WHAT ARE REAL SAN FRANCISCO TOURS?
Our guests are interested, curious people who want a real experience of San Francisco. That’s why our tours contain real history and give guests a real experience of this amazing city. They're also a lot of fun. After all, who doesn’t want to see SF by cable car and tram, exploring cool neighborhoods with their own local expert? We guarantee our San Francisco tours are an experience you’ll never forget. This is what we do:
SF in a Day Tour: We take you places that no one else does, traversing the city by cable car, rail and bus as we visit downtown, Nob Hill, City Hall, Hayes Valley, Castro, Haight-Ashbury, Painted Ladies, Lombard Street, North Beach and Chinatown. If you really want to get to know SF, this is the only way to do it (10am daily).
Half-Day SF City Highlights Tour: Explore some of the best parts of the city. Taking the cable car up to Nob Hill, then down to City Hall and Hayes Valley. Stroll through Castro, before ending the tour in Haight-Ashbury, a perfect spot for lunch (10am daily).
SF: Food + History + Art Tour: Learn all about how the city was founded, view some amazing public murals and street art and eat some of the best food in California (12pm Sunday).
Icons of SF Tour: Visit the most famous places and picturesque neighborhoods in San Francisco after lunch. See Painted Ladies, Lombard St, North Beach, Chinatown & more (3pm daily).
Prohibition in SF: the Speakeasy Tour: time-travel to the 1920's, when speakeasies were hidden in shops & cafes in North Beach & Chinatown. Seriously tasty street food included (6pm Friday).
Notorious SF: Ghost & Crime Tour: Go back in time to visit the sites of old Hollywood scandals, red-light districts, opium dens, gambling dives and Gold Rush era lynchings (6pm Saturday).
Private tours can be booked from 9am-6pm, Monday to Sunday.
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OUR REVIEWS AND REPUTATION
PERFECT INTRO TO SAN FRAN
My husband and I went on this tour on day 1 of our trip. Our guide was fantastic as she was born and raised there. We saw everything in the itinerary. It was great to experience the different types of public transit (cable cars, street cars and buses) which made us comfortable using all 3 for the rest of our stay. We loved learning about the history of the city, architecture styles, parks, murals and got great tips on where to eat! Our guide also took pictures of us to make sure we had more than just selfies. We were so happy that we did this tour - I would definitely recommend it.
– Michelle H, TripAdvisor (September 2024)
Why Us?
Our expert guides create entertaining & enlightening tours, which will transform your understanding & appreciation of SF & California.
We have San Francisco tours for all budgets: free self guided tours, group tours from just $55 pp & private tours from just $350 for a group of up to 10.
We get off the beaten track to reveal the hidden beauty & history of San Francisco, meaning you have a truly memorable & enjoyable experience.
Real San Francisco Tours Calendar
Our Story
I love travel. In the past there was nothing I enjoyed more than visiting a city and getting lost wandering its streets. However, during a trip to Europe in 2012, I discovered a guided walking tour and realized that it’s a much better experience. I got a quick history lesson, saw most of the best sights and was able to ask all the vital questions I had (like where to have lunch) from a local expert. It was the highlight of my trip and I began doing walking tours in every city I visited.
Returning home, to Los Angeles, I looked for a walking tour there, but all I found were bus tours of Beverly Hills, which isn’t where the “stars” live nowadays, and Rodeo Drive, where locals like me never go. So I decided to start a new company, The Real Los Angeles Tours, offering totally different tours - ones that would allow both visitors AND Angelenos to properly experience LA and learn its fascinating history. We opened in 2013 and we've been awarded multiple TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence Hall of Fame awards, in recognition of hundreds of five-star reviews.
I'm often in the Bay Area and it seemed that there was an opening to create more authentic tours here too, that would delve more deeply into SF than the typical tour itinerary of Fisherman's Wharf, Lombard Street and the Golden Gate Bridge. So, in 2020, Real San Francisco Tours launched, followed by Real London Experiences in 2025.
Our mission at Real San Francisco Tours is to give you an entertaining and authentic experience of SF culture and history. Join us on a tour and we promise you'll really get to know this amazing city, whether you're a visitor or a local.
– Damien, founder of Real San Francisco Tours
Morning and All-Day Tours
BOOK
SF IN A DAY TOUR
10am daily, Embarcadero
$125 pp (inc transit)
8 hours
BOOK
HALF-DAY SF CITY HIGHLIGHTS TOUR
10am daily, Embarcadero
$90 pp (inc transit)
4 hours
BOOK
SF: FOOD + HISTORY + ART TOUR
12pm Saturday & Sunday, Mission District
$90 pp (inc food)
3 hours
Afternoon and Evening Tours
BOOK
ICONS OF SF TOUR
3pm daily, Alamo Square
$60 pp (inc transit)
3 hours
BOOK
PROHIBITION IN SF THE SPEAKEASY TOUR
6pm Friday, Transamerica Pyramid
$90 pp (inc food)
3 hours
BOOK
NOTORIOUS SF: GHOST & CRIME TOUR
6pm Saturday, Union Square
$55 pp
3 hours
Our Team
Jamie
I’m a San Francisco love baby, conceived in the Haight Ashbury in 1966 (before all the wannabes and onlookers showed up). I’m also an office cubicle escapee, happy to be free to roam the city I love. For many years I took my four kids on a San Francisco outing at least once a month, picking a cool place to see or a fun thing to do from a list we’d make together. Now I get to see kids of all ages and all parts of the world discover San Francisco with the same kind of excitement and wonder. You can too!
Dara
Hi, I’m Dara, a California native who splits her time between San Francisco and Los Angeles. Being a tour guide in two amazing cities is a joy, and even though I’m a local expert, I’m always discovering new great spots that I’m excited to share with our guests! With over 15 years experience working in events and travel as a guide, manager, tour developer and much more, I really believe I’m doing my dream job. I hope to show you around one of these two incredible Californian cities soon!
Mark
I’ve been a working poet for forty years, which definitely feels like an achievement in and of itself. My latest full length collection is Roshi: San Francisco (published by Norfolk Press). Something to Be, which is on the subject of work, is out soon (from Pski Porch), and a historical novel is on the way. I live with my wife, the activist Joan Juster. In between writing I’ve been showing people around San Francisco for more than a decade. I really love surprising guests with a different side of the city than they expect.
Damien
I’m from the UK and I majored in History at the University of London. Travel is one of my main passions and I lived in Germany, Spain and Australia, before moving to California. Since then it’s become home and I love it. In 2013 I founded The Real Los Angeles Tours, bringing walking, bicycling and metro tours, focused on history, culture, architecture and food, to L.A. I’ve always loved San Francisco and I wanted to bring the same kinds of tours here too, so I’m very happy that I’ve been able to fulfill that dream.
Got Questions about San Francisco or California?
S.F. INFO
If you’re a visitor looking for specific information related to your trip here, such as fun things to do in San Francisco, interesting places to go to in California or the best activities to do here with your kids, be sure to check S.F.Info.
We also have general information about the U.S., including answering that most vital of all questions for foreign visitors: when and how much should I tip?
INSIDE SF
The San Francisco Scoop is designed by us to take you inside SF whether you’re visiting or you live here.
From current-affairs inspired articles on California’s history (such as the Fatty Arbuckle Scandal), to our suggestions on the best events being held in San Francisco every month, via inside information on authentic and fun SF experiences, we give you the essential scoop on the city by the bay.
Whatever your questions about SF, we have the answers.
Our Gallery
Media
BBC Presenter Ben Thompson talks to Real San Francisco Tours owner Damien Blackshaw about travel trends in the US in 2026.
Cronkite News reporter Emilee Miranda interviews Real San Francisco Tours owner Damien Blackshaw about eco-tourism.
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