Quick Questions About Free Walking Tours In San Francisco
This page answers the questions that come up before booking a free, pay what you want walk. The 13 tours listed here all belong to independent local guides: 10 run on GuruWalk and the rest on freetour.com, and this site operates none of them. Reservations happen on each walk's own platform page, never here.
Booking And Paying For Walks
What Does Free Actually Mean Here?
Every walk listed on this site is free or pay what you want. The guides run them independently and you decide at the end what, if anything, to pay. This site runs no tours of its own. All 13 walks belong to independent guides on GuruWalk or freetour.com.
How Do I Reserve A Spot?
Click through to the walk's listing on GuruWalk or freetour.com and book there. The directory only points you to the platform. Reservations are free and you pay nothing until the end of the walk, when you pay the guide what you think it was worth.
Should I Tip The Guide?
Every walk is free, pay what you want. What you give the guide at the end is up to you.
Why Do Some Ratings Go Up To 5 And Others To 10?
The two platforms use different scales. GuruWalk rates walks out of 5, for example 4.94 out of 5 across 576 GuruWalk reviews. freetour.com rates out of 10, for example 9.5 out of 10 across 1,354 reviews shown on its freetour.com listing. The platform and scale are shown with every figure on this site.
Are Any Walks In A Language Other Than English?
Yes, one. The Free Tour In Spanish, listed on freetour.com and rated 9.4 out of 10 across 1,335 reviews shown on its freetour.com listing, runs for 2 hours 15 minutes in Spanish. It meets at Union Square, corner of Post and Powell Streets. The other 12 walks are in English.
Where Do The Walks Meet?
Each walk has a set meeting point. Downtown walks tend to gather at Union Square or nearby, such as the corner of Post and Powell Streets or 312 Mason Street. Others include the Hidden Garden Steps at 16th Avenue, 1300 Haight Street, Dragon Gate on Grant Avenue, and the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park. Details are on each walk page.
What Is Free In The City
Is Walking The Golden Gate Bridge Free?
Yes. Pedestrians walk at no cost and use the east sidewalk only, the side facing the city. Gates run 5:00 am to 6:30 pm in standard time and 5:00 am to 9:00 pm in daylight time. On some construction weeknights the east sidewalk closes an hour early. The bridge toll applies to southbound cars only, never to people on foot.
Is Alcatraz Free?
No. Alcatraz is a paid attraction, with tickets from $47.95. The nearby free options are Fisherman's Wharf and the PIER 39 sea lions, both of which cost nothing to enjoy.
Is The Japanese Tea Garden Free?
Only during the Free Hour: Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9:00 am to 10:00 am. At all other times admission is charged. The garden opens at 9:00 am daily, with last entry at 4:30 pm from November to February.
Can I Get Into The De Young Museum For Free?
Yes, from 4:30 pm. The official wording is that at 4:30 pm the museum offers free admission to the permanent collection, no ticket needed. Special exhibitions cost extra. The Hamon Observatory Tower is free on its own, Tuesday through Sunday, 9:30 am to 4:30 pm.
Is The Musée Mécanique Free?
Entry is free and the games are paid. You can walk the whole pier-side arcade and watch the antique machines without spending anything, then pay per game as you like. It is one of the easier free visits at Fisherman's Wharf.
Are Cable Cars Free?
No. A single cable car ride is $9.00 with no transfers. Children 4 and under ride free, and SF youth 18 and under ride free with a Free Muni for Youth Clipper card. The free alternative is the Cable Car Museum, where you can watch the winding wheels that pull the cables at no charge.
What About Museum Free Days And Fort Point?
Golden Gate Park has several conditional frees. The Conservatory of Flowers is free first Tuesdays, the Botanical Garden is free daily 7:30 to 9:00 am and on second Tuesdays, and the de Young and Legion of Honor permanent collections are free from 4:30 pm. Fort Point is free with no entrance fee, but open only Thursday through Monday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, with roof access closing at 4:30 pm.
About This Directory
How Are The Walks Chosen?
Every walk on this site is a real, running listing on GuruWalk or freetour.com. The roster covers downtown, Chinatown, North Beach, the Mission, Haight Ashbury, Golden Gate Park and the hidden stairways. Some walks have review figures, such as 4.96 out of 5 across 52 GuruWalk reviews, while one newer listing has no reviews yet. All 13 are free or pay what you want.
Who Runs This Site And How Is It Paid For?
This site is a directory and runs no tours itself. Every walk belongs to an independent guide on GuruWalk or freetour.com. Links here to GuruWalk and freetour.com carry this site's referral code, and the site may earn a commission when a reader books through one. The walk costs the walker the same either way.