Happy Holidays from Ride The Ducks

From all of us at Ride The Ducks - San Francisco Duck Tours we hope your holidays are just Ducky!

 

Have family or friends in town anytime soon? Bigcitydeals.com is running a special Ride The Ducks San Francisco deal this weekend for 1/2 price tickets! That's right, experience san francisco sightseeing on the best San Francisco duck tour for HALF PRICE but you have to purchase before the deal is over Sunday at midnight. Tickets are valid for six months so no need to rush down this weekend but hurry because time is running out. Visit http://www.bigcitydeals.com/city/san-francisco/ for more information.

Motorized Cable Cars Light Up The Season!

Ride The Ducks San Francisco's sister company, Classic Cable Car Sightseeing is lighting up the 2009 holiday season with a special Holiday Lights tour of San Francisco. Departing from both Union Square and Fisherman’s Wharf, the 1½ hour cable car tour wends throughout the city to take in many of the illuminated attractions of San Francisco, including: the Union Street Fantasy of Lights, Macy’s Christmas Tree and window displays, Pier 39 Christmas Tree and holiday decorations, Ghirardelli Square Christmas Tree and lights, Embarcadero Center holiday displays, the new Market Street lights and many more.

As passengers on this one-of-a-kind tour, holiday revelers will be treated to a complimentary Santa hat to take home, warm blankets for use on the tour, candy canes and holiday music. 

Beginning on November 27th, the tours will run every Wednesday through Sunday and daily between December 16th and Jan 3rd with limited tours and Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Departures are at 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. from both Union Square, on the corner of Geary and Powell, and Fisherman’s Wharf at the corner of Jefferson and Taylor.

Advanced reservations are required by calling (415) 596-9929 or at classiccablecar.com. The prices are as follows: Adults (18+) = $24; Seniors (62+) = $22; Children (5-17) = $14; and Children (0-4) ride FREE. Private charters for up to 300 are available by calling (415) 922-2425.

Quack Partners Announced...

You may already know that when you ride with the best san francisco duck tour you get a free duck billed noisemaker called a Wacky Quacker, but Ride The Ducks San Francisco is proud to announce our Wacky Quacker Program.  Just show your Wacky Quacker at any of the below establishments and save. 

• Hard Rock Cafe - 10% discount on food and merchandise plus priority seating.
• Knuckles at the Wharf - 10% discount on food items.
• The Wax Museum at Fisherman’s Wharf -   $3.00 off regular admission.
• Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum - $3.00 off regular price general admission (ages 13 and older) and $1.00 off regular price children admission (ages 5-12).
• Ghirardelli Ice Cream and Chocolate Shops - $1.00 off any specialty Sunday OR 10% off any chocolate purchase.
• Winery Collective - 10% discount on tasting.

Meet the Captains!

Greg Penglis 

GREG PENGLIS, formerly a Singing Telegram Performer and FAA Certified Flight Instructor (among other professions), Greg Penglis is one of our most enthusiastic tour guides. Versed in both Cable Car and Duck Tours, Greg will keep you laughing and entertained while truly interesting knowledge of San Francisco history and culture enters your brain. He is highly accomplished with his Wacky Quacker duck calls, which he will gladly share with you. Greg has traveled extensively, and might very well have been where you are from. He loves the outdoors and is only really happy when he is moving, especially through the streets of San Francisco or putting around the Bay. Feel free to share your stories and jokes while with Greg as his tours are most interactive.

Meet the Captains!

Duck Rogers

Duck Rogers is our newest Duck Captain. Known for his parrot and bubble gun, Duck Rogers' tours are sure to impress. Expect to dance the Macarena and quack along to a variety of songs while learning San Francisco's colorful history. Roger has traveled all over the world and has a 70-pound rescue German Shepherd named Rocky, who is a therapy dog. You wont see Rocky on the Duck though, all dogs (unless they're service animals).

Did You Know?

The country's first Chinese immigrants came to San Francisco in 1848. In an act typical of San Francisco's mixing of cultures, the Japanese Hagiwara family invented "Chinese" fortune cookies at Chinatown's Ross Alley fortune cookie factory, a Rube Goldberg-like contraption turns them out by the dozens. Don't miss Ross Alley on your Ride the Ducks tour. It's a small street, but a very important one!

San Francisco Duck Tour - Ride The Ducks San Francisco

Experience San Francisco sightseeing from a ducks eye view on the best San Francisco Duck Tour, brought to you by Ride The Ducks San Francisco. Travel on land and water in an amphibious vehicle crafted from the WW II DUKW. RIDE through San Franciscos historic streets and neighborhoods. SPLASH down into the bay and cruise McCovey Cove. QUACK along with the Captain as he en-tour-tains you with stories of past and present. Drive the duck if you want! The only duck tour in San Francisco with the famous Wacky Quackers™. CLICK HERE TO WATCH US ON YOUTUBE

Restaurant Review - Hard Rock Cafe

From the Grateful Dead to Sly and the Family Stone, you can uncover San Francisco's legendary musical lineage while enjoying a filling meal at the Hard Rock Cafe San Francisco. In the 1960s, political protests, the infamous "summer of love" and of course, the ground-breaking music scene all marked San Francisco as an important and pivotal locale for culture. And take it from us—this city with a past still makes the scene, now. Whether we're talking foot-stomping live music or another 6.5 on the Richter, San Francisco truly rocks! Back in the day hippies used to congregate at Haight-Ashbury, but these days the rockinest spot is the HRC San Francisco.

Where else can you eat the tastiest burger in town, trippin' out on groovy rock artifacts and treasures, while jamming to the most outta sight tunes? Our mind-blowing memorabilia collection featuring great locals is far out, man! Grateful Dead, Faith No More, Jefferson Airplane, Journey, Santana, Sly and the Family Stone, Vince Guaraldi these are just a few of the local bands that made it big. Now you can get in on big action yourself with the Cafe that's rocking San Francisco! Here at Pier 39 we've got fab views of Alcatraz, the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges, the San Francisco Bay, and the City skyline.

Meet the Captains!

Captain Crabby

Captain Crabby is back from wintering in Mexico. He is a seasoned Duck Captain previously working at our Baltimore locations. Don't be fooled by his name, Capt. Crabby is a kind, hilarious, informative tour guide who can be spotted wearing glittery Quackers designed by his granddaughter. Don't miss his tour before he migrates to Mexico again!

Ride the Ducks Makes a Big Splash in San Francisco by Supporting the Fight Against Breast Cancer

The ever-popular amphibious tour operator, Ride The Ducks, has just made a big splash in San Francisco by partnering with the San Francisco affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure to introduce a very special pink Wacky Quacker™ promotion that will have everyone in our community ready to "quack, waddle and roll" in the fight against breast cancer.

The Limited-Edition Pink Wacky Quackers™ will be on sale from July 20 to October 31, 2009, while supplies last.  The standard yellow Wacky Quakers™ are only available to Ride The Ducks passengers. However, for this special campaign to support the breast cancer movement, anyone can purchase a pink Wacky Quacker™ at the location below for only $5, with $4 of each purchase being donated to the Susan G. Komen San Francisco affiliate.

 If you've ever walked down the streets of San Francisco and heard the sounds of kids and adults "quacking" with joy, you know just how much fun and energizing these Wacky Quakers™ can be.  And now, you can have your very own limited-edition pink Wacky Quakers™, while at the same time supporting the fight against breast cancer.

The Limited-Edition Pink Wacky Quackers™ are available for purchase at the Ride The Ducks boarding center at Jefferson & Taylor streets (across from the iconic Fisherman’s Wharf sign), San Francisco, California.  For more information: visit www.sanfranciscoducks.com, call 415-922-2425 or email info@sanfranciscoducks.com.

Bay Bridge Closed Labor Day Weekend

As part of the Bay Bridge Seismic Retrofit Project, the Bay Bridge will be closed in both directions over Labor Day weekend 2009 in order for Caltrans to perform seismic safety work on a section of the bridge slightly east of Yerba Buena Island. The closure will begin at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 3. The bridge will reopen by 5 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 8. For more information, click here.

Take this opportunity to RIde the Ducks and check out the view from the Bay!

"Just Ducky Package" at Hyatt at Fisherman's Wharf

 As the best hotel in San Francisco’s #1 destination, the newly renovated Hyatt at Fisherman’s Wharf has just re-introduced their summer passport campaign in which all children receive a San Francisco passport to record their journeys in the city-by-the-bay.  Additionally, the hotel has teamed up with local tour operator, Ride The Ducks, to offer a great family value package which includes spacious accommodations and San Francisco’s best over-view tour.

"Just Ducky" Package

 

Hyatt at Fisherman’s Wharf is now offering the new “Just Ducky” Package, which is available June 1 through August 30, 2009.  For reservations and additional information, visit the “Special Offers” page at http:fishermanswharf.hyatt.com or call (415) 563-1234 or toll free (800) 233-1234 and click on or ask for the Just Ducky Package.

Snapshots - Where Magazine VIP Tour

I Spy a DUCK...

Duck's Eye View

We could not have asked for a more beautiful day in San Francisco. There was sunshine and blue skies above our city by the Bay, which made it a perfect day to…“Ride the Ducks.” Thirteen “locals” embarked on a fun, quirky and educational journey through San Francisco…the city we all thought we knew so well.

As we boarded the amphibious vehicle in the heart of Fisherman’s Wharf, Captain Crabby (who was not so crabby at all) kindly welcomed us aboard while Cory popped some champagne for our VIP guests. The vehicle was much bigger than I expected, which gave all of us a great “duck’s eye view” from high above the streets of San Francisco. No duck ride would be complete without the famous wacky quackers…kazoo-like duck-bills that attracted a great deal of attention during the tour. After a tasty lunch from The Hard Rock Café, we rode through the iconic and historical Fisherman’s Wharf enjoying the sights and sounds of one the liveliest areas in San Francisco. 

Captain Crabby told us that during the gold rush days the wharf was home to many Italian immigrants who made their living at sea. Having found no gold, they decided to bring a taste of the homeland to San Francisco, combining the bounty of the sea with some good old-fashioned Italian cooking. Today, many of the famous restaurants on the wharf are owned and operated by the descendents of the Italian fishing fleet of the past.

Next icon, Ghirardelli Square, where according to Captain Crabby, one can taste free samples of the world famous Ghirardelli chocolate in each of the three stores located in the square. In 1893, Domingo Ghirardelli purchased the entire city block in order to make it into the headquarters of the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company. In the 1960’s The Ghirardelli Chocolate Company was bought by the Golden Grain Macaroni Company, which moved the headquarters off-site to San Leandro. Later, San Franciscan William Roth and his mother bought the land in 1962 to prevent the square from being turned into apartments. The Roth’s converted the square and its historic brick structures to the delicious retail space that we know today.

After a quick jaunt through Chinatown we cruised North Beach, San Francisco’s “Little Italy.” Originally, the city's northeast shoreline extended only to Taylor and Francisco streets. The area known today as North Beach actually was a beach, until it was filled in with soil years ago. Today, North Beach is filled with a colorful history and great Italian food. “That’s Amore!” filled the air (from the duck) as we passed by Washington Square Park and St. Peter and Paul Church (where Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio took their famous wedding photo).

We then journeyed through the Financial District, past the pyramid-esque Transamerica building and throngs of businessmen breaking for lunch. We all took this opportunity to lighten the hearts of this buttoned up crowd, quacking obnoxiously as we made our way to Union Square.

Built and dedicated by San Francisco's first American mayor John Geary in 1850, Union Square was named for the pro-Union rallies that happened there before and during the United States Civil War. 1903 marks the dedication of a 97-foot-tall monument to Admiral George Dewey after his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish American War.

(Side note: According to some of the ladies on board our duck, the most beautiful thing about Union Square is the enormous Macy’s that takes over an entire city block. Unfortunately there was no time to go explore the world-class shopping in Union Square --- we’d be back later! --- Instead, we made our way through SOMA (South of Market Area), past AT&T Park, and prepared for our big splash into the bay.

The anticipation mounted as we descended down the ramp and made a huge SPLASH into the bay. Captain Crabby was sure to put on the Star Wars theme song as we made our way down the ramp, which was incredibly appropriate because George Lucas is in fact a San Francisco native and got a lot of inspiration for his characters while sitting on the “dock of the bay.”

We peacefully cruised around the bay while listening to Otis Redding and enjoying the last of our boxed lunches. Captain Crabby let a few lucky guests take the wheel of the amphibious vehicle as we headed toward the Giant’s AT&T ballpark and McCovey Cove. On game days, fans take to the water of McCovey Cove in boats and kayaks, in hopes of collecting a home run ball. When a homerun makes it to the cove, it’s called a “Splash Hit.” As of July 2, 2008, Giants players have hit 47 “Splash Hits” into the bay since the park’s opening (35 of those were by Barry Bonds).

After our trip to McCovey Cove, it was time to head back to dry land. We were all amazed at how much we learned about our hometown and how much fun we had splashing and quacking around the beautiful city.

Duck...Duck...Goose - Amazing Field Trips with Ride the Ducks

With so many entertaining, out-of-the-classroom education options to choose from in the Bay Area, Ride The Ducks quacks it up a notch by providing a truly unique and memorable opportunity for children to ride, splash, quack and learn together.

For those tired of the same old, standard field trips, students and teachers alike will have a quack-tacular time on Ride The Ducks. This San Francisco tour company features the perfect educational field trip platform, offering students a new view of San Francisco’s illustrious history from the perspective of both land and water. Every tour combines history, music, funny stories, and of course, a splash into the San Francisco Bay.

While Ride The Ducks is a fun-filled tour, it is also an excellent way for students to learn American history. The fleet of (history buff certified) captains brings the city and its history to life for students, linking the story of San Francisco to events in California and U.S. history. At the same time, the tour introduces students to many fascinating facts, exciting places and colorful personalities. During the tour of San Francisco, students will cruise through the city’s colorful neighborhoods to see and learn fascinating facts about many important landmarks and historical sites, including: Fisherman’s Wharf, Ghirardelli Square, North Beach, Chinatown, Union Square, AT&T Park, McCovey Cove, San Francisco Bay Bridge and The Embarcadero.

Teacher Resource Guide/Educational Materials

In addition to the intensely fun diversion this attraction provides, Ride The Ducks has also compiled a Teacher Resource Guide, which features a variety of engaging educational materials and activities, for all grade levels from pre-K to 12th, that teachers can use inside the classroom before and after the field trip.

For more information, or to reserve a customized field trip with Ride The Ducks, contact 415-922-2425 or sales@sanfranciscoducks.com. Teachers may also go online and complete a group information request form at http://sanfranciscoducks.com/group-tours/info_request.asp.

See San Francisco in 1.5 Hours!

It all begins (on land) at San Francisco’s number one destination, Fisherman’s Wharf, where guests will hop on board for the ride of a lifetime, soaring high above the other road vehicles to enjoy unobstructed views of the waterfront and iconic landmarks. With interesting tales of the city’s historical port, the Captain progresses on land past Ghirardelli Square (home of the ice cream shop and chocolate factory); through Chinatown (the largest of its kind outside of Asia); into Union Square (the largest shopping destination in the Bay Area); and then, a splash in the bay where passengers have the opportunity to navigate the vehicle, past such landmarks as by McCovey Cove and AT&T Park.

After visiting some of the city’s beloved land sites, riders will make a big splash into the water and immediately be surrounded by panoramic city views. Once the amphibious vehicle makes its transition to the bay, riders will take turns driving the unique truck/boat on their own while they get up close bay views of AT&T Park; McCovey Cove; and the San Francisco Bay Bridge.

Fan Mail...

"This was awesome! I went with my family from England & we all had so much fun. The guide was very knowledgeable & my little cousins loved the wacky quackers. It's so cool when the duck truck drives straight into the water! & it turns out they have a pretty interesting facebook too."

Duck Jokes

Here are some of our favorite Duck jokes...

Q: Where did the duck go when he was sick?
A: To the DUCKtor!

Q: What time does a duck wake up?
A: At the QUACK of dawn!

Have a Duck Joke to share? Leave us a comment or click here to submit

Ducks on Ice

With partner Safeway Holiday Ice Rink at Union Square, Ride the Ducks co-hosted a large group of over 200 children from Boys and Girls Club of San Francisco for holiday ice skating. This is one of many community endeavors RTD is embarking upon since making a splash in San Francisco.