Take Your Show On The Road, San Francisco – 4 Days

Today you’ll start your San Francisco adventure to make unforgettable memories. Upon arrival, you will meet your Tour Manager.

To start, it’s a wonderful food market and also the home of San Francisco’s largest farmers market. The building was first opened in 1898. Until the completion of the Bay Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge in the 1930s it was the second busiest transit terminal in the world, second only to London’s Charing Cross Station. It served as the embarkation point for commuters to San Francisco from the East Bay.

You’ll take a guided city tour of San Francisco including a visit or drive by the Civic Center, Union Square, Chinatown, Nob Hill, Twin Peaks, the Cliff House, Lombard Street (the crooked one!), Fisherman’s Wharf and more.

Then you’ll drive along the Northwest coast of San Francisco for spectacular views of the Pacific beaches. You’ll make a stop at the Lands End Lookout Visitor Center where you’ll have a chance to take photos and walk down to the water if you wish.

Ghirardelli Square is a landmark with shops and restaurants in the Fisherman’s Wharf area of the city. Here you can visit the chocolate shop and ice cream parlor for sweet treats!

After breakfast, you’ll take the ferry to Alcatraz where you’ll receive a headset for an audio guided tour of the island. One of the most infamous prisons in the country for housing notorious criminals, Alcatraz holds much history that will interest buffs and novices alike. No longer housing prisoners and managed by the National Park Service, Alcatraz allows tourists to visit by boat. Alcatraz was used as a federal maximum security prison from 1934 until 1963, when it was closed due to high costs and security issues.

You will visit the California Academy of Science where you will also have a public performance! The Academy is a world-class scientific and cultural institution that also includes a 400,000 square foot structure in Golden Gate Park that houses an aquarium, a planetarium, a natural history museum and a 4-story rainforest all under one roof.

In the afternoon, you’ll visit Golden Gate Park and the Japanese Tea Garden. The Tea Garden provides visitors from around the world an opportunity to experience the natural beauty, tranquility and harmony of a Japanese-style garden in the heart of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. The garden features classic elements such as an arched drum bridge, pagodas, stone lanterns, stepping stone paths, native Japanese plants, serene koi ponds and a zen garden.

Today you will visit Muir Woods National Monument. The Monument was established on January 9, 1908 when President Roosevelt signed legislation to protect an old-growth coast redwood forest from destruction. The trees range from 400 to 800 years old and their height can be up to 250 feet. You will have a chance to see these impressive trees as you take a self-guided walk on the park trails.

Next, you’ll see the Golden Gate Bridge – a 4,200 foot long suspension bridge that was the world’s longest from 1937 until 1964. You’ll head to the viewing area on the San Francisco side of the water where you will have fantastic views of the bridge and the bay. You’ll also have an opportunity to walk across the bridge.

You’ll participate in a master class with music professionals. Instruments will be required for the class.

This afternoon, you’ll visit Pier 39 and have free time to shop and explore. PIER 39 is a 45-acre waterfront complex that is a gathering place for millions of San Francisco locals and visitors. In addition to its 14 full-service restaurants, 90+ shops and popular attractions, PIER 39 is home to a 5-acre waterfront park and a 300-berth marina. PIER 39 is known for its spectacular views of San Francisco Bay including the Golden Gate Bridge, Bay Bridge and Alcatraz, as well as the world famous California sea lions hauled out on K-Dock.

To end the day, you’ll tour San Francisco’s famous sourdough bakery at Fisherman’s Wharf. In 1849, the Boudin family struck culinary gold. Wild yeasts in the San Francisco air had imparted a unique tang to their traditional French bread, giving rise to “San Francisco sourdough French bread.” Today, the Boudin family’s initial recipe lives on in the hands and hearts of their expert bakers, with a portion of the original mother dough still starting each and every sourdough loaf they make. The Museum & Bakery Tour allows you to witness history in the baking. Stroll through their collection of historic and interactive exhibits as you observe the bakery in action from the museum’s floor-to-ceiling window walls and glass-walled catwalk.

This morning, you’ll take a ride on one of San Francisco’s iconic cable cars. Since 1873, cable cars have run up and down the hilly city, though after the 1950s these cars have been kept in operation more out of historic nostalgia. Seventeen miles of track remain and have been deemed a historical landmark

San Francisco Chinatown is the largest Chinatown outside of Asia as well as the oldest Chinatown in North America. It is an enclave that continues to retain its own customs, languages, places of worship, social clubs, and identity. You can easily become immersed in a microcosmic Asian world, filled with herbal shops, temples, pagoda roofs and dragon parades. You’ll have free time to experience the sights, sounds and smells!

You will have free time at San Francisco’s Union Square.

Then your San Francisco adventure will come to an end as you journey back home.