San Francisco, Muir Woods and Sausalito Combo Tour

Complementary Pick-up & Drop off

9.00 AM: Complementary pick up at your hotel in downtown San Francisco, Marina District, Cow Hollow, Pacific Heights, Fisherman's Wharf, North Beach, Chinatown, Union Square, Financial District, Nob Hill, Mission, Castro, Haight Ashbury and Japan Town.

Walking Tour on the picturesque Telegraph Hill

We recommend the SUV tour as it's prohibited to van and bus tours

Telegraph Hill offers majestic views over San Francisco Bay. Telegraph Hill has been used as a landmark to guide the ships entering San Francisco Bay via the Golden Gate Bridge. The famous Coit Tower stands atop of Telegraph Hill since 1933. It has been built and sponsored by Lillie Hitchcock Coit. The tower's design is a reminiscent of a fire hose nozzle. The dramatic setting of the scenic Telegraph Hill featured in many famous movies like: Vertigo, Dark Passage, Out of the Past, The House on Telegraph Hill, and in Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry Series (a 1971 American crime thriller produced and directed by Don Siegel).

Alcatraz –The Legendary Rock

Many photos stops will be offered to picture Alcatraz Island from various angles. Our tour guides are also excellent photographers. Admire Alcatraz Island stands in the middle of the San Francisco Bay and surrounded by Angel and Treasure Islands. It has drawn millions of tourists from all over the World to visit this historic federal penitentiary. This legendary Rock and former federal prison has turned into a National Park and open daily for visitors. You may consider our Alcatraz and San Francisco city combo tour to save your time and money. We charge the same price as Alcatraz cruises who sell the tickets to Alcatraz Island.

The Fisherman's Wharf

San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf is one of the city's most popular tourist attractions where millions of tourists come from all over the world every year. It is an exciting and dynamic center of day and night life thanks to its restaurants, boutiques, night clubs, seafood restaurants, bay cruises, aquarium and the Musée Mécanique, among other attractions. The Fisherman's Wharf offers incredible and scenic views of the Bay over Alcatraz Island, Angel Island, Sausalito and the Golden Gate Bridge. We also offer a San Francisco and Bay cruise combo tour.

Palace of Fine Arts in Marina District

The Palace of Fine Arts reminds us of the pure classic art of Roman temples. This masterpiece of classic architecture has been accomplished back in 1915 for the Panama-Pacific Exposition designed by Bernard Ralph Maybeck (he was a prominent architect in the Arts and Crafts Movement of the early 20th century). The dramatic and impressive setting of the Palace of Fine Arts incited filmmakers to feature this unique monument in many movies including" the Rock". Join us and enjoy a walking guided tour to understand the mystery behind the impressive collection of sculptures decorating the Palace of Fine Arts.

The Golden Gate Bridge: The Gate to the Golden State

The bridge is widely considered as the most beautiful engineering achievement thanks to its challenging and giant structure. This iconic monument became the Modern Wonder of the World. The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the opening of the San Francisco Bay into the Pacific Ocean. It was the longest suspension bridge span in the World when it was completed in 1937, and has become one of the most internationally recognized symbols of San Francisco.

Pacific Heights – Elegance and extravagance

The Pacific Heights is a very elegant and sophisticated district and considered as one of the most expensive residential real estate sectors in the US. The Pacific Heights is located in one of the most scenic hills in California. It's home to gorgeous mansions where some wealthy people and celebrities live. Our tour guide will drive you by some famous movie locations like the house where Mrs. Doubtfire was filmed. You will also enjoy a guided walking tour in the best overlooking view point in the Pacific Heights.

Legion of Honor History: The California Palace of the Legion of Honor is one of San Francisco's fine arts museums, perched atop the cliffs of Lands End neighborhood located between Baker Beach and the Ocean Beach. It's a replica of the Palais de la Legion d'Honneur in Paris, and was completed in 1924 as a memorial to the Californian soldiers who died in WWI. The museum contains a representative collection of European art, the largest portion of which is French including "The Thinker" of Rodin.

Lands End: Lands End is San Francisco's wildest and rockiest coast, a place strewn with shipwrecks and rife with landslides.

Sea Cliff: Sea Cliff is an elegant and upscale neighborhood that some of the city's most notable residents call home where houses are large, and many offer impressive views of the Pacific Ocean, the Golden Gate Bridge China Beach and Baker Beach Some of the neighborhood's more famous current and past residents include Jefferson Airplane guitarist Paul Kantner, actor Robin Williams, actress Sharon Stone, actor Cheech Marin, Gap founder Donald Fisher, and Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett.

The Golden Gate Park

History: In 1870, William H. Hall, a civil engineer assisted by John McLaren started laying out the actual Golden Gate Park project inspired by Frederick Law Olmsted, the creator of the Central Park in New York. It was a considerable challenge for them to convert large sand dunes into a green park. Mr. Hall succeeded and created a hilly British style park with a varying landscape of lakes, meadows, ridges and winding roads. The Park consists of 1,017 acres configured as a rectangle and similar in shape but 20% larger than Central Park in New York. It is over three miles (5 km) long east to west, and about half a mile north to south. With 13 million visitors annually, Golden Gate Park is the Third Most visited City Park in the United States after Central Park in New York City and Lincoln Park in Chicago.

Attractions: Conservatory of Flowers, De Young Museum, Japanese Tea Garden, Queen Wilhelmina Windmill and Dutch Garden, Buffalo paddock, The Rose Garden, the Steinhart Aquarium at California Academy of Sciences, the Arboretum, Golden Gate Archery Range and Polo Fields the Beach Chalet Brewery and Restaurant. Among the other attractions in the park, you will also see:

North Windmill in Golden Gate Park. A gift from Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands which was built in 1903, it was used to pump water throughout the park. The blades seen here were covered with canvas sails.

The Conservatory of Flowers, a Victorian-style greenhouse was built in 1876 of traditional wood and glass panes and modeled after the Palm house at the Kew Gardens in London. It houses a collection of tropical plants and flowers.

The Japanese Tea Garden

This Japanese Tea Garden is the oldest public Japanese garden in the United States which was built as part of a sprawling World's Fair, the California Midwinter International Exposition of 1894. After the conclusion of the World's Fair, Makoto Hagiwara, a Japanese immigrant and gardener, approached John McLaren with the idea to convert the temporary exhibit into a permanent park. The historic and exotic Japanese Tea Garden provides the best ambiance and setting for a relaxing day away from the city. Enjoy a peaceful walk through an amazing collection of trees and flowers passing through green paths linked by wooden bridges over the water. You can also enjoy an herbal Japanese tea at the old teahouse. We recommend our San Francisco full day Private SUV Tour to enjoy a guided walking tour to the Japanese Tea Garden and the Golden Gate Park.

Japan Town- The "Little Osaka".

Built in the 19th and early 20th century, Japanese immigrants began moving into the area following the 1906 Earthquake. By World War II, the neighborhood was one of the largest enclaves of Japanese outside of Japan, as it took an appearance similar to the Ginza district in Tokyo. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese were forced to move out. In 1957, San Francisco entered in a Sister City relationship with the city of Osaka and called San Francisco Japan Town "Little Osaka". Japan Town offers today an amazing number of traditional restaurants, sushi bars, and karaoke lounges. Experience the Japanese customs and tradition that has been an important landmark of San Francisco cultural centers for over 100 years. Join us on our private night tours to explore the nightlife of Japan Town.

Grace Cathedral - Nob Hill

Grace Cathedral is located on Nob Hill. It's a Neo-Gothic style Cathedral built after the French "Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres". You can picture the stained glass, the indoor and outdoor old labyrinth and twin towers. Grace Cathedral was founded in 1849 during the California Gold Rush and was rebuilt after the 1906 earthquake.

Lombard Street: San Francisco's Crookedest Street

Lombard street laid out in 1920s as the Crookedest street in San Francisco. Lombard Street is the most photographed sight after the Golden Gate and Alcatraz. This particular section of Lombard Street is paved with bricks and prohibited to Vans and buses. Join us now to discover Lombard street and learn more about the story that made Lombard Street so famous.

North Beach and Washington Square

North Beach is a dynamic and eclectic neighborhood known also as "Little Italy". North Beach a popular destination for locals and visitors thanks to its nightlife, coffee shops and nightclubs, famous jazz clubs, local Italian restaurants and boutiques. It's located along Columbus street, few blocks away from the Transamerica Pyramid- the tallest and most recognizable skyscraper in the San Francisco skyline. North Beach is also famous for its churches like St. Paul and St. Peter, Washington Square and Coit Tower.

Coit Tower and Telegraph Hill

Coit Tower stands atop of Telegraph hill offering scenic views of the San Francisco Bay area. Coit Tower was built back in 1933 sponsored by the eccentric Lillie Hitchcock Coit. She inherently believed in San Francisco renaissance and was committed in maintaining its beauty. She also admired and supported San Francisco's firefighters. As a matter of fact, Coit Tower's architectural design is a reminiscent of a fire hose nozzle. Our tour guide will take you on walking guided tour in and out Coit Tower to admire it's mural paintings and the spectacular views of San Francisco Bay.

The Union Square: The Heart of San Francisco

The Union Square is the heart of San Francisco and a paradise for shoppers. Union Square is a plaza of 2.6 acres (11,000 m2) bordered by Geary, Powell, Post and Stockton Streets in downtown San Francisco. "Union Square" also refers to the central shopping, hotels, cultural center, and theater district that surrounds the plaza for several blocks. This beautiful place got its name because it was once used for rallies and support for the Union Army during the Civil War. Today, this one-block plaza and nearby area is one of the largest collections of department stores, upscale boutiques, tourist trinket shops, art galleries, and salons in the United States, which continue to make Union Square a major tourist draw, a vital, cosmopolitan place in downtown San Francisco and one of the world's premier shopping districts.

Chinatown: The largest Chinatown out of China

San Francisco's Chinatown is the oldest and largest Chinatown in North America. It's home to the largest Asian community out of Asia. San Francisco Chinatown is the best tourist attraction for curious tourists from all over the World. It's located between Nob Hill, North Beach and the Union Square. We also offer walking guided tours in Chinatown.

The Ferry Building and the Embarcadero

The Ferry Building stands in the heart of the Embarcadero offering spectacular views of San Francisco Bay. It's a terminal for ferries and home to an upscale gourmet Farmers Market Place. The Ferry Building Bell Tower and its old Clock Tower contribute to San Francisco Mediterranean ambiance.

The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and Treasure Island

The San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge is a pair of bridges spanning San Francisco Bay. The east and west spans are both double-decker bridges and meet in Yerba Buena Island. The toll bridge was actually conceived as early as the gold rush days, but construction did not begin until 1933. The Bay Bridge opened for traffic on November 12, 1936, six months before the Golden Gate Bridge. It originally carried automobile traffic on its upper deck, and trucks and trains on the lower deck, but after the closure of the Key System, the lower deck was converted to road traffic as well.

The City Hall – The Civic Center

The City Hall of San Francisco is the heart of the vibrating Civic Center. The structure reminds us of the European Beaux-Arts and classic architectural style. Its baroque dome is the Fifth Largest Dome in the World and is 14 inches higher than the United States Capitol. The Rotunda is a spectacular space and the upper levels are public and handicapped accessible. Opposite the grand staircase, on the second floor, is the office of the Mayor. Bronze busts of former Mayor George Moscone and his successor, Dianne Feinstein, stand nearby as tacit reminders of the Moscone and Harvey Milk assassination. San Francisco beautiful City Hall featured in many famous movies including the Rock, Dirty Harry and James Bond 007. Joe DiMaggio (age 39) and Marilyn Monroe (age 27) married at San Francisco City Hall on January 14, 1954. They lived for a time in a house in the Marina District located at 2150 Beach Street.

Alamo Square Park and the "Painted Ladies"

Alamo Square is a residential neighborhood and park located in the Western Addition of San Francisco. Alamo Square Park consists of four city blocks at the top of a hill overlooking much of San Francisco with a number of large and architecturally distinctive Victorian mansions along the perimeter including a row of Victorian houses facing the park on Steiner Street, known as the "Painted Ladies". They are often shown in the foreground of panoramic pictures of the City's downtown area. A number of movies, television shows and commercials have been filmed in or around Alamo Square including the TV series "Full House ".

The Twin Peaks and Sutro Tower

The Twin Peaks are two hills standing on the highest elevation of San Francisco (after Mount Davidson). They offer sweeping and unique views over San Francisco Bay Area and the Pacific Ocean. Sutro Tower stands atop of the Twin Peaks and provides television and radio transmission.

Haight Ashbury : The Capital Of The Hippies

Haight-Ashbury is a district named for the intersection of Haight and Ashbury streets. The Haight-Ashbury district is noted for its role as a center of the 1960s hippie movement, a post-runner and closely associated offshoot of the Beat Generation. The '60s era and modern American counterculture have been synonymous with San Francisco and the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood ever since. The neighborhood became the center of the San Francisco Renaissance and with it, the rise of a drug culture and rock-and-roll lifestyle by the mid '60s. College and high-school students began streaming into the Haight-Ashbury during the spring break of 1967. During that year, the neighborhood's fame reached its peak as it became the heaven for a number of the top psychedelic rock performers and groups of the time. Acts like Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead and Janis Joplin all lived a short distance from the intersection.

During the "Summer of Love", psychedelic rock music was entering the mainstream, receiving more and more commercial radio airplay. The song "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)," written by John Phillips of the Mamas & the Papas, became a hit single in 1967 symbolizing this spirit.

12:30 PM Visit Sausalito- A Mediterranean-Style coastal town

We are now heading toward the picturesque Sausalito where you can enjoy a walk downtown this charming Mediterranean-style coastal Town, filled with history, culture, and beautiful waterfront shops. Stay an hour or spend the rest of the day at this enchanting village for a romantic dinner and return to San Francisco on the ferry (tickets are not included). Picture Sausalito's cliff-hanging cottages and houseboat that contributes to Sausalito's Mediterranean ambiance.

History of Sausalito: Sausalito was once a settlement for the native Coast Miwok . The Spanish explorer Don José de Cañizares who reached Sausalito in 1775 looking for a suitable anchorage for vessels, reported friendly native Miwoks and a wide populations of deer, elk, bear, seals and otters. In 1776, the Spaniards led by Juan Bautista de Anza (who has already opened the overland route from Mexico to California), decided to establish the first settlement in the Presidio of San Francisco instead of Sausalito. During the Mexican Era (1821-1846), the British mariner William Richardson was the first to develop the site of Sausalito as a private rancho. By 1825, Richardson had assumed Mexican citizenship, converted to Catholicism and married the daughter of Don Ignacio Martínez, commandant of the Presidio to acquire lands including Sausalito. In the post-Gold Rush Era, Sausalito played a major role in leisure, commercial and even military Maritime transportation where many fishermen and wealthy yachting enthusiasts had already settled in Sausalito. This Era came to an end in May 1937 with the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge bypassing Sausalito and making these large-scale ferry operations redundant. But Sausalito will soon receive a steady stream of visitors thanks to this new bridge. In 1942, Sausalito Yacht Club was founded to promote yachting for both racing and cruising.

Sausalito & the "House Boat Wars"

When the United States entered World War II, Fort Barry on Point Bonita was reoccupied. Fort Baker also hosted large numbers of troops. Also, a major shipyard was sited along the shoreline of Sausalito. After the War, a lively waterfront community grew out of the abandoned ship yards. By the late 1960s at least three house boat communities occupied the waterfront along and adjacent to Sausalito's shore. Beginning in the 1970s, an intense struggle erupted between house boat residents and developers. It was dubbed the "House Boat Wars". Forced removals by county authorities and sabotage by some on the waterfront characterized this struggle. This long fight pitted the waterfront against the wealthy "Hillside community" .Today three house boat communities still exist — Galilee Harbor in Sausalito, Waldo Point Harbor and the Gates Cooperative. Today, the houseboat community consists of more than 400 houseboats of various shapes, sizes, and values, along the north end of town, approximately two miles from downtown. It's in a houseboat at Waldo Point in Sausalito where the singer Otis Redding wrote his famous "Dock of the Bay" in 1967: " I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay - Watching the ships roll in…the tide roll away - I left my home in Georgia - Headed for the 'Frisco bay - Just to make this dock my home"

Lunch break: You will enjoy your lunch either on the Oceanside in San Francisco or in Sausalito overlooking San Francisco Bay.

Some recommendations for lunch in San Francisco:

Beach Chalet Brewery & Restaurant
An American bistro cuisine style offering seafood and local dishes and panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean. The first floor is considered like museum relating the history and map of the Golden Gate Park among other sites. www.beachchalet.com

The Cliff House is a restaurant perched on the headlands on the cliffs just north of Ocean Beach on the western side of San Francisco offering spectacular views over the Pacific Ocean. The Cliff House offers two full service dining rooms, two cocktail lounges with an oyster bar deli and The Terrace Room Champagne Buffet Brunch in addition to breakfast. Customers can also stop to enjoy a coffee break and enjoy the ocean views. www.cliffhouse.com

Franciscan Restaurant
Seafood dining in the heart of San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf offering picturesque views of Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge and Angel Island. www.franciscanrestaurant.com

Some recommendations for lunch in Sausalito:

Angelino's Restaurant
Angelino Restaurant offers Authentic Italian Cuisine specializes in bringing the taste of Southern Italy to Sausalito. This is the perfect place for lunch to enjoy a good service and authentic Italian cuisine. www.angelinorestaurant.com

Horizons Restaurant - Sausalito
Horizons is a restaurant that looks like a houseboat where you can sit on the deck overlooking the Bay and enjoy fresh seafood with a signature cocktail. www.horizonssausalito.com

Scoma's Sausalito
Scoma's Restaurant is located in the heart of Sausalito, is an enchanting destination for both locals and visitors, serving up the freshest seafood including the seasonal Dungeness crabs. www.scomassausalito.com

The Spinnaker on San Francisco Bay
The menu offers something for everyone, with fresh Seafood, Pasta, Steak, Chicken, and Vegetarian options. Highlights include the Mixed Seafood Grill, Pacific Mahi Sauté, Grilled Lobster Tail, Grilled Chicken Penne, Four-Cheese Ravioli, New York Steak, Filet Mignon, Chicken Breasts Sauté, and Pasta Primavera. www.thespinnaker.com

2:00 PM Drive to Muir Woods via Mill Valley

Mill Valley was inhabited by the Coast Miwok for over 10.000 years before the Spaniards and the Mexicans settled in. This small charming community is located 5 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County. It's characterized by its scenic views, marshlands & wooded canyons. Mill Valley is known for being a village with a strong artistic heritage & home to many present & former musicians, authors, actors, poets & TV personalities including John Lennon, Sammy Hagar, Janis Joplin, Jack London, Kathleen Quinlan, Michael Tucker, Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman , Eve Arden and Mariel Hemingway . It's also home to Mill Valley Film Festival & was immortalized by the song "Mill Valley" (recorded in 1970).

In July 2005, CNN ranked Mill Valley tenth on its list of the 100 Best Places to live in the United States! Tamalpais High School is located in Mill Valley & named after nearby Mount Tamalpais, which rises more than 2,500 feet above Mill Valley. Some of the notable alumni & students who studied at this high school are: Joe DeMaestri, Daniel Caldwell, Signy Coleman, Tupac Shakur, & the Actress Kathleen Quinlan who attended this Tamalpais High School where she began her acting career in George Lucas' "American Graffiti" that was also filmed in this school. Some of the other notable who live in Marin County today are: Barbara Boxer, Andre Agassi, George Lucas, Sean Penn and Carlos Santana among others.

2:45 PM Roam through this ancient forest of Redwoods

We will get to Muir Woods National Monument round 2.45 pm. You will first enjoy an exciting guided tour before you roaming through this ancient forest, home of the majestic Giant Redwoods. Did you know that these redwoods are so tall that three of them would equal the Eiffel Tower in Paris! Capture the serenity, beauty, fauna and flora of this amazing national monument. The park offers numerous smooth hiking trails along the creek, a gift-coffee shop and public restrooms.

3:15 PM – Visit Muir Beach Overlook

After Muir Woods guided tour, our tour guide will drive you through Kent Canyon to the beautiful Muir Beach overlook. Muir Beach Overlook is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. This breathtaking vista point overlooks a picturesque quiet cove; a hidden beach and beautiful lagoons. We will take a short hike through this Cliffside Park to a rocky point on the Pacific Oceanside. This short but breathtaking overlook trail follows a narrow crest of a coastal promontory where the land sheers off dramatically on both sides down to the Ocean about hundreds of feet below. On clear days, you can see not only San Francisco but also as far as the Farallon Islands. That's why Muir Beach Overlook is a meeting place for nature and whales lovers to watch these giant marine mammals swimming by during their winter migrations. It's also a bird watching point including red-tailed hawks, osprey, ravines, turkey vulture, and even seals often laying down on the rocks. Thousands of migratory monarch butterflies can also be seen here during autumn. Visitors may not know but this scenic overlook is located on the San Andrea Fault and furnished with bankers! The clear views from this high coastal bluff led the US Army to build these bankers during World War II immediately after the bombing of Pearl Harbor when many in California feared San Francisco or Los Angeles would be the next target. Few miles away on scenic highway 1, you can see the infamous Slide Ranch on the Oceanside. It's a green and ecology oriented farm where kids can milk goats and collect eggs as part of their educational school programs.

4:30 PM Golden Gate Bridge Sky View Overlook

Return to San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge where a great photo stop is scheduled at Marin Headlands overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco Bay area. Thanks to its astonishing colossal architectural and engineering dimensions, the Golden Gate Bridge becomes the most photographed bridge in the world. These spectacular and sweeping views over the Golden Gate and San Francisco Bay have drawn millions of tourists from all over the world. The Golden Gate Bridge inspired Hollywood most famous movies, such James Bond, in a "View to Kill" and much more.

All's Well That Ends Well!" It's time to drive you back to your hotel. Thank you for choosing Golden Horizon Travel. We appreciate and value your business.