San Francisco Golden Gate Seaplane Tour
Recommended by 97% of travelers
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San Francisco, USA
- 30 minutes (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Admire San Francisco from the air on this seaplane adventure from Sausalito. Aboard a 6-passenger plane, you’ll fly over the bay, taking in views of the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Muir Woods and more. See downtown San Francisco and Fisherman’s Wharf, and soar past Angel Island. Everyone gets a window seat on this 30-minute flight, and transportation is available from Fisherman's Wharf.
- Seaplane tour of San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz
- Fly over the Financial District, the downtown area and Fisherman's Wharf
- Get a bird's eye view of the picturesque towns of Tiburon, Belvedere and Sausalito
- Every passenger is guaranteed a window seat
What's Included
- 30-minute Seaplane flight
- Experienced and professional pilot
- Food and drinks
- Gratuities
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting points
Select a meeting point
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
With high wings and big windows, seaplanes are ideal for panoramic sightseeing. When booking this San Francisco seaplane tour, choose the departure time that best suits your schedule; if you need transportation from the city to Sausalito, it’s available from Fisherman's Wharf upon request.
In Sausalito, board your plane and take off from the water with your experienced pilot, who will point out landmarks during your relaxing flight that takes you over the redwood trees of Muir Woods, the Pacific shoreline and the Golden Gate Bridge. Head toward downtown San Francisco, cruising past sights like Fisherman’s Wharf and the Transamerica Pyramid, and circle over the bay for views of Alcatraz Island and Angel Island. Then fly by the waterfront towns of Tiburon and Belvedere before landing back in Sausalito.
Afterward, you are free to explore charming Sausalito on your own, if you wish. You can even take the ferry back to San Francisco (own expense); ask your pilot for information about departure times.
Please note: A minimum of two people per booking is required.
In Sausalito, board your plane and take off from the water with your experienced pilot, who will point out landmarks during your relaxing flight that takes you over the redwood trees of Muir Woods, the Pacific shoreline and the Golden Gate Bridge. Head toward downtown San Francisco, cruising past sights like Fisherman’s Wharf and the Transamerica Pyramid, and circle over the bay for views of Alcatraz Island and Angel Island. Then fly by the waterfront towns of Tiburon and Belvedere before landing back in Sausalito.
Afterward, you are free to explore charming Sausalito on your own, if you wish. You can even take the ferry back to San Francisco (own expense); ask your pilot for information about departure times.
Please note: A minimum of two people per booking is required.
Seaplane Adventures (Pass By)
Stinson Beach (Pass By)
Muir Woods National Monument (Pass By)
Marin Headlands (Pass By)
Golden Gate Bridge (Pass By)
Downtown (Pass By)
Pier 39 (Pass By)
Fisherman's Wharf (Pass By)
Alcatraz Island (Pass By)
Angel Island State Park (Pass By)
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking, unless booked within 1 hours of travel. In this case confirmation will be received as soon as possible, subject to availability
- Tour prices are per person, with a MINIMUM OF TWO ADULTS REQUIRED PER BOOKING. Individuals who book for only 1 passenger will be required to pay price for second passenger directly to operator upon check-in
- Seaplane seats a maximum of 6 passengers
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Flight route may vary due to weather or other factors
- It is recommended to bring a child seat for babies and/or young children
- Service animals allowed
- At the time of booking please provide local contact details
- Infants must sit on laps
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 6 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Natasha_D
We booked a seaplane tour over San Francisco but didn’t have enough people, so we switched to a helicopter tour—and ended up loving it! Our pilot, Mike, was smooth, friendly, and made the experience unforgettable. The views are incredible ! The only hiccup was the meeting place info on Viator—it was incorrect, and Aero Adventures doesn’t offer shuttles, so we almost missed it. So beware when booking this tour, you need to drive to the SeaPlane adventures. Thankfully, Aero was very accommodating and helped us make it. I highly recommend any of the air tours from Aero Adventures!
Reviews
4.9
based on 146 reviews
Loretta_B, Feb 2026
Wonderful experience. Pilot was very personable, knowledgeable and funny. Beautiful views. Felt safe
Natasha_D, Aug 2025
We booked a seaplane tour over San Francisco but didn’t have enough people, so we switched to a helicopter tour—and ended up loving it! Our pilot, Mike, was smooth, friendly, and made the experience unforgettable. The views are incredible ! The only hiccup was the meeting place info on Viator—it was incorrect, and Aero Adventures doesn’t offer shuttles, so we almost missed it. So beware when booking this tour, you need to drive to the SeaPlane adventures. Thankfully, Aero was very accommodating and helped us make it. I highly recommend any of the air tours from Aero Adventures!
Sophia_C, Apr 2021
Our seaplane adventure was fantastic! Having the opportunity to fly out to Point Reyes and enjoy the scenic bay area along with flying over the city was unbeatable. The tour guide was great and gave us a safe and fun experience while nailing the smoothest take-off/landing I've ever experienced. My boyfriend and I live in the city and I got this for his birthday as a way to play tourist for a day. It was perfect. Thank you for an unforgettable experience!
Kind regards,
Sophia
Oliver_P, Mar 2020
Great trip. Weather caused a cancelation on originally scheduled day. However the staff were able to move our flight day around to accommodate us. The Pilot was a wealth of knowledge and very friendly. Would highly recommend.
Alex, Feb 2020
Very exciting, interesting overview of the city, would highly recommend to anybody. There is nothing to be scared of if this question arises for somebody
Jenniklas_H, Sep 2019
Being a local in the Bay Area this has been probably even more exciting! The pilot was extremely nice to my family and gave a lot of interesting and useful information. The flight was super smooth and we had the best views. You can see from every seat of the plane and we had so much fun. Totally worth it and would love to do it again one day.
cazanchris, Sep 2019
Everything we hoped it would be. There were 5 passengers for our flight and plenty of space, we were also a mixed European group, English, Dutch and German - the pilot kept switching between all 3 languages.
Perfect way to end our SF visit, seeing all the sites we’d seen on the ground from the air.
Thank you!
James_M, Aug 2019
Decided to take family to san francisco and 15 yr old and 6 yr old loved sea plane adventure. Adults were amazed. A must do if you can afford.
matt_b, Jul 2019
Great seaplane tour and staff from the front desk to the pilot. Everything was very smooth from the booking process all the way threw the flight. Would definitely recommend. Myself and my 15 yr old daughter loved it.
Brandon_L, Apr 2019
This was an amazing experience! I can’t recommend this enough, I would love to do it again one day! You get adequate time in the air, and get to see all of San Francisco. This is a must do for locals and visitors alike!
Chris_R, Mar 2019
I booked this seaplane tour as a surprise for my son. Upon learning that my son (17) is a private pilot the instructor let him do some take offs and landings in the bay! He is hooked, now he wants to fly seaplanes all the time. Not something widely available in Texas 😊. The pilot gave him an unbelievable experience and we are forever greatful!
Saeed_A, Sep 2018
Viator is best platform if you are interested to looking for new place to see viator staff very helpfull
Alexandra G, Aug 2018
Fantastic views of the the San Francisco skyline and surrounding areas. I never imagined what fun it could be to swoop past the ATT ballpark, Alcatraz and the bridges. The pilots are very professional and friendly providing detailed description of everything we were seeing. A must do tour for everyone!
Anna_H, Mar 2018
Fantastic trip would highly recommend! Our pilot was just wonderful, great tour guide, smooth ride and great sense of humour. Our flight was cancelled on the first day due to bad weather, but we were kept informed and re-booked for the following day.
Allen_H, Oct 2017
Absolutely one of a kind view of the Golden Gate and I had lived in California was many years and never seen San Francisco like this before! Well worth it.
KImberley K, Aug 2017
Amazing, fantastic, fabulous, spectacular!
I cannot say enough great things about our experience.
Renee T, Jun 2017
Excellent way to see San Francisco. Operators were very friendly and accommodating. Highly recommended.
Theresa B, Mar 2017
This was one of the coolest things I've done in my adult life. The pilot was fun and knowledgeable, the tour was amazing and he made sure both sides of the plane got to see everything. If you do one tour, DO THIS.
Ketan_K, Mar 2017
This was wonderful experience. People are so friendly. They have pickup/dropoff from San Francisco Pier 39. We needed only a drop off, which they arranged gladly. We were the only party for drop off, so they dropped us at our actual destination in SF instead of Pier 39, which is so nice of them to accommodate.
Only one thing I would say is if they can figure out a way to eliminate or reduce gasoline odor during the flight. It was not that significant, but that is what the Viator's 4 star means - Really good! I'd only change a few small things. - this is just one thing.
Louise H, Nov 2016
Was brilliant worth every penny spent. Lovely company.
PhyllisSandra_H, Oct 2016
What a wonderful trip. It was a beautiful morning, we flew over the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Muir Woods and City of San Francisco. Pilot was very friendly and most informative pointing out different pieces of interest. This was amazing and would recommend it to everyone. My husband had always wanted to go in a seaplane and to be able to have the view that we had was exceptional.
Christineseng_H, Aug 2016
its a very cool expereince, being able to see the city up high and the pilot is very nice and gave us a lot of interesting details about SF. highly recommended.
McGonigle_A, Aug 2016
My favourite ever flying tour. Much better than over New York, the Great Barrier Reef or even the Grand Canyon. Couldn't have hoped for anymore. I found the pilot both informative and funny and I would certainly recommend this to everyone. It was so good I did it twice.
Justin B, Jul 2016
Before I say what was bad -- I want to say what was good... The people / crew were VERY friendly and inviting. The view was a neat way to experience the bay area. -- HOWEVER---
We had a request of having our daughter ride co-pilot for her 16th birthday. The woman taking the info said shouldn't be a problem.. The guide taking us out the plane -- Shouldn't be a problem -- The Pilot on the other hand had to choose by weight how the plane balanced out Which we understood completely - But then loaded the plane giving another child what he called the best seat in the plane. -- Fine -- We had a request - not a reservation. So we went with what we were given. The problem I had with the flight was 90 of the views he offered were on the right side of the plane. He never once came around to show us that were on the left side the views. What a WASTE of money. I would NOT recommend this flight UNLESS you are one of the lucky ones to get a seat on the right side of the plane. kind of ironic that the view of the plane that is in the ad shows the right side of the plane viewing the city - Guess what -- The left side doesn't see it! It cost us 600 to take a 30 minute ride to see A LOT of water and to view over someone's shoulder at the views we didn't get to see. - Save your money and spend it on a boat cruise. It was FAR better - lasts much longer and there isn't the roller coaster feeling as you get knocked around by wind. - I think the sad part is you are given headsets to listen to the pilot call out attractions - but you can't communicate with the pilot to ask questions or to even ask him to come around the other way.
Isabel C, Jul 2016
An incredible experience, can highly recommend it. Pilot highly professional and knowledgeable even the drive to the airfield was enjoyable.
Sherri_N, Jun 2016
If you like beauty and want a nice overview of the city this is a great tour. very special and I would recommend it.
Fredrico S, Jun 2016
Very nice tour, very nice pilot, very informative and fun, the water landing was the best I've ever experienced, and that is coming from a pilot.
Gary R, May 2016
It was a great tour, we had done the ground tour of San Francisco and this tour just brought it all together. I would highly recommend it.
NIGEL_S, May 2016
Highly enjoyable experience. Pilot gave a thoughtful and entertaining accompaniment to the spectacular tour. Thoroughly recommended.
Nicole B, Apr 2016
Luckily, we had perfect weather for our first seaplane flight. Captain Aaron was knowledgable, fun and a great flier. I am a native of SF and had never been above the city or Marin before. This is a perfect way to see the bay! Whether you're a tourist or a local, you will love it! Worth every penny and I highly recommend this to everyone!!
From $326.00
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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San Francisco Golden Gate Seaplane Tour
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