Golden Gate Ferry

Came up from the south bay to escape the recent heat wave. I think two round trip tickets cost me $ 36 (plus another $ 18 for parking). We departed from Jack London Sqaure in Oakland and got off at the Ferry Building in SF. Since we do not do this often, I thought it was worth it for the views out on the bay and the natural air conditioning. Three decks on the ferry, the first two decks have enclosed seating.
The ticket counter is in a building that is not part of the departure area. They accept credit cards and we got through the line pretty quickly. The ferry ran every 45 minutes.
I had a bottle of Lagunitas beer on the trip back which set me back $ 8.50. Be sure to bring a light jacket even in the summer.

Meh, it’s a boat ride to traverse the bay. It’s not as exciting as the Jungle Cruise, but the views can be spectacular. Don’t expect great service at their concession stand, paint dries faster, but do expect clean restrooms and great riders. This boat often goes extra slow to Marin after a Giant’s game so take a book, meet new people, or bring friends to pass the time. It can also run warm inside so have layers on. I do have to add that I’m a bit sad that they conceded the below portion on some boats to bike riders. They stripped out much needed seats during a remodel for the needs of a few while many more need to stand.

We rode the ferry after a bike tour from SF to Sausalito. We pre-​purchased our tickets from the bike rental place and I’m glad because the lines at the self service ticket machines were long. We loaded on quickly but once on the board the crew seemed confused and tentatitve. One guy told everybody what to do and the rest seemed to act unsure of themselves. The ride was quick and comfortable but the offload was a joke for all us that bikes. They put all the bikes in one section on the bottom deck, probably 200 bikes I’m guessing. There was no clear method to retrieving the bikes and it ended up being everybody had to crowd down to little hallways to the bikes, dig out your bike and go back the way you came (fighting against the flow) and up a stairway and out the door. It took forever. They should figure out a better way to accomodate people with bikes.

While it’s a real nice way to commute, they are regularly 15 minutes late departing. I wish they’d just update the schedule already to reflect their lack of time offloading bikes all day.

I was the girl with the severely bruised face that rode your ferry yesterday. The girl that your bartender would not serve because of how my face looked. While I politely acted like I understood, what I failed to communicate to your bartender (who assumed I sustained this injury between my two ferry rides that day due to over drinking) is that I was attacked on weds night and while still coming to terms with what happened to me, decided to still attend a trip to Sausalito with friends for a birthday. I understand that it is an important job to determine who can and can not drink at an establishment, but my appearance had nothing to do with my ability to safely and legally consume an overpriced drink on your ferry. The two black eyes, scrapes, and fat lip is in no way my fault and bringing it to my attention is quite triggering for someone who was recently attacked. The weather was exquisite and I’m sure the views were beautiful but, in my upset state, I seemed to have missed them completely. My bruises will heal, but I will probably never ride your ferry again.

Great ferry ride back from sausalito to fisherman’s after riding bikes over the Golden Gate.
Thanks for a great ride! :)

Great ferry ride back from sausalito to fisherman’s after riding bikes over the Golden Gate. Bartendress Maryanntha is awesome! Thanks for a great ride!

#15/​2016
NOTE: This is a combo review for Golden Gate Transit and Blue & Gold Fleet who fulfilled the roundtrip ride from San Francisco to Sausalito.
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I guess I hadn’t ridden the ferry for some time because I had sticker shock when I bought one adult & one child tickets for…$ 16.75– ONE WAY.
For a 20 minute commuter ride from either Pier 41 (Fisherman’s Wharf) or the Ferry Building to Sausalito, that’s expensive!
I mean, the Staten Island ferry is *free yet we pay $ 34 round trip?
Thirty-​four smackers?
The ride is beautiful: Panoramic views of the Port of San Francisco, city skyline and the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges.
Floating to Sausalito, it looks quite a bit like our little version of Positano.
However in addition to the ridiculous ticket cost, we experienced a few other negatives and this pertains to Blue & Gold Fleet who fulfilled the return ferry:
Blue & Gold Ferry:
Had the misfortune of meeting a smack-​talking, passenger-​counting clicker «40-​year veteran» who started barking at a small group of us when we’d overheard the boat was headed to Fisherman’s Wharf.
We were supposed to be sailing to the Ferry Building.
There was no announcement, we were a big crowd assembled on the dock and a lot of us were confused.
It turns out one boat never showed up — however that happens, the ferries don’t run that frequently.
A small titter of voices rose– our little group and some Italian and Australian tourists– we were confused.
Were we in the wrong line?
So Mr. «40-​year veteran» shut us down and condescended to us we could take the F-​line, no big deal” and I retorted, «I know, we live here»
«I live here too!»
(Oh yeah, you wanna rumble or something, jerk?)
Here’s this: Why didn’t you simply make an announcement to the 150 people waiting at the dock rather than explain to us individually or in little groups as we step on the ship that we were sailing to a *different destination and save yourself– and us –the frustration of doing it in little packs until you get so angry you look and sound like Rumplestiltson when he learns the jig is up?
Furthermore, it *was a big deal: We had (3) very tired and hot children who were fading fast and we were not returning from where we started, necessitating an additional mass transit change, a train and then a bus when we got back to San Francisco.
Third, Golden Gate Transit’s ticket machines are buggy and old: two wouldn’t accept my friend’s or my credit card on both the departure and return.
In summary, I hope Mr. «40-​year veteran» gets his head on straight or retires before tourism high season starts: We need and depend upon the billions of dollars a year visitors spend in our Bay Area cities and they– and we locals– deserve better treatment.
Sheesh.

***The Golden Gate Ferry is not the cheapest way to get around the Bay Area, but it provides an enjoyable and quick way to get from Downtown San Francisco to Sausalito; riding the ferry also provides up close views of Alcatraz; many cities do not offer ferries either, which makes this a unique and fun option for public transit***
Golden Gate Ferry departs from the Ferry Building in Downtown San Francisco. Metered street parking and paid lots are available though expensive.

This and the Staten Island ferry are the greatest deals. They both provide amazing views and you get a nice ride to boot. I would actually rate this higher because both ends of the ride (the one to Sausalito to the Embarcadero) are great destinations.
Additionally, this ride has some padded seats and live TV. It’s much pricier than Staten Island (which is free) but still well worth it.

Expensive, but great for tourists. If you have family come into town, I strongly recommend it — the views, the diversity of guests, the general upbeat vibe. If you ride later on Saturday, there are always a few who have enjoyed one too many adult beverages.
During the fall, You want to be in line with your ticket (which you buy from a machine before boarding) when the boat arrives. If you show up right before the boat departs, there is a chance you won’t be able to board. Being there 30 minutes before departure is about right. During summer, the line sometimes forms earlier.

The best and most relaxed way to travel to work. They even have real newspaper :-).
A bit pricey but I loved it.

It’s pretty expensive… but the view is beautiful from start to finish
The lines to board can be very long at certain times of the year… but the people watching is super entertaining.
It can be chaotic when you reach your destination… hang back and do some more of the p/​w-​ing (bonus fun is counting how many different languages you can hear!)
The chocolate chip cookies are overpriced and stale most of the time… but it they taste amazing while being eaten outside coupled with the mist of the bay (Okay, that sounds corny, but it’s really true)
One of my favorite things to do.

The best utilization of Golden Gate Ferry shall be as a visitor. There is other, more inexpensive transit from San Francisco to Sausalito. However, the deck provides elegant views, the interior has snacks and the bottom interior has televisions along with places to charge electronics that actually work. To their credit, it does stop right at downtown Sausalito and the Ferry Building, both prime locations.
This was not the first time that I had visited. The Ferry Building terminal has multiple vending machines. The ride itself was very swell, perhaps inspiring. I had a Clipper card from a local family member, thus the fare was six and not eleven dollars, according to the website. Though the fare is not as low as desired, try to take a ride on this ferry.
Hopping on the Golden Gate Ferry should make you happy.

We were in Sausalito and taking a ferry back to San Francisco. It didn’t matter if we took the Golden Gate Ferry which takes you to Ferry Building or the the Blue and Gold Fleet which would take us to Fisherman’s Wharf. Since the schedule was better to take the Golden Gate Ferry, we decided to take that one.
We used the washrooms close by to where we buy tickets (glad for no line) and made our way to the ticket machines. There were about 5 people in front of us and the ferry was due to leave in about 10 – 15 minutes. One of the machines didn’t work so the group had to use the other and then that machine took their money but didn’t issue passes. There was one man working on controlling the long line of bikers waiting to join the line to get on the ferry. The people in front of me told him the issue and he came by to have a look. He was able to fix one of the machines and helped me purchase 4 tickets ($ 11.25 each) and I paid cash and glad to get my tickets. There was no line for the walking traffic and we scanned our tickets and got on the ferry with a few minutes to spare. There seemed to be discontent and confusion from the bikers where some of them bought tickets for this timed ferry but weren’t able to get on. Definitely as advantage to not have a bike.
It seems most people like sitting inside which was great for us to go to the back of the ferry and stand outside. It gets windy but it’s an enjoyable trip. The ferry slowed down when close to Alcatraz and lots of tourists bring out their cameras. Getting off the ferry, the line up formed but again the walkers were able to get off fairly quick as compared to those with bikes.
I enjoyed the 20 minute or so ride back to Ferry Building. It’s a little disorganized and not much support when things don’t go right so better to give yourself more time if you need a certain departure time.

From the Ferry Building:
— it’s first shove, first get on the ferry mentality
On the ferry:
— there are outlets so I was able to charge my phone during the half hour ride
— cash only bar; chips, cookies, hot dogs, candy, alcohol (the usual junk)
— lines get long on the way to Sausalito
— no help for those w/​a stroller
From Sausalito:
— there is a line but better get there 40 minutes prior to departure time
— we were the 2^nd in line but I looked back and saw 3 miles deep
— the crew boarded the cyclists first
— bring hand sanitizer w/​you to the bathroom
I wasted $ 45 per se BUT my kids did enjoy it.
Never again though.

I rode this for the first time after having biked from SF to Sausalito. All I wanted to do was to get back to SF, so I could eventually go home from there. There’s nothing wrong with the ferry ride itself; in fact, the scenery is quite beautiful.
As for queuing to board and get off the ferry, much can be said about that. Firstly, the boarding number thing for bikes is an absolute mess. Add in some confused tourists to the equation, and it becomes worse. «Go bike around and come back at [X time]…seriously, or the police will cite you.» Well, I’m glad I didn’t listen to that because shortly thereafter, they started boarding my group.
I was the last bicyclist let onto the particular ferry I took. The ride itself was rather uneventful. When it came time to get off, some guy made an announcement about how people with bikes need to bring them from the first to the second floor, since apparently you get on from the first floor on the Sausalito side and off from the second floor on the SF side (seems like a poor design to me, though I guess it’s necessary due to where the ferry docks). So I start up the stairs and another worker starts yelling at me, saying that we can’t bring bikes up yet, or else nobody else can get downstairs to retrieve their bikes. Contradictory much?
One would think they would have these bike logistics down to a science…

Now THIS is what I call a pleasant commute!
I’ve been without a car this week, so I decided to Ferry it in to San Francisco this morning. It’s been ages since I’ve taken the Golden Gate Ferry. After my experience today, I’ll be taking the Ferry more often (even when I get my car back).
First of all, from Sausalito to SF it’s just a 30 minute journey. In that time, you can read, do some work, watch TV, or just take in the spectacular Bay views. And coming back from SF, you can enjoy happy hour (they have a full bar to whet your whistle — CASH ONLY though).
A ferry ticket will run you $ 10.75 each way (or $ 5.50 with a Clipper). Normally when I drive in to SF, it costs me $ 25 to park + $ 5 for bridge toll. Needless to say, the ferry is definitely a more cost-​effective way to go. Plus, it’s just so damn convenient and comfortable. You don’t have to deal with the stress that comes with driving and parking in San Francisco. And it takes me pretty much the same amount of time to get to the office as it does with my car.
Long story short — the Golden Gate Ferry certainly floats my boat. I’m a fan, and I will be using them more often.

SF is notorious for its fantastic public transportation. This is no different.
The Golden Gate Ferry is nothing to sneeze at. It was one of the most painless ticket purchasing to across-​the-​bay rides to returning experiences I’ve ever had. We took the boat from the Ferry Building to Sausalito. It was super smooth (the under part of the ferry was comfortable and practically empty on a Saturday morning!) and the views were unbeatable. We took a tight outside route around Alcatraz giving a beautiful view of the Golden Gate and the mountains in the background.
Upon returning, we didn’t want to wait for the same Sausolito /​Ferry Building boat since the hours were a little few and far between, but we were able to use our round-​trip tickets for the ferry that returned just a ways down the Embarcadero to the Fishermans Wharf.

It’s arguably amazing. After all, a ferry ride through one of the most scenic bays anywhere is nothing to sneeze at. The beautiful blue water, the majestic cliff faces on the Marin side, the SF skyline on the other side, and the GG bridge majestically straddling it all. Yes, one could construct an argument that the ferry ride is, in fact, amazing.
To most people taking the ferry though, the beautiful 25 min ride is a commute. An (arguably) forgettable, redundant ride to work. I snapped a few pictures of the passengers on board and posted them. Yep, I’ve seen those faces plenty of times before. I commute too… so yeah I get it. Work sucks and takes like… I don’t know, probably almost all day. No cliffs or whatever gonna make that feeling away. Fck.
One time, when I was commuting in to work in Chicago, I looked up and who was it but mayor Rahm Emmanuel. True story. I thought of saying something. Maybe about bike lanes, or the new L cars that seem like a waste. But that seemed like it might be rude or weird. He was all into his ipad and if I said something, we’d have to stand inches from each other for the rest of the ride in silence. I feel you need to be able to walk away after you say something to a celebrity. He never looked up. Except a couple of peeks.
Which is what happens on the Sausalito to SF ferry. Hard core commuters on their phones or watching GMA on the TV. Only a couple peeks at the scenery. I get it, but as someone who doesn’t see those cliffs all the time, I looked up more.