Alcatraz Tours: The History. The Attraction. The Experience.
The History. The Attraction. The Experience.
Alcatraz Tours are a wonderful tourist attraction. It attracts many tourists and locals because of its remarkable history.
Alcatraz Tours
- Early Bird Tour: This is the first trip to Alcatraz. The ferry departs at around 9am. Some people choose this option because it's the least crowded, and you have the option to leave the island at a later time. Return times are same as of Day Tours. This tour costs about $26.
- Day Tour: This tour is what most of the visitors purchase. Departure times are from 9:30 am to 2:00pm , with ferries available between each 30 minute intervals. Return times are from 9:50 – 4:25pm again with ferries available between 30 minute intervals. You don't have to go at a specific return time. You can stay there until the last ferry is available! This tour costs about $26.
- Night Tour: Now, the night tours are the most fascinating of Alcatraz Tours. It includes a narration onboard of the ferry, a guided tour, and other activities. You can also enjoy the beautiful view of the sunset on your ride to the island! Night tours begin at 4:20pm and the last ferry departs at around 7pm.
The night tour is only available Thursdays-Mondays. The cost is about $33.
Alcatraz Tours last about 2.5 hours. But, if you go choose an earlier time to go there, they may let you stay until the last departure time. We went there around 1pm and took the last ferry at 4:30pm. Plenty of time to explore and take picturesAlcatraz Cruises
- The only way to take a tour to Alcatraz and stop at the island is through Alcatraz Cruises. They're located at Pier 33 at Beach Street & The Embarcadero in San Francisco. They will actually drop you off to the island, leave you there for a few hours, and come back and get you.
- When you purchase your ticket (I recommend you purchase it in advance as it sells out rather quickly), you get the option of choosing which tour you'd like (based on availabilities).
- I suggest you purchase your ticket about at least 1 week in advance.
- You'll stand in line for the ferry (about a 15 minute wait for us) then they take your picture in front of a wallpaper of the island. This picture will be available for your viewing pleasure after you return from the tour, and will cost you a good $20 to purchase.
- You then hop on the ferry and decide where to sit, hehe. (there's 3 levels, I suggest you take a seat on the top so you can enjoy the view, or the bottom indoor level if you're cold).
- There are food and beverages (even beer!) available for you to purchase on the first level of the ferry.
- It's quite windy so I suggest you dress warm...and wear comfortable shoes! You're gonna be doing a lot of walking.
- The ride lasts roughly 15 minutes.
My Experience with Alcatraz Tours
I have lived in the Bay Area for roughly 15 years, yet I have not once stepped foot on Alcatraz. I've always heard of stories, seen pictures, and read its history. But, I never pushed myself to go!
Why?
Because I thought to myself, “Man, what's so special about this place? Another historical landmark that'll teach me about its history? Well, I can read about it or watch its documentaries!”
Boy, was I wrong. You will never really get to experience Alcatraz unless you really experience it yourself.
I was so delighted when I found out that my boyfriend had bought me tickets to Alcatraz Tours!
I would finally be able to experience this infamous place, and provide myself with my own thoughts and opinions about it!
We purchased tickets to the day tour as that was the only tour available that week (should have reserved some tickets to the night tour!).
We hopped on the ferry, and landed on the island within 15 minutes!
The tour began with a short introduction on the island, safety precautions, history, map guide, etc...
...Then the tour guide leaves us to explore the place on our own!
It wasn't really so difficult finding our way since there were signs and plenty of people to follow.
We headed towards the prison and discovered some pretty neat architecture...
Then we walked a couple more along the oh-so-steep pathway (they have a shuttle for those with disabilities) and entered the prison!
We were then given a headset that provides us with a self controlled audio tour. You can pause the narration and control it at your own pace, depending on how long you'd like to stay at a specific area of the prison.
The cells were quite amazing...We were actually able to ENTER the jail cells itself:
I swear it was haunted, haha.
Anyway, we discovered many facts about the prison and learned the history behind it.
But what really fascinated me was seeing the cells in which the 4 criminals escaped from...
...Imagine creating a dummy of yourself, fooling the guards, then scraping your way through a hole on the wall made by...
...A SPOON!
Now, learning about their escape from Alcatraz was pretty amazing to me. I think that was the highlight of the tour. There's also a souvenir shop there for your shopping pleasures, hehe. Oh, and by the way, there's also other things on the island besides the prison. I believe there was a residential apartment area thing there that some guards stayed in, some displays of a few artifacts, and a small garden. Overall, it was a fun experience, and quite a tour to remember!
See you around,
-Trixie
Your friendly, local SF travel guide ;).My Rating:
****
I give this attraction about 4/5 stars because if you're not quite into historical landmarks and experiencing history yourself, and blahdiblahdiblah, then this may just seem like “just an empty, deserted prison” for you... ...But trust me, it's worth experiencing the Alcatraz tours yourself!
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