Painted Ladies San Francisco City Tour
Recommended by 98% of travellers
Badge of Excellence
San Francisco, USA
- 2 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Take a journey around San Francisco's top sights in a retro way with this small-group tour by vintage Volkswagen bus, decorated with long eyelashes so you can't miss your tour vehicle. You'll pass by neighborhoods like Chinatown, Union Square, Pacific Heights, North Beach, Haight-Ashbury, the Marina, and Hayes Valley, plus see the Palace of Fine Arts, Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Park, Civic Center, and more.
- Enjoy access to San Francisco highlights larger buses can't reach
- Stop for photo ops at the Golden Gate Bridge Painted Ladies and Palace of Fine Arts
- Hear about the city while listening to songs from the 1960s and '70s
- BYOB (Bring your own Beer)
Why Travellers Choose This Tour
Vintage VW buses seat just eight people, making this a fun and intimate experience.
What's Included
- Small group tour
- Professional Tour Guide
- Snacks
- Bottled water
- Access to local vintage points where large buses are banned from
- Gratuities
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting points
Select a meeting point
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
Haight-Ashbury (Pass By)
Union Square (Pass By)
Civic Center (Pass By)
1
Palace of Fine Arts Theatre
5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
2
Painted Ladies
5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
3
Golden Gate Bridge
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Lombard Street (Pass By)
Chinatown (Pass By)
Golden Gate Park (Pass By)
Presidio of San Francisco (Pass By)
North Beach (Pass By)
Lower Haight (Pass By)
Hayes Valley (Pass By)
Western Addition (Pass By)
Marina District (Pass By)
Mrs. Doubtfire House (Pass By)
Princess Diaries High School (Pass By)
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Minimum number of 3 people applies. There is a possibility of cancellation or rebooking to another time after confirmation if there are not enough passengers to meet requirements. In the event of this occurring, you will be offered an alternative or full refund
- Pushchair accessible
- Portable wheelchair ok
- Service animals allowed
- Booster seats are available on request if advised at time of booking
- Near public transportation
- Recommended tip amount :$15-$20 per passenger. (Did you know that tips make up a large amount of our tour guide income in the US?)
- Note that each vehicle seats up to 7 people total. We can still accommodate larger groups seated in separate vehicles.
- Infants must sit on laps
- Most travellers can participate
- Everyone in your group needs to complete our digital waiver.
- Anyone showing symptoms of COVID 19, including fever, cough or shortness of breath won’t be able to participate.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 8 travellers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveller Photos
Reviews
4.9
based on 2,220 reviews
Carolyn_H, May 2026
This was a great way to see all the highlights of San Francisco with a small group. We had Jim as our driver and Ocean was our beautiful little VW. Jim was very knowledgeable & lots of fun. He took some great photos & we made great memories. We would highly recommend this tour.
Marie_B, May 2026
Fast paced tour of the city with excellent narration and music. Covers a lot of ground (neighborhoods) in a short period of time and in a vehicle that grabbed positive attention. Fun! 🤩
Brooklyn_W, May 2026
JIM IS THE BEST!!! I could not say enough good things about this entire trip! Amazing speed run of some the some of the best places in San Francisco to visit. Jim is so funny & full of so much life! Absolutely love it!!
William_A, May 2026
If you want to learn the hidden secrets of SF, this is the tour for you. The groups are small and the VW buses are a fun way to experience the sights. Clay, our guide was super. He was very knowledgeable and had a great sense of humor. He claimed he once worked for the U.S. State dept but we were convinced he was a free-lance stand up comic. We are suggesting to our families and friends visiting SF that they take this tour and request Clay.
John_S, May 2026
This store is definitely worth your time. Best way to get around San Francisco streets, in my opinion. Excellent tour guide, really gave us the history and personal anecdotes with local flavor.
Mary_A, May 2026
This was a fantastic experience and I would highly recommend it. I am so glad we booked it. We had Jim as our guide (and Daisy as our van) and he couldn’t have been better. Super knowledgeable, well spoken, and engaging, with tons of facts and fun special info. Best intro to SF on our first morning in the city!
Linda_D, May 2026
Our tour guide, Clay was beyond enthusiastic, entertaining and informative! We laughed the entire time. Best hour ever! That ‘73 Daisy was an absolute beast! ✌️
jodie_W, May 2026
This was a great trip through the city of San Francisco. Our guide, Jack was very knowledgeable and upbeat the whole time. Get ready to take some amazing pictures.
MaryBeth_G, May 2026
Our tour guide was Clay and it was the most amazing tour. Clay shared lots of little details along with history of various buildings/neighborhoods. So much fun!
MaryBeth_P, May 2026
We were sitting having Irish coffee planning our day as we waited for the last member of our group to arrive. In scrolling I found the Painted Ladies tour. They had 3 spots left and took off one block from where we were sitting in 30 minutes. It was our first day in SF and it seemed to have everything we wanted to see by hitting all the neighborhoods. I booked quickly and I’m so glad we did. Dominic was terrific as our guide. He grew up here and had lots of behind the scenes experience and knowledge. It was so fun traveling in the VW van and people would wave as we passed by. It lasted just the right amount of time. A small group of 8 allowed for questions and he remembered our names. I would highly recommend this tour to get a feel for the different areas in SF and then go back and explore more later.
Stephen_L, May 2026
Absolutely loved this an glad we booked, 100% must do… Pearl worked hard on them hills an great tour guide..
Melisaa_G, May 2026
Great way to see the city
Fun and informative take the tour ! it’s good to do if you have limited time in the city
Paul_N, May 2026
Jack was friendly and knowledgeable. The tour was ideal for a first trip around San Francisco Bay Area. We went to loads of iconic places.
Scharme_G, May 2026
Our tour guide was absolutely awesome. Very knowledgeable. Kind. Funny. Played great music related to San Francisco. #110%
Joseph_c, May 2026
It was a pure blast! The van was the coolest! Our driver/guide Carl was tons of fun to hang with and very knowledgeable about SF and gave his personal insight which made it even more interesting.
Gina_S, May 2026
We had a great experience with Dominic. He is so passionate and interesting! Let's not forget Fun!
We would recommend The Painted Lady experience to anyone who wants to learn some fun facts and see the beautiful sights in San Francisco! Great 2 hour tour!
Barb_L, May 2026
This tour was a blast! Our guide Clay was such a character! The tour was full of local color, personal experiences and stories, history, and the VW bus was such a fun ride! We will do this tour again next time we are in San Francisco for sure!
Paula_G, May 2026
Very informative and expect lots of fun. Ciao was a riot!! We had so much fun and riding around in that VW bus was the best part.
The only thing we did miss was we didn't have the bus with the flower power on the outside of the bus. Definitely take this tour!!
Christopher_H, May 2026
Great tour. Very fun and informative
Saw all the sights. Learned a lot about the city. Would do it again.
Beth_K, May 2026
Covers the city in 2 hours quite well. Tour guide knew lots of history about San Francisco. Loved driving down Lombard!
Rob_S, May 2026
What an awesome way to experience SF. Our guide Clay was the best, great communicator and provided a fantastic trip around the highlights of SF. The small group makes it very personalized as well. Highly recommended!
Joan_M, Apr 2026
It was fun, informative and a great way to get your bearings on the city. Totally enjoyable and i loved the hippie vibe!!
Marsha_L, Apr 2026
I think this tour was fun and cute. We got to take some cool pictures and learn some cool stuff about San Fran in a short time. The van is also cute
Shondrea_E, Apr 2026
Great tour, very informative and fun. I learned so much about the neighborhoods and location. Views and stops were great
Napasorn_C, Apr 2026
not good, driver leave me .. even free hour within timeline .. no one late but just only be the last one that he can't wait.
Response from Host, Apr 2026
Hi- are you sure this review was meant for us as we couldn’t find you in our system. All our guides are professional guides.
Mike_K, Apr 2026
A great 2 hour journey to see the neighborhoods and highlights of SF. A fun, vintage ride. Our guide Jim was excellent; very knowledgeable and great company.
Be sure to take notes for future reference of areas to return to for a closer look.
Jay_J, Apr 2026
It was a great experience! Our tour guide Jim was phenomenal. He was very knowledgeable and fun! Took us to see to some of the most iconic spots! Overall it was great.
Michele_S, Apr 2026
Enjoy the views Beautiful San Francisco
Wear comfy clothes and shoes
Take lots of pictures
Enjoy the ride
AmberLynn_C, Apr 2026
Our tour with the painted ladies hosted by Jim was FANTASTIC. Jim is a very personable tour guide who gave us a lot of back story about the places we visited and their connections to the local community. We had so much fun seeing the sights! Thanks again Jim!
Mark_R, Apr 2026
Jim was fantastic in my Pink Ladies tour!! Jim was a wealth of knowledge and was a lot of fun! He was on time too! Added bonus!
From USD 82.00
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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Painted Ladies San Francisco City Tour
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