Tiburon in Marin County
Visit for a Day or Make it your Bay Area Base of Operations!
Located just north and across the Bay from San Francisco but leagues away from big city noise and traffic is the quaint seaside town of Tiburon in Marin County. Named after the Spanish word for shark, legend has it that Tiburon was named by Spanish explorer Juan Manuel de Ayala, who saw numerous sharks in the area when he arrived here in 1775. In the early days, Tiburon was a bustling hub of commerce, complete with railroad terminal, multiple docks for ferries and other vessels and other services for fishermen, naval vessels, dockworkers and ancillary services for the busy docks of the San Francisco waterfront.
Today, Tiburon hums with a different type of commerce: tourism. The ferries that transport guests to and from San Francisco, Angel Island and other San Francisco Bay attractions use Tiburon’s docks as a place to load and unload visitors and supplies. Many Bay Area visitors find that the town is an excellent base of operations for visiting the city and the surrounding area. The city and all its amenities are a lovely and enjoyable ferry ride away but Tiburon allows visitors a more relaxed, small-town feel at the end of the day, along with superb restaurants, boutique hotels and some of the area’s best bed-and-breakfasts.
Steady tourist traffic and easy access to San Francisco allow Tiburon residents and visitors to enjoy some big-city amenities not usually found in a town of 8,600 people, such as:
- World-class jewel crafters and jewelry shops
- Art galleries and stores showcasing and selling work from some of California’s most skilled artists
- Superb jazz, classical and other types of musical performances
- Wine tasting rooms from Napa and Sonoma Wineries
- Day spas to soothe and pamper the body and soul
- Antique stores
- Other specialty shops usually found in the tiny shopping districts of big cities
Suffice it to say, Tiburon offers visitors and chance to sample the pleasures and amenities of a world-class city without the noise and other inconveniences of big city living. Even if you prefer the conveniences of the big city for your Bay Area visit, you should plan on taking the ferry across San Francisco Bay for a day spent exploring this lovely seaside community. Getting there is fairly easy via ferry: just hop on one of the many ferries offered by the Blue & Gold Fleet at Pier 39 on the San Francisco waterfront. If you prefer to drive, it’s an indirect but pretty route across the Golden Gate Bridge on Highway 101 to Route 131, or Tiburon Boulevard to the town. No matter how you choose to get here, you really should spend some time in Tiburon, as the view of San Francisco from here is simply spectacular any time of the day or night.