Bike tours in San Francisco put a new twist on the way you bike the Golden Gate Bridge. Discreet electric batteries are the secret to San Francisco bike tours!
October 2, 2019
San Francisco is one of the most exciting places in the world to do a bike tour! But what bike tour is best? In this article, we review the biggest and best San Francisco bike tour companies.
What type of bike tour in San Francisco is right for you?
There are generally two types of bike tours in San Francisco, city tours and bike the Golden Gate Bridge tours.
First, you have your full-length San Francisco City bike tour. This tour will allow you to discover the city’s unique neighborhoods, sights, and sounds!
Your second option is a more straightforward Golden Gate Bridge Tour. These are generally shorter bike tours in San Francisco for biking the Golden Gate Bridge and into Sausalito for lunch.
Standard Bike vs. Electric Bike Tours In San Francisco
As we take a closer look at the best bike tours in San Francisco, you’ll notice a lot of these have in common. Electric bikes.
While some bike tour companies offer a standard bike for a lower cost, we do not recommend this. In case you are not aware, San Francisco is full of steep hills!
While Lance Armstrong, might enjoy the ride, an average rider will not have a fun time!
This is why we only recommend an electric bike tour of San Francisco.
We think it is the best way of exploring the city because these discreet electric motors help tackle the notoriously steep hills of San Francisco.
We will be featuring a lot of bicycle tours of San Francisco that use e-bikes because we are firm believers that pedaling — should be optional.
Keep reading to discover the best San Francisco electric bike tours!
Best San Francisco Bike Tours
#1 Bike The Bridge from Dylan’s
- Cost for this San Francisco Bike Tour: 16 and older is $125
- Trip Advisor Reviews: 5 Stars
- Duration of the tour: The shuttle will pick you up at 8:00am and bring you to Muir Woods. Afterwards, you can bike between 1:30 and 6:00pm.
*Warning we might be a bit biased on this tour – as it is our own – but we genuinely believe in the quality of our products*
Most San Francisco tours either feature a bike across the Golden Gate Bridge or a bus tour to Muir Woods.
However, we here at Dylan’s flip that around. Our newest bike tour allows you to take a bike tour around town, then across the Golden Gate Bridge and then we bike you and your bike up and head to Muir Woods!
This unique combo tour from Dylan’s is part self-guided bike tour and part Muir Woods shuttle. This is one of our most popular tours because getting to Muir Woods on your own can be a pain. The public Muir Woods shuttle can be a pain to coordinate – we talk about why in our blog post How to Get to Muir Woods Without a Car.
How it works:
Pick up your electric bikes in San Francisco’s Little Italy and our 100% local staff will help you learn how to use our Pedego e-bikes.
We work closely with California-based Pedego Electric Bikes because we know they can handle the massive San Francisco hills!
We will also give you a pre-defined route and map to help you see the best parts of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge.
In terms of difficulty, our trail along the waterfront is mostly flat, which means you’ll have a blast hitting the throttle. You’ll be cruising past everyone walking their bikes up the hills! The last shill is right before you bike the bridge in San Francisco.
What You’ll See:
In the morning, you’ll meet a 100% local tour guide for a Muir Woods shuttle in a comfortable private minibus. You’ll have over an hour to explore the 2,000-year-old redwood trees at Muir Woods, which is the perfect amount of time to hit the most popular Muir Woods hikes!
After returning to San Francisco, you’ll pick-up your bikes at our shop in North Beach, home to Little Italy. Then, you can begin your ride to the Golden Gate Bridge. On the way there, you will pass multiple sight-seeing spots, such as the Palace of Fine Arts, Fort Point, Aquatic Park, and Fisherman’s Wharf. Once you’ve biked the Golden Gate Bridge, you can enjoy a downhill bike ride to Sausalito.
After your visit in Sausalito, you can ride back to our bike shop to return your bike and enjoy the rest of your evening in the city.
We might be biased, but we think this is the best way of biking over the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco!
#2 The Majestic Electric Bike Tour from Streets of San Francisco Bike Tours
- Cost for this San Francisco Bike Tour: $118.80 per adult, $93 for students, teachers, and military
- Trip Advisor Reviews: 5 Stars
- Duration of the tour: 5 to 6 hours
Streets of San Francisco Bike Tours (not the show, sorry) is a centrally located San Francisco bike tour company that kicks off their all-day Majestic Electric Bike Tours from the heart of Hayes Valley in a shipping container. #onlyinsf
You read that right. Their shop is a big metal shipping container that has been upcycled from a cargo ship. Most of the business in Hayes Valley experimental location, ProxySF, are housed in converted shipping containers!
During this 20-mile loop tour, you’ll discover neighborhoods that best showcase the local flavor. This tour will take you through the most famous spots in town, such as Alamo Square (Painted Ladies), the infamous rainbow community of the Castro District, Haight-Ashbury, magnificent murals of the Mission District and all the sites along the way to the Golden Gate Bridge! However, they do not cross the Golden Gate Bridge.
Posted by SoSF Bike Tours on Monday, May 21, 2012
#3 Beers & Bikes Tour by Gears and Grapes
San Francisco bike tours with beers at Gears & Grapes!
- Cost for this San Francisco Bike Tour: $75 per person
- Trip Advisor Reviews: 4.5 Stars
- Duration of the tour: 3-3,5 hours
If there are any two things that most San Franciscans (and travelers) seem to love: it’s beers and bikes.
So why not combine the two?
That’s what Gears and Grapes have done!
Discover three of San Francisco’s best breweries and beer halls on this 3.5-hour historical beer tour.
This San Francisco City Beer Tour begins and ends in the South of Market Area. This area is more commonly known to locals as SOMA.
A local beer-loving guide will lead you through a San Francisco beer tasting tour that departs daily at 2 pm for the best San Francisco breweries. In the meantime, take a peek at some of the most recognizable San Francisco breweries. You’ll notice a lot of the best San Francisco breweries are in SOMA and Mission District while on the San Francisco City Beer Tour. The best part of the tour? Gears and Grapes includes the first pint in your ticket price!
Truly crushing over this crew @localbrewingco !! And what a way to celebrate @sfbeerweek than a stop off to have our friends sign some shirts! @led216 scored big with the last #GALACTICSTRATA !!
Posted by Beers & Bikes on Monday, February 19, 2018
#4 Essential SF Bike Tour by Dandyhorse San Francisco Bike Tours
Pedal Inn — San Francisco Bike Tours (for the Naturally Advent…
A look inside the Pedal Inn bike adventure, where you explore the most unexpected and captivating destinations within and around San Francisco with expert guides who lead you into the rich nature, history, food, and culture found only within pedaling distance of the city. Big thanks to our friend Jillian Tsai for creating this awesome video and to musicians Chris and Thomas for permission to use their song, "I Know a Way to Get Myself Free."
Posted by Dandyhorse San Francisco Bike Tours on Monday, August 31, 2015
- Cost for this San Francisco Bike Tour: From $99, ages 15 and older
- Trip Advisor Reviews: 5 Stars
- Duration of the tour: 5 hours
Dandyhorse (formerly Pedal Inn) originally started off as an overnight bike camping tour company.
Dandyhorse (formerly Pedal Inn) originally started off as an overnight bike camping tour company. This San Francisco bike tour company has come a long way since then, and now they offer a lot of fun tours by bike.
We are big fans of their Essential SF Bike Tour and their founder, Nick. You’ll meet Nick in SOMA and ride through one of San Francisco’s most bike-friendly neighborhoods, the Mission District. This neighborhood is known for its vibrant murals and for being the center of foodie culture in SF.
After exploring the Mission District, you ride through the historic LGBTQ community in the Castro while you are on your way to see the famous brightly colored Victorian homes, better known as The Painted Ladies.
Be sure to take your time and explore the urban oasis in Golden Gate Park.
Explore Golden Gate Park on a San Francisco bike tour
#5 Golden Gate Bridge Guided Tour from Blazing Saddles San Francisco
- Cost for this San Francisco bike tour: Adults are $55 per person. Kids are $35 per person
- Trip Advisor Reviews: 4,5 Stars
- Duration of the tour: 3 hours
This Golden Gate Bike Tour begins right along San Francisco’s waterfront near Fisherman’s Wharf. This is within walking distance to some of the best hotels in Fisherman’s Wharf San Francisco. Your tour guide will take you through Fort Mason, The Marina and the Presidio National Park to get to the iconic Golden Gate Bridge.
Enjoy the ride across the Golden Gate Bridge and bike into the small town of Sausalito just north of the bridge.
The tour ends in Sausalito.
You’ll still need to get your bike back to San Francisco, but a high possibility is to take the scenic ferry from Sausalito to San Francisco for about $11 per person. For the more adventurous, you can also bike uphill back to San Francisco.
#6 Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito Tour from Bay City Bikes
Blazing Saddles Bike Tours in San Francisco
- Cost for this San Francisco bike tour: City Bikes from $65, additional charge of $45 for e-Bikes
- Trip Advisor Reviews: 4.5 Stars
- Duration of the tour: 1 hour
This bike tour in San Francisco begins in the heart of Fisherman’s Wharf. This short tour will guide you along San Francisco’s waterfront, past Ghirardelli Square and through the most expensive marina in California on your way to bike the Golden Gate Bridge. After riding across the Golden Gate Bridge enjoy a short downhill bike ride to Sausalito. This is a scenic town, perfect for lunch or just desserts 🙂
After lunch, you’ll be hopping on a boat with your bike to return to San Francisco by ferry. While on the ferry, enjoy some of the best views of Alcatraz & the Golden Gate Bridge from the middle of the San Francisco Bay (ferry tickets sold separately).
#7 City Loop Tour
- Cost for this San Francisco Bike Tour: $99 per person (14+).
- Trip Advisor Reviews: 5 Stars
- Duration of the tour: 6 hours
Explore areas off-limits to tour buses on this truly authentic experience. Our guided San Francisco bike ride takes you through the top neighborhoods.
Our guided City Loop Tour takes you through the top neighborhoods in San Francisco. No bike tour in San Francisco would be complete without riding through the 200-year-old Army base turned National Park, the Presidio of San Francisco. 100% local guides lead you through this massive National Park on the way to cross the Golden Gate Bridge where you will have a long stop for photos.
After the Golden Gate bike tour stop, we will bike along the Pacific Ocean and through Golden Gate Park. This is one of the best parks in San Francisco. Once you’ve biked all four miles of The Golden Gate Park, you’ll be ready for lunch in the Haight and Ashbury neighborhood. Fans of the infamous hippie hangout popularized during the ’60s will be happy to know there are still popular Summer of Love locations you can visit today!
Go where tour buses are banned with San Francisco bike tours. Enjoy one last photo stop where most San Francisco tour buses are forbidden– The Painted Ladies at Alamo Square!
Still looking for fun things to do after your San Francisco bike tours? Take a peek at our guide on How to See San Francisco in 3 Days for a little inspiration.
And if you’re really short on time we have a few ideas on how to spend just 24 Hours in San Francisco!
San Francisco has over 2,000 restaurants — but some of the best are in the heart of San Francisco’s Little Italy. Forget about San Francisco Yelp, we have you covered with the Best North Beach Italian Restaurants & 10 Reasons to Eat Around Washington Square Park.
If you’re traveling to DC, Seattle or Vancouver soon be sure to check out our related posts on the Best Bike Tours in DC, Best Bike Tours in Seattle, and the Best Bike Tours in Vancouver!
Discover San Francisco like never before! Join our Explore S.F. group on Facebook, your ultimate guide to the city’s best-kept secrets. From local tips to monthly adventures, this is where your journey begins. Click here to join and start exploring!
