This tour operates on Wednesday and Saturday, based on a minimum number of participants.

This tour takes about 10 hours.

Yes, admission to the Computer History Museum is included in the price.

Silicon Valley includes the cities and towns south of San Francisco. It originated in the Palo Alto/Menlo Park/Stanford University area

The idea for Silicon Valley began during the Great Depression. Stanford engineering professor Frederick Terman decided to create more jobs opportunities for his students. He encouraged two of his them, William Hewlett and David Packard. He even got grants for them so they could create the high-tech company named after them.

Silicon Valley was named for the silicon needed to make semiconductor computer chips.

The most well-known Silicon Valley companies are Apple, Facebook, Google, and Netflix. The area also launched Tesla, Twitter, Yahoo!, and eBay. There are many business support companies such as Cisco, Oracle, Salesforce.com, Hewlett-Packard, and Intel. Other companies include Adobe, Intuit, and Zynga.

Silicon Valley is the U.S. center for innovative technology companies. It's home to 2,000 tech companies, the densest concentration in the world.

This tour is offered in English only. However, if required we can organize a private tour in several languages.

Please note that for your child's safety, we require you to bring a child safety seat or booster seat for all children under 8 years of age or 4' 9" in height, as dictated by California State Law. You will be required to bring your own child seat on all motor vehicle tours. Failure to provide a seat for your child will result in forfeit of your seats on the tour without a refund. Please also note that any children 12 years and older must have an adult ticket as they do not qualify for a child-priced ticket.

We only pick-up from hotels located in Downtown San Francisco including Union Square and Fisherman's Wharf.

Yes, the tour is guided with an English-speaking guide. There will also be time on your own during the stops.

Silicon Valley average temperature data is below.

SUMMER MONTHS (JUNE, JULY, AUGUST):
Average High temperature: 77°F / 25°C
Average Low temperature: 59°F / 15°C

WINTER MONTHS (DECEMBER, JANUARY, FEBRUARY):
Average High temperature: 59°F / 15°C
Average Low temperature: 43°F / 6°C

Temperatures vary depending on the season and time of day in the Bay Area, so we recommend that you wear layered clothing in case of unexpectedly climbing or falling temperatures. We do not recommend wearing shorts or sleeveless shirts in the winter. However, we realize that everyone is acclimated to different weather and thus trust you to make your own judgement. For footwear, we recommend comfortable walking shoes, such as regular tennis shoes, sneakers, or boots with rubber soles and treads. In the summer months, hiking sandals can be worn on the tour, but high heels, beach flip-flops, and other open-toed shoes are not recommended.

Extra spending money for meals, snacks, souvenirs etc
A light jacket (easily removable) in case of wind
Camera
Water bottle
Warm clothes and a waterproof jacket (during the winter months)
Hat and sunscreen (during the summer months)
Sturdy umbrella (if the forecast calls for rain)

Meals are not included on this tour. We will stop for about an hour where you can purchase lunch. Eating and drinking are allowed on our vehicles, and you can also bring your own food if you do not feel comfortable purchasing it on the trip.

Times listed are approximates only. Traffic and other unforeseen issues can cause delays or changes in these times, which are out of our control. Please do not make flight/travel arrangements on the same day as your tour. Extranomical Tours is not responsible for and will not be providing any compensation for missed flights or appointments.

As we have several different vehicles, we don’t know until the morning of your tour which vehicle will be hosting your tour as well as the name of your Expedition Leader. Please feel free to call us in the morning of your tour if you like. Regardless of which vehicle will come to your location, it should say “Extranomical Tours” on it.

Our vehicles at this time do not have any restroom facilities. We do, however, make several stops throughout the tours and there will be opportunities for you to use the restroom.

Yes, we request that you reach out to us at least a day in advance to confirm your tour and pick up details. You can contact us via our live chat function or by calling our office at 1-866-231-3752 (toll free from the USA) or +1-415-357-0700 (internationally) during office hours. You can call us from your hotel’s phone if you do not have a working mobile phone while you are in the area.

We ask that you do not bring anything on tour larger than 22”x14”x9”, or 56cmx36cmx23cm.

We do have wheelchair-capable vehicles available – subject to availability. Please notify us at least 48 hours in advance if you are bringing a wheelchair on the tour or at the time of your booking so that we can make the appropriate arrangements.

Yes, items left in the vehicle are stored in a lost and found area for 30 days. If you left something on one of our tours, please give us a call office at 1-866-231-3752 (toll free from the USA) or 1-415-357-0700 to see if it has been found. Once you have confirmed with us that your item has been found by our staff and you are still in town, you can come by to pick up your item. Otherwise, we will ship almost any item to any destination within the U.S. for a flat fee of $25. Extranomical Tours is not responsible for lost or stolen items.