The California Street Cable Car operates daily from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. The Powell-Hyde and…read morePowell-Mason lines run later, until 11:00 p.m., making it a great way to explore the city during the day or in the evening. Fares: Adult single rides are $9. Children under 4 ride free, and seniors (65+) pay just $4. You can pay using the MuniMobile app, a Clipper Card, or exact cash onboard. Hot tip: Grab a seat on the outside of the back of the California Street cable car. You'll be rewarded with a breathtaking view looking back down California Street with the Bay Bridge in the distance. It's one of the most iconic views in San Francisco and has inspired countless photos and paintings. (I even have a painting of this view in my living room!) There really isn't a bad seat on the cable car, but if you're trying to avoid extra hill climbing, be sure to get off at the correct stop. Whether you're a first-time visitor or a local, San Francisco's historic cable cars are both a fun attraction and a practical way to get around the city. Highly recommended!

We hopped on the California line in the morning with our day pass and had a great experience riding…read moreit back and forth. The operators were really friendly and informative. We were able to connect to the F in the Financial District as well and it got us to exactly where we wanted to go. I love the history and nostalgia that riding the cable cars evokes, and I'm really glad that in 2026 they're still operating well and they're a vibrant and vital part of San Francisco's public transportation infrastructure. Peace.

The driver, Lance, made out trolley ride so enjoyable. Def would recommend experiencing the trolley…read morewhile in sf.

When you're in San Francisco, you have to try riding the cable car at least once. If you're brave,…read moreI highly recommend standing on the cable car rather than sitting inside You can catch one from four locations around Union Square, including the Market Street and the Ghirardelli Square (Powell-Hyde and Powell-Mason) which is my favorite spot. The fare is about $9 per person for a one-way ride. You can hop off along the route if you'd like to explore, but you'll need to pay again if you want to hop back on so if you plan to use multiple time get a day pass. The cable car conductors are friendly, and some even give a mini commentary during the ride, pointing out interesting landmarks and great spots to take photos. It's a fun an experience so i recommend it!

Sunday Update: I rode the cable car both ways from California St all the way to the end & back. The…read morerides were super fun. I did have to wait for a very long time on the line at the turntable to go back to California though... might have been about a 30 minute wait, but once we were riding on it back to California St, everyone on the car was cheering & having such a great time. The cable cars are iconic & they're a must do when you are in SF!! *** Friday -,My experience riding around on the cable cars today was so much fun but I actually didn't get to ride on this line until later today! A stop at the top of Nob Hill is just a block away from where I'm staying, and so we bought a day pass ($15) because we figured we'd be able to ride the rails at least twice. here were a lot of people waiting to ride, and several cars passed us by because they were too full, so we ended up crossing the street and taking a different and less crowded line which didn't take us exactly where we wanted to go, but we were able to connect to the F line and get to our destination. We were able to pick up a car on this line at Union Square and it toted us up the hill to California Street. It was a short & bumpy, but fun ride. So I'll leave a review for the other line as well. Peace.

Today was our 1st experience on the Cable Car's of San Fran. We loved it! We got confused at 1dt on…read morewhere to catch the car but ended uo waiting in the linen at Union Station & riding to Hyde st, right across from Hyde st pier. On the ride back, OMG we got the surprise of a lifetime with a free mini concert by TRAIN! THANK YOU!!!! We were literally like 15 ft from them as they played a few songs. We road scooters up just after they started but got to here like 4 songs! We road back to Union Square, it was totally worth the $60! We bought the round trip through the app! If your wirh a larger family or want round trip I highly recommend the app & 1 day pass. 1 way trip is $9 but the all day on/off all the muni transit & cable cars was only $15 each. Oh yeah, if you get in without paying, they'll stop & out you off! Get to walking! Someone tried to use an expired ticket in the app, they stopped like a block later to make them get off!

The Powell/Mason Cable Car Turnaround is at Taylor and Bay Streets. It's the northern end of one of…read moreSan Francisco's famous cable car lines. Since these cars can't go in reverse, they use a wooden turntable to turn the nine-ton cars around 180 degrees so they can head back to Union Square. You can actually watch the gripmen and conductors push the cars by hand, which is pretty cool. For years, when I first moved to San Francisco, I used to catch the cable car here every morning and ride it all the way to the very end at Market Street, then walk to work. I did that just because it was fun, not because it made my commute faster or shorter! Over time, I got to know the cable car operators who worked the early shifts and many neighbors who also took the cable car to work, and we often chatted and shared a few laughs while waiting. We also enjoyed live performances from street musicians. It is a fun ride, especially for visitors and their families who take the cable car as part of their San Francisco visit experience.

Great tourist experience riding the cable car. They are beautiful original works of engineering…read moreart. The vistas and buildings along the way between Fishermans wharf and market are gorgeous. Only downside is side is the long long wait in queue. They took ages to load every act. I am sure there is a valid reason for the delays between departures ( the cars were there waiting). But it was a pain to wait. Perhaps a sign saying the cars go every 15 mins might have helped.

I gotta hand it to BART, I thought they were gonna let this unincorporated town down but they…read morestepped up to the plate (baseball pun intended). We have our shiny new entry/exit gates that reduce the risk of fare evasion! They even fixed a gap between the gate access entry and the new gates which I saw someone jump on day one. Now, you gotta really want it to get in and out for free, and frankly, I don't think the fare evasion community has what it takes with these new gates. We are back in the 5 star Yelp game people!

BART cancelling trains mid day without proper warning is hard on disabled individuals. It happens…read moreway too much.. It's a good place though.

Nice, free bus for the route it travels…read more The Presidio GO (formerly named PresidiGo) only has a few stops on its route. The stop aren't marked like the MUNI bus stops are, but you can trust that it'll follow the maps which are on its website. For this review, I took it from the Embarcadero stop (outside the Hyatt Regency, where the MUNI 12 bus stops) and took it to the Presidio entrance. It used to be a semi free shuttle with only some times available to those who didn't live in the Presidio, but they opened it up to be fully free to everyone some years ago. There are two sizes of buses which I've seen, one which is smaller and one which is larger, but both kinds are decorated with a mostly white motif. For a free shuttle bus, it's great. My only caveat would be that it's not too frequent and the stops are very limited.

Accessibility: this bus lowers to the ground for wheelchair access and for people who can't step up…read morevery high. There are wheelchair locks inside the bus to keep wheelchairs stable from moving around while the bus moves. Experience: the busses are clean, most people riding them are people who live in the area or tourists going to see certain places; the busses seemed safe to me (at least during the day).

Easiest and cost effective way to see the Bay…read more Use a clipper card and travel from the San Francisco Ferry Building to Oakland / Alameda. It is a relatively quick tour with wonderful views of downtown San Francisco skyline, Treasure Island and the Bay Bridge. I use the word 'tour', but this is a commuter ferry. Be on the lookout for wildlife. I love the accompanying birds, especially the occasional squadron of pelicans. Once I even saw a dolphin while the sun set behind the skyscrapers. Both the San Francisco Ferry Building and Jack London Square have loads of restaurants and cafes. Bring a jacket and sunglasses to better enjoy the outside experience. The chairs inside are comfortable with large windows to enjoy the sights.

This was our first time going to San Francisco on the ferry and it was an excellent experience…read more There was plenty of parking on a Saturday morning. We arrived early and waited in our car until we noticed that a queue had formed to board, so we got in line. There was no need for urgency as the ferry we boarded was less than 1/2 full. We both have Clipper Cards so it was easy to present our cards to one of the card readers. Once you heard the tones, you could walk up the ramp to board. We sat on the upper level on the outbound and on the lower level on the return trip. Both ferries left on time and the crew was friendly. The rides were relatively smooth, and it beat the bejeebers out of driving into The City.

This was my first using the Ferry from Oakland to San Francisco. For only $4.50 and 30 minute ride,…read moreI went from the East Bay to the SF Embarcadero. OMG how easy it was to navigate the ferry. Tip: Download the SF Ferry App to save time & get schedules. Upper & Lower deck seating. Indoor or deck seating. Plenty of tables, bankette seating. Place for strollers, bicycles. Snack bar that serves alcohol like wine, beer & mimosas to small snacks. The view to San Francisco is beautiful arriving & departing Gate G. The closest street is Mission. When you arrive it's easy to get on the Muni system, a trolley, a tour bus, or an Uber/Lyft. If you're going to SF Giants game or the Chase Center, there's a special events Ferry for that. Don't worry if your event ends late, the special events ferry will take you back to Alameda &!Oakkand. Study the schedules to plant plenty enough time to travel. For example. I arrived at Gate G and I was going to The Presidio District. There's a free Go shuttle, but it takes about 40 minutes to get there with all the stops. If you're running short on time, grab a taxi or an Uber to drop you off quicker. Since then, I have taken the Ferry four more times. Why did I wait so long. Next is the BART system. See you some more on Yelp 2026

Dumb. Today the ferry was full- many had been waiting in line for half an hour. Would've been nice…read moreif someone counted out the passengers so we didn't have to wait around only to be told we wouldn't get on. Plus, the damn inconvenience- the Clipper Card website and app are super annoying. The website makes you upload your credit card, only to redirect you to the Apple Store to download the app in your phone which then requires you to reenter your same credit card because the 2 don't work together. The fee is $5.10 in each direction but the card only uploads in whole dollars and tries to get you to upload $10, $20 or $50 at a time. Don't fall for it- just type in the amount $11. Still, what a way to skim money off people, ugh. There is no explanation on how to do any of this at the actual landing so unless you came with someone who told you how to get a clipper card, it'll take you quite a while to jump through the hoops to get one. Also, they require each passenger to have their own clipper card, so even if your family is willing to pay for your fare, they can't. You still have to upload your own clipper card. And after all the time it takes to do this, you will probably just miss the ferry anyway, just like us.