Alcatraz

From the harbour to the prison itself, we enjoyed every minute of our Alcatraz experience. Once off the boat you will quickly be thrown into some sort of tour. We opted for the audio version, as did most people. I was expecting to be lead around on a leash by some sort of historian drawling on the same speech he had told unenthusiastically to a thousand people before us, but was presently surprised when we were given free reign to wander. The stories told on the cassette in your ears are genuinely fascinating and really get across the epic biography of the place and, more importently, its inhabitants. My favourite part of the trip though was all the different photo ...  Read the complete review

Alcatraz - possibly the world's most famous prison. Situated on Alcatraz Island, just off San Francisco. As of February 2009, a trip to Alcatraz costs $26. The boat leaves from Pier 33, Fisherman's Wharf. This is very easily accessible, especially if you are staying in one of the hotels in the area. The tour is not a full day, so you will have time to visit some other attractions in the area. The boat ride over was very smooth, and gives you the opportunity to take some great pictures of the island. The first thing we did on arriving was watch a short film about the history of Alcatraz, which was very informative and ...  Read the complete review

I belive San Francisco is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, so if you do get a chance to visit but can only do one thing then I would definitely recommend the Alcatraz island and prison visit. Alcatraz Island (The Rock) is a small island in the middle of San Francisco Bay. It wass the site of the famous federal prison until 1963 and today it is a historic site run by the National Park Service. Alcatraz is situated off Pier 33 near Fisherman's Wharf and to get there you need to use the ferry service. This is about $25 dollars. There is no fee once you get to the island/prison as it is a State Monument. During the summer though the ...  Read the complete review

***Background*** Our first stop on our honeymoon was in San Francisco and there were a couple of things we were interested in seeing. One was the Golden Gate Bridge and the other, which was my bloke's idea, was Alcatraz. He's a big film fan and was desperate to see this famous prison, which has been the centre point for many a film over the years. We had heard that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to book on the day that you want to visit so we started to look online for tickets about a month before we were due to go. There are lots of different companies that offer package tours but we decided to book with a company at ...  Read the complete review