Limo SF VIP provides group transportation in San Francisco and around the Bay Area: Mercedes Sprinters for up to 14, mini coaches for 27 to 36 and motorcoaches for up to 56, plus group limousine and party bus options sized to your group, for weddings, corporate days, games, Napa Valley days and airport arrivals. Our own chauffeurs drive every Bay Area group trip. Send the date, the stops and the headcount for a quote in 15 to 30 minutes, or call (888) 888-0195. Our group transportation cost guide explains pricing.
California treats any for-hire vehicle built for more than 10 people, including the driver, as a bus. The CPUC asks for a California Highway Patrol safety inspection on any vehicle seating more than 10, and the CHP inspects every bus operator's terminal at least once every 13 months. On buses fitted with seat belts, state law requires passengers 16 and older to wear them.
SFMTA allows tour and charter buses to load in tour bus zones, white passenger zones, yellow commercial loading zones, paid metered spaces and other open curb. Buses may never double-park, stop in red zones or Muni stops, or idle for more than five minutes, and they are strongly discouraged from residential streets. Some streets restrict vehicles built to carry 8 or more passengers; a 2017 city transportation study notes that tour buses are excluded from the crooked block of Lombard Street. The city offers no dedicated overnight bus parking.
We drive groups to weddings, sports events, corporate events, Napa Valley wine tours and airport transfers. At SFO, charters pick up in the courtyards on the Arrivals and Baggage Claim level, and the service must be arranged in advance.
Send the date, the pickup and drop-off points, the stops in between, the headcount and any big luggage. Vehicles that stay with the group are booked by the hour, with a four-hour minimum for a Sprinter, and point-to-point transfers are priced on the route. One person can pay for the whole group, or the group can split the cost. A 20% gratuity is added as its own line, and payment goes through a secure online link. Call (888) 888-0195 to plan the trip.
Count heads for each leg rather than for the day as a whole, since a wedding or conference group often grows for one ride and shrinks for another. Note the large luggage, golf bags or equipment, because bags decide the vehicle as often as people do. Child seats and accessibility needs can be requested at booking. On buses fitted with seat belts, the chartering party is responsible for making sure children 8 to 15 are buckled, so families traveling together should plan for that. For multi-stop days, list the stops in order with the time you want at each one.
Tell us the date and the plan, and we’ll send a quote, or call (888) 888-0195 to talk it through.
Live Google reviews of Limo SF VIP. Bay Area group trips are driven by our own chauffeurs.
The vehicle size, the hours and the route set the price. A Sprinter for 14 on a two-hour transfer is a very different quote from a motorcoach on call for a full sightseeing day with stops at the Golden Gate Bridge and Fisherman’s Wharf. Vehicles that stay with the group are booked by the hour with a minimum, the 20% gratuity is listed separately, and the group cost guide explains the details.
Above 14 people. The Sprinter tops out at 14 seats, so a party of 15 to 36 moves up to a mini coach, which carries 27 to 36, or splits into two Sprinters if people start from different places. Past 36, a motorcoach takes up to 56. Big luggage counts too: the Sprinter holds up to 14 bags, so a group flying in with large cases may need the larger vehicle.
Plan on no. A 2017 city transportation study notes that tour buses are excluded from the crooked block of Lombard Street and that signs limit it to vehicles built for fewer than 8 passengers, which rules out Sprinters and coaches. Groups who want to see it get out on a nearby street where the bus can legally stop, and walk the rest. The left turn onto the crooked block from southbound Hyde Street is also prohibited.
At the southeast visitor lot next to the Welcome Center, which has six bus stalls and is open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. The Welcome Center itself is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, apart from Thanksgiving and Christmas, and paid lots nearby, including Battery East Vista and the Golden Gate Overlook, help on busy days. Seasonal weekend closures for private cars have still allowed tour buses, so check the bridge district's site for your date.
Not at the pier itself. Pier 39 lets motorcoaches pick up and drop off only in its passenger and taxi loading zone, on a space-available basis, and the old bus parking on Piers 30 and 32 is gone. While the group explores, the bus can wait in one of the metered tour bus spaces around Fisherman's Wharf, such as on Powell Street north of Beach Street.
By drop-off near Pier 33. Alcatraz ferries leave only from Alcatraz City Cruises at Pier 33 on the Embarcadero near Bay Street, and the National Park Service notes there is no parking there, with an accessibility drop-off zone at the entrance and commercial lots within five blocks. Plan the drop-off and the return pickup around your cruise times, and include them in your quote request.
It takes planning. Muir Woods requires reservations for every vehicle, commercial operators need a National Park Service commercial use authorization and their own parking reservation, and medium and large vehicle reservations come with a fixed window of one hour 45 minutes. Vehicles over 35 feet aren't allowed, and buses from 30 to 35 feet must arrive via Highway 1. Because commercial trips need that NPS authorization, confirm Muir Woods is possible before you plan the day around it.
Yes, if the bus has them. Since July 1, 2018, California law requires passengers 16 and older to wear seat belts on buses equipped with them, and a parent, guardian or chartering party may not carry children 8 to 15 unbuckled. Operators must keep the belts working and either announce the rule or post signs, so expect a reminder before the bus moves.
Charters at SFO must be arranged in advance, and they pick up in the courtyards on the Arrivals and Baggage Claim level. For a group landing on one flight, send the flight number, the headcount and the bag count; for several flights, send each one so the quote can cover one larger vehicle or a few smaller ones. Each flight number lets the pickup follow the actual landing time.
Only briefly. California’s idling rule for heavy diesel vehicles limits idling to five minutes anywhere in the state, with exceptions for a bus with passengers on board or for up to 10 minutes before passengers board. In San Francisco, SFMTA also bars tour buses from idling for more than five minutes, so a bus waiting at the curb in the city shouldn’t idle for long.
Yes, with route limits. Sausalito's code treats any for-hire vehicle designed for carrying 8 or more passengers as a passenger bus, and these may not drive southbound on Bridgeway south of Bay Street or on the corridor toward the city limit. That stretch is also a quiet zone with no PA, narration or music, and buses can't go west of the South Street and Second Street area. Any route into town has to work within those rules.
Start with its CPUC operating authority: a charter-party P permit covers vehicles with 15 or fewer passenger seats, and a Class A certificate covers charter service anywhere in the state. Ask about the CHP’s inspections, since bus terminals are inspected at least every 13 months and tour buses need an inspection at least every 45 days. Confirm the driver drug and alcohol testing program, and get the quote in writing.
