Alcatraz tickets and San Francisco Bay cruises

The short answer

Decide first whether you want to set foot on Alcatraz or only see it from the water. Two products on SkyGate land you on the island: the Official Alcatraz Island Admission Ticket + Audio Tour with Roundtrip Ferry by Alcatraz City Cruises, and the Alcatraz Island Ticket with 2-Day Hop-On Hop-Off & Night Bus Tour.[2][1] The three Red and White Fleet cruises sail around Alcatraz without stopping there, so none of them is a way onto the island.[5][4][3]

Alcatraz Island is run by the National Park Service, which describes it as a former fort, military prison and maximum security federal penitentiary.[7] The Park Service charges no entrance fee, but a ferry ticket from Alcatraz City Cruises is required to visit, and Alcatraz City Cruises is the only NPS-authorised ferry and the only one permitted to dock and let passengers off on the island.[6] According to the Park Service's directions page, that ferry leaves from Pier 33 on The Embarcadero.[8] See the Alcatraz Island page on XTOUR.

Landing on Alcatraz: the direct ticket

The Official Alcatraz Island Admission Ticket + Audio Tour with Roundtrip Ferry by Alcatraz City Cruises is the plain way onto the island. Every option includes the round-trip ferry between Pier 33 and Alcatraz Island, access to historic buildings, exhibits and gardens, National Park Service ranger programmes, and the Cellhouse audio tour in 11 languages, according to SkyGate.[1]

The five options differ by time of day and by who is travelling:[1]

• Alcatraz Day Admission + Audio Tour , with adult, child (5 to 11) and senior tickets, and a separate Youth (12-17 years) version.[1]
• Alcatraz Night Admission + Audio Tour , also with a Youth (12-17 years) version; SkyGate says the night ferry has live narration as it circles the island before docking.[1]
• Alcatraz Behind the Scenes Guided Tour + Night Admission + Audio Tour , which SkyGate describes as a 90-minute guided tour of restricted areas in English before you explore with the audio tour; its child tickets cover ages 12 to 17 only.[1]

SkyGate's voucher for this product names Pier 33 Alcatraz Landing as the redemption address.[1] The listing does not say what time each night departure leaves, and XTOUR has not verified it.

Landing on Alcatraz: the Skyline bus bundle

The Alcatraz Island Ticket with 2-Day Hop-On Hop-Off & Night Bus Tour adds two things to the island visit: two consecutive days of Skyline Sightseeing's hop-on hop-off bus and a 60 to 90-minute evening bus tour. It includes return ferry transport to Alcatraz Island and a self-guided audio tour, and the date you pick at booking is your Alcatraz date, according to SkyGate's option text. The night tour has a skyline photo stop on Treasure Island; that is a stop, not an attraction ticket.[2]

The voucher works differently from the direct ticket. SkyGate's option says it must be reconfirmed online with Skyline Sightseeing no later than 7 days before departure, that failing to reconfirm may lose you your place, and that the voucher will not be accepted by Alcatraz Cruises at Pier 33. The bus and night tour leave from 99 Jefferson Street at Mason Street, while the Alcatraz ferry leaves from Pier 33. Its child ticket covers ages 3 to 12, not the 5 to 11 band of the direct ticket.[1][2] SkyGate's page does not say how Skyline allocates the Alcatraz departure time, so XTOUR treats that as unknown.

Seeing Alcatraz from the water: three Red and White Fleet cruises

The operator gives its departure point as Pier 43 1/2 in Fisherman's Wharf, and SkyGate's vouchers for all three cruises are exchanged at the ticketing counter there.[9] Each listing says the cruise does not stop at Alcatraz Island but sails around it.[5][4][3] They differ by length, route and time of day.

• The San Francisco Bay 1 Hour Golden Gate Sightseeing Boat Cruise by Red and White Fleet sails beneath the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz, with live commentary from an English-speaking guide and a multilingual audio guide.[3]
• The San Francisco Bay 1.5 Hour Bridge to Bridge Sightseeing Boat Cruise by Red and White Fleet sails beneath both the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay Bridge, with the same live commentary and audio guide.[4]
• The San Francisco Bay 2 Hour Sunset or Evening Sightseeing Boat Cruise by Red and White Fleet sails beneath the Golden Gate Bridge; SkyGate says it runs as a Sunset Cruise in spring and summer and as a City Lights Cruise after sunset in late autumn and winter. Its price lists the cruise only, without the audio guide and live commentary that the two shorter cruises list.[3][5]

All three listings say boarding is first come, first served, that children under 5 travel free but need a complimentary boarding pass from the crew, and that the enclosed main decks are wheelchair-accessible.[4][3] SkyGate's evening cruise page does not give departure times.[5]

How to choose

• To walk on Alcatraz with the least to arrange, the Official Alcatraz Island Admission Ticket + Audio Tour with Roundtrip Ferry by Alcatraz City Cruises; pick day, night or the Behind the Scenes option, and the youth version for ages 12 to 17.[1]
• To combine Alcatraz with two days of city sightseeing by bus and a night tour, the Alcatraz Island Ticket with 2-Day Hop-On Hop-Off & Night Bus Tour, if you can reconfirm with Skyline a week ahead.
• For one bridge in an hour, the 1 Hour Golden Gate cruise; for both bridges, the 1.5 Hour Bridge to Bridge cruise; for an evening on the water, the 2 Hour Sunset or Evening cruise.
• XTOUR's reading: a cruise is not a fallback for a sold-out Alcatraz date, because none of the three lands on the island.

Two hop-on hop-off products also carry Alcatraz in one option each; XTOUR's San Francisco bike and bus guide covers them.

Before you book

• The direct ticket leaves from Pier 33; the Red and White Fleet cruises leave from Pier 43 1/2.[9][1]
• Reconfirm the Skyline bundle online at least 7 days before your Alcatraz date.[2]
• SkyGate's cruise listings advise bringing a jacket, as it can get chilly on the water.[3]