We really enjoyed our tour with tours for fun! The tour was well organized with a lot of the stops in San Fran that I would have wanted to go to and then some. Leo was our tour guide and he allowed for flexibility in the schedule for my fri..end and I to partake in our own adventures. Leo also told us a lot about the areas we were visiting.
We lucked out in that we were able to score tickets to Alcatraz on such a late notice however for other people interested in doing alcatraz tours this may not be the case. My major problem with tours for fun is that they were unable to provide me with a more detailed schedule for the San Francisco tour day and I was unable to purchase Alcatraz tickets in advance because I didn't know when free time would begin. I understand that times are flexible due to traffic etc... but there was no time even suggested for us to attempt purchasing tickets.
***(People interested in ALCATRAZ)This may help future people on this tour. If the tour runs on the schedule we were on it would be safe to book a tour at 12:30pm (we just made it at the 12pm one but that was in the off season). To do this you would be opting out of the optional bay cruise and optional extended city tour (your fellow tour friends are on these tours while you are at alcatraz). When you get dropped off at fishermans warf for lunch you depart the tour group and go right (north) up the coast to pier 33 (about 10min walk).Take your lunch on the alcatraz tour boat on the way there (they have giant sandwiches!) You will probably spend about 2hours on the island to see it all but its possible to do it quicker if you are pressed for time (we saw it all in two hours at a slow pace). On this schedule you will have till 4pm to rejoin our tour group at city hall. You can hangout around fishermans warf or go shopping for awhile and take a taxi to city hall (10min ride). or take a bus/trolley (20min ride but I would give yourself at least an hour for this because of walking time). A trolley is the way to go though in san fran so take the powell/market or powell/mason trolley (can't remember the exact name) it will take you from near fishermans warf to a few blocks from city hall. Ride the trolley from end to end. Ask the friendly trolley drivers if you need help!
I was also a bit disappointed at how little of the 17mile scenic route we saw (it felt like we were on it for less than 2miles and we didn't stop at any lookout points to get off the bus. IF you are sitting on the wrong side of the bus you barely see anything except pebble beach golf course. The stop at Monterey bay made up for it though. We chose not to go in the aquarium and instead we walked down the beach. It is so peaceful and beautiful there. This is the first place we encountered sea lions beached out.
Our last day we opted to do disneyland and we got split up from our group (should have known this but we were a bit unprepared). Be prepared for your luggage to be stored on a shuttle that does not stay anywhere near you. Tours for fun was trustworthy with our baggage but they recommend not leaving anything valuable. I know u will have to leave something valuable because taking it to a themepark also is a bad idea so just lock your bags. The tour through the themepark was guided but we again opted to go our own way and honestly its the fastest way if you do not speak Chinese because everything will then have to be translated/repeated.
OVERALL- I enjoyed the experience! Staff members were always friendly and helpful even when we were a bit diva-ish about making it the best trip ever! The convenience of the tour was worth the price. However I am not sure if missed experiences would be worth the convenience. There were opportunities for experiences and experiences that could have been missed due to the tour schedule. Therefore going your own way via rental car etc.could be more desirable.
Also the hotels they set you up in are all pretty nice :) and that was even with a super-saver package. For food they take you to areas where there are a lot of different options. Even though most guests go to Chinese buffet there are pizza places or wendy's etc for options.I recommend bringing a plethora of breakfast bars, granola bars and also drinks in your day bag. Since meals do not always come as soon as you want them and breakfast pretty much doesn't get done at all (we had to meet with our tour at 6:20am so i wasn't eating before that lol).
Thank you tours for fun! We will recommend you and consider you for future tour needs!
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I booked a tour with Tours4Fun for a 3 day Grand Canyon West Rim and West Coast tour. The service I received from the representatives was excellent. They answered all of my questions and made me feel confident in taking this tour. This was ..my first time ever taking a tour and visiting the Grand Canyon so naturally I was nervous and not sure what to expect. The tour guide provided great service and also answered any additional questions I had while on tour. I would definitely recommend booking with Tours4Fun!Read full review
This tour has a lot to offer. It was so much fun! Our tour guide made this trip so easy for us and made jokes.
The view of the Golden Gate Bridge was so amazing! The Food at Fisherman's Wharf was good. Overall a great trip!
It was co..ol. Read full review
Me and my friend went on the 3 day San Francisco tour and had so much fun!
Our tour guide Chris was so nice and he explained everything to us about the tour.
Was able to eat clam chowder at Fisherman's Wharf :)
Favorite part was seeing t..he Golden Gate Bridge.Read full review
My wife and I are thrilled with this quick but complete tour of SF. I think the itinerary change to Monterey is better than the other long Yosemite drive. 17-mile drive and the Monterey Aquarium is a much better experience. Will certainly d..o it again with more people.Read full review
"What an amazing experience to book this one day San Francisco tour with Tours4Fun. On the day of the tour I was not sure what kind of bus to look for so I called Tours4Fun and one of Tours4Fun Customer Service Rep answered and was VERY hel..pful and informed me exactly what to look for. The driver was on time at the hotel I was staying at and took us to the pier right where we needed to take our cruise. The cruise covered the most beautiful sights like the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island and we also got to see some dolphins. All sights covered by the cruise were very informative and explained the history for each sight. After the cruise, we were left back at the pier where we would need to catch the bus to take the city tour. Our tour guide was very helpful and gave us just enough time to explore each stop and have photo opportunities. This was my first time visiting San Francisco and we had the most memorable time in San Francisco all thanks to Tours4Fun. You bet I will be booking again with Tours4Fun :)"Read full review
This trip was good value for money. We got to see so much in a short time. However, you do get what you pay for. If you are not on a budget go for the same tour that cost about $500. I am not used to budget hotels/food so it was an experien..ce. If you are on a budget its perfect. Its great that it departs daily as the more expensive tour only goes once a week, I wish that was more frequent!Read full review
By: Maria Lourdes Castaneda | Sat Oct 11, 2014 at 02.25 PM
Thank you for this experience of our group to see many places through this value for money tour. We were 9 in our group and we all enjoyed this tour. We were happy that we chose to get 2 tours from your company. More power!
My family came from Korea and we wanted a trip in CA.
I purchased 4 disney tickets and this package from tours4fun.
Honestly, I didn't expect too much because too good price.
Wow, we stopped by so many places and we stayed at Marriott.. Fremont CA.
The hotel is really clean and very modern style. Great beds and about 50 min. far from San Fran. Bus stop every two hours for bathroom and you cannot bring coffee cups in the bus…etc. But, you should realize asian style tour is different. Some strict rules, move fast and get on & out the bus many times. BUT, you can see so many things and totally worth for money.
Oh, food, additional tour in San Fran and tips are excluded. I highly recommend to college students, anyone don't have a plan to drive during travel, anyone don't really have time to look in LA & San Fran area.
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I have always dreamed to step on the ground of Yosemite. Just as I have thought, the view is amazing. Not only that the tour guide have great plan. I understand where people want to stay longer so he plan the tour based on his clients' pref..erence. Read full review
The 3 day were well spent and the places were all as mentioned in the itinerary.
Helpful tour guide and bus driver made our tour better.
One of the best tours i had.
86% Review for Tour 2-110 - 3-Day Santa Barbara - Solvang - San Francisco - Silicon Valley - Stanford University - Yosemite Bus Tour
By: Sajag Porwal | Mon Oct 21, 2013 at 09.10 PM
The above mentioned tour which I took with Tours4Fun (T4F) was one of the best tours I had done. It had been a very memorable experience for me in terms of management and places covered.
To begin with pre-travel experience, I booked this t..our through website and during the course of booking I do had few queries which were resolved promptly by the T4F customer service department.
Also, they were pro-active in informing the change in the Day 3 itinerary (change to Monterey Bay instead on Yosemite) because of government shutdown. I was quite impressed with all this, though still apprehensive about the tour.
On the day of the tour, we had pick-up from the location specified on time.
The bus was comfortable and the tour guide (Kelvin) and the bus driver were very friendly and courteous. They were very helpful overall.
The places covered in the tour were same as mentioned on the itinerary (except for day 3 because of reasons mentioned above).
On day 1, we started from LA and went to Santa Barbara beach where we were given ample time, so that we were able to go to the end of the pier and return. Next crossing the scenic beauty of the area, we went to the beautiful town on Solvang which was built in Danish style. It was a very good place and we had lunch there only.
Around evening, we reached Silicon Valley area and saw offices of some of the major corporation. Subsequent to that, we visited Stanford University. After this, we stopped for dinner and then reached our hotel by 8.30. We got the same hotel as was mentioned in the itinerary. The rooms were very spacious and comfortable. We enjoyed our stay there for 2 days.
Day 2 started with visiting the Lombard street which was just amazing. After this, we were taken to the Golden gate bridge which was again a wonderful experience. Pier 39-45 was our next stop where we had almost 2 hours at our disposal to have lunch, do some shopping and of course, sightseeing.
We opted for both bay-cruise and city tour. Through these tours, we got to see almost all the attractions in SFO. The tour guide and driver also took us to another attraction (which was not planned) when one of the planned attractions was closed due to some temporary problem. Post this, we went for some shopping and dinner in the SFO Chinatown where though the restaurants were predominantly Chinese, we could find other restaurants / cuisines also of our choice.
On Day 3, we started early in the morning and went to Monterey bay area and visited the beautiful golf course of the world. The scenic beauty of the route impressed me quite a lot. By evening, we reached LA and subsequently our drop-off location comfortably.
There were stoppage every 1.5 - 2 hours so, there was no food / restrooms related problems for anyone. The stoppages were on places where we could find different kind of restaurants and could have food of our choice.
I thoroughly enjoyed this tour. It was well managed and well planned and gave a good coverage of SFO attractions. Though some people may find it a bit difficult to understand the heavy accent to the tour guide, but that is a minor part as compared to hassle free, well managed tour you are getting.
Highly recommended. I would definitely be taking another tour with T4F in near future.
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