How to Plan San Francisco Night Tours with Friends in 2021
San Francisco is one of the most liberal cities in the United States. From delicious street food to shopping havens, live music concerts, cabaret, and drag shows, it has everything to keep you mesmerized. So, it’s undoubtedly an exciting place to visit and experience beautiful sights, thrilling nightlife, and delectable seafood.
But to enjoy a typical San Francisco night, you need to have a plan. Here are some valuable tips on planning your itinerary so you can get the most out of your trip.
How to Plan San Francisco Night Tours with Friends?
Alcatraz Night Tour
Alcatraz night tour should be on top of your list. It is open during the day also, but a night tour is an entirely different experience. During the Alcatraz night tours, the number of visitors is limited. So, make sure you have arranged the tickets. Due to the limited crowd, some additional areas of the prison are open to visitors during the night.
You can go around this place and learn about its history through a guided tour and live shows. You will also hear stories of the most infamous prisoners that were kept in Alcatraz. Do note that these tours are available only a few nights a week.
Double-Decker Night Tour
If you want to feel the city and soak in its vibrant nightlife, the double-decker bus trip is the thing for you. You can sit back, relax and appreciate the view, cruising past the North Beach, Chinatown, Bay Bridge lights, and Palace of Fine Arts. Besides this, you will also ride through Union Square and California Street, the most happening shopping hubs in San Francisco.
Usually, the ride is for two hours, and by the end of it, you will see the best of San Francisco’s nightlife. The tour may leave at 6:30 pm or 7 pm, but it depends on which time of the year you are visiting.
Bay Sunset or Twilight Cruise
The San Francisco night cruise is a great way you can enjoy the sunset and stunning skyline. The tour starts from Alcatraz Island, past Angel Island, Tiburon, Belvedere Island, and Sausalito. You also go past the Golden Gate Bridge, covered with stunning lights.
Along the way, you can enjoy some light appetizers and drinks. Some cruise ships also offer a buffet, where you can relish local treats, cheeses, seasonal fruits, and freshly baked cookies. The sunset cruises are available from April 1 to November 3. Between November 4 and March 31, these cruises run with slight modifications. But, the best time to see the sunset is between April to November.
San Francisco Downtown Craft Cocktail Tour
There are tons of bars in San Francisco that offer craft cocktails. This tour is a fun opportunity where you can learn about cocktails meeting different bar owners. Union Square is the cocktail haven, and the trip will start from here, and you can uncover the Union Square district.
You will also get to taste some sample cocktails and a couple of other food items during the guided lesson. These tours are available most Fridays and Saturday nights and can be 2-3 hours long.
Chinatown/North Beach Walking Tour
Stroll through the north beach and Chinatown to experience the vibrant neighborhoods of San Francisco. The journey starts in Chinatown, where you can relish fortune cookies, dim sums, and traditional Chinese tea from some of the oldest bakeries there. In North Beach, you can taste Italian pizza, coffee, and wine.
Besides the destinations for families mentioned above, there are sunset photography tours, dinner dance cruise, hop-on hop-off bus tour, sunset or lights tour, evening ghost tour, panoramic night tour, and more to enjoy a very San Francisco night. You can go through the details of each of these tours and plan according to your budget and time.