Tours of the Tales

Start by securing a good map of the City.  You have several options.

"It's an odd thing, but anyone who disappears is said to be seen in San Francisco.  It must be a delightful city and possess all the attractions of the next world."

Oscar Wilde

If you are going 21st Century and don't want to bother with a paper map, you can use Google Maps, Apple Maps, etc.  (Each of the Tours of the Tales' self-guided walking tours includes a link to a Google Map developed specifically to that tour.  If you open the map on your mobile device and click onto the arrow that shows your location, you will be able to track where you are in relation to the tour's route.)

San Francisco is a very congested city.  Driving can be nerve wracking and parking can be nearly impossible to find...and expensive when you do find it.  You can use taxis or rideshare apps like Uber, Lyft, etc.  If you are adventurer and want a more direct experience with San Francisco, use the two major public transportation systems in San Francisco:  MUNI and BART.

MUNI:  The most cost effective way to travel around San Francisco on Muni is by using MuniMobile.

If you are planning to take MUNI around the City, consider purchasing one of MUNI's Visitor Passports.  Passports provide all-day, unlimited travel on all MUNI buses, streetcars, and cable cars.  The Passports are available in 1-day, 3-day, and 7-day denominations.  NOTE: The Passports are not valid for travel on BART.  For more information about MUNI, click on its icon.  From that link you can get more information about MuniMobile (the application that allows you to purchase, store, and use tickets/passes as well as plan trips), information about fares and passes, as well as information on how to ride MUNI.

BART:  The Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is your best bet to get around many parts of the Bay Area if you don't have a car or don't want to run the gauntlet of the Bay Area's freeways.  If you are planning to use BART, you must a CLIPPER Card a BART app.  More about the CLIPPER Card below.  Click onto the BART icon to access BART's website.

The CLIPPER Card is a reloadable, contactless smart card used for electronic transit fare payment nearly all of the San Francisco Bay Area public transit systems.  Many of those transit systems (example BART) only accept fare payment with a CLIPPER Card.  Some of them also have their own apps through which fares can be paid.  You can purchase and store your MUNI, BART, and other area transit passes on the Clipper Card.  Click on the Clipper icon for full information about the Clipper Card.  Carefully read the information on the website about on-line payments.

Heads up!:  For travel within San Francisco, MUNI's Visitor 1-, 3-, and 7-Day Passports are significantly cheaper using the MUNIMobile app mentioned above than the Clipper card.

If you are a member of AAA:  San Francisco map (Vicinity Series).  It not only includes the City itself, but also Sausalito and the Marin Headlands as well as portions of Belvedere, Brisbane, Daly City, and Tiburon.  There is also the San Francisco-Daly City-South San Francisco (City Series) map.  It covers those cities listed on the map's title; it does not include Sausalito, etc.)  The Downtown San Francisco inset (foun d on both maps) shows, in easy to read detail, the small lanes, alleys, and steps featured in some of the tours.  It also shows the three cable car lines, the Downtown BART and MUNI Metro stations, as well as MUNI's Historical F-Line street car.  There are three AAA offices within the City.  The office closest to Downtown/Union Square is at 2300 16th Street / Suite 280 / San Francisco, CA  94103.

Getting Started

TRANSIT 511:  This website is very handy for planning travel around the Bay Area on public conveyance.  It has an on-line trip planning tool.  It provides links to all of the Bay Area's public transportation systems/operations.  To access TRANSIT 511, click on its icon.