Carmel, 2)Wine Country tour, 3)Muir Woods & Sausalito. They also have a tour to Yosemite but it seems like a long trip for a short amount of time in Yosemite. I realize we're probably trying to get too much in and will have to adjust our schedule, but can anyone give us some advice on the feasability of using this tour service? Your responses would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
3 Brooklyn Broads who cant wait!!!

The trip to Yosemite would not be fun. That's an area where you really need a car, IMO - plus the lenght of the drive would not be worth the stuff you could be able to see from a bus in a few hours. The drive there & back is really un-interesting for 3/4 of the way.

Do a search on "Stu Dudley" in the US forum & you'll find lots of posts by me about favorite views, places, guided walking tours, etc.

Stu Dudley

Can't speak for how good the Gray Line tours are. When in San Francisco, I went to the Visitor's Information Center to find out about tours to Muir Woods. They recommended this man (forget his name, but you could call the Visitor's Center help desk and ask) who runs very small tours (4 to 6 people max) to Muir Woods for $50 per person (including lunch and beverages).

He picks you up at your hotel, drives you out to Muir Woods and takes you on a guided walk through the woods for about 2 1/2 hours, plus a 1/2 hour stop for lunch.

At the end he will either drive you back to your hotel or will drop off in center of Sausilito where you can walk around and take the commuter Ferry back to the city.

He does take you further out into the Woods and much of the tour is off the boarded paths, so be sure to wear a shoe that has good traction.

I would certainly take some sort of tour of SF itself...to get the history of the different neighborhoods and learn the lay of the land. I'm sure your hotel can recommend someone. If you are going out of the city, why not rent a car? It would be cheaper. You can get great maps from AAA, and you would have a lot more fun. Sonoma and Napa are each about 1.5 hrs north of the Golden Gate. Monterey and Carmel about 2 hrs South. Skip Yosemite for this trip, IMO.

Got to agree with the advice to skip Yosemite.....it's lovely, but too far for a trip with limited time. California is a rather large state, and it takes longer to get places than it may appear on a map. San Francisco has so much to offer~history, museums, plays....Beach Blanket Babylon is a lot of fun. I've never utilized Gray Line Tours in SF, so I'm not much help there, but as Ceidleh pointed out, Visitors' Centers are a great place sto start, as is the concierge at your hotel. Not sure if I'd want to rent a car~I usually avoid driving in the City by parking at a BART station and using public transportation. Parking is expensive (some hotels charge up to $50/night) and sometimes difficult to find, and I find the one-way streets confusing........

oops hit post before I meant too! I meant driving within the City itself, but the idea of driving to Monterey or the wine country is much more flexible, and as pointed out by kleroux, might be less expensive.