Exploring Alcatraz Island, San Francisco - Alcatraz Visit Part 1

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San Francisco (Alaska Pre Cruise) . 2012 . September 13

This post is part of our Alaska Pre and Post Cruise Report and follow-up of our popular Alaska cruise series. Do check out our Alaska Cruise story too if this is your first time here! :)

Alcatraz Island, often referred to as "The Rock" is located in the San Francisco Bay, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) offshore from San Francisco. It is best known for its days as America’s first maximum-security, minimum-privilege Federal Prision from 1934 to 1963 when it housed some of America’s most notorious offenders, escape artists, gang leaders and general trouble makers. These prisoners were held under the most secure and regimented conditions, in the virtually escape-proof environment on the rocky land in the middle of San Francisco Bay.


It is interesting to note that the inmates in Alcatraz were not sentenced there by the American court but were actually the most notorious prisoners transferred from other prisons. Thus, Alcatraz is sometimes called the “prison within the prison system”. With an average stay of 5 years, these prisoners are kept in Alcatraz until it was decided they could be safely returned to a less secured lock-up place.

Getting to Alcatraz Island


Today, Alcatraz's facilities are managed by the National Park Service and the island is opened to tourists and visitors daily.  Vistors to the island can reach the island by a ferry ride operated by Alcatraz Cruises (official ferry provider to and from the island) from Alcatrz Landing, Pier 33, near Fisherman's Wharf.






To avoid the long queue and possibility of sold out tickets for your preferred date and time (it do happens, we are told!), it is advisible to reserve your tickets online a few days before your planned date of visit to avoid disappointment. Tickets are priced at USD$30 per adult (as of 29 June 2013) and it includes the return ferry ride by Alcatraz Cruises, admission to Alcatraz Island and the award winning 45 minutes Alcatraz Cellhouse Audio Tour.


Do note that a photo ID is required for every person who purchase tickets to Alcatraz Island on the web or at the Alcatraz Cruises ticket booth and are also required at boarding. Photo ID’s are not necessary for every person in the party, but are required for the person who purchased the tickets.

The roads and walkways on Alcatraz are steep. The distance from the dock to the cell house is approximately 1/4 mile (400m) and the elevation change is 130 feet (40 meters), the equivalent of walking up a 13 storey building!  Comfortable shoes are a must while athletic or walking shoes are strongly recommended.

Alcatraz Tour Options

There are a few options that you can take when visiting Alcatraz Island. All tours include the award winning 45 minutes Alcatraz Cellhouse Audio Tour. Stay tuned as we will present an in depth review of the tour in Part 2 of our Alcatraz Visit coverage.


To beat the crowd or spend more time on the island, you might want to get the early bird tickets (8.45am) though there is no discount in price. Note that interval between ferry departures is around half an hour and the trip takes around 15 minutes to reach Alcatraz island from Pier 33.

For those of you who are more adventurous, you might want to take the night tour which departs at 5.55pm and 6.30pm (available from Thurs to Mon). This tour includes a personally narrated boat tour around the island; guided tours from the dock to the main prison building; “Doing Time: The Alcatraz Cellhouse Tour”. You can also attend one or tow of the several special programs and presentations that are offered only at night. A word of caution though, the Alcatraz cellhouse is known to be one of the most haunted places in USA!

There is also an option to combine your trip to Alcatraz with nearby Angel Island at USD$62. Do note that there are only 2 departures for this tour at 9.30am and 9.40am and is subject to seasonal availability.

For those undecided, you may want to check out this comparison table to make your final choice. :)





Although the ferry trip is only around 15 minutes, the ride is quite scenic as we travelled towards Alcatraz Island. So do get your cameras and video cams ready!



Tourists taking photos as we approach Alcatraz Island. You can see that the ferry is still quite full even though we were on a 1pm tour after our lunch at Hollywood Cafe.






Welcome to Alcatraz


Here we are, finally at Alcatraz! A place that many had always wanted to visit, especially after watching those movies and reading books that have used this island as the backdrop for prison escape stories.


When people think of Alcatraz, the first thing that comes to their mind would be that of a prison where the most toughest offenders are kept. But do you know that Alcatraz island was also the site of the first American lighthouse on the West Coast or that it used to be a huge harbor defense fort during the Civil War? It was then turned into a grim military prison when the fort became obsolete.


In fact, Alcatraz became the site of a American Indian protest movement after its years as the federal prison. On 9 November 1969, a group of Native Americans landed on the island and claimed it in the name of the “Indians of all Tribes”, which lasted almost 19 months. Thus, do not be surprise when one of the first signs that you see when you disembark from the ferry would be the red graffiti wordings of “INDIANS WELCOME” above the United States Penitentiary Sign.

Notice the crowd at the bottom left of the photo below. That's the waiting area for your return ferry back to San Francisco mainland.

Barricade for the return ferry queue. The queues are pretty long towards the later part of the afternoon. So do get into the queue early if you need to catch a return ferry at a particular timing.

Short Introduction of Alcatraz Island given by the park ranger in front of Building 64, a 3 storey residential quarters. We would recommend that you get a copy of the Alcatraz Map and Guide at USD $1 at the small counter as it provides a useful guide as you explore the island.




Exploring Alcatraz

Alcatraz is relatively easy to explore by foot. If you did not buy the map, you can also follow the signages on the small island.



Here are 2 maps that we found on wikipedia and alcatrazhistory.com for your easy reference.

Alcatraz Map (Souce: Wikipedia)
Alcatraz Island Map (Credits: http://www.alcatrazhistory.com)


You might wish to check out the highlights of Today's Program before starting your exploration.

 As you start walking along the footpath, you will see the Guard Tower followed by the Guard House.


There are some historical exhibits in the guard house, including a canon and a map of the military points in Alcatraz.

Walking on the East Road along the island coastline, we could not stop admiring the scenic view and took out our camera to snap some photos.

The Alcatraz Morgue was built in 1910 with three vaults and an examination table, with a double steel door and a grated skylight. It was documented that the morgue was only ever used once when a deceased prisoner was stored in it overnight, having missed the last boat run to the mainland of the day while the examination table was never used to conduct an autopsy.

We soon made our way to the entrance at the Main Prison for the Alcatraz Cellhouse Audio Tour.

Do stay tune as we bring you an in depth coverage in Part 2 of our visit to Alcatraz.

After our Alcatraz Cellhouse Audio Tour, we made our way to the New Industries Building where there were some exhibits from movies on show.


Movies about Alcatraz. Have you seen these movies before?





We found this interesting document that details a typical Alcatraz inmate's daily routine amongst the exhibits. 4.25pm? Isn't it a bit early for supper?


After half a day exploring on Alcatraz Island, soon it was time to say goodbye as we joined the queue on the Alcatraz ferry back to San Francisco. We didn't waste any time as we snap this photo from the waiting area.

Fantastic view of San Francisco Mainland from Alcatraz Ferry on the way back.



Alcatraz Ferry docked at Pier 33. After a short ferry ride, it was back to San Francisco Mainland.




We hoped you like Part 1 of our coverage on Alcatraz Visit! Do check out part 2 with an in-depth coverage of the award winning Alcatraz Cellhouse Audio Tour.

This post is part of our Alaska Pre and Post Cruise Report and follow-up of our popular Alaska cruise series. Do check out our Alaska Cruise story too if this is your first time here! :)


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Discover . Book . Travel Blog 1st Year Birthday!

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Dear Readers,

Discover . Book . Travel is celebrating its very first birthday today!


We would like to say "Thank you" to all of you who have been following us on our travel adventures!

To commemorate this milestone, we thought it might be good time to reflect on our first year and see how much Discover. Book. Travel has grown in the past 12 months.

DISCOVER . BOOK . TRAVEL WAS BORN!

Our very first post was published on 23 June 2012, sharing our flight experience on board Air Asia Flight to Kuala Lumpur. From then on, we had gone on to share a total of 130 posts for the past one year!

A YEAR IN REFLECTION

Alaska Cruise Series

One of our most popular series was the Alaska Cruise series, which have encouraged a number of our readers to make their trips to Alaska too! This was the in fact the most comprehensive travel trip that we had written. If you have not read the posts, please visit here for the full listing of the posts.


The Alaska Cruise Series consists of a total of 46 posts starting from our embarkation in Vancouver, sneak peep of our Balcony Cabin to the shore excursions that we took at the ports of calls (Ketchikan - Bear Watching, Juneau - Whale Watching and Mendahall Glacier, and Skagway - Yukon White Pass Railway). There was of course the highlight of the trip - Glacier Bay National Park followed by College Fjord.


Our readers have also keenly followed our post-cruise land tour from Princess Cruises, reading our reviews of the places that we stayed - McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge, Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge and finally Fairbanks Princess Riverside Lodge.



We also shared our daily menus on board the cruise ship Diamond Princess, which was itself attracting a popular following from our readers. To help first time travellers to Alaska, we compiled some travel resources to help them plan their trip - including our top 10 tips for travelling to Alaska, 6 most common questions asked when planning an Alaskan cruise trip and the type of cruise meals on board the cruise.


Following the success of the Alaska Cruise series, we started to share our pre and post cruise itineraries in San Franciso, Seattle and Vancouver to serve as a reference for readers who would like to extend their cruise travel with a few more days' stay in USA and Canada. Do bookmark this link as we continue to update it with new posts.



Singapore Short Getaway Series

Budget is a concern for many when travelling (and that includes us!) and most of us simply can't afford to travel to Alaska or other faraway places a few times every year. Based in Singapore, we travel a few times a year to nearby places such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia for short getaway trips, as a means to recharge our batteries.

In fact, the very first few trips that we published on our blog were to neighboring locations such as Kuala Lumpur, Redang and Langkawi in Malaysia.




After writing our Alaska Cruise series, we continued with sharing our January 2013 trip to Penang and November 2012 trip to Surabaya. These two trip reviews had attracted many readers who were keen on a short getaway from Singapore. In fact, the Penang trip itinerary that we shared was so popular that it is currently ranked 2nd in our all time top visited post!



We then decided to start a new series - Singapore Short Getaway Series in early May 2013 starting with Surabaya where we shared the 4 questions that travellers typically ask when planning for a trip - How to Go, When to Go, Where to Stay and What to Do. This proved to be quite popular with our readers and has in fact risen to become the No 8 ranked post in our all time posts by visits.

Mount Bromo (Credits: indonesia.gunadarma.ac.id)


We have since written 2 more posts in the series - Langkawi and Penang.

USA (Niagara Falls and New York) + Gold Coast Australia Trips

Besides our two popular series, we also shared our trips to the magnificient Niagara Falls USA and the Big Apple New York as well as our August Short Getaway trip to Gold Coast Australia where our popular review of the airline that we took (Scoot) still stands on top of the list of our all time visits.


Blog by Numbers


Here's the statistics that define our travel stories for the past one year.

Countries Featured - 5 (Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Malaysia and USA)
Airlines Reviewed - 6 (Air Asia 1-2-3, Berjaya Air, Scoot 1-2-3, Silkair, Southwest, United Airlines)
Accommodations Reviewed - 15
Restaurants Reviewed - 19

Top 10 Posts by Visits

To celebrate this blog's one year birthday, we thought it would be meaningful to share with our readers our top 10 most viewed posts. Do check them out! :)

10. Day 1 Diamond Princess Alaska Cruise - Embarkation
9. Scoot Outta here to Gold Coast!
8. Surabaya - Singapore Short Getaway Series
7. Sumptuous Afternoon High Tea Buffet @ G Hotel Penang
6. Our Scoot Airline review of our flight to Gold Coast on Scoot - The "Works in Progress"
5. Day 1 Diamond Princess Alaska Cruise - Oceanview Double with Balcony at Caribe Deck
4. Hotel Review – Mt McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge
3. Penang Island 4 Days 3 Nights Short Getaway Trip Report
2. Alaska Cruise Trip - Our Full Story

Our Top Post for the Year!
1. Scoot Airline Experience - Review of our flight to Gold Coast on Scoot - The Good

Moving Forward

As we enter our second year of blogging, we would like to share with our readers our plans for the 2nd half of 2013.

Blog Plans

1. More posts coming up for the following 2 series
2. New Trip Reviews
  • Sydney 7 Days 6 Nights Trip on Scoot
  • Hanoi 7 Days 6 Nights Trip on Vietnam Airlines

A BIG THANK YOU!

To Our Readers and Fellow Travel Bloggers:

Thank you for following our blog and sharing it with your friends and family.Your support means a lot of us, be it a comment left on our posts, a retweet on our tweets, or a like or recommendation on Facebook and Google+.

Thank you so much for your continued support for Discover . Book . Travel and we hoped to continue sharing our travel experiences with all of you!

Yours Sincerely,

Tommy and Samantha



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Fisherman Wharf and Pier 39 Stroll along Embarcadero, San Francisco

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San Francisco (Alaska Pre Cruise) . 2012 . September 13


This post is part of our Alaska Pre and Post Cruise Report and follow-up of our popular Alaska cruise series. Do check out our Alaska Cruise story too if this is your first time here! :)

The Fisherman Wharf area in San Francisco is a must-go if you want to catch some action right beside the San Francisco coast.  Lined with vibrant restaurants, pubs, cafes, entertainment centres and shops, it promises not just to be a watering hole for tourist, but also a spirited stop for a first-time tourist.

Fishermans Wharf (Credits: Flickr.com)
 Here's a map that should help you familiar with the area.

Fisherman's Wharf Map (Credits: http://staysf.com)
As you walk along the Embarcadero, you will pass by the Cruise Ship Terminal at Pier 35. Cruise ships do depart San Francisco for Alaskan cruises, besides the usual embarkation ports, Seattle and Vancouver.



A Close up shot of Disney Wonder. Nice ship! Something to consider for our next cruise..




There were hundreds of yachts parked at the piers with benches to admire them. Wish we own one of these...keep on dreaming...





If you had missed the Farmers Market at the Ferry Building, there are also stalls selling fresh fruits around the fisherman wharf area.




View of Alcatraz Island


The Fisherman Wharf area is also one of the best places to catch sight of Alcatraz Island, now an abandoned prison famous for housing some of the most notorious inmates in the past.

Don't you think that Alcatraz Island look like a ship at sea?


Wharf Attractions


Aquarium of the Bay.  Other Wharf attractions include Ripley's Believe it or Not!, the San Francisco Maritime Museum, and the Wax Museum.

There will be something for everybody in busy and vibrant Fisherman Wharf,  from casual dining to up-market restaurants, open market to colorful shops.  If you are craving for fresh seafood, here's the first place you should try in San Francisco.  Do not miss the Dungeness Crabs, clam chowder and sourdough breads.  There's plenty of bars and lounges for the night owls here as well.


There are lots of shops selling souvenirs along the road too.

If you are tired from the walking along embarcadero, you may want to rent a bike at the Marina Terminal , Pier 41.



On the way, we saw some cute litle yellow cars. These are GoCars that takes you on a GPS-guided tour of San Francisco. Your clever talking car navigates and shows you the way – but that’s not all. As you enjoy the drive, it takes you to all the best sites and tells the stories that bring this unique city to life.


Pier 39


Do Drop by to Pier 39 when you are at the Fisherman Wharf, for a scene rarely seen in a city as big as San Francisco.   



For the past 22 years, since 1990, sea lions had been coming to Pier 39 regularly to lounge and sun-bathe on its decks.


There's even a sign to commemorate the happy occasion!


Although detested by sea farers,  the sea lions were popular with tourists and has earned it's own right to become a tourist spot.



The number of sea lions can fluctuate drastically during the seasons, but as many as 1700 were seen at one time in 2009.   We were not that fortunate to witness that kind of phenomena, but even so, looking at sea lions up close is not something that you get to do everyday.

Besides the Sea Lions, Pier 39 is also a dining and shopping paradise for tourists.






Hard Rock Cafe @ Pier 39. If you are an avid collector of Hard Rock merchandise, you may want to pay a visit to the Hard Rock Cafe Shop.



Plenty of restaurants and cafes in Pier 39. Even the Bar and Grill is open for business in the daytime and its packed!









If you are into candies, do stop by Candy Baron, a candy shop which has sold over one million pounds of their super Salt Water Taffy (known to be the finest in the world.) for more than 20 years.


There are over 50 flavours of the Salt Water Taffy, from Chocolate Mint, Caremel Corn, Lemon Meringue, Blueberry to even Cheery Cola. You can take your pick or mix and match to try the different flavours.


Besides their famous Salt Water Taffy, Candy Baron also sells other sweet candies like the toffees.

It's a pity that we visited the shop without knowing that they are famous for their salt water taffy. Nevertheless, we did end up with a souvernir bought from the shop. A San Francisco Cale Car model with candies inside! :)


We had a fun day at the Fisherman Wharf and Pier 39 area. So if you are visiting San Francisco, do make a trip there and have a fun day like we did!

This post is part of our Alaska Pre and Post Cruise Report and follow-up of our popular Alaska cruise series. Do check out our Alaska Cruise story too if this is your first time here! :)



We hope you enjoyed reading this article. To receive notifications on updates, subscribe to our blog via RSS feed and email.

Like us on Facebook @ Discover. Book . Travel and follow us on Twitter @Discoverbooktra!

Do check out our Flickr photos & Youtube videos too!