I have been fortunate to visit Alcatraz Island twi...

I have been fortunate to visit Alcatraz Island twice (and hope additional visits in the future). Each visit was similar but unique. The ferry ride to the island is nice and provided great views of the city and bay. The staff is very friendly and helpful. The first visit included hearing a former prisoner speak about his life and his stay on the island. The second visit included an author who lived on the island when she was a kid. Her father was a guard.

Once on the island, take your time and explore. There are great views and many areas of the island to see. The foliage is beautiful. The free audio tour, which is available in many languages, provided a lot of information. The audio tour is educations and gives many insights into the prisoner s time at the facility as well as the guards life on the island.

The National Park Service strongly recommends making advanced ticket reservations. We purchased our tickets approximately 90 days in advance. This eliminated the need to wait in line to purchase tickets and allowed us to schedule the specific day and time we wanted to visit during our trip. The ticket price includes the ferry transportation (provided by Alcatraz Cruises) and your time on the island.