Bus & Boat Adventure

San Francisco, USA

2 hours (approx.)
Offered in: English

Overview

Avoid the hassle of coordinating transport and separate tickets in San Francisco with a hop-on hop-off pass that combines land and water sightseeing. Instead of planning routes and timing yourself, you move freely between major neighborhoods and landmarks, then switch perspectives with a scenic bay cruise. It’s a flexible way to explore the city at your own pace without juggling logistics.

Unlimited hop-on hop-off bus rides plus a Bay cruise for maximum sightseeing value
Visit top areas like Fisherman’s Wharf, North Beach, Chinatown, and the Presidio at your own pace
Sail across San Francisco Bay on a 1-hour cruise for skyline and waterfront views
Live commentary and multilingual audio guide for deeper insight as you explore

What's Included

2 Day Hop-On Hop-Off ticket
1 hour San Francisco Bay Cruise
Access to two bus routes (City Tour & Painted Ladies Tour)
Fun & informative audio commentary in 8 languages

Gratuities
Food and drinks (available to purchase)
Hotel pickup and drop-off

Meeting and Pickup

Operating hours

09/16/2026 - 09/20/2026
Wednesday - Sunday : 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
09/21/2026 - 09/27/2026
Monday - Sunday : 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
09/28/2026 - 09/28/2026
Monday : 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
09/30/2026 - 10/04/2026
Wednesday - Sunday : 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
10/05/2026 - 10/11/2026
Monday - Sunday : 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
10/12/2026 - 10/13/2026
Monday - Tuesday : 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
10/15/2026 - 10/15/2026
Thursday : 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
10/16/2026 - 10/18/2026
Friday - Sunday : 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
10/19/2026 - 12/13/2026
Monday - Sunday : 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
12/15/2026 - 03/07/2027
Monday - Sunday : 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
03/08/2027 - 03/12/2027
Monday - Friday : 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
03/14/2027 - 03/14/2027
Sunday : 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
03/15/2027 - 09/05/2027
Monday - Sunday : 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
09/06/2027 - 09/10/2027
Monday - Friday : 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM

Departure Point

You may start this tour at any of the stops listed.

Ticket Redemption Point

99 Jefferson St, San Francisco, CA 94133, USA

Itinerary

Official City Tour Route

17 Stops

19 Points of Interest

Duration: 2 hours

Operating Schedule: Daily (except Christmas Day, Thanksgiving, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day) 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, buses run every 30-60 minutes

99 Jefferson St

Hotel Caza Fisherman's Wharf

329 Columbus Ave

Embarcadero Center

Ferry Building

Union Square

Hilton San Francisco Union Square

Civic Center

1500 Van Ness Ave

1530 Lombard St

Golden Gate Bridge Vista Point South

Golden Gate Bridge North Vista Point

Palace of Fine Arts

2101 Lombard St

1599 Lombard St

1454 The Embarcadero

PIER 39

Points of interest passed by on this route

Pier 39

Ferry Building Marketplace

The Embarcadero

Haight-Ashbury

Union Square

Palace of Fine Arts Theatre

Ghirardelli Square

Marina District

Chinatown

North Beach

de Young Museum

Presidio of San Francisco

Japanese Tea Garden

San Francisco City Hall

War Memorial Opera House

Golden Gate Park

Golden Gate Bridge

Painted Ladies

Lombard Street

San Francisco Bay Cruise

1 Stop

2 Points of Interest

Duration: 1 hour

Operating Schedule: recurring departures between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM

Fisherman's Wharf

Points of interest passed by on this route

Golden Gate Bridge

San Francisco Bay

Hop-On Hop-Off Painted Ladies Route

5 Stops

9 Points of Interest

Duration: 1 hour

Operating Schedule: Buses on this route depart four times a day: 11:00 AM, 1:00 PM, 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM.

Union Square

The Painted Ladies

Haight-Ashbury

55 Music Concourse Dr

342 Grant Ave

Points of interest passed by on this route

Union Square

Painted Ladies

Alamo Square

Haight-Ashbury

Golden Gate Park

California Academy of Sciences

de Young Museum

Chinatown

Dragon's Gate

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Near public transportation

Infants must sit on laps
Most travelers can participate
Ticket can be used on the same day or two consecutive days
The bus and boat tours are first come first serve

Supplied by

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Reviews

3.9

based on 33 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Sort by: Most insightful

Fun but very unorganized

Ada_C, Apr 2025

The overall experience is fun but very unorganized. It was very hard to get information about the actual trip, where the bus stops are, how often the buses come, The current bus status, where the port is for the boat, what times the boats take off etc. If you've got this, you should go to the Jefferson office to pick up your ticket rather than getting on the bus at a different stop because that's the only location you can get boat information

Don't miss the Chinatown walking tour!

Mary_S, Aug 2023

Oscar was very nice to work with. Even though I'm sure he answers the same questions over and over every day, you couldn't tell by his attitude or tone. He was friendly engaging, and very knowledgeable. He made sure we grabbed headphones which was not easily apparent. HOP ON/HOP OFF BUS PROS: The audio tour was very good and informational. The bus route includes 45 MPH roads that were pretty chilly in addition to crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, so bring layers. CONS: Due to short operating hours (10a - 5p), We really didn't get to take full advantage of the hot off/ hop off feature. Instead, it was a nice 2 1/2 hour tour. BOAT PROS: Plenty of seating, snack bar and amazing views. CONS: No address given until check-in at 99 Jefferson where you could then book your cruise time. Other passengers standing at railing in front of bench seats blocking everyone else's view. The audio commentary was too quiet to hear. For the price, I think there are better options. GUIDED WALKING TOUR of Chinatown was fantastic! NO CONS. HUGE thank you to Joseph for giving an amazing tour.

Agents don't tell you or advice you this:

Lahib_A, Jul 2023

Agents on site not knowledgeable about bus/Boat times and not helpful at all. If you purchase both do the Boat first then the Tour. If you speak English make sure to pick channel #2 to here the tour. Also ask for the earbuds, they are free, but the agents there don't offer you or tell you about them. Try to take all day parking for your car $25 or just come by Uber. Make sure to bring a jacket and hat as it will be freezing cold especially on the Bridge even in summer. This is the only tour company available so don't waste time looking :-(

Perfect combination!

Sharon_d, Jul 2023

We had a wonderful time. Hop on hop off allowed us to see what we wanted. The cruise was also fabulous!

very bad experience.

Wisely_M, Dec 2022

just riding the bus. no place to tour. we are amazing for your advertising. we give money , but no place to visit. just riding for bus. really disappointment.

Amazing time!

Nicole_F, Nov 2022

Tour was great. Everything was on time. I loved the fact that you could Siena as much time on the island as preferred. The walking tour was great!! A must see

Tickets didn’t work and horrible customer service no one to call for help!!

Tanya_S, Jun 2022

Parking is impossible to get on the bus! The garage cost $60 and when I arrived I was told the tickets I received are from a company that doesn’t exist and they wouldn’t scan. No one would help me or refund me. I called the company and the number is disconnected. I’ve sent emails and they take 7 days for a respond so I still don’t even know if this is a real company anymore.

City Tour

Lisa_C, May 2022

We enjoyed the whole trip and the audio commentary as we never would've known about those facts otherwise.

Double travel fun

Shelley_S, Apr 2022

Ferry ride is very nice. Just know it can get chilly on the water. Big Bus was great. Good stops. Loved being able to hop on and off at various spots.

Trip was horrible

Kenneth_S, Apr 2022

Trip sucked. Directions to pier were wrong, the shop had moved, very disorganized and literally no guidance. The bus tour is not affiliated with the boat tour and nether taoe any responsibility, point you back to Viator, who of course you can’t reach a person. Plus, parking lot they point you to is full of vagrants. Our car window smash and grab. Do NOT take this tour or visit San Fran, it is a degenerate haven and extremely dangerous.

Disappointed in San Francisco

William_R, Jun 2021

Agent told me I needed to be at boat for 9 am launch, but boat did not leave until 11. Viator had no way to contact companies actually doing the tours. Very disappointing.

Great!

Tristian_A, Jun 2021

Bus hop on off is great! You can use it to go around the city and to plan where to go next. Ferry is okish super windy and a bit croweded. Good if you don’t have Alcantraz tickets and it lets you get great pictures with the Golden Gate Bridge

Irresponsibility

Ligia_L, May 2021

The tour is good, the bad thing was how irresponsible they are with the time they say, they said that at 9 you had to be there and they attended us until 11:15 in the morning ... very bad

Good view of the city

Deborah_S, Jul 2018

Overall we really enjoyed both the city tour and the bay cruise. The first driver we had was not very informative but the second one was great. The city tour included all the main sites but we only got off the bus at the Golden Gate Bridge stop. We wanted to make sure that we had time for the bay cruise since it had to be done within the same day. The bay cruise was scenic but the water was choppy on the way out to the bridge which made for a rough ride. We got close to Alcatraz which was very interesting to see. They took pictures of everyone and we opted to buy the photo package that was offered.

Very knowledgeable and entertaining...

Heike R, Mar 2017

Very knowledgeable and entertaining tour guides!

A very good tour allowing as much...

David G, Feb 2017

A very good tour allowing as much hopping on and off as you want. Many sights seen. Unfortunately raining hard all day

Really extensive and informative expose...

Timothy B, Oct 2016

Really extensive and informative expose of San Francisco.

Great tours, great value. However...

CONSTANTIN I, Oct 2016

Great tours, great value. However, no info that we actually have to walk 6 blocks from Pier 39 to City Sightseeing office to pick up tickets how about bus / bay cruise schedules so people can plan their time blue line runs every 30 min, red line every 45 min, bay cruise... unknown. Why not have a ticket pick-up point at Pier 39? Quite frustrating running around to find out info that should be provided ahead of time... not right. Paul blue line was a great guide, a lot of fun Virginia red line plain rude and not helpful if you had questions.

Lots of offer for one day. Able to see...

william L, Jul 2016

Lots of offer for one day. Able to see the whole city on land and water. Must do

Very informative tour. Knowledgeable...

Gordon P, May 2016

Very informative tour. Knowledgeable, friendly guides.

We had a very limited amount of time in...

Maegan, Dec 2015

We had a very limited amount of time in the city and wanted to make sure we were able to cover as much of San Francisco as we could. The hop on hop off and the bay cruise combo is the best way to do that. Our guide did an amazing job, he was hilarious, informative, and even gave us 10 minutes to get out and take pictures once we crossed the bridge towards Sausalito. The Bay cruise portion of this tour was absolutely spectacular. From the minute you leave the pier to head towards the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, etc. you are getting all kind of information about each area you see. I was excited to be able to do this portion of the combo package, because of our limited time in the city we did not have the time to go to Alcatraz. Due to this tour I was at least able to see it from the exterior much close than I could from the pier. The buses and the boat run several times throughout the day which makes this combo very convenient and easy to use.

Sehr erlebnisreich und informativ!

Karin_S, Jul 2023

Man bekam einen tollen Überblick über die Stadt und die Informationen waren sehr interessant! Am besten nur einen 1-Tagespass buchen. Nach der Tour kann man total einfach einen 2. Tag für 15 US Dollar dazu buchen !!!!