Tours in San Leandro

Although it hasn't quite reached the level of Napa Valley's 400-plus wineries, the East Bay's wine scene has experienced a rebirth—and East Bay Winery Bike Tours intends to ride right alongside as it continues to grow. Led by owner Jon Zalon, the company takes to the streets on two wheels to explore the area's ever-expanding collection of urban wineries and the faces behind the bottles at each stop.

In 2012, Diablo magazine plopped East Bay Winery Bike Tours at No. 10 on its "50 Things You Gotta do This Summer" list. No matter the season, EBWBT's rides present safe, scenic routes that include everything from a trip to an Oakland estuary to a pleasant cruise down Alameda's palm-lined streets—all without having to rent a car or a horse to drive that car. Every tour also makes sure to set aside plenty of time to soak in the surroundings, including picnics packed with homemade food.

The Walnut Creek Downtown Business Association fosters community engagement and the vitality of local merchants through a variety of programs, events, and general support. Popular events held throughout the year include wine walks, sidewalk sales, and fine-arts festivals.

The FAA-certified flight instructors at California Airways offer something for aspiring fliers of all ages with pilot certification programs, high-school summer camps, and birthday parties for smaller children. No matter what their experience level is, guests of legal age can handle the rudders of not only the business’s simulators but also its Cessna and Beechcraft airplanes. Joining the California Airways club allows license-carrying pilots to rent these aircraft, provided they know the proper levitation incantations.

Edible Excursions' gourmands lead visitors on informative walking tours of some of the Bay Area's most coveted culinary sights, earning a mention in the Travel Tips section of USA Today. In addition to previously working for Gourmet magazine, founder Lisa Rogovin honed her palate during a seven-month excursion across five continents, skipping only Antarctica and Texas. However, her passion remains rooted in the diverse, locally grown offerings of San Francisco. She says, "There isn't a month in the year where the Bay Area isn't growing something fun and delicious to use in the kitchen."

Edible Excursions' many tours embrace this passion by leading visitors through farmers' markets and restaurant kitchens throughout San Francisco, Marin County, and Berkeley. Local chefs and gustatory artisans impart insight on their methods and inspirations along the way, while occasionally satiating tour-goers with small samples of their culinary masterpieces.

The crew members at The Electric Tour Company believe that San Francisco is the most fun town in the world, and that one of the best ways to explore its diverse streets are on unique vehicles such as the Segway and electric bikes. This led them to develop tours—for locals and tourists alike—which have attracted attention and praise from outlets such as Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and the Los Angeles Times. Atop the sturdy deck of an i2 Segway, groups wheel past famed sights including Fisherman’s Wharf, Alcatraz prison, and the city’s notoriously hilly streets. Night tours facilitate a deeper exploration of neighborhoods such as Little Italy and Chinatown, and electric-bike tours whizz straight over the Golden Gate Bridge.

Led by local historian Rick Evans, guide of the SF Weekly's Best Walking Tour of 2009, the Chinatown walking tour escorts guests through a complex and densely populated neighborhood with an engaging narrative about its rich history. Urban explorers weave their way down narrow alleys and across plazas, discovering the area's charms and the Chinese community's role in the growth of San Francisco and the state. The seasoned tour guide regales groups of no more than six with insightful tales of the oldest Chinatown in North America bolstered by years of experience and a storytelling degree from the Mother Goose Technical Institute. Highlights of the tour include visits to the Street of Painted Balconies, a colorful, crowded street saturated with international flags and upstairs temples, and a cathedral completed during the Gold Rush in 1854, which was recognized as the first Roman Catholic church on the West Coast. The one-mile trek makes stops at a fortune-cookie factory—to watch cookies cool, harden, and form their all-knowing cores—and the neighborhood's oldest herbal shop, which is stocked with Chinese medicine and tongue depressors.