The Alcatraz Experience

Alcatraz Island is without a doubt one of the most famous of San Francisco’s landmarks and, with such a varied and interesting history, deservedly so. I visited for the second time on a recent trip to the US and I was pleased to find that nothing has changed since my previous visit almost ten years ago. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit then and did so again this time. A Short History The island was first written about back in the late 1700s when it was named La Isla De Los Alcatraces – Spanish for the island of the pelicans – after the birds that lived there. The birds don’t live there anymore ... more

***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 ... more

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 is situated off Pier 39 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 tickets book out quickly so I would definitely recommend booking early. You can spend most of the day here so I would recommend getting the early ferry as you have no time ... more