San Francisco: Golden Gate Bay Cruise (60 Minutes)
Recommended by 95% of travellers
Badge of Excellence
San Francisco, USA
- 1 hour (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Explore one of California's most iconic settings from the beauty of San Francisco Bay. This narrated Golden Gate Bay cruise journeys alongside Alcatraz and Angel Island State Park, past the shores of Sausalito and beneath the Golden Gate Bridge. You can choose to view the sights from inside your boat or out on deck.
- Cruise under the Golden Gate Bridge and by Alcatraz Island
- Admire Sausalito, the Marin Headlands, Angel Island, and more
- Comfortable indoor and outdoor seating (plus seasonal snack bar)
- Open ticket gives you the flexibility to choose any departure time
What's Included
- One-hour cruise
- Multilingual personal audio-guide in 16 languages
- "Straight to the gate" access
- Restrooms: Access to clean and convenient restrooms during your cruise.
- Gratuities
- Food and drinks. There is a full service bar onboard to purchase drinks and snacks.
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Red and White FleetPier 43 1/2, San Francisco, CA 94133, USA
Please enter in Google Maps: "Red and White Fleet" or "Pier 43 1/2, San Francisco" for exact location and directions. Pier 43 ½ ticket booth (corner of Taylor Street and the Embarcadero) Please come to our location 20-30 minutes prior to the departure time.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
Your Golden Gate Bay cruise departs from Pier 43 1/2 in the heart of San Francisco's popular Fisherman's Wharf, home to many of the city's seafood restaurants. As the boat makes its way out into San Francisco Bay, you'll have great views of the San Francisco skyline, as well as the bustling North Beach neighborhood and the waterfront Maritime National Park.
Over the next hour you will cruise the waters of San Francisco Bay on a guided tour, meandering west along Fort Mason and past the Marina District â which took a hard hit in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake â en route to the Golden Gate Bridge. Make sure and look up when sailing beneath the bridge's massive 4,200-foot (1,260-meter) span: it's a photo-worthy view that few people get to see.
Turning around in the waters where the Pacific Ocean meets the bay, you'll return east past the Marin Headlines and the harbor town of Sausalito, a favorite day getaway spot for San Francisco visitors. Continue alongside Angel Island State Park, often called 'The Ellis Island of the West,' and then cruise past the Alcatraz Island, home to the legendary former federal prison.
Heading back toward Fisherman's Wharf, soak up great views of the impressive San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and Coit Tower, a tall and slim concrete monument named for the eccentric Lillie Hitchcock Coit, an early 20th century-patron for the city's firefighters. Fisherman Wharf's famous sea lions will undoubtedly be barking their welcomes as your cruise returns to port.
Tickets are flexible, so the departure time and date of this round-trip day cruise are up to you, and are valid up to one year from the original booking date. All cruise vessels include indoor and outdoor seating, public restrooms, and a seasonal snack bar. Audio narration is available in multiple languages.
Over the next hour you will cruise the waters of San Francisco Bay on a guided tour, meandering west along Fort Mason and past the Marina District â which took a hard hit in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake â en route to the Golden Gate Bridge. Make sure and look up when sailing beneath the bridge's massive 4,200-foot (1,260-meter) span: it's a photo-worthy view that few people get to see.
Turning around in the waters where the Pacific Ocean meets the bay, you'll return east past the Marin Headlines and the harbor town of Sausalito, a favorite day getaway spot for San Francisco visitors. Continue alongside Angel Island State Park, often called 'The Ellis Island of the West,' and then cruise past the Alcatraz Island, home to the legendary former federal prison.
Heading back toward Fisherman's Wharf, soak up great views of the impressive San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and Coit Tower, a tall and slim concrete monument named for the eccentric Lillie Hitchcock Coit, an early 20th century-patron for the city's firefighters. Fisherman Wharf's famous sea lions will undoubtedly be barking their welcomes as your cruise returns to port.
Tickets are flexible, so the departure time and date of this round-trip day cruise are up to you, and are valid up to one year from the original booking date. All cruise vessels include indoor and outdoor seating, public restrooms, and a seasonal snack bar. Audio narration is available in multiple languages.
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park (Pass By)
Fort Mason, the Great Meadow (Pass By)
Marina District (Pass By)
Golden Gate Bridge (Pass By)
Marin Headlands (Pass By)
Angel Island State Park (Pass By)
San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge (Pass By)
Pier 39 (Pass By)
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Wheelchair accessible
- Pushchair accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Transportation is wheelchair accessible
- Most travellers can participate
- Boat crew are trained to provide first aid and CPR support, and first aid kits are readily available on all vessels
- The main deck of each vessel are fully wheelchair accessible
- All cruise vessels offer indoor and outdoor seating, restrooms, and seasonal snack bar service.
- Vessels operate on biodiesel - a renewable energy source.
- The award-winning audio narration is available in English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Thai, Mandarin, Hindi, Korean, Japanese, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, Arabic, Bahasa Indonesian and Vietnamese.
- Please come to our location 15-20 minutes prior to the departure time.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 400 travellers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveller Photos
Reviews
4.7
based on 1,697 reviews
Falana_B, May 2026
It is best to pre-book and arrive 30 minutes early. The cruise gave wonderful history about San Francisco. I would do it again. I enjoyed it that much.
Diana_G, May 2026
Wonderful ferry ride! Excellent views of the bay and bridge. The crew was great, recommending this ride!
Gary_S, May 2026
Good organisation but very windy. Be prepared. Need to ensure weather is clear as if fog descends you can see little of the bridge
Colleen_D, May 2026
It's an hour and covers a lot of history of the bay area. It can be quite windy so dress in layers and be prepared. Very interesting and great if you don't have a lot of time to spend wandering.
Jose_M, May 2026
Was great they were amazing with us very helpful with my questions and concerns loved the seeing the Bay Area
Chandrika_P, May 2026
Great experience !! Book in advanced to get discounted tickets. Great crew, helpful. Best time in the daytime to see more, less chilly weather
Sneha_K, May 2026
Good tour, started right on time. Excellent view of the bay. It was cold and extremely windy thagmt day with low fog. So we didn't get to see the golden gate bridge. Overall a good experience.
Response from Host, May 2026
Thank you for cruising with us! Weâre glad you enjoyed the views and that we got you out on the bay right on time. Sorry the fog decided to hide the Golden Gate Bridge that day, but weâre happy to hear you still had a good experience overall. Hope to welcome you back for a sunnier sail soon!
Carolyn_M, May 2026
It was a great experience and I believe that other will enjoy if they have never been to San Francisco California.
Response from Host, May 2026
Thank you for the review. We are glad you had an enjoyable experience.
Jacque_L, May 2026
We took my 3 young grandchildren on this cruise and it was amazing. We enjoyed ourselves very much! If youâre outside itâs hard to hear the facts about the bay. But there was plenty of room to move to other areas of the boat. Our family just loved being outside the entire time.
Response from Host, May 2026
Thank you for cruising with us! Weâre so happy to hear your family had such a wonderful time onboard. Thereâs nothing quite like experiencing the bay out on the open deck, especially with little ones along for the adventure! We also appreciate the feedback about the audio and are glad you were able to move around comfortably and enjoy the experience together.
Peter_H, May 2026
Good cruise experience! Went to Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz. Had nice clear but windy day up top. Crew did a nice job handling everything
Response from Host, May 2026
Thank you for cruising with us! Weâre so glad you enjoyed the clear bay views and got to experience the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz from the water. Sounds like a classic San Francisco day with a little wind included! Weâll be sure to pass your kind words along to our crew as well.
Paul_M, May 2026
Itâs a little chilly. Go when the sun is shining. Beautiful views. Good English narration of sites.
Recommended.
Lisa_K, May 2026
Great views from on top of the boat but we were unfortunately unable to hear the narrated portion of the tour.
Marlen_M, May 2026
It was a wonderful experience getting to see sights up close like The Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz! Would definitely recommend if youâre into learning a little history and have about an hour to spare.
Josephine_S, May 2026
If youâre looking for something fun, I highly recommend you guys check it out and book your tickets online!
Paul_H, May 2026
We enjoyed a very pleasant cruise on the Bay. We traveled out to the Golden Gate Bridge, along with a cruise by Alcatraz, over the course of 1 hour. The boarding process was efficient, the staff were friendly, and the boat was clean and spacious.
P_R, May 2026
Show up on time!! Cruise was very efficient with boarding and gave those walking with canes priority boarding
Abhinay_S, May 2026
It is a humbling experience.
Gazing at an engineering marvel and floating on a heavenly water body calms you down.
Stephanie_M, May 2026
Easy tour to book and enjoy. Itâs a narrated tour of bay, views SF skyline, Golden Gate Bridge, Angel Island and Alcatraz Island.
Loretta_L, May 2026
It was a good experience. It would have been nicer if there was an actual person giving the tour instead of a recording. It was hard to follow at times.
ams303966, May 2026
Great experience. Very attentive and wonderful staff. The narrations are out. The trip was great.They were very attentive to our party due to mobility issue.
Rob_O, Apr 2026
Great tour recording. The boat was clean and the staff friendly. The Golden Gate Bridge was worth the trip.
Nicole_F, Apr 2026
It was a great experience. It was cool to see all of the different major sightseeing places in San Francisco.
Deepti_B, Apr 2026
It was nice, relaxing and fun. Got some great pictures of golden gate and SF downtown skyline. Would recommend.
Eva_D, Apr 2026
The length was appropriate, we could see everything important in one hour. No compliants. Everything was fine
Linda_E, Apr 2026
This cruise was perfect! We were able to get fantastic pictures. The staff took such good care of my partner who walks with a cane. A great experience!
James_C, Apr 2026
Great tour. Really enjoyed the narration Great description of sites. Nice for a quick trip. Easy access. Efficient boarding
Keith_P, Apr 2026
Very informative a perfect day, the cruise was just long enough. The boat was very comfortable and friendly crew
Ralph_P, Apr 2026
Totally awesome! The cruise around Alcatraz was wonderful ! As well as the golden gate bridge! Would do it again in a heartbeat.
Lorraine_A, Apr 2026
Our tour guide, Buddy, was very knowledgeable and funny. We felt safe and comfortable. We learned alot about San Francisco and saw some of the most iconic landmarks. The stops at various sites were perfect. However, the available restrooms were in very poor condition and were not clean. It gave me a poor opinion of the City.
Rhea_L, Apr 2026
The boat ride itself was smooth and covered a lot of the Bay Area. However I would not recommend it if there is a large group of students in the same tour. There was a lot of good information shared but I couldnât hear most of it due to the loud talking and yelling from the students. Plus they were running around and so it was distracting. I was able to see the Golden Gate Bridge up close and we also went by Alcatraz and angel island. In summary the views were great, the trip was smooth, but the ambience was not pleasant.
From USDÂ 39.00
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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San Francisco: Golden Gate Bay Cruise (60 Minutes)
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