Best Silicon Valley Tours in San Francisco

Among the things to see and do in San Francisco, one of the most interesting is to visit Silicon Valley, which is the starting point for some of the world's most important technology companies.

Located on the San Francisco Bay, the site that is known worldwide for the Golden Gate Bridge, the Silicon Valley area is also home to Palo Alto's Stanford University and one of NASA's Research Centres, making it an area of great cultural interest, especially if you are a technology buff.

This is one of the best tours from San Francisco and is a day trip to the most iconic sites in Silicon Valley.

The tour is by bus and usually includes hotel pick-up and drop-off and drop-off at major company sites.

What you will see on this tour

On these tours you will get to see Spaceship, the famous headquarters of Apple. There you will be able to see the facilities and even try out some of the new products and other prototypes in development.

You'll also have the opportunity to see the neighbourhood and garage where Steve Jobs and Sete Wozniak founded the company and the shed where Hewlett Packard was born.

These tours include one of the most interesting stops at the Googleplex Campus, where you can see the Android Garden and, after a stop for lunch, you'll also visit Stanford University, Facebook headquarters and the Big Like, the iconic thumbs-up monument.

These types of tours are ideal if you're visiting San Francisco during the winter, as this is when temperatures drop and it's best to take these tours on guided tours or on the city's tour buses.

Interesting details

• Price of the tour... These tours are priced at approximately 158 euros per person, including bus transfers with hotel pick-up, local guide assistance and entrance to the attractions on the tour.
• Duration of the tour... Approximately 7 hours.
• Advantages of this tour... This is the conventional tour and one of the most comfortable tours to take in Silicon Valley.

San Francisco and the Californian coast is a very common destination for group travel, so a private tour of Silicon Valley may be the best option if you are travelling with others.

On these tours you can tour the San Francisco Bay Area in a private vehicle with hotel pick-up and visit the main sites of Silicon Valley.

What you will see on the private tour

With the assistance of a guide you can visit Yahoo, Google, Hewlett Packard, Apple, Facebook, eBay and also Stanford University. On this tour you will understand how Silicon Valley became a mecca for technology and the impact it had on the modern development of communications.

These half-day tours, which last approximately four to five hours, are ideal if you're travelling in a group or plan to visit San Francisco in three days or less, as you' ll save time and money on tour entrance fees.

Some private tours also include a bike tour of San Francisco and the main sites of Silicon Valley, although you'll need a longer stay in the city to enjoy this.

Interesting details

• Tourprice... These tours cost approximately 95 euros per person, including transfers by private vehicle with hotel pick-up, the assistance of a local guide and admission to the attractions on the tour, for a group of six people.
• Duration of the tour... 4 to 5 hours.
• Advantages of this tour... This is an economical and convenient tour if you are visiting San Francisco in a group.

If you plan to tour San Francisco in five days or more, this type of tour may be ideal for you, because in addition to seeing Silicon Valley you can also visit Alcatraz, tour Sausalito and tour other major sites in and around the San Francisco Bay Area, giving you a complete perspective of the city.

What these tours include

These hotel pick-up tours will allow you to visit the Googleplex Campus, Facebook facilities, Stanford University. In addition, the tour also includes a shopping stop in Palo Alto.

Afterwards, a boat tour of San Francisco will take you to Alcatraz, where you can visit the former prison island, one of the best museums in the city

These tours are ideal if you want to book at the last minute, as you will be able to secure tickets to Alcatraz Prison even when it is sold out for sale to the public.

These tours also include tours of San Francisco's Chinatown and other must-see sites in the city.

Details of interest

• Tour price... These tours are priced at approximately 575 euros per person and include hotel pick-up transfers, admission to the attractions and round-the-clock assistance from an expert local guide throughout the tour.
• Duration of the tour... Between 8 and 10 hours.
• Advantages of this tour... It is a complete tour of the main sights of the city and can be an alternative to get tickets at the last minute.
• Disadvantages of this tour... It can be expensive and you will need several days in the city to be able to dedicate a full day to this tour.

Another common way to travel around San Francisco is by car up and down the California coast. For this reason, it is also possible to take a self-guided tour of Silicon Valley in a rental car.

This is an interesting option if you are visiting San Francisco with children or if you are looking for a cheaper alternative.

What to see on self-guided tours

These self-guided tours take you through the streets of Silicon Valley to visit the headquarters of Apple, Google, Facebook, Tesla, Microsoft and Amazon as you learn about the stories that pitted Bill Gates and Steve Jobs against each other and the feuds of Mark Zuckenberg and Jeff Bezos.

These options also allow you to customise tours, add stops, use the self-guided tour recommendations for lunch and ensure detailed knowledge of the sites you will visit.

These tours are paid per car, not per person, so you can save money and also ensure you get to know Silicon Valley at your own pace.

The self-guided tour is an ideal option to combine with San Francisco's best food tours or a family visit to the city's Aquarium.

Interesting details

• Tourprice... These self-guided tours cost 15 euros per vehicle.
• Duration of the tour... 2 to 3 hours.
• Theadvantages of this tour... This is the most economical option and an ideal alternative if you are touring the Californian coast by car or are travelling with children.

You can book these tours online in advance or book a tour once you are in the city.

My recommendation is that if you are visiting San Francisco in June or in the high season months, it is best to secure tours before you arrive in the city to avoid last minute sell-outs or price increases.

Silicon Valley is one of the most visited areas of the San Francisco Bay Area, so I recommend that you secure your tour in advance, especially if you want to take some of the tours that include private services, full tours of Alcatraz or food tours of the city.

The answer depends on the option you choose, but on average a day tour of Silicon Valley, whether private or group, can take approximately 5-7 hours.

Excursions that include tours of other attractions in the city can take 8-10 hours, especially those that include a visit to Alcatraz Island.

If you plan to visit Silicon Valley with a self-guided tour, the tour lasts approximately 2 to 3 hours, which you can start at any time, stop and start again, allowing you to move at your own pace, especially if you are planning a short stay in the city.

If that's your case, here's a guide to make sure you don't miss anything in San Francisco in 2 days.

If you take the Silicon Valley tour you will be able to visit the facilities of the biggest technology companies in the world, such as Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Tesla, Hewlett Packard and Microsoft, as well as the Stanford University campus.

On some tours you can also visit the Android Garden, the Googleplex Campus and have your picture taken with Facebook's Big Like.

If the tour includes other parts of the city, you'll also visit Alcatraz Prison, Chinatown, Sausalito and the Palo Alto shopping area.

You'll also get to see some important landmarks in the Silicon Valley area, such as the garage where Apple was founded or the shed where Hewlett Packard was born.

If you're visiting San Francisco at Christmas or during the peak tourist season months, I recommend booking your tours in advance to avoid selling out or paying last-minute surcharges.

If you are staying for several days in the city, I recommend a tour that lasts several hours so that you can enjoy all the attractions of Silicon Valley and Palo Alto and listen attentively and at your own pace to the stories of the entrepreneurs who changed the history of communications.

You can also make the most of your visit to the California Bay Area by touring Sausalito, or by visiting the Golden Gate Bridge for one of the best views of the city.

The answer depends on the option chosen, but a typical tour of approximately 7 hours in Silicon Valley which also includes hotel pick-up and drop-off and the assistance of an expert local guide costs approximately 158 euros.

If you are travelling in a group you will have to book private options which can be cheaper from 95 euros per visitor in groups of six people.

The most expensive option is the one that includes other tours of the city, such as Alcatraz Island, which with transfers and hotel pick-up costs approximately 575 euros per person.

The cheapest option is the self-guided tour of the Californian coast by car, which costs 15 euros per vehicle. This is an ideal option if you are visiting the city with children and you can also visit the Walt Disney Museum in San Francisco.

Silicon Valley is a visit not to be missed during your visit to San Francisco, not only because it is very interesting to see one of the world's technology meccas, but also because its streets hold stories of all kinds, which I am sure you will love to learn about during the tours with the assistance of a guide.

Excursions to Silicon Valley are accessible for the whole family, so it is a plan that is adaptable for a trip with children or in a group, as it will interest everyone.

Silicon Valley's proximity to the most emblematic sites in the San Francisco Bay Area is also a good excuse not to miss a tour of the only neighbourhood in the world where it is possible to come across an Android robot walking along the pavement of Microsoft's facilities.

You can tour Silicon Valley on your own, but without the assistance of an expert local guide you will miss out on some of the best stories, so I recommend that you at least hire the self-guided tour system to get the most out of your visit.

Also be aware that if you want to access company facilities, tickets are often sold out if you try to buy them at the last minute, so even then a guided tour will get you access to the attractions.