San Francisco

Full-Day Guided Tour of San Francisco with Alcatraz

Name: Full-Day Guided Tour of San Francisco with Alcatraz
Brand: Extranomical Tours
SKU: 2402P21
Price: 159.00 USD
Rating: 4.0 (67 reviews)

San Francisco, USA

7 to 8 hours
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Explore San Francisco on a full-day tour that covers top attractions including Chinatown, Fisherman's Wharf, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Alcatraz. Begin with a bus tour of destinations such as Nob Hill, Haight-Ashbury, the Castro, the Mission, and Golden Gate Park. Next, get great views of the San Francisco Bay during the short ferry ride to Alcatraz Island, where you then take a self-guided audio tour of the infamous prison.

Enjoy a full-day San Francisco tour with Alcatraz
Learn about Alcatraz prison on a self-guided audio tour
Snap photos of the Golden Gate Bridge and see other top sights
Includes round-trip ferry and audio tour of Alcatraz

Why Travelers Choose This Tour

This small-group tour takes extra time for walks at the Ferry Building and Golden Gate Park.

What's Included

Hotel pickup from most hotels in downtown San Francisco, but do not pick up outside SF city limits
Expert guide and commentary
Transportation to/from attractions (vehicle depends on group size)
Free Wifi on vehicle
Round-trip ferry from San Francisco to Alcatraz Island (US$45.25 value)

Gratuities
Child safety seat for children under 8 years old or 4' 9" (1.4 meters) required
Food and drinks
Transportation back to hotel after Alcatraz

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting points

Select a meeting point

Type to search

Start time

08:30 AM

End point

Pier 33
San Francisco, CA 94133, USA
You will need to make your own way back to your hotel after Alcatraz.

What To Expect

San Francisco (Pass By)

Fisherman's Wharf (Pass By)

Palace of Fine Arts Theatre

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Golden Gate Bridge

1 minute • Admission Ticket Free

Golden Gate Bridge Welcome Center

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Lands End

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Sutro Baths

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Ocean Beach (Pass By)

Golden Gate Park (Pass By)

Golden Gate Park Windmills & Tulips (Pass By)

Bison Paddock (Pass By)

Haight-Ashbury (Pass By)

Twin Peaks

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Mission District (Pass By)

Pier 33 (Pass By)

Alcatraz Island

2 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Fisherman's Wharf

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
Not wheelchair accessible
City Tour will last approx 4-5 hours and allow approx 3 hours for Alcatraz.
Please note, Alcatraz departure time varies. You will be notified of the confirmed time closer to your departure date. Allow for extra time between the two tours.
Stroller accessible
Government issued ID is required to redeem your Alcatraz tickets
Near public transportation
Most travelers can participate

Children must be accompanied by an adult.
Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
Meals are not included.
For hotel pickups, if your hotel is not listed, please select the Hilton Union Square at 333 O'Farrell Street (the meeting point is outside the Mason Street entrance).
Please always refer to the providers confirmation for exact pick-up time and location as this may differ from your hotel. Multiple hotel pick-ups are available, the time mentioned on the voucher is the first pick-up time, please allow a 45 minute window for pick-ups to be complete.
California law requires tour guests to bring a car safety seat for all children under 8 years and under 4' 9" (1.4 meters) in height. Any guest that does not provide their child's safety seat at the time of the tour and does not inform the tour operator in advance may not be allowed to board the tour and will not be subject to refund.
Exact destinations & itinerary may differ due to weather, road conditions, and the guide's discretion.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 37 travelers

Cancellation Policy

This experience is non-refundable and cannot be changed for any reason. If you cancel or ask for an amendment, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

4.0

67 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 67 reviews

Enjoyable tour. Good history lessons on both the city tour and Alcatraz

David_N, Apr 2024

Our guide Michelle was very knowledgeable and imparted this knowledge very well. Very enjoyable especially if you like learning about the history of San Francisco. Would recommend this to anyone. Alcatraz was a great experience learning about the history of this place. Well worth visiting when in San Francisco

Response from Host, Apr 2024

Thanks for taking the time to review your Alcatraz tour. Let's do it again soon!

Nice tour of SF

Kristi_F, Mar 2024

Awesome tour, very cool guide and driver. There was a family that was late showing up, late on every stop and the father was super rude and loud. Would have been a near perfect trip if we would have left on time (without him), as he held everyone up literally on every single stop. He also called the tour guide ill-informed and said it was a "sh*t-show" which I found ironic, as he was the only person that was making things uncomfortable. For the sake of other guests, I wish tour guides were allowed to be less polite and more assertive when a customer is ruining everyone else's experience. No Pink Ladies, no stop in Haight & Ashbury and no curvy streets, so you will want a different tour if those are things you want to see. There are 4 20 minute stops and then you have about 1.5 hours wait after tour ends, before Alcatraz. Also make sure you go to will call to get your tickets.

Response from Host, Mar 2024

Gosh...sorry to hear about the "bad" traveler. Thankfully, this is quite rare. BTW, all of the spots you mention do not allow tour vehicles to stop and (as you point out) we make stops to stretch and take photographs at the Palace of Fine Arts, Golden Gate Bridge, and other locations around the city. Thanks for the review!

Disappointing overall experience

Dimitrios_A, Sep 2023

I thought the overall experience was quite disappointing and poorly organised. Right from the start, we were confused about the pickup point. I sent Extranomical Tours 5 messages asking them to confirm the pickup location and, when they finally did, they gave me one that was 30mins away claiming it was the closest one to our hotel (it wasn't and after checking the info on their website, it turned out there was another one that was only 1 minute away). We stopped at some interesting places along the way and our tour guide was polite and knowledgeable but, as we were crammed inside a mini-van, we often found ourselves struggling to see the buildings the guide was pointing at (e.g. the Painted Ladies). Finally, the tour includes a ticket to Alcatraz but nothing more than that - no tour of the prison and we even had to collect the tickets from the ticket office ourselves. The tour company failed to mention we'd need photo-ID to collect the tickets so we wouldn't be able to do so if I didn't have our passports with us on the day. I find it disappointing that Extranomical Tours felt it was important to message me about how to dress or to wear sunscreen on the day but forgot to mention this key piece of information.

Response from Host, Nov 2023

We had a chance to apologize for your experience and are glad that are pleased with our resolution.

Communication and direction were lacking

Paul_B, Aug 2023

The bus tour was very enjoyable. Felt very safe with the driver even though tight lanes and extreme hills of San Francisco are not something we are used to. Significant issues with transition to Alcatraz adventure! Tour guide on bus told us to hurry to pick up tickets at Alcatraz drop point and then bus drove off. Actually we had over a 3 hour wait for that part of the excursion and could not even pick up the tickets at Will Call window for 2 hours. Lack of understanding about this part of our excursion and the subsequent wait really diminished the value of what could have been a completely wonderful day. Between Viator and the tour providers, someone missed a step here.

Response from Host, Aug 2023

We apologize for the misunderstanding about the Alcatraz boarding time. In almost all cases, our Alcatraz checkin times are 12:30 PM, due to the busy summer season in San Francisco, your time was 3:30 as you stated. We are sorry that the guide did not catch that. We hope you enjoyed the tour of Alcatraz Island. Call us if you are not fully satisfied with your experience.

A very interesting tour

Liane_M, Jul 2023

The tour guide was excellent. He showed us various parts of the city, and at one point changed his route and still had something to say about what we were seeing. Alcatraz was very interesting, taking the self guided tour. At the end there was a book signing by one of the former prisoners.

Not a full city tour… no hotel pickup

ernie0926, Jun 2023

While we enjoyed what we did see, what we didn’t was more notable. We did have a small group but they put us in a full size bus making it impossible to see Lombard street and the painted ladies. 2 of the most popular sights in San Francisco. Also no Chinatown. Our tour guide and driver were both very nice and the guide was very knowledgeable. There was no hotel pick up and I only found that out because I texted and asked where we should wait for pickup, only to be given an address by fishermen’s wharf and told no one was coming for us. Even though all of my communication showed hotel pickup. The Alcatraz part was very easy and well explained. Be warned though. Alcatraz is straight uphill walking. Also that entire island is covered in birds and their crap. I’m not overly fond of birds, so not my favorite place. Overall not impressed with the experience and had to pay a taxi driver to see the stuff we missed.

Response from Host, Jun 2023

We apologize for the misunderstanding about what would be on the city tour. As you point out, Lombard St, Deloras Park (Painted Ladies) and Chinatown are popular but they are also residential neighborhoods that do not allow tour vehicles to make stops. We point out these fun places and encourage our guests to go visit them if they are interested. We hope you enjoyed the other stops on your tour at the Palace of Fine Arts, Golden Gate Bridge, Presidio, Land's End, and, of course, Alcatraz Prison. Please let us know next time you are in SF and let's discuss your plans by phone so we get it exactly right!

Nice overview of SF

JeanYves_P, Dec 2022

The guide was interesting to listen, he knew the city by heart and was a professional. I did the reservation and everything was ok with Viator(Paid,pick up location, date, hour….)the day before the excursion I received a message from Viator to advise me that the departure time was change and the employee at Viator said this is the time and that’s it. And you have to be there on time. So a had too change my planning for them. Note: the guide with the mini van was 15 minutes late ?

Response from Host, Dec 2022

We are sorry to hear about the confusion around the pick up location and time. In the future, if you reach out directly to our Guest Services department @ (415) 357-0700 was can assist you with whatever you need. Travel safe home.

Best tour ever

Julie_M, Oct 2022

The tour was fantastic, Joseph our tour guide was so knowledgeable and he was awesome answered any questions we asked . Jimmy our driver was great too would definitely recommend

Response from Host, Oct 2022

Thanks so much for your kind words. Let's tour again soon.

Golden Gate tour with Alcatraz

Demetrius_V, Sep 2022

I would say what stood out the most was the trip to the Golden Gate Bridge. The tour guide was patient and let us take photos at our leisure. She also took us to places not mentioned in the tour description. I enjoyed the tour and would definetly recommend others to take this during their stay in San Francisco.

Response from Host, Sep 2022

We are thrilled that you had a great time on your City tour of San Francisco. We hope you enjoyed the rest of your stay in SF!

City tour

Suzanne_S, Jul 2022

Great way to see the city, we definitely wouldn't have seen as much on our own. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and fun.

Response from Host, Jul 2022

Thanks for taking the time to review your city tour experience. All the best!

Guided tour of San Francisco and Alcatraz

Jack_L, Mar 2022

This looked like a fantastic tour to go on to make sure that you see all of San Fran as it is very spread out and easy to miss areas. Unfortunately we were not able to do the guided tour due to covid and places just starting to open back up not enough people signed up. The tour company were very good and got in touch in good time and offered us the alcatraz tickets and a refund or alcatraz and a hop on hop off bus tour. We accepted the hop on hop off bus tour. Thank you for keeping us updated and we appreciate the level of customer service We had an amazing time at Alcatraz it is so informative and has some stunning views. Well worth doing in San Fran. The hop on hop off tour allowed us to see parts of San Francisco that we definitely would not have seen or even known were there some lovely views. Thanks for a lovely day and the great customer service.

Response from Host, Mar 2022

I've passed your kind words on to our guest services department. They thank you for understanding and being flexible as San Francisco returns to opening its "Golden Gate" to visitors. Hope you can return this summer and see some more destinations and attractions. Take care.

Tour

Teresa_B, Oct 2021

Happy for all the tours 😎👍🛳⚓️⛩Experience was very nice to see San Francisco California. We did enjoy with the family

Great tour but not all as advertised

Alan_C, Aug 2021

The tour guide Kimmy was great. Very knowledgeable and a lot of information. The tour did advertise hotel pickup and drop off but we were told by our tour guide when we were dropped off at Fisherman’s Wharf that when we got back from Alcatraz Island we had to find our own way back to our Union Square hotel. This is not what was advertised so be prepared to navigate San Francisco if you are not familiar with the city.

Great, Friendly, and I learned something !

Jamilla_L, Apr 2021

The Golden Gate Bridge views and going around the city. Alcatraz was nice too!! It was a great tour that included one of my favorite places, Fisherman’s Wharf. Great tour guide too!!

Response from Host, Apr 2021

Sounds like the perfect day in San Francisco. Hope you got to enjoy some fresh crab (it's in season) on the Wharf. Take care!

Excellent Tour

Karen_A, Mar 2020

Fantastic tour to do on our first day in San Francisco. Alcatraz was fantastic, we were on the first boat over. Pick ups were very efficient. The afternoon tour by Amanda was amazing. We went to places you would never go to on your own. Gives you an insight to the places you would want to visit again. We went over the Golden Gate Bridge and took some fabulous pictures. Lots of bathroom/coffee breaks. An excellent full day tour. Thank you

Canceled tour

neenerr, Feb 2020

Do yourself a favor and find yourself a local company in SF. The company that Viator contracted with canceled our tour less than 24 hours before it was scheduled. They offered us a ln alternative that was much less expensive than what I had paid. After spending way too much time trying to rectify the situation, they sent an Uber (that was also a hassle and took three attempts to actually get) and we only did the Alcatraz part of the tour (which we still could have done for cheaper). Used Viator in Europe and had a great experience. In San Francisco it was a disaster.

Not what you paid for tour

Mara_R, Feb 2020

No pick up / drop off (pick up offered but YBER link did not work) I could have bought the tickets to ALCATRAZ just as easy The small group tour was a ticket provided on the Big bus tour not what I expected or wanted Kept ringing me to confirm very annoying

Excellent Tour. Brilliant Guid

Julie S, Jan 2020

Randall was a brilliant and informative guide on this excellent tour. We went to places we would never have discovered on our own

Full Day Tour of Sand Francisco with Alcatraz - Amazing Experience

Fernando_S, Dec 2019

We were in San Francisco for just 1 day and got this tour that allowed us to see all the city and visit Alcatraz as well. Constaine our tour guide was knowledgeable and professional and made us feel like family

Response from Host, Dec 2019

We're so glad you had a great time seeing our wonderful city. We've passed your kind words on to Constantine.

Great one-day tour of the city

Bradley_W, Dec 2019

This is a great tour to do on your first day visiting San Francisco. Getting to Alcatraz first thing in the morning was a great way to see it before the crowds later in the day. Then the afternoon was filled with driving around the city to see the sites with stops to take pictures. Don was knowledgeable and had stories and information about the sites. There is a lot of driving on this so if you get car sick - make sure you take that into account.

Response from Host, Dec 2019

Isn't this city tour with Alcatraz wonderful? Glad you got to explore the island prison and see our wonderful city. Let's tour again soon.

Likely to Sell Out