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You are here: Home / Trips / SFO TP Run / Summer Tier Points – Sausalito: Which ferry to take?

Summer Tier Points – Sausalito: Which ferry to take?

15/10/2018 by Kevincm

 Sausalito: Which ferry to take? – Summer Tier Points

San Francisco Trip Report Header

In this… epic.

  • When will I learn to jump on a fare?
  • Wednesday Afternoon.. off to the airport
  • EI273 Birmingham to Dublin Airport
  • Into Dublin for some Donuts. And Pokemon
  • The Travelodge in Swords, Dublin Airport
  • Pre-Clearance fun at Dublin airport, 51st and Green Lounge
  • AA291 Dublin to New York JFK – Business Class
  • A Manhattan Char Siu Adventure
  • Back in the Secure Area, Flagship Lounge and AAdmirals Club
  • AA2652 New York JFK to San Francisco International – Transcontinental Business Class
  • The Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport
  • Do the BART into San Francisco, The Intercontinental Mark Hopkins, San Francisco
  • Sausalito: Which ferry to take?
  • Halfway across the Golden Gate Bridge
  • Fooding around San Francisco
  • The Crowne Plaza, San Francisco Airport
  • Early start at San Francisco airport
  • AA164 San Francisco International to New York JFK – Transcontinental Business Class
  • The joy of terminal swaps, BA Pre-departure dining
  • BA174 New York JFK to London Heathrow – Club World (Business Class)
  • An Early Morning Change at Heathrow
  • BA828 London Heathrow T5 to Dublin Airport – Club Europe
  • Doughnuts and coffee shops – Exploring Dublin
  • Once more with feeling at Dublin Airport
  • FR666 Dublin Airport to Birmingham Airport
  • 600 TP: Done

Boat Adventures – to Sausalito. Which ferry works best?

I was in the mood for an adventure – and I fancied a ride on a ferry to Sausalito. The question is how to get a ride to and from there. There’s two options – Golden Gate Ferry who operate from the Ferry Building and the Blue and Gold Fleet who operate from Pier 41 in San Francisco

Two options. So naturally, I decided to try both of them.

A walk down from the hotel and a trolley ride later – I was at the Ferry building for the first of the rides  on Golden Gate Ferry from the Ferry Building.

a large white tower with a clock on it with San Francisco Ferry Building in the background
The ferry building. 

The company offers either tickets or using a Clipper Card. As I had a clipper card, it was a cheap scan of $6.75 (if you buy a ticket… it’s a more eyewatering $12.95!)

There was a short delay for boarding the ferry due to the unending stream of bikes getting off the ferry.

a group of people looking out of a glass door
Get a move on please bikey people.

Fun.

Eventually were let on the ferry

Like most ferries, it is has a bar/snack service on it, as well as indoor and outdoor seating. So of course, I went outdoors. Because – 1) no annoying glass getting in the way of windows and 2) it was reasonably warm outside.

And that of course leads to photos

a water with a body of water behind it

a bridge over water with a body of water behind it
Pulling away

a bridge over water with trees in the background
The Bay Bridge

a boat in the water
The Golden Gate Bridge in the distance 

The journey takes around 30 minutes, taking in the sights of the city, the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz… the previous home of many prisoners, tax dodgers, and mutants

a body of water with a bridge and a building in the distance
Could open for the right inmate. 

a person on a boat
Don’t do this. Someone will scream at you

a red sign on a wall
Or this

a city skyline with a body of water
In the distance

a person pointing at a body of water
Point this way.

a boat in the water
Traffic

a bridge over water with a boat in the background
Closing in on Sausalito

a boat on the water

a boat in the water
Far… 

Eventually, the service made it to Sausalito landing, with departure priority give to foot passengers. I exited and explored the village of Sausalito.

It is… rather quaint to put a term to it. Whilst it is obviously touristy, it doesn’t shout it out from the top of the hills – rather, it is settled and laid back. And considering my head didn’t know what time zone it was, this is a good thing.

 

a plane flying in the sky
Do you see what I see?

a group of purses on a glass shelf
Because your purse needs to have a rainbow or a Loubuton heels on it.. 

a fish feeder on a wooden fence
Save fish, feed butts. Hehe. Butt. 

a dock on a rocky shore
In the distance 

a group of people walking on a street with palm trees and flags

a street with palm trees and a building

 

a stairs leading up to a building

 

a mannequin wearing a purple shirt
Because. Wine. 

It was also a great place to play Pokemon Go, and pick up a rather powerful Tyranatar. Shame the IV’s were… awful.

a screenshot of a video game
A wild Tyranatar appeared (first time I’ve seen that happen in-game)! 

Whilst I wasn’t in the mood for ice cream, I was in the mood to walk around slowly and enjoy myself – because this is a holiday – not a business trip where I’m on someone else’s timetable (which was going to be the theme of my next trip) .

And when you’re not on someone else’s timetable, it means you can dip in and out of shops, you can explore things slowly… in other words, enjoy life a bit.

hamburger burgers on a grill
The question is why the grill isn’t rotating… why don’t I have rotating grill like this?

a shelf with plastic cups on it
Very. 

With an hour or so killed, I decided to start making my way back to San Francisco. When I reached the landing, a Gold and Blue Ferry was waiting to load. I got in the queue, and was let past the many cyclists waiting to board.

people on bicycles on a dock with a boat in the backgroundBikes.

a group of people on a bridge

And there were a load of them.

Unlike Golden Gate Ferry Gold and Blue use a more traditional ticketing method of buying on the ferry – with a single ride coming to with a single ticket costing a $12.50 one way, with no option of Clipper. Annoying, but that’s life.

With another ferry ride, this one took a lot longer to load up for the return joinery – to the point where a crew member said “Cheer up! There’s Beer aboard”

Because, beer makes some things better Allegedly.

Even then, I found the crew of Gold and Blue a little colder than the Golden Gate Ferry crews – to the point where volume of one of them would make a great TSA screener.

a body of water with buildings and hills in the background

a group of people on a boat

a man taking a picture of a man on a boat T
This is getting *way* too meta

a bridge over water with the sun shining through the clouds
This isn’t meta, but you need to do this safely. Use the live view setting on your camera!

a group of people on a boat

The ferry sped through the water, with Alactraz passing on the left hand side, and the Golden Gate Bridge looking splendid as always.

Which is good – because I’d be walking ½ way across it the next day.

a large island with a building on it

a city skyline with a body of water

a group of people on a boat

The boat took the route back toward San Francisco, and headed for Pier 41, slowing down as it entered the dock.

a large ship in the water
The SS Jeremiah O’Brien

With tickets needed to exit the boat, disembarkation was a slow process. Annoying, but there it is.

a boat on the water
Off the boat – no annoying photo sales… which is a nice thing…

and into the mayhem of Pier 39

a group of people walking on a sidewalk

Overall: If going by cost alone, The Golden Gate Ferry offers excellent value if using a Clipper Card. If you’re walking up on the day and just buying a ticket – then both Golden Gate and Blue and Gold ferries offer good choices over to Sausalito. What it will depend on is your times and where you need to depart/arrive from – be it the Ferry building or Pier 41.

Next – Walking across the Golden Gate Bridge


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