Ultimate San Francisco Tour: Alcatraz, Muir Woods and Sausalito

Alcatraz was great! Definitely a must see! I split my tours up in two days. First/Alcatraz. Second, Muir and Sausalito. All of these things are a must see if you’re in San Fran. I want to use most of this review to speak on the tour guide. Pear! I’ve been on a good amount of tours in my travels and the guide can make/break the tour. This gentleman was knowledgeable, fun, helpful, down to earth. Was everything you’d want in a tour guide! Make sure the tour is thru Dylans Tours. Not sure if he does other tours with them but any tour you go on with him will be a great time!! Overall 5 stars for these tours and 10 for the guide!

Guide was not the best. Spent too much time talking about himself. Not enough time at Muir Woods. Enjoyed Napa Valley Burgers.

The tour was well organised. Jeffrey, our tour guide was very kind and had many jokes to tell. Everybody on the bus was laughing. He drove us through San Francisco city center, shared many interesting facts about Frisco. After the city center tour we drove to the Muir woods national monument. It is such an amazing place! So quiet , majestic and peaceful. We had enough time to walk in the woods and admire its beauty. Then we drove to Sausalito where we had a free time to enjoy a nice lunch and walk along the bay. From there we drove to the ferry station to Alcatraz near pier 39, where we picked our tickets, took the ferry and explored the Alcatraz on our own. It was a long day (roughly 12h) but worth it. Great option for people who spend only a day or two in SF but want to see as much as possible. Thanks Jeffrey, i had so much fun with you!

Overall my experience with Dylan's tours was fantastic. The tour operator, Patrick was funny, lighthearted, and had tons of information to share along the way of our tour. He also incorporated a music tour while we were around Sausalito given the famous music studio. 10/10 would recommend Dylan's tours!

My issue actually came with Viator itself. We booked the tour through Viator, who then booked it with Dylan's tours. Again- the tour with Dylan's was great and we had no issues. But I could book the tour for cheaper on Dylan's website. I asked Viator about this and they refused to price match the rate even though it meets all of the criteria. For anyone reading this- save yourself some money and book directly with Dylan's Tours!

My 13 and 15-year-old took this tour and loved it, Mark was very friendly. They really enjoyed all the stops. Highly recommend.

We had a great tour! Mark was excellent and had many facts and stories about San Francisco! We also visited Muir Woods which was amazing!

Now this is how you do a tour! If you’re wondering who to choose for your San Francisco and area tours, Dylan’s Tours is the way to go! Small but comfortable tour bus with limited amount of people. Jeffrey, our tour guide was fantastic- funny, warm, engaging and very knowledgeable! I did the “Famous Tour+ Muir Woods+Alcatraz” and it was worth every penny-Jeffrey took us through the city with some great insight and anecdotes, and we had plenty of time to explore Muir Woods, had lunch in Sausalito and do the Alcatraz tour. I felt like I was with a trusted friend who wanted to show off the area!
As a music fan I had heard about the Record Plant in Sausalito (since closed) where many classic albums had been recorded. When we left Muir woods for lunch in Sausalito I actually made a note on my phone to ask Jeffrey if the studio was still there and if it was within walking distance so I could find it. Craziest thing is just as we were approaching Sausalito Jeffrey started talking about this very same recording studio and all of the cool bands and albums that had been recorded there- he must have read my mind (I hadn’t mentioned it)! He took us down some backstreets and there it was! So cool!

Tour size was right (about 20 people), comfortable shuttle bus, good speaker system, good information, and gorgeous sights. Highly recommended.

We met at the office of the tour company. Small place. No bathroom. Use the one up the block for the park. Thought that was strange. You leave from there and get a quick tour of the city with the driver narrating. Mostly just a drive by and was difficult to see what he was pointing out from the back of the bus. After this you have about a 15 minute stop at Palace of fine arts. That’s time for a quick pic and a brief walk. Then we head over the Golden Gate Bridge. Another 15 minute stop at a look out point. Our day was a foggy one so you get some view of the bridge. That’s what is so interesting about the fog here. But you never know what the fog will do. From there you drive to Muir Woods. This was what I was most interested in. You stop there for about 2hrs. It’s enough time to walk the lower loop and back. And maybe 10 minutes in the gift shop. ( I could have hiked more but I know we still have more to do)
After Muir we drive to Sausalito for lunch. You get about an hour and fifteen minutes to spend here. I went to a sit down lunch which in hindsight I should’ve skipped. The town had a deli so a sandwich for the walk probably would’ve been a better choice. Then I could have seen more of the town.
On the way back to catch the ferry we made a stop under the bridge for another photo. And then through town to pier 39 to catch the 2:45 ferry to Alcatraz. We spent about 2 hours on a self guided tour of the island. It was cold by now and very windy ( welcome to the rock!) we were tired and this was a 8-1/2 mile day so wear comfortable shoes!!

It was a great day. Dylan’s tour did a really nice job with everything. The bus tour was very informative and gave interesting highlights of San Francisco. The Muir park was a nice way to see the redwoods and perfect timing for a nice hike. The lunch stop was great at Sausalito and we ended with a nice tour of Alcatraz.

Had a fantastic trip with tour guide Barry. He was a brilliant tour guide, apart from places on tour description, we had a tour of San Francisco’s highlights. His historical knowledge and descriptive detail of places visited was special. During trip, he made sure we got the best experience possible, ensuring our group were comfortable during our journey, He even entertained us with his juggling skills. Highly recommend!!!!

We really enjoyed this 2-day tour. Alcatrez was our main reason to visit San Francisco. The audio tour was great and there is an excellent gift shop on the island. Mark was our tour guide the second day. We really enjoyed Muir Woods National Monument and had lunch in Sausalito. Gorgeous weather both days, high 80’s!

Per was an excellent tour guide and driver. He drove us to Muir Woods, Golden Gate Bridge, Sausalito, Alcatraz. Pointed out several landmarks, gave great history of San Francisco, included movie tidbits about movies that were filmed in the area. Very professional, friendly, knowledgeable, and even took us on a bonus lookout point with a lovely view of the Golden Gate Bridge and cliffs. Fabulous tour and guide! Highly recommend!

Highly recommend this tour. Originally we planned to get a rental car to do this tour ourselves. So glad we cancelled the rental in booked with Dylan's Tours instead. Sully, our tour guide, was fabulous! The history he provided of San Francisco, Golden Gate Bridge, Muir Woods and Sausalito was so interesting. Then the self guided tour of Alcatraz was the perfect conclusion to the day. Sure didn't feel like we were on the tour for almost 6 hours, the time flew by.

A great experience from start to finish! My daughter and I booked this tour for a birthday present for ourselves, and we thoroughly enjoyed the trip. Our driver, Barry, was very knowledgeable about the city's history, and was willing to share a lot of information with us throughout the day. While in Muir Woods he showed us some cool tricks with our cameras so we could get the full scope of the trees. It was a great day! Thank you!

Roger was an amazing tour guide. He gave such great insights into the city from a local’s perspective and provided so much helpful information as we made future plans in SF or the Bay Area. He was so positive and made it clear that SF is a city of love and excitement. Roger gave excellent recommendations for local travel and restaurants to check out. I was so lucky to be guided by him!

Highly recommend doing the Muir Woods first in order to not feel rushed at Alcatraz specially because you have to get on the ferry back to maje your next meet up time for the rest of the tour. I took this recommendation from all the reviews I read about this tour and I’m glad I did. We had a great morning with beautiful clear blue sunny skies. Muir Woods were lush and green. Our tour guide Roger was full of great funny knowledge. He even paired the tour with some music! It was fun and even got a bonus of going inside the palace of fine arts. Please don’t be late when you’re told to be back at a certain hour. That was my only con. Group of ppl were inconsiderate arrived late to start the tour and at several of our stops. Roger was very patient either them and waited for them. If you want your own tour at your own time book that.