My tickets are booked to Alcatraz! 🙂
For those who don’t know what Alcatraz is or where it is, it’s in the lovely San Francisco Bay!
It’s about 2.4km offshore from San Francisco and many people refer to it as ‘The Rock’. From what I’ve read online and on Wikipedia, it was developed with a military prison in 1868 and then a federal prison from 1933 to 1963, as well as a lighthouse. The prison got shut down as half a century of salt water had eroded the building and it was costing too much to operate than any other prisons.
Today it’s a National Historic Landmark and is open to tours of the abandoned prison and the oldest operating lighthouse on the West Coast of the USA!
I arrive in San Francisco on a Wednesday afternoon and I originally wanted to go to Alcatraz on the Thursday night but when I looked online, it was all sold out!
I’m not going for a few months so it’s crazy that this tour is already sold out weeks and weeks in advance. I’m thankful I work with a girl who’s already been and told me beforehand to book ahead. I’m only in San Francisco for 4 & 1/2 days and I didn’t want to go on a Friday or Saturday Night (Who knows, I could be out drinking!) so I booked a tour for the Friday Morning as it’s less crowded than.
If you ever decide to go, buy your tickets from http://www.alcatrazcruises.com
You can buy tickets 90 days in advance and they’re USD$30 for an Adult or USD $18.25 for a child 5-11 years.
The earliest departure time is at 8.45am and then they pretty much depart every half hour after that up until 3.50pm.
Unfortunately I really wanted to go on the Night Tour which starts at 5.55pm or 6.30pm but it was booked out 😦
On the Night Tour it costs a bit more at $37 but you get to see everything! It includes a personally narrated boat tour around the island; guided tours from the dock to the main prison building; Also, several special programs and presentations are offered only at night. My friend said that she went on the night tour and got to see the hospital which wasn’t open during the day.
I think the day tours will still really good though, but all the reviews I’ve read online say to do the Night Tour if you can!
At least if I do it first thing in the morning, I have the rest of the afternoon to explore fisherman’s Wharf (Where it departs from) and some of the other stuff San Francisco has to offer 🙂
I’m excited to ride the cable cars, go to Union Square, ride across the Golden Gate Bridge and do some walking tours.
Anyone got any suggestions for San Fran? Let me know! 🙂
ThePassportPrincess 