Alcatraz Tour

[FlyboyAl]

I'll be in SFO in the second week of Nov and have a couple of days free so I thought I'd go for a tour to Alcatraz.
My issue is that I'd like some time there to look around PROPERLY and get some decent photos. All the sites I've visited seem to take you over on the boat, show you a movie, send you on an audio tour and then bring you back.
Is anyone aware of any "private" type tours where you do get some time on the island, or do I have to go with the crowds.

 

[Mal]

Care to share a weblink for one of the tour sites? I'm trying to gather what the tours do that isn't covered in the normal options.

The "self guided" type tour is simple. Pay $US26 (Alcatraz Island - Official Tickets Site - Guaranteed Lowest Price), jump on a boat, arrive, watch a video, take a self-guided audio tour and when you're finished hop back onto a ferry and back to San Fran. There's no real time limit - except you have to be off the island by a certain time in the afternoon.

I am assuming the tour sites you are looking at add no value, or at most provide a "guide" to herd you onto the ferry (and possibly pick you up at your hotel), and do the same at the end of the "tour".

So I can't see the value-add.

 

[blueflamenco]

I'll be in SFO in the second week of Nov and have a couple of days free so I thought I'd go for a tour to Alcatraz.
My issue is that I'd like some time there to look around PROPERLY and get some decent photos. All the sites I've visited seem to take you over on the boat, show you a movie, send you on an audio tour and then bring you back.
Is anyone aware of any "private" type tours where you do get some time on the island, or do I have to go with the crowds.

How long do you really want to spend over there? I don't believe any tour will allow you to just wander due to the many areas of the site that are inaccessible to the public. The tour I went on a few years ago allowed for ample time to look around.

 

[blueflamenco]

Care to share a weblink for one of the tour sites? I'm trying to gather what the tours do that isn't covered in the normal options.

The "self guided" type tour is simple. Pay $US26 (Alcatraz Island - Official Tickets Site - Guaranteed Lowest Price), jump on a boat, arrive, watch a video, take a self-guided audio tour and when you're finished hop back onto a ferry and back to San Fran. There's no real time limit - except you have to be off the island by a certain time in the afternoon.

I am assuming the tour sites you are looking at add no value, or at most provide a "guide" to herd you onto the ferry (and possibly pick you up at your hotel), and do the same at the end of the "tour".

So I can't see the value-add.

Right. I don't believe there are other tour groups permitted on the site. There may be others that circle the island or add something extra though, as you mentioned.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

We were in SFO nearly a year ago and booked admission via the official website (as above in Mal's post). As already mentioned there is ample time to look around all the permitted public areas and take the ferry back at your leisure.

We had a three day transport pass ($17pp) that allowed us to jump on and off cable cars & trams & it's very easy to make your way down to the Embarcadero area (Spanish for wharf) where you board the Alcatraz ferry.

If you want to avoid crowds then I'd go as early as possible in the day & choose a weekday over a weekend. November's not exactly peak season. They also have a night tour which features activities not offered during the day (what I'm not sure). See below link:

Alcatraz Cruises: Night Tours

You could also visit nearby Angel Island for something different. It's Fleet Week October 07-12 so you can view the Blue Angels Air Show or do a Segway tour of the island.

Things To Do: Special Events on Angel Island - Angel Island State Park | San Francisco Bay

I'd also recommend a Segway Tour, we did ours around SFO itself but they have one to Sausalito also. You notice heaps more about various neighbourhoods that you'd miss on a coach.

San Francisco and Sausalito Segway Tours - The 1st Segway Sightseeing Tours of the San Francisco Waterfront, Fisherman's Wharf and Sausalito.

The other thing I think is worth doing is one of the double deck bus tours. I know it sounds touristy but with a SFO local giving your commentary about the various places, it's a fascinating insight into the history of SFO & its attractions. It's a 2 day pass (internet rate USD32.95) so you could go in the afternoon then the next morning & get a different tour guide for a different perspective.

San Francisco Double Decker Tours - Hop On and Hop Off in The City

 

[odysseus]

I agree with the tour comments above.

The only thing I'd add is that it's normally not possible to go on the next available ferry - most people book in advance, and even the same day (+1, +2) can be full. Particularly if you're planning on getting an early start (which I agree is best) you'll need to book in advance.

 

[Meggsy]

Family and I did the 'self guided early bird tour ' last November when we were there. Can highly recommend it. We purchased tickets the day before from the booth at the departure wharf. They were about $25 each. Got the first ferry over at 9 am and could come back on any ferry we liked. We saw the movie, did the audio tour, wandered around the grounds of the areas open to the public and had a relaxing and educational day. We were on the island for about 5 hours and when we had all had enough we just jumped on the next ferry back.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

I agree with the tour comments above.

The only thing I'd add is that it's normally not possible to go on the next available ferry - most people book in advance, and even the same day (+1, +2) can be full. Particularly if you're planning on getting an early start (which I agree is best) you'll need to book in advance.

I'd definitely book about 2 weeks in advance if possible to secure a date. Once on the island they don't seem to mind which ferry you get on to return to SF.

 

[Fantic125]

All the above are correct.

I was there a couple of weeks ago and had booked the 'early bird' (9:10am) ferry about a month in advance. It was chockers, and there were people there trying to get tickets (who hadn't booked) with no success. You can spend as much time as you want on the island - when you want to return you just hop on the next ferry. They travel about every half hour.

It was recommended to me by others on this forum to do the audio tour of the cell blocks, etc. It is worth doing, as the commentary is by former wardens and prisoners and describes quite well some of the events that occurred.
I also did the garden tour on the island - a group of volunteers are restoring the various gardens on the rock and they give you a guided tour that takes about an hour.

It was quite cool and foggy when I was there, so the view of the bay wasn't all that great, but it certainly helped enforce how much of a hell-hole it must have been when it was an active prison.

 

[FlyboyAl]

Thanks for all the feedback folks. I had assumed that I had to go over and come back on a scheduled ferry - I didn't realise I could "wander around" then come back on a later ferry, which is just what I wanted to do.
I'm also going to spend a day riding the cable cars and trams - just for the hell of it and to have a fun look around other parts of the city.
November may not be the greatest month, but I'll make the most of it, especially the way the dollar is going at present.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Thanks for all the feedback folks. I had assumed that I had to go over and come back on a scheduled ferry - I didn't realise I could "wander around" then come back on a later ferry, which is just what I wanted to do.
I'm also going to spend a day riding the cable cars and trams - just for the hell of it and to have a fun look around other parts of the city.
November may not be the greatest month, but I'll make the most of it, especially the way the dollar is going at present.

We were extremely lucky with the weather in SFO 26-29 Oct last year. Sunny days & not too cold at all. You could even sum up the weather Forrest Gump style "life is like a box of chocolates....."

After all it was Mark Twain who once said "the coldest winter I ever had was summer in San Francisco".

 

[Mal]

Booking early is definitely advised if you are going during Summer. Either way, the ferries can fill up quickly so an early booking is the best idea.

 

[TimB]

What I didn't realise until I went there is that Alcatraz is administered by the National Park Service, even though it's not a national park as such. This means that there are park rangers on the island, and they give impromptu talks, and are generally available to answer questions. The NPS page with more info is at Alcatraz Island (U.S. National Park Service)

On the subject of other tours, I agree with ozbeachbabe's recommendation of the Segway tour. That has to have been one of the most enjoyable tour experiences of my life, and I've been recommending it to everyone who's heading to SF.