San Francisco: half- or full-Day Tour?

How do we decide whether a half- or a full-day itinerary will work best for us?

   We begin each San Francisco tour by discussing your priorities as we cannot even drive by everything listed. Consider the following sites and how much time it takes on average to enjoy them. Keep in mind that there's travel time between sites, that you may need a personal pit stop or two, that you may want to take or be in photos. Add it all up and see if your sum is closer to 4, or to 8 hours. If closer to 8, including travel time between stops and time for photos, pit stops...a snack, then that's a full-day tour.

   Why not just be spontaneous and add time as we go? Because sometimes A Friend in Town will have another tour scheduled for the same day, or your guide will have other plans. (We also offer an option for the unfortunate visitor who has only an evening, say after a business meeting, or a long lay-over between flights: our After Dark tour.)

Lunch and,or Dinner

___quick, like pizza or sandwiches (40 min)…leisurely at a restaurant with a view (90 min). You can end a half-day tour being dropped off at a restaurant (in San Francisco or Sausalito), or begin one (not later than 2 p.m.) after lunch.

Famous Attractions

___Golden Gate Bridge: as seen from below, Fort Point (20 min)…as seen from above (more panoramic) (40 min), or just drive across and back (15 min)

___Chinatown: drive through its two main thoroughfares (20 min)…walking into live-animal markets, the fortune cookie factory, a Taoist temple, bazaars (one hour)

___drive down The Crookedest Street (10-15 min)… plus photo op (20 min)

___The Haight (-Ashbury) neighborhood, its one-of-a-kind shops, excellent bookstores, tattoo parlors, thousand colorful Victorians, great people-watching… (20-40 min)

___The Castro neighborhood, a Gay mecca & setting for the Oscar-winning film "Milk": its street life (more fabulous on weekends), the site of Harvey Milk's camera store, wonderful movie palace (20 min)

Worthwhile but Less Well Known

___North Beach neighborhood, "Little Italy," home to the Beats, lively Washington Square Park: drive through (15 min)…walk around (40 min)…time to visit the new Porzuincola Chapel of St. Francis, the city's patron saint (20 min)

___Civic Center: its gigantic neoclassical City Hall & Opera House, modern Symphony Hall, Main Library, Asian Art Museum (15 min)

___old Mission Dolores church (the city's oldest building) plus its historic cemetery (25 min)

___Grace Cathedral on Nob Hill, its un-usual stained-glass windows, its AIDS Memorial Chapel, "Gates of Paradise" bronze doors

___a Roman-style rotunda & colonnade next to a lagoon: local favorite (20 min)

___Pacific Heights neighborhood: multi-million-dollar mansions of some of its most famous residents, "Mrs. Doubtfire"'s house, a grand staircase w/panoramic views

(20 min)

___The Presidio incl. surprises from "Star Wars" (15 min)

___Murals (hundreds!) of the Mission District neighborhood (20-40 min)

___other unique attractions we'll not reveal to our competitors

Muir Woods & Sausalito

___drive along Sausalito's picturesque waterfront (10 min)…walk along the promenade (30 min)

___a walk creek-side in an ancient redwood forest (an hour or more)

___view of our wild coast best left un-publicized (20-25 min)

___view of the City, Bay & Bridges from the Marin Headlands (20 min) or Cavallo Point or Fort Point

___visit to the largest marine mammal "hospital"…if there are animals on view (30 min)

Famous Vistas

___famous "Painted Ladies"/“Full House” Victorian houses: drive by (10 min)…close-up (15-20 min)

___Twin Peaks: panoramic view of the City & Bay (25 min)

___panoramic view of the City from below Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill (20 min)

By the Ocean

___Golden Gate Park, a 1000-acre urban forest: drive through (20 min)… visit to Japanese Tea Garden or Conservatory of Flowers, etc. (one hour)

___stop at site popular with hang-gliders, if the wind's right (30 min)

Worthwhile but best experienced On Your Own

___Alcatraz prison tour & ferry ride (2½-3 hours): make reservation weeks in advance for 'tourist season' (major holidays + May - Oct)

___ride on a cable car (40 min. to an hour, incl. wait in line)

___Fisherman's Wharf incl. sea lions at Pier 39 (1-3 hours)

___Art Exhibits at Museums: DeYoung, Asian, African Diaspora, Modern Art, Contemporary Jewish, the New Deal era murals inside Coit Tower [See them with SF City Guides], Cartoon Art

___the Walt F. Disney Museum, a masterfully executed tribute to the animation pioneer

___The Exploratorium especially its Tactile Dome, the California Academy of Sciences (2-5 hours each), the Musee Mechanique featuring coin-operated entertainment from generations ago (40 min)

___tres elegant Garden Court dining room in the historic Palace Hotel (15 min)… [See with SF City Guides (90 min)]

___Cable Car Museum (30 min)

___the Tonga Room (perfectly preserved tiki bar) or the Top of the Mark--both famous watering holes with unique decor/views--the memorabilia & food of the Big Four restaurant…all on Nob Hill