Alcatraz Tour

A crossing, an island, and a Cellhouse you walk at your own pace

Alcatraz sits a mile and a quarter out in San Francisco Bay: a military fortification, then the federal penitentiary that held Capone and Stroud, then the site of the 1969-71 Native American occupation, and now a public historic site within Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The only way on is the authorized ferry from Pier 33, and that constraint shapes the whole visit. Tickets are sold for a specific departure slot; the crossing takes about fifteen minutes; and once you are ashore the island is yours to walk. The centrepiece is the Cellhouse, where the official audio tour, narrated by former inmates and officers, is included with admission and played at your own pace. The return is deliberately loose - you may take any later ferry within the day's service - so the island rewards people who do not rush it.