Alcatraz, San Francisco

Make sure you eat before you board the boat, because as it was previously mentioned no food is available on the island. My tour for at 11:30 and i had breakfeast at 7:30. So i got terribly hungry and even got an earlier return than planed originaly.

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Alcatraz is a very famous landmark and it certainly lives up to the hype. The place just has that special feeling, for what reason I don't know it just does. One thing to make sure is to book well in advance as the ferries are always busy and you nearly can never buy on the day going by what locals said.

Another tip would be to wear a warm clothes. Although we did not find it cold on the island due to us being from sunny scotland lol many of the people did.

In 1934 the US military handed Alcatraz to the Department of Justice who found itself ill equipped to deal with the violent crime surge that followed the Great Depression. The task was to create a 600 cell escape proof prison with all the latest security measures of the time. The ratio was 3:1 guards to prisoners and the island is surrounded with treacherous freezing water making it very secure. The conditions were especially tough in Alcatraz, especially in its early days when prisoners were only allowed to talk at meal and recreation times, the remainder of the time required total silence from the prisoners. A good number of infamous prisoners were housed in Alcatraz over the years such as Al Capone, George 'machine Gun" Kelly and Robert 'the Birdman" Stroud and a number of escapes were tried but none proved to be successful. The prison started to fall into disrepair as the salt air created corrosion throughout the structure, and in 1963 a decision was made to close down the prison. Since that time, the building has been handed over to the National Parks Service who have finished a huge makeover to improve the quality of the Island and of the prison. Since being taken over by the Parks Dept, it has become a huge tourist attraction with over 1 million people visiting each year compared with just 1500 inmates held over the 29 years it was a Federal Prison.

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Take a tour of this infamous prison. Make sure you do the audio tour, which is free. It provides a very interesting prospective to your experience. Also, book your reservations in advance by at least a week. This attraction has become extremely popular with tourist, especially during summer months. We saw a lot of sold out signs for this tour, but you can take a chance and wait in a long stand-by queue.

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I did the Night Tour of Alcatraz Island. The Alcatraz Cruises web site says it is the most complete tour and I can see why! Once the ferry takes you to the island, an audio tour takes you through the cell blocks, including isolation. After the tour is over, we are free to walk around the island on our own. There are several presentations going on throughout the night that we can participate in, including history of escape attempts. The tour and presentations really help to demystify the myths about Alcatraz. The highlights of the tour were seeing the Alcatraz Hospital and the sunset over the bay. It was also neat seeing the guard operate the cell doors, which don't use any electricity.

Alcatraz Island is a neat outing to take if you are visiting San Francisco. The island is actually very pleasant location. It now serves as a bird sanctuary and there is plenty of vegetation that has filled in the area since the years of operation. There is a ton of fascinating history you will learn on a visit to Alcatraz. The prison tour is an audio narrative about all of the high profile criminals’ backgrounds and stories of attempted escape and other bizarre historical events. The view of the city is amazing as well. The vantage point allows a sight from the Oakland side of the Bay Bridge all the way to the Marin County side of the Golden Gate Bridge. The vista is worth the trip alone. Catch the ferry from Fisherman’s Wharf - Pier 33. Cost is about $20 and should take you about 2.5 hours round trip. There is also a night tour which is supposed to be an even better more intimate version but I wasn’t able take that one.

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Alcatraz can not be missed! It is eerily creepy, and quite harrowing in certain light. You can tell the place has history and it is amazing to wander through the cell blocks and see the kind of life the prisoners there had.

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You must make sure you book your Alcatraz trip before you arrive in San Francisco, or immediately upon arriving in the city. I wasn't aware of just how quickly the ferries fill up to go this most popular of attractions. I left my booking until my second of four days in the city. When I rang up, I was told that there were only a few places available on the Blue & Gold ferry for the last day of my trip - at 1300. I had to be at the airport at 1800!! Not to be put off, I booked the trip and did an "Amazing Race" tour of Alcatraz. When I got to the island, I dashed to the top straight away, in order to do the recommended self-guided tour. This turned out to take about an hour and was thoroughly interesting and entertainnig at the same time. For a few dollars, you hire a machine that plays, through headphones, a commentary from past prisoners about the places you walk through in the abandoned prison. When you step into the prison, it's quite weird seeing people wandering around like zombies, silently - all listening to their guided tours and looking at the various points of interest that the commentary leads you to. I can thoroughly recommend this self-guided tour. It gives you an incredible insight into the life of prisoners on "The Rock".
The views of San Francisco are great from the top of the island, but beware of the wind and hold on to your hat. Despite how summery it might feel in town, it really is a lot cooler on Alcatraz, so a jacket or sweat-shirt is probably a good thing to bring.