A Friend in Town

The Premier Personalized Tour Service for the San Francisco Bay Area

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We can pick you up anywhere within 90 minutes’ drive of San Francisco — at your home, hotel, or the airport!

“Everybody's Favorite City” San Francisco Tour

Tour Highlights

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  • Chinatown: an unique 'world' of hidden temples, open-air markets, herb and tea shops, a fortune cookie factory
  • The majestic and beautiful Golden Gate Bridge
  • Muir Woods: an ancient redwood forest of the world's tallest trees
  • Creatively decorated Victorian houses, formerly known as "Painted Ladies"
  • Golden Gate Park: the tranquil Japanese Tea Garden, the strikingly ultramodern DeYoung art museum, the Conservatory of Flowers (a 'wedding-cake' greenhouse) or the new "green" California Academy of Sciences
  • Nob Hill: a great Gothic cathedral, famous grand dame hotels
  • Haight-Ashbury: where you can get your tattoo, hip clothes or lava lamp
  • North Beach: Old San Francisco with an Italian flair
  • Pacific Heights: the city's most prestigious address… more than a hundred blocks of elegant mansions with panoramic Bay views
  • Sausalito: 'Mediterranean' hillside town looking out to the city skyline and Alcatraz

Why Take Our San Francisco Tours?

  • We take you up close. Breathe in the incense rising before Chinatown's Goddess of Heaven and ride down the Crookedest Street instead of just glimpsing it from a distance.
  • You get personal attention. We put San Francisco tour sights into their historical context, and you go where you want to.
  • We can go anywhere. Our comfortable minivan (with leather seats and large windows) goes places tour buses and limos aren't allowed.
  • Our San Francisco tour is flexible. Have a question? We'll take time to answer it. Want more time in the redwoods and less in the fog at the Cliff House? No problem.
  • Someone else does the driving. You see the city instead of fighting traffic, one-way streets and steep hills, searching for elusive parking spots.
  • We offer both full-day and shorter San Francisco tours. For those who choose a half-day (usually 4-5 hour) itinerary, we don't just squeeze everything into a smaller time frame… you must select from our menu which attractions interest you most. For example, in a half-day tour that includes Muir Woods redwood forest, there's much less time for seeing other places back in the City… but if that's what you want, that's what we do.
  • Our San Francisco tour guide is a trained historian.
  • There are many other reasons why we're your best choice!

“I felt like I really got to meet the City”

“It was great not to be part of a tour bus…just one of many in the herd. I have taken bus tours of San Francisco before, but this time I felt like I REALLY got to meet the City. Your knowledge of its history, architecture, restaurants and activities were amazing. I like the flexibility of being able to spend more time at the areas which interested me such as Grace cathedral and Muir Woods. Being able to go into neighborhoods to see houses, into restaurants to view old photographs of the city, or into a temple in Chinatown isn't something that's usually done on a bus tour. I have already recommended your company to some friends…Thanks again for a great time.”

– Douglas D. (Santa Maria, California)

More Reviews

San Francisco Tour Itinerary

We start our exciting day in North Beach, famous for its Italian and beatnik heritages. If you haven't had your morning coffee, we stop at Cafe Roma where they roast their own fresh beans. Our itinerary highlights the places most visitors want to see—the Crookedest Street, Chinatown (the real community behind the tourist attraction) and The Presidio (for "Star Wars" fans, there's a new Yoda statue and movie memorabilia)—and mixes in delights known only to locals.

We sail into the Civic Center with its gilt-domed City Hall, Asian Art Museum and Opera House, see the Palace of Fine Arts in its peaceful lagoon, and enjoy colorful Victorian houses and our famous cable cars, learning their authentic history…going behind the scenes where big buses and limos can't—even inside places like the fortune cookie factory and an unique "floating homes" community. For a great lunch gazing at the city skyline, our San Francisco tour crosses the Golden Gate Bridge and cruises into picturesque Sausalito.

In the afternoon, we approach Muir Woods over a winding mountain road for a relaxed hour in this ancient redwood forest. On our way back to the city, we stop above the Golden Gate Bridge to enjoy one of the top panoramic vistas in North America. With whatever time we have left before sunset, we visit the Japanese Tea Garden, DeYoung (art) Museum or the new innovative "green" California Academy of Sciences in beautiful Golden Gate Park, coming out into the free spirit of the famous Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. Our San Francisco tour arrives back at your hotel or home in time for a nap, or dinner and a show.

“My one-stop recommendation for tours of the Bay Area”

“Perhaps the best thing about Jesse as a tour guide is that he is very unobtrusive: he invites you to explore the sites you visit on your own, yet is always ready to answer any questions you may have. Not only do you visit the site, but experience it. Jesse sets a mood with background information and personal asides that add priceless depth to the tour. As a travel professional it is exactly what I look for when choosing a tour company for our most discriminating clients. [His] personal service and flawless attention to detail is unmatched, and he will be my one-stop recommendation for tours of the Bay Area… You can truly tell that Jesse loves this city, and the amount of knowledge he has about San Francisco and the surrounding area is truly mind-boggling.”

– Wes H. (Charleston, South Carolina)

What will it COST?

Because each tour is designed to fit your interests, our fees vary. Basically you pay by the number of hours in your itinerary. We do not add the fuel surcharges, "license fees," "tax" and mandatory gratuities that many other companies do.

  FEE Average Duration Additional Costs
(paid to vendors)		 Gratuity Add'l Hours Minimum Duration Minimum Fee
Full Day $480* 8–9h Entrance Fees, Lunch ** $55 ea 7h $370
Half Day $260* 4–5h Entrance Fees ** $55 ea 3h $260

* Not per-person

* These fees are for couples, groups of up to 6/7 people or solo travelers. For groups of 7 to 25 (whereby we charter a minibus), please ask for a quote.

** A gratuity is customary and will be appreciated, but is not required.

Click Here to find out more about our Fees.

“We really appreciated the flexibility and personalized service.”

“We had an absolutely fantastic time on the tour. We had a very limited time frame, yet we were able to see everything we wanted to see and more! We really appreciated the flexibilty and personalized service...and Jesse's vast knowledge of San Francisco and its history! Highly recommended!”

– CJ & Layne D. (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)

If you are not satisfied with your tour — its adherence to the tour description or your stated requirements/preferences, A Friend in Town will issue you a complete refund, within 10 days.

Call: 1-800-960-8099Reserve Your Tour