Gold Rush to Golden Gate: Self Guided Tour of San Francisco

Departure: 490 Brannan St Parking Lot
Duration: Approximately 2 hours
Ticket: No expiration
Navigation: GPS-activated audio

Highlights

Professional tour guide and city Insider, Brad Prickett, hosts you on a tour of San Francisco. GPS-activated audio plays automatically on your phone as you learn the colorful history and see the top attractions along San Francisco’s waterfront and across the iconic Golden Gate Bridge.

What’s Included

  •  GPS-activated audio app that plays on your phone
  •  Local insider narration and special guest interviews
  •  Visit the top attractions, including: the Ferry Building, Coit Tower, Pier 39, Ghirardelli Square, Alcatraz, Palace of Fine Arts, Presidio, and the Golden Gate Bridge.
  •  Easy pause and play to go at your own pace
  •  Lifetime access to this self-guided tour in English

What’s Not Included

  •  Meals or beverages
  •  Transportation
  •  Tickets to attractions or Alcatraz
Note: This is a self-guided driving audio tour. Entrance fees to all attractions mentioned on the tour are excluded from the price. Charge your phone's battery. The way the app uses GPS to play audio automatically can be battery intensive.

Description

This tour takes you along to visit many of San Francisco’s must-see places while you are in control behind the wheel of our own vehicle. The audio tour’s auto-play feature tells you the stories behind the attractions as you experience them.

Activated by your GPS location, you’ll hear about gold rush founders such as the scandalous Samuel Brennan and the innovator Levi Strauss. You’ll also hear about Alcatraz escape attempts, a day in the life of a soldier at Fort Point, and Al Zampa of the Halfway to Hell Club.

Go at your own pace as you discover the history and stories of the attractions that you won’t learn in travel guides, including:

  • Ferry Building: once the transportation hub of San Francisco and today, a center for the city’s sustainable food scene
  • Coit Tower: the mysterious and historic monument gifted to the city by ‘Firebelle Lil’ to honor San Francisco’s firefighters
  • Pier 39: a colony of sea lions, along with scores of attractions, stores and restaurants entertain locals and visitors alike
  • Ghirardelli Square: a former chocolate factory, today the red-brick landmark features unique urban shopping and food
  • Lombard Street:hairpin turns and awesome San Francisco views have earned it the title of the “crookedest street in the world”
  • Alcatraz: America’s once premier federal penitentiary for the worst of the worst like Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly
  • Palace of Fine Arts: born as a temporary structure for a world’s fair, it stands today as a dreamy architectural wonder
  • Presidio: a beautiful national park with a colorful military history dating back to 18th century Spanish explorers
  • Golden Gate Bridge: San Francisco’s “must-see” bridge whose lofty cables open a gate to visitors from all over the world

Itinerary

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  • Drive the tour at your own pace, using your phone as your guide.

FAQs

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  • What can you do on a driving tour of San Francisco?

  • What is the best time to do a self-guided driving tour of San Francisco?

  • What is weather like in San Francisco?

  • Are there any limitations on the size or type of vehicle that can be used on a self-guided car tour?

  • Where is the starting point?

  • Can I download the tour in advance?

  • How long does the tour download take?

  • Once I start the tour, can I pause it?

  • Where does the tour end?

  • What should I bring?