Blue and Gold Fleet San Francisco

This post covers cruise options with the Blue & Gold Fleet in San Francisco, including tour descriptions, tickets, and available discounts.

Disclosure: While our recommendations are always unbiased, we may receive a small share of sales through some of the links below at no cost to you. See the full text.

WHAT IS BLUE & GOLD FLEET?

Blue & Gold Fleet offers boat cruises and ferry trips around the San Francisco Bay.

There are 3 different cruises to choose from, in addition to ferries to Sausalito, Tiburon, Angel Island, and all of the locations offered by San Francisco Bay Ferry.

Each of their cruises is between 30 minutes to 1 ½ hours in length, and prices range from $33 - $39 per person.

TOURS AND TICKETS

In this section, we will include details about each of the tours/cruises this company provides and how much you can expect to pay for tickets.

If you’re looking for lower prices, make sure to check our discounts section.

SF Bay Cruise Adventure

This is a 1-hour sightseeing cruise of all the major attractions in the Bay – including Golden Gate Bridge – with both indoor and outdoor seating.

Audio tours are available in several different languages.

Departs at 4 times on the weekdays and 8 times on the weekends. Read reviews here.

Ticket Prices:

$28.99/Adults (19-64)
$23.99/Youth (12-19)
$23.99 / Senior (65+)
$17.99/Children (5-11)
Schedule and Tickets

TIP: This tour is included for free with the purchases of any of several tourist discount passes.

Escape from the Rock

This is a 90-minute tour that takes guests under the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz Island, sharing the history of the prison and stories of the many famous escapes that have been attempted there.

Departs once on the weekdays and twice on the weekends. Read reviews here.

Ticket Prices:

$33.99 / Adult (19-64)
$26.99 / Youth (12-19)
$21.99 / Child (5-11)
$26.99 / Senior (65+)
Schedule and Tickets

TIP: This tour is included for free with the purchases of any of several tourist discount passes.

Angel Island Ferry

This is a round-trip ferry ride to Angel Island, a beautiful wildlife reserve known as the Ellis Island of the West.

It is 30-minutes long, each way. This trip does not include an audio guide but does feature beautiful views of San Francisco.

There are several daily departures. Read reviews here.

Ticket Prices:

$19.50/Adults
$11/Children, Seniors
Schedule and Tickets

TIP: This tour is included for free with the purchases of any of several tourist discount passes.

Sausalito Ferry

This is a 30-minute one-way ferry ride to the charming town of Sausalito.

This trip does not include an audio guide but does feature beautiful views of San Francisco. A return ticket is not included.

See our post about Sausalito to find out what you can do there and how to easily return to San Francisco.

There are 4-5 departures from both San Francisco Bay and Sausalito daily. Read reviews here.

Ticket Prices:

$13.00/Adults
$7.50/Children (5-11)
$7.50/Seniors (65+)
Schedule and Tickets

TIP: This tour is included for free with the purchases of any of several tourist discount passes.

Tiburon Ferry

This is a one-way ferry ride to Tiburon. This trip does not include an audio guide but does feature beautiful views of San Francisco.

There are several daily departures. Read reviews here.

Ticket Prices:

$13.00/Adults
$7.50/Children (5-11)
$7.50/Seniors (65+)
Schedule and Tickets

SF Bay Ferry

Blue & Gold Fleet also sells tickets on behalf of the San Francisco Bay Ferry, which visits 5 different locations including AT&T Park, Harbor Bay, Oakland/Alameda, South San Francisco, and Vallejo.

Ticket prices vary for each trip.

TIP: If you want to get an even closer look at the Golden Gate Bridge, consider taking our pay-what-you-wish Golden Gate Bridge walking tour.

Rocket Boat

This is a high-speed 30-minute cruise around the Bay. The Rocket Boat does not include an audio tour but rather functions as a way for thrill-seekers to ride around and see some major sites.

Note: The boat is currently out of commission and will be replaced with a new boat in 2020.

DISCOUNTS

Several of Blue & Gold Fleet cruises are included for free or at a discount on several tourist attraction discount passes as well as coupon sites such as Groupon.

Tourist Attraction Discount Passes

There are currently three tourist attraction discount passes that offer Blue & Gold Fleet cruises.

These services typically include a variety of different attractions to choose from for a discounted price, and you could save 60% or more off general admission prices.

You can also use these discount cards to get skip-the-line tickets for several activities in San Francisco.

Go San Francisco Card

This all-inclusive pass allows you to enjoy over 25 different attractions in the city for one low price, potentially saving more than 60% on general admission.

Passes are available in increments of 1, 2, 3 or 5 days.

San Francisco Explorer Pass

This discount pass lets you pick only the activities you want from a list of more than 25 and pay one flat price for a set number of attractions.

You can choose 3, 4 or 5 different services and save up to 45% off regular ticket prices.

Build Your Own Pass

Pick 2 or more attractions from a list of more than 38 and save 20% on each activity.

This is the smallest discount available via a tourist pass, but it also includes the most services.

Discount Sites

Don’t forget to check discount sites and apps such as Groupon and Living Social.

Both services often work with companies like Blue & Gold Fleet to provide great deals.

In addition to the discounts they already offer, these sites also usually have promotions which allow you to save even more money.

If you want to take advantage of this money-saving opportunity, you’ll usually find them listed at the top of the front page.

NOTE: Unfortunately, there are currently no AAA, student, or military discounts on tickets.

BLUE & GOLD FLEET VS. RED & WHITE FLEET

Each of these companies offers very similar cruise services in San Francisco, but there are a few differences between them.

First, we list the things that the companies have in common.

Similarities

Both are popular cruise companies with excellent reputations.

Each company offers standard cruises around San Francisco Bay, giving customers a great view of sites such as Bay Bridge, Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, AT&T Park, and Sausalito.

With the exception of Blue & Gold’s Rocket Boat, all cruises are accompanied by an audio guide that comes in several different languages.

Both services are pretty affordable, with an average ticket price between $30-$40 per adult for a 1-hour cruise.

Differences

Unlike Red & White, Blue & Gold offers a cruise specifically about Alcatraz, though both companies offer cruises that feature the prison.

Blue & Gold is the only company to offer a speedboat tour around the Bay for thrill-seekers.

Blue & Gold cruises are included with more tourist pass services than Red & White, making it very easy to save money on tickets.

Unlike their competitors, Blue & Gold also sells tickets for several ferry rides.

Blue & Gold does not offer nighttime or evening cruises around the San Francisco Bay.

Although they are pretty highly rated, Blue & Gold consistently receives lower customer ratings than Red & White.

NOTE: Neither Blue & Gold or Red & White offers a cruise to Alcatraz. If you want to visit this historic location, make sure to read our post about Alcatraz tours and tickets.

WHAT IS BLUE & GOLD FLEET?

TOURS AND TICKETS