My Personal Segway Scooter Tour Experience in San Francisco

I arrived bright and early on a Saturday morning to learn how to ride a segway scooter. I found very friendly and helpful staff. I received very detailed instructions on how to find the SF Electric Tour Company. I just followed those very carefully and had no problem finding them even though they are tucked away between two buildings.

They helped me find a place for my bike which I had brought with me on Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART). I didn’t feel like I was just “one of those tourists who was part of their job.” They all had a lot of knowledge and experience with Segway scooters and were very patient with everyone. I could tell they enjoyed their jobs and was glad I booked the tour from the very start! I could also tell they were passionate about the Segway scooters and how great they are to ride.

After a 45 minute training session including a video, everybody felt comfortable on their Segway scooters and we began our tour. I wasn't really that excited about a 45-minute training session but it went by really fast and it was somewhat entertaining.>br>
I was a little anxious to really go out to the street and ride it “for real!” But I quickly got the hang of it and it was a great way to see the city! We didn't start out going very fast and they stopped traffic for us to get onto the street.

My Little Incident

I did have one little mishap – if you get going too fast the handle will shake and I forgot the instructions to just lean back to stop. I was going down a hill a little too fast but Yoni my guide quickly reminded me of what I needed to do and I never had that problem again!
My guide Yoni who I later learned is from Israel - cool - didn't make me feel stupid - I appreciated that as I knew my kids would hear about it if I crashed!

What I Saw On My Tour

First we went past the San Francisco Maritime Museum – which is closed until April 2009 – and then we got to turn up the speed to 12 MPH and go out on the San Francisco Municipal Pier. It is found at the west end of Aquatic Park. It juts out into the San Francisco Bay and has incredible views of Angel Island, Tiburon, the Golden Gate Bridge and the city of San Francisco itself. It was a beautiful sunny California day and with the wind in my hair and the sun on my face I couldn’t have been better if I tried!

I stopped and talked to a man who was “crabbing” – catching crabs off the pier. I have done this with myself with my father and my kids before – it’s great fun and free! He had a bag full of them! You can check out my web page on “Ten FREE Things to do along the San Francisco Waterfront” and learn more about crabbing.

After that we we went along the waterfront. When we started to ride by larger groups of people we started turning heads. I have never been a “tourist attraction” myself but every time we rode by big groups of people they started taking pictures of us! Yoni the tour guide said our photographs would be found in scrapbooks all over the world!

Oh – I forgot to tell you – in the front of everybody’s Segway scooter there was a radio so we could hear Yoni the tour guides comments and fun facts about the city of San Francisco.

We rode up a few hills and stopped for a restroom break by Washington Park. I checked out a really cool church and went inside it. We saw the back of Coit Tower which was named after a very interesting lady - Elizabeth Coit! There were almost some artists selling their creations in the park.

Then we rode along the waterfront and through Fisherman’s Wharf and back to our starting destination.

My Overall Recommendation

I highly recommend a Segway scooter tour for you. I thought it was a lot of fun to get around in a different way I've never tried and I also thought it was worth the money.

I loved getting around on the Segway scooter and taking the tour. Why? Well I:

didn’t have to walk
got to learn how to ride a Segway Scooter
learned new things about San Francisco

Some locals (like me!) on the tour were back for their second tour this year!

Next I will sign up for their advanced tour where they take you down Lombard Street – the crookedest street in the world! They also have a night tour which sounds like a lot of fun too!

When you go tell them Patti Royster sent you!!

Take a tour – learn to ride a Segway scooter – and get to know San Francisco in a whole new way. You will be glad you did!