I lucked into arriving at Alcatraz when a tour of the garden restoration was taking place. These are only offered twice a week -- 9:30 on Friday morning and sometime on Sunday. The tour lasted about an hour and was a great presentation of the history of Alcatraz through the gardening that's taken place over the years. Very interesting, very... more

Alcatraz Prison is probably in my top 5 of best and most interesting places to visit! If you're not easily scared, I recommend going on a night visit. Roaming around the island and prison at night is creepy and made the visit so much more real to me. Some of the cells were open so that you could go in... more

I didn't think I would enjoy this as much as I did. We ended up staying for 3 hours. The audio tour is cool. You can also take a garden tour and walk all over the island. Very interesting history. more

In a city that has its fair share of memorable tourist attractions, Alcatraz trumps even the Cable Cars for sheer number of pictures taken and stories for when you get back home. Apart from being infinitely more interesting that you would expect, the boat ride alone provides a memorable experience, and the park staff are full of insightful stories and... more

I almost didn't get a chance to do this because it was fully booked, but being a solo traveller, I was able to squeeze into a cancellation. The ferry was cool (both figurative and literal), the sight from the Ferry and from Alcatraz actually is very interesting (IMO, better than from Coit Tower). The audio tour is informative and also... more

Alcatraz, what a great place to go to learn some American history. Though it is History of Convicts and their lives behind bars, it was very interesting to hear the escape attempt and successes. The audio tour was great and it was nice to be able roam pretty much anywhere on the island. I would recommend visiting Alcatraz in the... more

booked night tour , weather was excellent , this was a well informed tour the guides were good, fasinating to see the prison. book online to avoid dissappointment tours are booked well n advance more

Took the tour at noon on the 21st of October. Had ordered the tickets in advance on Internet. The tour was great. When we arrived Alcatraz, we first took the Cell block audio tour, this is perhaps one of the best narrated audio tours I have taken. Before we left, we joined a ranger tour, where a ranger told about... more

This tour was great primarily due to the Rangers who greet you. They (the Rangers) are so informed - and interpret the stories so well - they know the facts. The one that offered a special walking tour on October 14th even knew the prisinors who come back for the reunion - plus he (The ranger) swam the bay so... more