On our fourth trip to San Francisco we were looking for something a little bit different to do when we came across The Segway Tour run by the San Francisco Electric Tour Company. We have ridden segways on holiday before and this really appealed to us.
There was a choice of tours available to us, but two were for advanced riders which we didn' t consider ourselves to be (although it turns out we were! ) one was a night tour and one was an Alcatraz combo, and as we weren' t planning to visit Alcatraz this trip we were left with a choice between The Golden Gate Park tour or the Wharf and Waterfont tour, the latter won!
We booked online about 6 weeks before our visit to San Francisco and the booking procedure was very straightforward. The instructions contained very comprehensive directions to the location in Fishermans Wharf and we arrived in good time for our 9am tour. The weather was somewhat overcast, I believe the current terminology for misty San Francisco weather is ' marine layer' !
Our party of four was joined by a father and his teenage daughter who were completely new to riding segways but who very quickly picked up the rudiments of the machine during our very comprehensive course of instruction which lasted about 20 minutes. Our guide, Carlos, was confident about our abilities after the training session, but made sure we were all happy as well and said that if not there was no problem in prolonging our instruction, he was very safety conscious and wanted us all to be comfortable.
We were given radios and headsets so that Carlos could talk to us during the tour.
Once happy we were out on to the road in our formation, three rows of two with Carlos leading us. We were told we were to move as one unit, if Carlos stopped, we all stopped, if he turned a corner we turned with him, we were as a single vehicle!
It was quite alarming to be out in the middle of the traffic but we soon got used to it and Carlos told us that this was the point we ceased to become a tourist and became a tourist attraction!
We set off for North Beach and Little Italy, stopping for Carlos to point out places of interest such as film locations for The movie Mrs Doubtfire, some marked with floral tributes following Robin Williams recent death. We passed Washington Square where the locals were practising Tai Chi and all the time Carlos kept up a witty and interesting commentary, stopping here and there to test our local knowledge and impart additional information to us. Throughout the tour Carlos took plenty of photos to be posted on their website later and also gave us the opportunity to take photos with our own cameras.
After about an hour we stopped for a comfort break and the opportunity to visit one of the local coffee shops for refreshments whilst Carlos stood guard over the segways.
After our break we headed down towards Fishermans Wharf with Carlos entertaining us with tales from the San Francisco Gold Rush and San Francisco' s major earthquakes. Fishermans wharf was much busier now as it was getting later in the morning and our little convoy generated lots of interest. Whilst stopped at a set of lights a group of tourists who were stood at a seafood stall started to take photos of us, so Carlos suggested we ' danced' for them. Right arm in the air whilst turning in a clockwise circle, left arm in the air and 360 degrees anti clockwise, our antics elicited a round of applause!
We passed through Fishermans wharf and continued along the waterfront to the municipal pier where we were allowed to travel at speed along the pier, it was great fun. We stopped at the end of the pier for a final group photo before free styling back to our meeting point at the entrance to the pier then back in formation for our final leg of the journey back to the starting point. Our tour ended with the presentation of awards, a certificate and pin for everyone!
We had all had great fun, Carlos was hugely entertaining but always mindful of our safety.
Not only would I highly recommend this tour but would actively encourage anyone who meets the physical criteria to give it a go. There were 2 seniors in our party so it' s definitely not something that is only to be enjoyed by the youngsters!
There was a choice of tours available to us, but two were for advanced riders which we didn' t consider ourselves to be (although it turns out we were! ) one was a night tour and one was an Alcatraz combo, and as we weren' t planning to visit Alcatraz this trip we were left with a choice between The Golden Gate Park tour or the Wharf and Waterfont tour, the latter won!
We booked online about 6 weeks before our visit to San Francisco and the booking procedure was very straightforward. The instructions contained very comprehensive directions to the location in Fishermans Wharf and we arrived in good time for our 9am tour. The weather was somewhat overcast, I believe the current terminology for misty San Francisco weather is ' marine layer' !
Our party of four was joined by a father and his teenage daughter who were completely new to riding segways but who very quickly picked up the rudiments of the machine during our very comprehensive course of instruction which lasted about 20 minutes. Our guide, Carlos, was confident about our abilities after the training session, but made sure we were all happy as well and said that if not there was no problem in prolonging our instruction, he was very safety conscious and wanted us all to be comfortable.
We were given radios and headsets so that Carlos could talk to us during the tour.
Once happy we were out on to the road in our formation, three rows of two with Carlos leading us. We were told we were to move as one unit, if Carlos stopped, we all stopped, if he turned a corner we turned with him, we were as a single vehicle!
It was quite alarming to be out in the middle of the traffic but we soon got used to it and Carlos told us that this was the point we ceased to become a tourist and became a tourist attraction!
We set off for North Beach and Little Italy, stopping for Carlos to point out places of interest such as film locations for The movie Mrs Doubtfire, some marked with floral tributes following Robin Williams recent death. We passed Washington Square where the locals were practising Tai Chi and all the time Carlos kept up a witty and interesting commentary, stopping here and there to test our local knowledge and impart additional information to us. Throughout the tour Carlos took plenty of photos to be posted on their website later and also gave us the opportunity to take photos with our own cameras.
After about an hour we stopped for a comfort break and the opportunity to visit one of the local coffee shops for refreshments whilst Carlos stood guard over the segways.
After our break we headed down towards Fishermans Wharf with Carlos entertaining us with tales from the San Francisco Gold Rush and San Francisco' s major earthquakes. Fishermans wharf was much busier now as it was getting later in the morning and our little convoy generated lots of interest. Whilst stopped at a set of lights a group of tourists who were stood at a seafood stall started to take photos of us, so Carlos suggested we ' danced' for them. Right arm in the air whilst turning in a clockwise circle, left arm in the air and 360 degrees anti clockwise, our antics elicited a round of applause!
We passed through Fishermans wharf and continued along the waterfront to the municipal pier where we were allowed to travel at speed along the pier, it was great fun. We stopped at the end of the pier for a final group photo before free styling back to our meeting point at the entrance to the pier then back in formation for our final leg of the journey back to the starting point. Our tour ended with the presentation of awards, a certificate and pin for everyone!
We had all had great fun, Carlos was hugely entertaining but always mindful of our safety.
Not only would I highly recommend this tour but would actively encourage anyone who meets the physical criteria to give it a go. There were 2 seniors in our party so it' s definitely not something that is only to be enjoyed by the youngsters!