Top San Francisco Cable Car Tours

Cruising through San Francisco in a restored, colorful 1970s VW bus with The Painted Ladies Tour Company was an absolute blast and easily the best highlight of our trip! Our guide, Caio, was fantastic—super friendly, deeply knowledgeable, and full of great local stories that brought every stop to life. Because of the small bus size, we got an intimate, VIP experience and easily navigated spots where huge tour buses can't go. We covered an incredible amount of ground, from iconic landmarks like the actual Painted Ladies, Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Park, Palace of Fine Arts, and the Presidio, to navigating the famous twists of Lombard Street. The pop culture stops like the Mrs. Doubtfire House and the Princess Diaries School were a nostalgic treat, and soaking in the distinct vibes of Haight-Ashbury (which felt so right in a retro VW!), Chinatown, North Beach, and the Marina made the day unforgettable. People smiled and waved at us everywhere we drove—if you want a tour with true local charm, personality, and unforgettable views, book this tour with Caio immediately!

First off I recommend this if you’re staying ANYWHERE in the Bay Area, because I was staying in San José and had zero issues finding an uber there quickly. Now Jayms is incredibly friendly and knowledgeable, He even stopped at a fruit stand and old western gold rush town on the way, helped the trip to stretch. The view driving in is beautiful through the sierra range, then you come to tunnel view which is absolutely breathtaking, then drop into the valley. They give you the perfect amount of time to hike two trails next to the northern face and the falls, or if you’re a serious hiker Jayms will drive you up to a steeper trail. Can’t say enough about Jayms, clearly done this 1000 times an absolute pro and the park beats expectations.

This is a great way to see the different areas and neighborhoods if you are short on time, and you get to hop on a trolley! It was also a really good way to learn the history of the city. Britt was very friendly and he knows the history. Unfortunately due to the earthquake and fires in the early 1900’s most of the original city is gone. Britt had nice illustrations to bring it to life for us.

We had a mixup on the place of pickup and drop off. Once that was resolved all was good. One of the best things about this tour is they picked you up at your hotel and dropped you back when the tour was over. Just make sure you let them know where you are staying. My husband and I have visited San Francisco twice and I visited twice for work. We saw more on this tour than any other one we took. Mike was very knowledgeable about all the different neighborhoods he brought us too. He obviously has a love and pride in his city and wanted to share it with all of us.

We were originally supposed to get the 3-wheeler, but it was very chilly that day. They let us have one of the enclosed golf-cart type cars instead. We had an absolute blast! I love the audio tour guide as we drove through the various areas. We could do our own thing or stick with the GPS route. Highly recommend!!