Alcatraz Plus 2-Day Hop-On Hop-Off City Tour in San Francisco, CA

Read the more recent reviews and STAY AWAY!! My comments are based on my experiences on 6/26/24. I have sent these comments 2X to Skyline before posting here, and I have received no reply. This company is at least a sham if not a scam... 1. First, there was absolutely no transparency from the company about its "partnership" with Big Bus. Like another reviewer, my relatives and I waited nearly an hour for one of its orange buses to show up, only to finally ask if Big Bus might accept Skyline's vouchers. Thankfully, we were allowed to board a Big Bus, otherwise we might have wasted more time waiting on orange buses that were nowhere to be seen. 2. Because Big Bus doesn't offer Mandarin recordings, my relatives visiting from China were not able to make use of the tour recording. However, I was assured by Skyline that Mandarin was available on "its buses." 3. Skyline's interactive timetable did not work, and it was difficult to find on the website. 4. There is no way to contact Skyline by phone for assistance despite its SF mailing address, which is the same for Big Bus. Is it really based in SF? 5. If the company is no longer operating its own buses (perhaps this has been the case for awhile?), that should be made clear from the start. In essence, Skyline is really a booking agency while Big Bus provides the drivers and vehicles. The website photos of its buses are totally misleading and are false advertising. I could have saved a lot of time if I had just booked with Big Bus from the start. Plus I could have purchased tickets elsewhere for less than what I paid on Skyline's website. All of this begs the question: what is the purpose of advertising Skyline and Big Bus as separate tour companies if they essentially act as one and the same? Maybe the Better Business Bureau can get to the bottom of this??!!

We took the full day tour of Muir Woods with a stop in Sausalito and afternoon in wine country and loved it! We had a fabulous tour guide in Grady in the morning, whose years of touring and telling stories made him an entertaining host. Upon arrival at Muir woods, we fell in love with the tranquility and beauty of the forest and the giant redwoods. In our 1.5 hours there, we were able to do a chunk of viewpoint trail and the longest trail across bridge 4. It was absolutely a highlight of our stay in San Francisco. After a brief, but beautiful stop in Sausalito for lunch and views, we continued to visit two small wineries in both the Napa and Sonoma valleys, a lovely way to spend our afternoon. Thank you for a great day!

I purchased a double voucher - for the Golden Gate Bridge Tour during the day, and the Nighttime Double Decker Big Bus Tour. Both were very well organized, and fortunately we had great weather. Both provided audio tours, but the Big Bus tour provides headphones to plug in at our seat. That was better for me to hear the tour, and I couldn't hear everything on the boat. I sat on the top level for both, and I highly recommend that, especially the bus tour! Special shout-out to our bus tour guide, Rafael. He took time to give me a map of the city (for which I was having trouble finding), and he waited for us to use the restroom after the tour but before he dropped those of us staying in Union Square back near our hotels. Boat tour: Pros: - Get right up to and under the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and Angel Island. - Bar and bathroom on board Cons: - Difficult to hear the audio (but that's not a deal breaker) Bus tour: Pros: - Beautiful views of the city, including a trip to Treasure Island - Headphones and audio tour were perfect! - Get to feel San Francisco Con: - No bar or bathroom on board :)