San Francisco bike rentals and hop-on hop-off buses

The short answer

Decide how you want to move: sitting on an open-top bus, riding your own route, or riding with a guide. Two companies sell hop-on hop-off passes, Skyline Sightseeing and Big Bus, and both bundle extras into some options.[2][1] Unlimited Biking rents bikes and eBikes from Fisherman's Wharf for a few hours or a day.[3] Two guided eBike products take you either over the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito or through the city's neighbourhoods.[5][4] Places a bus or a tour passes are stops, not tickets: no bus option below includes entry to a venue except the two Alcatraz bundles.

Skyline Sightseeing: eleven options from one pass

The San Francisco Hop-On Hop-Off City Bus Tours by Skyline Sightseeing product sells an open-top bus with multilingual audio commentary, and its basic option names Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown, Union Square, the Palace of Fine Arts and the Golden Gate Bridge on the route. SkyGate's option text says the full route takes about two hours if you stay on board. The eleven options build on that pass:[1]

• 1 Day or 2 Day passes, alone or with a Night Tour , a 60 to 90-minute evening ride over the Bay Bridge to Treasure Island; the City Lights & Landmarks Night Bus Tour sells the night ride alone.[1]
• A 1-day pass with a 1 Hour Bay Cruise , a 1-Day Bike Rental , or both.[1]
• A 1-day pass with a Muir Woods Guided Tour or a Napa Valley Tour , each fixed to the date and departure you book.[1]
• Alcatraz & 2-Day Hop-On Hop-Off & Night Tour , which includes return ferry transport to Alcatraz Island and a self-guided audio tour.[1]

Most options must be checked in online with Skyline at least 24 hours before departure, according to SkyGate. The Alcatraz option must be reconfirmed at least 7 days before, and its voucher will not be accepted by Alcatraz Cruises at Pier 33.[1] SkyGate's page does not list every stop, and XTOUR has not verified the full stop list.

Big Bus: hour-based tickets and a sunset ride

The Big Bus San Francisco Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tours product sells tickets by hours rather than calendar days, and you exchange the voucher with Big Bus staff at any designated stop. Its five options:[2]

• Discover Ticket (24 Hours) : the Red route with a multilingual audio guide.[2]
• Essential Ticket (48 Hours) + Bike Rental + Sunset Tour : the Red and Yellow routes, a 1-hour Sunset Bus Tour, a 1-hour digital Chinatown walking tour, and a bike offer of one free hour with a paid 1-hour rental at Blazing Saddles.[2]
• Explore Ticket (72 Hours) + Bike Rental + Sunset Tour : the same, plus a 60-minute Blue & Gold Bay Cruise from Pier 41 under the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz Island.[2]
• Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tour (24 Hours) + Alcatraz Ticket : the Red route plus self-guided Alcatraz admission with an audio guide and ferry transfers; you download the Alcatraz tickets from Big Bus and present them at the Pier 33 entrance at least 30 minutes before your entry time.[2]
• Sunset Tour + Union Square Shuttle : a nonstop panoramic evening ride from Stop 1 at 99 Jefferson Street, across the Bay Bridge to Treasure Island; SkyGate says it is not a hop-on hop-off tour.[2]

The Bay Cruise on the 72-hour ticket sails around Alcatraz but is not a visit to the island; the National Park Service says a ferry ticket from Alcatraz City Cruises is required to visit.[6][2] XTOUR's Alcatraz and bay cruises guide compares the direct Alcatraz ticket.

Renting a bike at Fisherman's Wharf

The San Francisco Bike Rental at Fisherman's Wharf is a self-guided rental from Unlimited Biking at 757 Beach Street, where you show the voucher to collect the bike. Each option includes a Cannondale bike, helmet, lock, bike bag and an illustrated map. The eight options are a standard bike or an eBike for 2 hours, 4 hours or a day, plus two day-pass options that add a one-way Blue & Gold ferry from Sausalito back to San Francisco at a time you choose. The eBike options are for riders aged at least 13, while the standard bike options also sell child tickets.[3]

Guided eBike tours

The San Francisco Bike Rental and Tours by Bay City Bike and Skyline Sightseeing product has two guided tours that start from 2661 Taylor Street in Fisherman's Wharf, both for ages 13 and over:[4]

• Electric Bike Tour: Golden Gate Bridge Adventure rides the waterfront, crosses the Golden Gate Bridge and continues to Sausalito.[4]
• Electric Bike Tour: Explore Iconic Neighborhoods is a 15-mile ride through North Beach, Chinatown, the Mission District, Haight-Ashbury and Alamo Square.[4]

Both add a bonus rental after the guided ride while the battery lasts, and SkyGate asks riders to arrive 30 minutes early for a bike fitting and waiver.[4] The same product also sells two options with the same titles as Skyline's bus-and-bike bundles: 1 Day Hop-On Hop-Off Bus + 1-Day Bike Rental , with or without a 1 Hour Bay Cruise.[1][4]

The Best of San Francisco Guided eBike Tour with Unlimited Biking leaves from 757 Beach Street and, in SkyGate's itinerary, rides through Hayes Valley, around Alamo Square, to Haight-Ashbury, along the Panhandle of Golden Gate Park and past the murals of the Mission. The option describes a four-hour guided tour with an English-speaking guide, and riders must be at least 13. SkyGate says a photo ID and credit card are needed for the bike deposit, and that tag-a-long attachments and toddler trailers are not permitted.[5]

How to choose

• For calendar-day passes with many bundles, including Muir Woods, Napa or Alcatraz, Skyline Sightseeing.
• For hour-based tickets, a sunset ride or a pass with a Blue & Gold bay cruise, Big Bus.
• For your own route by bike, with the option of a ferry back from Sausalito, the Unlimited Biking rental at Fisherman's Wharf.
• For the Golden Gate Bridge with a guide, the Bay City Bike Golden Gate Bridge Adventure; for the neighbourhoods, either the Bay City Bike neighbourhoods tour or the Best of San Francisco Guided eBike Tour.

Before you book

• Check in online with Skyline before your date; Big Bus vouchers are exchanged at a stop.[2][1]
• Guided eBike tours are for ages 13 and over.[5][4]
• Bring a photo ID and credit card for the Unlimited Biking tour deposit.[5]