Guide to Alcatraz

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

Tickets

Booking

Website: open up to 90 days in advance at https://www.alcatrazcruises.com/checkout/?id=1000016#hb-commerce-tel:sdk-root

In person: the Ticketbooth is at Pier 33 Alcatraz Landing. It is open 7 days a week from 7:30AM to 7:00PM Pacific Time.

Not recommended for day of visit as it’s very rare for same day tickets to be available.

Phone: Call the Reservations Center at +1.415)9817625. The Center is open 7 days a week, from 8:00AM to 7:00PM Pacific Time.

Showing your ticket

Don’t need to print, just show QR code on your phone. Otherwise, you can pick up your tickets at the Ticketbooth at Pier 33 Alcatraz Landing on the day of your cruise. Please be sure to bring the credit card used to purchase the ticket and valid photo identification.

Ticket Coverage: What you're essentially booking and paying for is the boat trip between San Francisco and Alcatraz. You pick a specific time that your boat leaves for Alcatraz and you can spend as long as you want on and around the island before taking the boat back.

Hours

Boat departures are from Pier 33 every 30m from 8:45am till 1:35pm. You can return to San Francisco on any of the boats back starting from 9:30am and ending at 4:25pm.

Check the website for boat times + ticket costs https://www.alcatrazcruises.com/departure-schedule/

3:45pm 4:10pm https://www.alcatrazcruises.com/departure-schedule-next-season/

How early to book

This is really dependent on when you want to visit. If you're visiting in the summer, then tours can sell out weeks in advance. If you're travelling to San Francisco in high tourist seasons, then I recommend booking your trip ASAP. It is not impossible to get your ticket later - I was looking at tickets a week in advance of my mid September date and there were 50-100+ seats per 30m time slot. This number got smaller closer to the date but there were still quite a few times available a couple of days before my trip.

Visiting

Trip Options

The classic tour is a boat to and from Alcatraz. This is $40 and you are taken to Alcatraz Island where you can stay as long as you like (until 4:25pm on the regular tour).

There’s also the Evening tours, Behind the Scenes Tours, and combined Angel Island-Alcatraz. Check out these ones, especially if the Day Tours are sold out.

How much time to allocate

The boat ride takes about 25m each way. Upon arrival there’s an announcer announcing the different events and talks that are available that day. There’s a short walk up to the actual prison (a trolley is available for those in need of assistance) and you can explore the island.

There’s different events all day but visiting the actual prison takes around 1h30.

You can make a day of visiting Alcatraz (and make the most of that $39.90 adult ticket) but if there are other things you want to do, you can make it a morning or afternoon excursion.

What to Bring

There are limited bathroom facilities on the island. They are located at the dock and at the top of the island. Food service is available on the ferry—there is no food service on the island. Picnic areas are designated only at the dock.

Transportation

Being on the Embarcadero, Alcatraz Landing where your boat leaves and returns to is pretty readily accessible by walking or public transportation. There's quite an open space so it is doable with taxi/ride-share but make sure you give yourself plenty of time to take into account traffic. There are commercial parking spots nearby (not at the pier itself) but Alcatraz Cruises recommends you do not drive yourself.

Getting on the boat

It’s a little hard to find but the ticket office is in a small building to the right as you walk onto pier 33. In the middle there is the big line to get on the boat. They start lining up around 45 minutes before the boat departure and will turn you away if your boat leaves at a later time - the boat time to line up is marked.

It’s recommended you arrive at least 30 minutes in advance - this give you some bandwidth if you’re running late + you can get your preferred seat. The boat goes out and around in a curve to the left from the pier so the left side give you the (arguably better) view of the golden gate bridge, the city skyline and a straight on view of the island while the right side gets you a view of the surrounding islands/coast of the northern Bay Area.