How to get there
The only access to the island is by ferry from Pier 33 and ticketing is extremely competitive, especially during peak season. For night tours, demand is first come first served, which means you might need to book a week, but some people end up booking a month in advance.
There are multiple options when it comes to visiting Alcatraz
1. Set foot on the island yourself; since your feet are the island's main source of transport, you'll have to walk a lot. But dont worry, you'll be issued a Chinese audio guide that tells you about the history and stories of the island.
2. Go on a cruise right by Alcatraz with a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge. There will be some English speakers providing commentary about both Alcatraz and the bridge.
3, There are some tours that last 4-5 hours and you will get to see parts of the island that the regular guided tours do not go to and then you will get to do the audio guided night tour of the cell blocks which is their most popular night tour. If you are willing to wait until mid July, some tickets will become available.
4. You can also do an Alcatraz and Angel Island tour. These are considered to be the two most popular islands in the San Francisco Bay area. Angel Island was used as an immigration station during the Gold Rush and a lot of Asian immigrants settled there. This option lasts about 5.5 hours and includes admission to Alcatraz, a free audio guide, admission to Angel Island, and a tram tour around the island. It only runs between April and September. Standard Angel Island trips leave from Pier 41.
5. Alcatraz and San Francisco city bus tour can be done together. This is another favorite, you can board and unboard the bus as many times as you want and see the main attractions of the city. You can choose from a 24-hour pass or a 48-hour pass.
6. There is a possibility to visit the redwood forest and Sausalito as well.
In my opinion, the first option is the best option: actually setting foot on the island. The second option is more expensive and the value in getting a closer view of Alcatraz from a boat versus just seeing it from a distance is just not strong enough, and the only thing it has going for it is the departure being at sunset, so you get to enjoy the sunset while sitting on the water.
For island visits, the morning departure times are best if you want to avoid other travelers. At other times, the round trip ferry rides are every 30 to 40 minutes. Night tours are offered at 2 time slots each night. They are more expensive and harder to reserve, but the benefits are clear: less people, a more eerie mood, and an island cruise before you actually land, which is a feature that day time trips do not offer. There are also areas that are only accessible during night tours, including the hospital and the lower second tier of the prison.
Tips:
To avoid crowds, being the last person off the ferry is a good way to do it. Then you can enter the prison after the main crowd has cleared out. The difference is spectacular.
What if You Don’t Get Tickets?
It is true that Alcatraz tickets are tough to get, and it is best to book them 3 months in advance at best. If sold out tickets take a look at some alternatives.
1. Get tickets on the same day
It’s possible that staff will say that there are no tickets available for same-day visits, but in reality, some do exist. This is done to control the amount of people waiting at the pier to avoid disappointment. It is still very hard to get one. Each person is allowed to buy one ticket, and all those who want to go to the island must be present when the ticket is bought. If you leave the line for any reason, like to go to the bathroom, you have to go to the back of the line. Ticket sales start at Pier 33 at 7:30, but people often camp out in line before, with some reports stating they even had sleeping bags. Ticket control is random; a visitor was able to join the line at 6:00 a.m. with 130 people in front of him and got a ticket for a 10:45 departure. On other occasions all tickets available for that day were gone by 7:00 a.m.
2. After the ticket office opens at 7:30 a.m., a limited number of standby tickets for that evening’s island visit—around 10 to 20 per day—may be sold. These allow the holder to board if someone with a ticket does not show up for the night ferry. If no spots open up, the ticket can be refunded at the box office.
3. Prebook a package with another activity, for example, Angel Island and Alcatraz or a detailed tour of Alcatraz. There might still be options available even a week before.
Escape Attempts
80 prisoners are recorded to have attempted the escape from Alcatraz. Of a five-man group that tried to escape in 1965, only three are thought to have succeeded. It is unclear what became of them. They could have drowned or been eaten by sharks.
What stands out most is the elaborate escape attempt by the group:
This is an electric drill made from a motor taken out of a vacuum cleaner which was used to drill into the wall.
