Alcatraz - an amazing island (Alcatraz Island)

Member Name: jennyf16

Product:	Alcatraz Island
Date:	16/08/08 (18 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: great audio tour

Disadvantages: might be scary/spooky for some!

I visited Alcatraz whilst in San Francisco on a recent round the world trip. To be honest I had heard of Alcatraz but didn't really know anything about it.

We were advised by my friend that we should by our tickets in advance for the island and so we went in person and bought tickets for the following day. This was fine for us as we were there in March, however for those visiting in the summer months I recommend booking online as far in advance as you can to be sure that you don't miss out.

The ticket price was around $24 if I remember rightly which I thought was quite expensive but having visited I now think that the price is well worth it.

Once on the island you have a compulsory talk which just gives you a bit of information. We then watched a video that was shown on the documentary/history channel with some more basic information about Alcatraz which kind of set the scene and put it in context so to speak. This was definately worth seeing, I think it shows regularly throughout the day.

After this you collect your audio guide, which is included in the ticket price and it has to be one of the best audio tours I have done. It guides you around the island allowing you to pause, rewind as you wish. The tour is so life like and the sound effects are so real. I remember being in my own little world, half listening, half daydreaming and then hearing the slamming of a cell door and jangling of keys and thought someone was behind me when in fact it was on the audio guide!

The jail itself is quite spooky I found and I didn't fancy being anywhere on my own, so going at a busy time might be an idea if you're easily scared!

At certain times throughout the day I think there are guided tours with one of the members of staff there but we weren't there at a time suitable for this so I cannot comment on the quality of these.

The audio tour ends (in true American style) in the gift shop. When we were there there was an ex-inmate signing his books. I couldn't look at him, for being too scared but if you're in to that then it's pretty cool.

The tour of Alcatraz is one thing not to be missed and it's a great learning opportunity too if you don't know anything about the island.

Summary: has to be done, well worth it.