My Mom visited Aaron and me in July and one of the things she wanted to do was visit Alcatraz. If you are visiting the San Francisco Bay Area I highly encourage you to visit the island, but there are some things you should know before you plan your trip.
1.Alcatraz sells out weeks in advance. Especially in the summer. There are times where the next available ticket is eight to ten weeks out. If you are planning a trip in the fall or spring it doesn’t sell out as quickly, but you still need tickets in advance. Book your ticket here.
2. The website warns you about the steep hills on the island. I warned my mom and her friend before they got here that it was going to be a lot of walking and a steep climb. It really wasn’t as bad as they make it seem. You do need to wear comfortable shoes and be prepared for some walking, but they have a golf cart if the hill becomes too much.
3. The audio tour is really good. They give you a headset and a device when you enter the prison with instructions on where to start the recording. We paused ours a few times so we could explore a cell or an area longer than the recording allowed. The audio tour is “hosted” by the voices of former guards and inmates and it is very interesting hearing them tell the stories of the infamous prison.
4. If I were to do it again, I would take the early bird tour or the night tour. The way the tours work is you have a scheduled time to take the ferry to the island, but once you are there you can stay until the last boat leaves. Our tour was in the middle of the afternoon, and there were a lot of people. If you went on the first tour or the last tour it would be significantly less crowded.
5. You get an amazing view of the city from the island. At one point in the audio tour, they take you outside to talk about how on certain nights the inmates could hear the city. The view is amazing, even on a slightly foggy day.
6. It’s cold and windy on the island. I expected this and planned ahead, but remember this was in the middle of July and we have sweatshirts and jackets on. Always bring a jacket.
7. Outside of the audio tour, there isn’t much to do on the island. There are some other areas you can walk to and windows you can look in, but the short video when you arrive, the audio prison tour, and the gift shop are the main attractions. We did wander around a little while after the audio tour looking at the beautiful flowers and the scenery, but there wasn’t a ton to see.
I will plan another trip to Alcatraz in the future. I would love to take the night time tour, and maybe go in the spring when it is less busy. If you are visiting the area, you should plan a day to make the journey.
