San Francisco welcomes millions of guests a year (in 2015 there were 24.6 million), and despite the housing crisis, Karl the Fog’s tenacity and even a lack of good pizza, people just keep on coming.
Good for them, bad for us.
The worst? When you’re the one shuffling today’s tourist around town to play a part in conquering their own checklist of “must-see, must-do” San Francisco classics. Sure, we’ll down an Irish coffee with the best of them, but at a certain point, it’s grueling to navigate through another Saturday on Pier 39.
Fear no more, my friends. I’ve got a list that’ll conquer your boredom, fears and stranger-danger and give your guests an authentic San Francisco experience, without sacrificing your sanity. There’s a reason why so many millions come to love this town — it’s a place that just keeps on giving. So buckle up and try something new for a change; sneakers not required.
Sweat-Proof Workout
Long-distance relationship or simply just a favorite gal-pal in town? The outpost for Dylan’s Tours might be in the heart of the city’s tourist epicenter (North Beach), but their Bike & Picnic tour slices up a new piece of adventure — and gets you in and out of tourist traps in style. Their “gourmet biking adventure” doesn’t require excessive stamina, in case you’re interested in wooing your guest without looking like you just left the gym. The package provides everything from an electric bike (think a Scoot with pedals) to a prepackaged picnic featuring some San Francisco faves, like Cowgirl Creamery cheeses, Acme bread, Napa Valley wine, veggies and charcuterie.
According to owner Dylan David, a few guys have booked the package for a once-in-a-lifetime proposal, so no pressure there. Whatever the reason, it’s easy to jet off to Sausalito and back without breaking into a sweat. Plus, you’ll still be back in time to get a drink at Comstock Saloon.
Get Cozy with Strangers
Cozymeal is a new service that books you a private cooking class with a world-class chef to be enjoyed in an oftentimes swanky San Francisco home with a group of strangers or friends. If you’re (un)lucky enough to have guests visiting for a week or more, go unconventional with your dinner plans. Learn a little something with the help of a professional chef, get a restaurant-quality meal without waiting for an hour, and enjoy a home-cooked meal without having to do any cleanup.
While the dining-with-strangers trend has hit the city hard, Cozymeal is by and far our favorite among the pack. Professional, experienced and painstakingly curated chefs are vetted by the small and attentive Cozymeal team, and dinners can be as intimate or as lively as you want. Events typically fill up fast (leaving little chance for any last-minute cancelations), and chefs provide full-service meals, from appetizers to take-home recipes. Plus, you might leave with a new friend to boot.
Find a Fork in Your Favorite Roads
Locals know that if KQED is involved, it’s got to be good. The station is the be-all and end-all in sourcing excellent content that celebrates the local, and their recent partnership with GPS-guided audio-tour app Detour is no exception. Any of Detour’s San Francisco tours utilizes the characters of the city to tell a unique tale. Download a neighborhood tour, share it, and walk — earbud to earbud — with some of your closest pals (the easiest way to blend in, if you ask me).
If you can swallow the cold, hard truth about gentrification in the Mission, Detour’s Mission-neighborhood tour is a beautiful experience. Walk through six blocks on 24th Street and experience the transformation that has kept murals alive while delivering million-dollar condos and Jewish delis (caution to the pastrami-obsessed: Wise Sons doesn’t come out looking guiltless). For the more adventurous crew, any of Detour’s neighborhood tours spotlights some overlooked joints in a city of shiny and new.
Pick a Brain over Pints
People are always bragging about the longevity of their SF life, like how they lived in the Mission “before it was cool.” Sorry to say, but they’ve probably got nothing on the team from San Francisco Native Tours — a small and ambitious group of fifth-generation San Franciscans. Yes, fifth.
“People don’t want to be tourists anymore,” said founder Stuart Watts, a tour-guide extraordinaire who can regale you with stories about everything from the city’s baseball history to the fire of 1906.
The walking tours share San Francisco’s history in a new, cleverly curated format, allowing people to be more like travelers than tourists. Our walking-tour pick from the team is the popular (and lengthiest), Parks — Pints — Politics, which starts with brews at Magnolia and ends with a history of Dolores Park’s gentrification at Zeitgeist. Local historian, bon vivant and all-around man about town, Watts can answer just about any SanFrancisco–related question, but my suggestion is to get personal and do a Q&A about his family. That’s where you’ll hit gold.
