About Tess and This Site
I am Teresa Villanueva, Tess to anyone who has stood at a counter with me. I grew up in the Marina District, a mile from the south tower, and Golden Gate Guide is my attempt to answer the questions people ask about the Golden Gate Bridge before they have had coffee.
Where the answers come from
Six summers on the rental counter of a bike shop at Fisherman’s Wharf, and two on a ticket window at Pier 43½. That is eight seasons of the same questions at nine in the morning: which side do we walk on, how long does it take, is there a toll, where is the ferry, why is it not gold. I have walked the bridge in every kind of fog. The answers that hold up are on this site, starting with how to walk across and which sidewalk to use.
What this site is, and is not
It is an independent guide in English, with machine translations into French, German, Spanish and Italian. It is not the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District, which owns and runs the bridge. It is not the Presidio Trust. It is not a tour operator, and I do not sell tickets.
The bridge is free to walk. The six GetYourGuide tours on this site sell a height, not the bridge: three boats pass under it, two bike rides cross it and one seaplane flies over it. I say so on every page, and the free walk competes with all of them. The all tours page sets the six side by side and the close-ups follow each one in order.
Numbers
I print durations, distances, dates and dimensions. I print no prices, because they change by date and a stale figure is worse than none; the live booking widget on each page has the current one. Where a listing does not state something, such as whether a ferry ticket is included, I say so rather than guess.
How the site is paid for
Booking links go to GetYourGuide and are affiliate links. If you book through one, I earn a small commission and you pay the same as you would going direct. That is the whole business model, and the affiliate disclosure spells it out. If I have got something wrong or the bridge hours change, tell me and I will fix it.