Bus & Boat & Bike Adventure - 3 Tours in 1

Due amici ci hanno regalato un pass con 3 attrazioni a scelta per i nostri giorni di vacanza a SFO. Abbiamo potuto scegliere ed usufruire del servizio bus turistico che è stato discreto ad esclusione del fatto che non c'è possibilità di scegliere la lingua italiana ma vengono consegnate delle cuffie con una speaker che parla al microfono in americano; abbiamo scelto l'opzione di noleggio bici per 3 ore ed è stato fantastico e infine per ultimo lascio una nota negativa per la pubblicizzazione errata del servizio 1 day cable car gratuito (incluso Muni transportation) in quanto nonostante l'avessimo scelta tra le nostre 3 attrazioni, non era disponibile. Il commesso ci ha spiegato che avrebbero pubblicizzato il tour prima ancora di rendersi conto di non poterlo vendere perché non ancora attrezzati. Mi viene da pensare che sia stata pubblicità "sporca"... in alternativa abbiamo fatto un giro con il traghetto fino al golden gate bridge, buono nonostante l'amaro in bocca.

We booked a 3 attraction Mega Pass on line in advance because it would include a hop-on hop-off bus tour and shuttle transfer from our hotel to the airport. In July 2019 City Sightseeing didn't seem to be running any buses in San Francisco. Rather, you must take your ticket to Sky Line Tour's office in Fisher Man's Wharf who then redeem the purchase. The office is tiny and very easy to miss. Unfortunately, the Mega Pass online information is very misleading. Sky Line / City Sightseeing are not currently operating the San Francisco Explorer Hop-on Hop-Off bus tour which is currently included in the Mega Pass and there is no option within the Mega Pass for other similar tours. We therefore chose to get a refund for the Mega Pass voucher and instead booked a combined bus tour and Bay Cruise Ferry ticket. The Bay Cruise ferry ride was very good. There was timely and informative commentary and we enjoyed very good (if quite choppy) views of the city shoreline, Alcatraz and (intermittently) the Golden Gate Bridge. The open top bus tour was not good value for money. The tours are in fact provided by the Big Bus Company who are a separate operator again and branded entirely differently. None of this was made clear when we purchased the ticket and it was only a when we made a passing remark to one of the Big Bus ticket sellers in Union Square that we realised we were able to board their buses. The tour does take you all around San Francisco and quite near to most of the main sights. However, most of the commentary is, fairly short, intermittent recordings and it was often only apparent that we had missed a major sight (such as the houses on Alamo Square) after the bus had driven passed them. It is worth highlighting that to see a number of the major sights (such as the Alamo Square houses, or crooked street section of Lombard Street) that you need to leave the bus and walk a number of blocks. Trips with live guides were slightly better. The commentary was certainly more informative, however the guide was speaking so fast that it was often difficult to understand what was being said. For the cost, I think it would have been cheaper, quicker, and probably more informative, to arrange taxis / Ubers to take us to each of the major sights

Easy to find the office to pick up the tickets, and a nice variety of choice. We ended up visiting the Walt Disney Family Museum and the Zoo with our other options including the bus tour. Had considered the airport transfer, but it was so easy to get into the city using the trains and BART system we decided it wasn't worth it. You get a full 24 hours with the bus ticket so when we got on in the afternoon on the first day we decided to do a full circuit and see the city. Very windy through the tunnel towards the Golden Gate bridge - especially if you are on the top floor, but other than that we saw plenty. It was a shame that we didn't get a real guide until our third jump on the bus, and that was just for a short moment, but he was really good! The rest of the journeys were the pre-recorded information which just isn't the same. The company really needs to get some more real people as they make it so much more interesting. Only issue was waiting for a bus for over 30 mins at one point, but other than that we had no issues and would go on them again.