This was so interesting!! We took my in-laws when they were in town visiting, but us locals learned…read morejust as much. You tell Rick is very passionate about what he does. We were shown buildings we walk by regularly in a whole new light and loved being shown all the privately owned public parks hidden throughout the city!!! He even sends a map of all the parks after the class. Highly recommend for tourists and locals alike!

I highly recommend this to anyone visiting SF, and even locals…read more.. We gifted this tour to our son, who is studying urban development. This tour provides a unique insight on the City. You start with some of the oldest buildings and work your way to the newest. You also learn about international historical trends and their influence on the San Francisco architecture. Low level activity, nice slow pace. Rick Evans is the tour guide. He is informative, friendly and passionate. Excellent at giving perspective about the importance of preserving the past, and the necessity of bringing the new and modern into the fold. A great way to spend three hours.

Wonderful day trip to Yosemite. Stunning views! But I have to say, my favorite part of the tour was…read moreour driver, Sharon (from Ireland). Very knowledgeable, gave us great tips about how to get around, history, safety, kept us hydrated. Best of all - she was hysterical. Great entertainment. Highly recommend!! Thanks again!

Best Bay Area tours was awesome. We really enjoyed our charter trip and experience to Reno. Above…read moreand beyond that will leave an unforgettable memory that I and my family will forever cherish ! Thank you Best Bay Area Tours !!

The tour guide Marco was very good, gave us lots of information about the address and it's history…read moreand wineries. It was nice to go on a winery tour and not worry about driving or tasting fees etc

Half day wine tour: Tour started a little behind but they were trying to wait for some other…read morepatrons that were late. Even went and tried to pick up the late folks at another location, which they did not show to. Steve was wonderful!! Stopped at Madonna Winery with a beautiful and informative tour. Steve gave us the time we needed to all be happy with the experience and get everyone back on board timely. The second winery was great with a wonderful ambiance of art and high end personal experience feeling. The view at Ru Vango is one of the most beautiful we've seen. Even made new friends on this trip I know we will always have great memories of.

I don't know how you could not give this 5 stars. It's free and it's entertaining. Yeah, it smells…read morebut that's nature. The sounds though as we were walking up brought about so much excitement. Definitely a highlight if you're in the area.. the bay areaaaaaa Not as many sea lions the time of year I last visited, and no Chonkers, but I could watch these magnificent creatures for a fair amount of time. I like to observe how they interact to one another, how they move around (or purposely minimize any movement) and just appreciate how well they seem to relax and enjoy life while lying in the sun all day. Such a crowd pleaser and yes, it can be a lot of people but just be patient and some will move on and open up a good viewing spot.

What a unique experience! I visited the marina at the end of May, and there were many sea lions…read moresunning themselves and barking away. They were stinky, so we didn't stay particularly long, but I enjoyed watching their antics and snapping some photos. It's definitely a must-stop while in SF. And free to view!

The Bay City Guide works great for me for a few reasons. First of all the maps, especially the…read moredetailed Union Square and Golden Gate park maps, are great for explaining things to tourists and locals alike as they are very up to date and easy to read. The information inside the guide is simple but useful, it highlights neighborhoods in SF that tourists wouldn't normally even think about and this is important for tourists who want to get the full SF experience. Lastly, and this might sound odd, but I like the ads. IT highlights locals businesses that I wouldnt have normally thought about, and I like when money in San Francisco is recycled within the city, it creates long term relationships between vendors and local businesses. Great guides, thanks being a great part of our local hospitality culture!

My review also relates to the Alcatraz, Open Sky city tour and Chinatown Walking Tour, all booked…read moreas a package for $87. In the city for the weekend, we booked the tour on Saturday and were told to check in at 10:15 a.m. on Sunday. At that time, the gentleman at the desk told us that we would take the ferry to Alcatraz at 11:00 a.m., the city tour at 3:00 p.m. and the walking tour at 5:00 p.m. The Alcatraz portion went fine. We had a couple hours to kill after that, and then went and took the city tour. As another reviewer mentioned, the bus is a school bus (stickers for school bus rules still attached at the front of the bus) with its top cut off. The seats/benches are not precisely built for comfort! I have re-named this portion the Psychedelic Bus Tour because it was so bizarre. We, too, had Timber as our guide, an aging hippy who was apparently a professional photographer (and insists you let him take your photos if you want them to turn out well), a bit actor and now a tour guide. The tour was unintentionally hilarious -- and would have remained so throughout the three long hours had one been drunk or perhaps on 'shrooms; however, after two hours everyone on the bus was looking for an escape route. First of all, the only stops we made were at the Palace of Fine Arts and the Golden Gate bridge, both of which occurred within the first 30 mins of the tour. We were then regaled with the driver's stream of consciousness ramblings about anything from a new bike trail ("Oh, wow, I hadn't noticed that before!") to comments about pretty young women on the street (all spoken over the loudspeaker so that the women in question could undoubtedly hear as well) to police activity near the Disney museum ("Look at that -- three police cars! I wonder what's going on there. We definitely don't want to stop here!") We were also subjected to his politically incorrect sociological views, such as the "fact" that there are "10-12 reasons" that people become homeless (this as we were stopped at a light in front of Golden Gate park where said homeless were happily smoking pot) and, while driving through Chinatown, the observation that one thing the Chinese know well is capitalism! Ah, and we were also introduced to a transgender club (with a warning to the gentlemen that pretty ladies might not be ladies at all) and a topless club. And there were children on the bus!!! Lest I forget, in the middle of the Golden Gate bridge, on went the radio to a local 70's/80's station and we were 'treated' to such best-forgotten hits as Janet Jackson's "Nasty Boys" and Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight". I'm telling you, a drunk would have had a blast on this tour; me, being all too sober, not so much! As for the walking tour, well, how were we supposed to be there at 5:00 p.m. when the bus tour lasted over three hours??? We were dropped off at 6:15 p.m. and had obviously missed it. Since we left San Francisco that same night, there was no way to do it on another day. In fact, we weren't even told that we could do it another day, which strikes me as rather unethical, seeing as how the man we originally checked in with had to have known that the bus tour was 3 hours long and would overlap with the walking tour. All in all, I'd recommend that others book the tours separately. The bus tour definitely isn't for families, but a group of college age kids or single (drunk) adults might get a kick out of the guide's bizarre ramblings.

Wow what a nice place to start off your visit to Oakland and Jack London Square…read more I had the Good Fortune of meeting with Kenneth Brown, who expkained the history of Jack London Square and all the wonderful amenities and attractions they have in this area. While I was visiting here, quite a few interesting to buy tickets for the ferry and other attractions. This is really a convenient spot.

Date: 9/19/2015 Time: 12:30 PM 73° Sunny & warm…read more Husband and I are walking on Water Street on our way to the Eat Real Festival when we see the three framed storefront windows have Go Raiders Nation etched on it. On the yelp site, it shows the place is closed for today. I thought the business sold Raiders memorabilias until I walked in and noticed an assortment of tour leaflets and books about Oakland - This is Oakland, A Guide to the City's Most Interesting Places by Melissa Davis; Brown Sugar Kitchen by Tanya Holland with Jan Newberry; and Oakland, CA Home Field Advantage, The City that Changed the Face of Sports by Paul Brekke-Miesner. The visitor's bureau was probably opened because of the Eat Real Festival and most likely there were out-of-town visitors in the area. I already have two of the books from two other local businesses - Urban Indigo and Oakland Supply Company - in my collection. Inasmuch as I love sports (baseball, basketball and football), I just could not walk out without purchasing Home Field Advantage for $27.00, a recommended reading for people who are interested in memories of some of the talented sports figures coming out of Oakland and the surrounding areas. The gentleman assisting me was friendly, helpful and personable. Thank you, Kenneth Brown, CO'70 BHS Yellowjackets (school colors - red & gold) alumni, for sharing the sports memories of certain ballplayers and coaches from back in the days, Mosswood Park, its basketball courts and legends, etc. Even though I am a native of Oakland (born and raised), I will return to browse over the various leaflets regarding points of interest to visit in Oakland, admire the wall mural and share more memories with Kenneth. I feel very fortunate to enjoy the best of three cities - Oakland, Alameda and San Francisco - for all they have to offer in arts, culture, dining, entertainment, shopping, the sports teams and the weather.

I'm a native of this city, love history, and thought I knew a lot about both until I spent an…read moreafternoon dodging new, noteworthy nuggets as part of this hilarious, comprehensive, and informative tour. What sets this tour apart from others I have taken was its structure and the group involvement sought (and totally received) by our tour leader, and local comic, Tom. It's hard not to be immediately drawn into the history and the humor, with contests and prizes to be won and eccentric stories to be told. Spending a good chunk of a beautiful Sunday on 'The Whole Shebang' with a motley group of natives and tourists was utterly worth it. The tour started at Nob Hill, where S.F. history abounds, wound its way down through Union Square and Chinatown, ending up at Washington Square in North Beach. It's a great, invigorating walk through the heart of what most tourists regularly see and an interesting trip for those of us who try to keep clear of such a brouhaha. If you love learnin', checking out the city by FOOT!, and laughing heartily while doing both, this tour is the perfect way to spend an afternoon - with a posse of tourists or your best friends.

This is a fun, funny, factual and carefree walking tour. You'll learn stuff, but it's not like…read morethere's a test or anything. If you go, bring some friends. It's so much fun as a group because you'll stop and play games along the way. Also, ask questions. The guides have a lot of stories and trivia that isn't in the tour, and they're always glad to share.

My brother in-law was in from Ohio and we wanted to give him a different perspective of San…read moreFrancisco. After seeing an article about SCBT Tours in the Chronicle, we decided to give it a try. We're very glad we did! Reed has really done his homework as both tour guide and master driver. He took us to places we'd never seen before and gave us new insights about places that we had. I was a little concerned about the size of the Mini Cooper but it was actually perfect! And the blankets he provided made top-down in the winter quite comfortable. Our tour was pretty eclectic and felt very relaxed. We enjoyed the Storybook Houses and community-sponsored tile steps of the Sunset District, visited (I am not kidding) the Best Chocolate Store Ever!, and saw and heard new angles on The Haight, Chinatown, The Palace of Fine Arts and The Presidio. It was very special to play tourist for a few hours in the City I was born in, and share it with an outta town relative. If you're looking for an SF tour with a knowledgeable independent local at a fair value, Small Car Big Time Tours is a very good call to make. Good Times in a Great City!

We had such a great time on our tour with Reed. He was able to cater the tour and share some more…read morearound the history of San Francisco since we were locals. Some of the areas I've driven by many times but haven't had the chance to admire as a passenger so that was really fun. I highly recommend booking a tour with Reed, even if you live in SF.