Undecided which tour to take to get a general guideline of the city. Any suggestions from posters who have taken a city tour will be appreciated.

I really enjoyed the Grayline tour of the city. I called and they picked me up at my hotel and then returned me to the hotel after the tour. They offered a number of tours, but I chose the city tour, as I was free that morning. Even though I had been to San Francisco a number of times, I saw things that I had not seen before and it was a nice way to get an overview of the city. It was very reasonable in price. I called after I got to the hotel in San Franciso and made arrangements.

We also recommend the Gray Line... also if you are an AAA member, theres a discount... we saved $35 on our family.

You could also rent a car for a day and do the 49-mile scenic drive. It takes about 3-4 hours. Then you would have the option of leaving the city to see Sausalito or the wine country.

Thanks all for your response. Also for the AAA tip! We are renting a car once we leave SF to go to Sonoma and Monterey.

Do you know about the free walking tours by City Guide? We're planning on doing a number of them: Golden Gate bridge, Chinatown, and perhaps Pacific Heights mansions and Telegraph Hill. They have a schedule on the Web and promptly answered a question of mine via e-mail.

We took the Gray Line open air trolley tour last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was continuous movement, with the exception of a stop a the Golden Gate Bridge. Also, our driver took a chance, so he said, and went WAY up a steep hill he normally doesn't travel. We stalled out and he had to back down the hill. The kids loved it! Now, this might be part of his daily routine, but I don't know for sure.... We also received a AAA disount. Those discounts can really add up. Vacationmom