Visiting Alcatraz Island – San Francisco
- Admission : 40$
- Buy Tickets Here : Alcatraz Island
- Duration : 4-6 hours
Previously when I use to think of San Francisco, the few things which hit my head are, Golden Gate Bridge, Lombard street and Painted ladies. Most of us don’t know the hidden(not so hidden)gems of SFO until we plan a visit. One of them is Alcatraz Island.
At first i wasn’t much interested about the place as i never listened about it being famous(Most common thing everyone does) and placed it at the bottom of my to do list . While i was planning my trip , I was pre-booking everything which had ticket to it and shockingly saw the tickets for Alcatraz were fully booked like a month before on one of the websites.This made me curious to know why is it so popular.
After some research i finally managed to book my tickets to Alcatraz here.
Alcatraz Island is situated about 1.5 miles offshore from the city. This island was previously used as a Military prison and federal prison and has a lighthouse which is the oldest in the entire west coast of United States.It’s actually a piece of America’s history that people can learn from.
Your trip starts off with a boat ride off the pier 33 that provides beautiful views of the bay bridge and the city skyline. The boat ride was pretty nice with plenty of indoor seating in addition to a front and back observation deck.
When we arrived we received a quick introduction from the staff about what to do and expect and then made our way to the mini exhibition which shows the history of the island.
There’s also a theater room where we checked out a mini film about the island and the stories of the people who lived there before heading to the old prison.
From there we took a steep walk up the hill to get our free audio tour and then started our own audio tour of the cell house.If you have trouble walking, there is a shuttle that can take you and both up and down.
I don’t know how to describe the audio tour in detail but if i have to say that in three words, then it’s Scary, Exciting and Creepy. I literally had chills throughout the tour and i bet you will never get bored at the tour, not even for a minute.
The audio tour was for about 45 minutes and it is all about the prisoners and their life inside the cell. The best part is audio tour is available in multiple languages.
One can think it’s easy for a prisoner to escape and swim to the shore but It is actually impossible to escape from the island due to strong currents and freezing water. Reportedly, 36 men attempted to escape from Alcatraz and not one man made it. One can imagine how it was for prisoners to look out from the window and see how close to freedom they were but also weren’t.
Not just the prison but a walk outside the prison is also enjoyable as it contains a lot of greenery with different species of birds wandering around and of course the view of San Francisco’s skyline
Summary :
Overall we spent around 4 hours on the island and It was truly amazing to have a break away from people and enjoy a historic island with the native birds.If you are also a historic landmarks lover, then i highly recommend planning a visit to Alcatraz.It is educational for all ages and exploring the island really allowed me to imagine what life would have been in the prison.
I highly recommend going as early as you can in the day (unless you do the night tour) because it gets really crowded.
22 Comments
christinewillgo
Oh wow it must have been such an adventure to visit Alcatraz Island. The last time I was in SF, the schedule of trips were all fully booked. I hope I get to visit this place the next time I’m in the city!
csuhpat1
The funny thing is that even though I live in the Bay Area, I haven’t been there for 40 years. I need to go back. Great pics.
HartWanders
Wow. I didnt expect SF to have this kind of tour! I thought its all golden gates and the usual busy city. Reading your blog excites and creeps me out at the same time! 🙂
Wander With Ola
Wow what an interesting experience it must have been to visit Alcatraz. I would love to take a look at this place as well when visiting San Fransisco!
Astrid H Vlahakis
Wow what an experience! I am a historic landmarks lover and the pictures depict the eeriness of the stories behind it. Also, how the architecture remains. Thanks for sharing this piece of history.
Dalene Ekirapa
I love creepy and scary adventures. They’re always there to build my confidence in one way or another. Anyway, Alcatraz island looks fine to me; although being jailed on an island isn’t something one would want!
lauriegannon1
My one trip to San Francisco included a visit to Alcatraz and I am so glad that it did. It was a twisty, dark experience but that audio tour is AMAZING. Some of the best photos I took during my trip were at Alcatraz. It’s a “Shouldn’t Miss” in my mind.
Sulav Sapkota
looks like a great place to be in , can’t wait. Thank you for sharing.
Ally BA (@ally_barrett)
Wow, it must have been so interesting to visit Alcatraz. If I ever visit the west coast, I will have to visit it.
Princess Quinn
I think it is very interesting to visit a place like this. It is a little scary but I think it is worth the experience. It is thrilling and so exciting I suppose.
Heather
I know a lot of people that have visited Alcatraz. It’s something that I think I would enjoy visiting.
toastycritic
It felt so strange when I made it out to my one trip out to Alcatraz. I don’t know why it did but it did feel weird, like there was some haunted memories there. I do really love that area though and love being on Pier 39 at one of my favorite seafood places looking out into the bay and a great view of Alcatraz.
lifewithjoshandkristyn
Alcatraz has been on my bucketlist. Bummed we didn’t get to go when we lived in California. Hoping we get to go soon and check it out.
Anne
I did this trip many years ago and think it should be high on any visitors trip to San Francisco. If only I’d got as organised for our Cape Town trip as the tours to Robben Island were also booked up in advance. Both are fascinating insights into prison life.
Dada
Ohh I am suprised that you havent heard of Alcatraz before! I havent myself visited because it was fullt book as you know by know it is really popular. Since I havent been there, it was interesting and fun to read your experience of the old prison. Normally I dont like audio guides but when you mention scary, exciting and creepy…I am in!
stutishrimali
Sometimes it’s the hidden gems which make a trip worthwhile. As far as this island is concerned, I lived how you precisely explained everything and beautified your article with self explainable pictures. What is unfathomable is the plight of prisoners who were held here.
Shivani
I have never heard of Alcatraz Island and I am rather surprised it is so popular that tickets are fully books months ago. But it’s nice to know that they’re maintaining and spreading about American history. Despite the cost, I’d like to take the tour, thanks for the recommendation.
Amar Singh
Hey what a cracking post. Would love to visit Alcatraz some day. So much history and also movies based on this island for some of the most notorious. The Audi video would have given you a great insight. Thanks for sharing this interesting post. Photos are great as well.
Medha Verma
You’re lucky you actually managed to get tickets to Alcatraz despite not having booked it early enough. San Francisco was a trip we did 6 years ago and at the time, I did not read up much about what was there to do and see (or maybe I did not pay attention to Alcatraz) and when were there in SFO, we realised that this tour is very popular and it also sounded quite interesting but like you said, it was sold out so we could not do it. Given a chance, I’d like to go back and visit Alcatraz and learn about the prisoners way of life. What a pity that none of the prisoners could escape because of the freezing waters and strong currents of the waters!
Jenn and Ed Coleman
I was with my son last January for surgery in San Francisco. We bumped around a bit, but most of the trip was dedicated to recovery. Going to Alcatraz was “the next thing” we would have done in the city. We were looking at the Behind the scenes tours. I will make a point to book ahead for our next visit.
Amy @ Family Globetrotters
I have only ever admired Alcatraz from Fisherman’s Wharf but never actually went on the island for a tour. Although I think I’d be so creeped out yet be so fascinated at the same time. If ever I go back to San Fran maybe I’ll add it to the list.
FS Page
Thanks for the detailed guide on Alcatraz. I first heard about it when i saw the movie from Clint Eastwood – Escape from Alcatraz. Since then I have known how difficult it is to escape this place. And the location can make a prisoner depressed with freedom just in sight a swim away… It must have been a good half a day spent