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Voykit pocket guide · United States
Tiburon
Give Tiburon half a day to one night: ferry in (about 30 min from San Francisco, check), walk Main Street and the waterfront, eat on the pier, ferry out. Two nights only if you add Angel Island or a bike ride.
Tiburon is a small historic waterfront town on the Marin County peninsula, across the bay from San Francisco and reachable by ferry. Main Street and Ark Row hold 1890s boat-house shops, the rail-and-ferry depot museum and a pier restaurant strip. It is a half-day or one-night add-on to a Bay Area trip, not a base: the sights are a short walk apart and the town is quiet after dark.
- Country
- United States
- Best months
- Apr–Oct
- Avoid
- Dec–Feb (rain, short days)
- Stay
- 1 night
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- USD
- Money
- Currency is the US dollar (USD, $). Cards and phone payments work almost everywhere; carry a little cash for tips and small vendors.
- Daily spend
- Budget $70–120 excl. bed (2026 estimate, check) · Mid $120–200 excl. bed (2026 estimate, check) · High $200+ excl. bed (2026 estimate, check) (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile cover the country; prepaid SIMs at their stores and Walmart/Target (passport required), or an eSIM before you fly.
- Emergency
- Police, fire, ambulance 911 · Tiburon Police (non-emergency) 415-789-2800 (check)
- Plugs
- Types A, B · 120 V · 60 Hz · Chargers are dual-voltage; hair dryers and straighteners from 230 V countries need a converter.
- Tipping
- Sit-down restaurant: 18–22% of the pre-tax bill.; Bar: US$1–2 per drink or 20% of the tab.; Taxi / ride-hailing: 15–20%, in the app.; Hotel housekeeping: US$3–5 a night.; Porter / valet: US$2–5 per bag or car.; Tour guide: US$10–20 per person for a day tour.; Counter service / tablet prompts: Optional; 0–15%.
- Water
- Tap water is drinkable nearly everywhere; boil or treat water from streams in parks.
- Toilets
- Free public toilets are scarce in big cities; use cafés, department stores, libraries, stations. Rest areas on highways are free.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee | $4–7 (2026 estimate, check) |
| Sandwich or bakery lunch | $12–20 (2026 estimate, check) |
| Waterfront restaurant main | $25–40 (2026 estimate, check) |
| Cocktail | $15–20 (2026 estimate, check) |
| Ferry, San Francisco one way | $7–15 (check) |
| Parking, per day | $5–20 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- SFO · San Francisco International
- check — drive time varies with traffic; Tiburon is reached from US-101
- OAK · Oakland International
- check — drive time varies with traffic
Typical fares
- Golden Gate Ferry, Tiburon → San Francisco
- about $7–15 one way, about 30 min (check)
- Angel Island ferry, round-trip
- $18 adult, $16 senior, $15 child, $6 ages 3–5
- Taxi Tiburon → SFO
- $70–110 (check)
Show 7 more sections and the pocket cardHideGet around, See and do, Sleep, Phrase card, Etiquette, safety and scams, One and two days, Sources, Pocket card
Get around
Downtown is walkable in 10 minutes end to end. The Tiburon Bike Path runs along Richardson Bay toward Blackie's Pasture. Marin Transit route 219 and Golden Gate Transit route 8 (weekday commuter) link to the rest of Marin; a car helps for Ring Mountain and the wider peninsula.
See and do
Known for
- Main Street and Ark Row
- Railroad & Ferry Depot Museum
- Sam's Anchor Cafe pier
- Ferry to Angel Island
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Angel Island State Park | Angel Island–Tiburon Ferry from the Tiburon pier | About 15 min crossing (check) |
| Sausalito | Car or bike via US-101 and Bridgeway | check — about 20–30 min by car |
| Mill Valley | Car via US-101 | check — about 20 min by car |
| San Rafael | Car via US-101 | check — about 25 min by car |
Sleep
- Downtown / Main Street
- Walk to ferry, shops and restaurants; the only area worth booking for a short stay.
- Tiburon Blvd corridor
- Motels and the larger hotel near the road; 10–15 min walk to the waterfront.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Where is the ferry pier? | Where is the ferry pier? |
| One ticket, please | One ticket, please |
| Can I pay by card? | Can I pay by card? |
| Is this seat free? | Is this seat free? |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Handshake and 'hi, how are you?' — reply 'good, thanks'; avoid: Treating the question as a real health enquiry
- Restaurants: Tip 18–22% and wait for the check; avoid: Leaving without tipping
- Personal space: Keep an arm's length in queues; avoid: Standing close to strangers
- Politics and religion: Listen more than you speak; avoid: Opening with hot-button topics
- Smoking: Smoke only in marked areas; avoid: Smoking near doors or in parks where banned
Scams and watch-outs
- Parking is limited and paid: Bank of America lot about $5/day, Ark Row lot about $2/hour, plus 2-hour street parking.
- Museum and church opening is seasonal (roughly Apr–Oct, weekend afternoons): check before you go.
- Evening dining is concentrated on the waterfront; book ahead on summer weekends.
- Ferry and bus services are less frequent at weekends and in the evening: check the last departure.
Very safe for a small US town: the real issues are limited parking, uneven waterfront paths and cold bay wind in the evening. Keep valuables out of sight in parked cars.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Tiburon yet. Suggested stay: 1 night. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Main Street and Ark Row
- Railroad & Ferry Depot Museum
- Sam's Anchor Cafe pier
- Ferry to Angel Island
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Town of Tiburon — Visiting Tiburon: www.townoftiburon.org/35/Visiting-Tiburon
- Golden Gate Ferry — schedules and maps: www.goldengate.org/ferry/schedules-maps/
- Angel Island–Tiburon Ferry: angelislandferry.com/
- Marin County Parks — Ring Mountain Preserve: www.parks.marincounty.org/parkspreserves/preserves/ring-mountain
- Wikivoyage: Tiburon, revision 5261039 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5261039
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Tiburon
To this address, please
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
- Police, fire, ambulance911
- Tiburon Police (non-emergency)415-789-2800 (check)
No embassies in Tiburon; consulates-general are in San Francisco.
Tipping is expected: 18–22% at sit-down restaurants, $1–2 a drink.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/tiburon). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.