San Francisco Ghost & True Crime Tour
Description
On our Notorious SF: Ghost & Crime tour we visit the sites of Hollywood scandals, red light areas, opium dens, gang violence, Gold Rush era lynchings & kidnappings – & enjoy cocktails in one or two historic bars. We start with the Fatty Arbuckle affair, the original sex scandal that changed the public's perception of celebrity forever (& lead to the 'morality clause' in contracts). Then we stroll down Maiden Lane, which is lined with designer shops now, but 100 years ago was the city's main red light district. After that we visit Chinatown, an area of opium dens and gambling hellholes in days gone by. Next you'll learn about Gold Rush era SF. Then we dive down to the Barbary Coast, with its brothels & dance halls, often used to Shanghai unwary sailors (which is where the term originated). We end the tour at the oldest bar in San Francisco, the Old Ship Saloon. Join our Notorious SF: Scandal & Crime tour & be haunted by these ghastly ghosts from San Francisco's past for weeks.
Tour Options
Itinerary
We begin the tour with the Fatty Arbuckle affair, Hollywood's first ever sex scandal (here in SF). It's not just a lurid story - it's effects are still felt today in many ways. If the hotel is open there's the option of having a drink in the very nice bar in the lobby.
Discover a scandalous story about the statue at the center of Union Square.
Learn how this lane - which is now a beautiful pedestrian street, was once the heart of San Francisco's red light district.
SF's Chinatown is the oldest in the U.S. and for many years the Chinese immigrants here were strongly discriminated against. Criminals also preyed on them - opium dens, gangs and murder were all prevalent here. Learn of some of the personalities and crimes as you walk the streets.
This is one of the oldest bars in San Francisco, dating back to when the neighborhood was known as the Barbary Coast. We usually take 10-15 minutes to get a drink - don't worry, you won't be shanghaied!
One of the few buildings not to burn down in the Great Fire were the Hotaling warehouses. Is that because the whiskey inside was too important to lose?
Learn how the Gold Rush made SF what it is today. In those early years it was the Wild West, murder, robbery, kidnapping - and lynchings - were commonplace in this neighborhood.
This neighborhood used to be called the Barbary Coast and there wasn't a more dangerous place in the world. Robbery, assault, shanghaiing - it all happened here (but not anymore, don't worry :-).
This the oldest bar in San Francisco, built on top of a Gold Rush ship that was deserted by its crew back in 1849. It's the perfect place to end the tour.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Aim to get to the meeting point 10-15 minutes early. If you’re late you may miss the tour.
- Not recommended for children under 15 years old (adult content).
- By making a booking for this tour you agree to be bound by Real San Francisco Tours terms of service.
- We can go into two different bars for cocktails on this tour, each for 15 minutes. You do have to be over 21 y.o. to order an alcoholic drink – but you don’t have to be over 21 y.o. to do this tour.
- Please check dates/times carefully BEFORE making a booking.
- This is a walking tour and we move at a reasonable pace. Please book a private tour if you have mobility issues.
Reviews(13)
Jamie was a great tour guide full of great stories. We will definitely do more tours with Jamie! Highly recommend Jamie and can’t wait to do more tours with him
We got a history lesson instead of a ghost/ crime tour. The guide was a fill in. He started the tour telling everyone he doesn’t believe in ghost. We did not follow the itinerary or have any breaks at the bars. I wish I had booked a different tour.
We're really sorry that this guest didn't enjoy the tour, we always strive to make tours fun and interesting, it's why we do this. However there are a few inaccuracies in this review that we would like to correct. We don't know what the reviewer means by saying the guide was a fill in, since the guide does this tour regularly (and enjoys doing it). Guides aren't required to believe in ghosts in order to do the tour, people have different belief systems. What we love at Real San Francisco Tours are ghost STORIES, of which there are several very scary ones on this tour (and which the guide did tell the guests).The tour DID follow the usual itinerary and the guide asked the guests several times if they wanted to take a break in one of the historic bars that we pass, however the group declined. This guest could have told the guide that they wanted to stop and the tour would have done so. We'd really appreciate it if this guest could email us with more information about their experience, so that we can look into the issues in more detail. - Catalina
Jamie was our guide and he did a great job pacing the walking tour. The tour started at Union Square, looped around blocks and alleys, and ended up just south of China Town. There were great crime stories with a little bit of art, architecture, and history included. We heard about the Zodiac killer, Mark Twain, Diego Rivera, and Bruce Lee. We look forward to checking out other tours with Real San Francisco Tours and Jamie.
Hands down the best walking tour I’ve ever been on! I don’t ordinarily take the time to leave a review, but I’ve found myself thinking about how much I enjoyed the tour many times over the last week. Not only did I learn a lot about San Francisco’s history, see far more than I expected, but I also I had a delightful time soaking in its beauty while in great company.
Unfortunately, I’ve had a horrible experience with this company. I was excited for this tour, but no one showed up. I was within the time frame, arrived at 6:02pm. The website clearly states that they will wait 5 minutes for late comers. Another group of 3 people showed up at 6:03pm. So, I hoped maybe the guide was just running late. Waited/looked around the whole area for 15-20min and no one was there. I did try to get a refund but they just fed me lies, saying someone was waiting there for 40min. They then said they would give me 25% off my next ticket! Why would I let them scam me out of more money? They could have at least offered another day for the tour. Honor what you say and if you made a mistake then own up to it!
It's a shame this guest missed the tour, however as they state in this review, they were late for the tour. It doesn't say on our website that we wait 5 minutes for latecomers, it clearly states that if guests are late they may miss the tour and there are no refunds within 48 hours of the tour. We do try and wait at least 5 minutes for late-running guests, however that isn't always possible, hence why we emphasize to guests to be early. Once a tour has started it is very difficult to track down in a busy city like SF. It's the same as booking any other event - we have other guests, 90% of whom ARE on time and DO want to start the tour on schedule. Even so the guide waited for considerably longer than 5 minutes after the start time, but this guest never checked in. He wanted them to join it. We obviously want all of our guests to do the tour they booked. This guest didn't contact us to say that they were running late, which we could have potentially passed onto the guide, instead we first heard from them 10 days after their tour when they demanded a refund. It's important for all potential guests to understand that we're excited to do tours, it's why we organize them and why we have so many 5 star reviews on platforms such as Google and here on TripAdvisor, but we cannot take responsibility for guests getting to the meeting point on time, because it's totally out of our control. All guests need to do to have an amazing experience with us, is just to get to the meeting point before the tour starts (we recommend 15 minutes), and we'll take of all the rest.
We really enjoyed the opportunity to walk the streets with a passionate local who knows so much about the history. We were a single group so Jamie was able to tailor the evening to our interests. Great way to spend our last night in San Francisco
A fun, kind of irreverant look at the city! Great tour for those who have been to SF several times and are just looking for something a little different. Jason was full of interesting tidbits and his stories allowed us to see things we've often seen through another lens.
We learned a lot of neat things about San Francisco. While a few ghost are included, it’s mostly historical. This tour is great for history buffs!
Just to be clear these guests cut short the tour early, since they had flown in that day and said, at the beginning of the tour, that they were tired. That probably explains why they didn't hear all the stories and why they may not have been in the best shape to do the tour. Nevertheless, as we explain in the description, this is a true crime AND ghost tour, not JUST a ghost tour.
My boyfriend and I went on the Saturday night haunted tour. The guide had some great true crime history, which we both loved, as well as some truly scary ghost stories. The other great thing about the tour was that it stopped in a lovely bar from 1900 and ended at the oldest pub in the city. I'd never been to San Francisco before and I'd definitely recommend this tour for first-timers.
Such a fun night! Learned so much about the city that I never knew. Guide was friendly and excited to share his knowledge.
