The hop on hop off bus was a great way to see San Francisco. As a continuous tour, it was easy and convenient. Our driver was very personable.
Here are some points that could be improved upon :
1) I’m disappointed that we didn’t see the things that they claim you see. For example, to see the painted ladies, you need to get off the bus and walk to the houses. It would have been better for the bus to drive by the houses in case people did not want to get off the bus (this was true for other stops too, like Lombard street - you cannot see it from the bus and to get off to see it required walking a few blocks).
2) I have used other hop on hop off tours in other cities and this one just isn’t great. The two main stops are Union Square and Fisherman’s Wharf. You can get off at the other stops, but there is no “designated stop”. So if you get off at one stop and walk to another, you have no idea where to catch the bus and you run the risk of not being able to get on at those stops.
3) The tenderloin district needs to be avoided. The drive from stop 20 to Union Square was the worst thing I’ve seen in any city I’ve traveled to. It was enough to make me not want to go back to San Fran. The bus should figure out another route that avoids that area as much as possible.
All in all, I would have preferred to take a cable car from Union square down Hyde, see the top of Lombard St, end up at the Wharf to walk around there, walk to the bridge, then take the cable car back when ready. It would have been much cheaper too!