San Francisco Shore Excursion: Alcatraz and City Tour
San Francisco, United States of America
When your cruise ship docks in San Francisco, combine a city tour and a guided visit to Alcatraz for the ultimate San Francisco experience! Enjoy the picturesque beauty and iconic attractions of the world-famous city by the Bay, and take a scenic ferry ride to Alcatraz Island for an intriguing walking tour with audio commentary!
Likely to Sell-out! Alcatraz regularly sells out weeks in advance. Book ahead of time to avoid disappointment.
This San Francisco shore excursion begins at just a 10-minute walk from the cruise ship port. After being picked up from your driver/guide in a comfortable, air-conditioned coach, ride along the famous waterfront for views of the San Francisco Bay and Alcatraz Island. Enjoy a relaxing drive around the city and see San Francisco’s top attractions, like the Golden Gate Bridge, as you learn about the area from your knowledgeable guide. Weather permitting, you may also visit the massive Golden Gate Park, a lush green haven in the midst of urban city life, or climb up to Twin Peaks for stunning views of the sprawling city below.
Other attractions you will see on this San Francisco city tour include:
Chinatown
Fisherman's Wharf
Palace of Fine Arts
North Beach
Presidio National Park
Awe-inspiring views of Alcatraz and the Pacific Ocean
Your tour also includes a scenic ferry ride to the historic Alcatraz Island! Continue your shore excursion with an audio walking tour of the "Cell Block." This former federal penitentiary was also known as "The Rock" and housed gangsters such as Al Capone (‘Scarface’) and Machine Gun Kelly. Learn about one man’s famous escape from Alcatraz, hear stories about the prison's notorious inmates and much more!
Please note: This excursion is located within a 10-minute walk to the cruise port, so you determine the time you return to your ship in San Francisco. Please allow yourself ample time to enjoy the excursion and ensure your timely return to the port. This excursion is not covered by our worry-free policy.
Driver was great. I believe his name was Dan. He had a vast knowledge of the city and stories were interesting._br/_ Only thing negative about the tour is the time allowed at the stops.....would have liked to spend some time in China Town._br/_ Most stops only had 10 to 15 minutes to look around. That being said we did see a lot of San Francisco from the window of the bus._br/_ I would recommend this tour if you are only in the city for a short time.
Review by: Ronnie R, August 2017
A lot of time wasted getting to the office and waiting for the tour to start.No time for a lunch since the tour was listed for 8 hours. Alcatraz was great
Review by: Dionna D, July 2017
I do not recommend this tour. When we arrived we were told our bus was broken and they were getting us a new one. So we waited close to an hour to be told we could rebook or get a refund keep in mind that the only reason I booked this 2 months ago was for Alcatraz because they had sold out as we lined up for refunds, we were told a bus was on its way. We loaded this bus - the driver was clearly called in last minute, but was entertaining in his own way. The SF Marathon happened to have been that morning as well, so the driver had to make adjustments admittedly no one's fault but it became clear about an hour and a half into the tour that the bus we had was the broken one and its warning lights were flashing. The bus was supposed to take us to Fisherman's Wharf for our Alcatraz vouchers, but the driver felt it was unsafe, so he brought us back to the GrayLine office. We did not see the Golden Gate Bridge, the Painted Ladies or several other sights we had been promised. We had to wait for yet another bus to take us to the Wharf and because of all of the delays we were not able to board the ferry for Alcatraz until 3:50 - which did not give us much time on the island. As reparation, we were offered a hop on hop off tour for the next day, but many if not most of us could not fit that in to the plan. I understand mistakes happen, but this was a very long and frustrating day. I paid 450 for the 3 of us and felt this was absolutely NOT worth the money. Plan to book Alcatraz about 3 months in advance and skip this tour altogether!
Review by: James P, June 2017
Tour on bus of SF was pretty good. Great bus driver who really highlighted some great facts and history as we drove by sites. Several stops at Golden Gate Bridge and Sutro Bath Ruins by coast were awesome for my teens on trip. Plus, the only way could get Alcatraz tickets; highlight of whole trip!
Review by: margaret h, April 2017
This tour was very well organised and the city tour was very interesting - the driver was excellent.
Review by: mikeandyo, October 2016
A TRULY EXCELLENT EXPERIENCE.THE TOUR DRIVER WAS A FOUNT OF INFORMATION,AND HE KEPT US ENTERTAINED THROUGHOUT THE TOUR..THERE WAS NO PART OF SANFRANSCO THAT WAS NOT VISITED ,AND TIME WAS ALLOWED FOR PHOTOGRAPHS.I THOROUGHLY RECOMMEND THIS TOUR
Review by: Catherine K, September 2016
Excellent - book early to avoid disappointment.
Review by: Bruce, August 2015
Very good tour. Our guide was very knowledgable about the San Francisco area. We enjoyed seeing Alcatraz especially the audio tour.
Review by: Michael B, April 2014
San Francisco location was somewhat rundown and had no restroom. Staff seemed unorganized and two people were giving customers different information. The actual tour on the bus was fabulous. The driver was friendly, comical and knowledgable. We saw many of the sights of the city. The Alcatraz Tour in the afternoon was outstanding. It was great that it was self guided and you could move at your own pace. Originally I thought we would be there under two hours but it was so interesting we actually stayed over three hours. I appreciated the trolley to the top also due to illnesses. I would recommend this tour to others as well as booking through Viator.
Review by: ALLAN V, April 2014
Excellent trip taking in most of sites of San Francisco including Golden gate Bridge culminating in a boat trip to Alcatraz. Full day but at a relaxing pace and break at Lands End. Very worthwhile if you only have a short time in SF which for us was the case as on a cruise. Much cheaper option than taking the cruise offering.
Review by: adrian k, February 2014
Alcatraz was a great experience. The city tour was enjoyable but the connection between the two was a bit tricky. We did Alcatraz first and were then to be picked up outside to do the tour. This was not very smooth with people waiting in different places because of the traffic. Wonder if it would be easier for all if you started with the tour then dropped people off to go to Alcatraz when it suited them and to stay as long as they wanted.
Review by: Peter D, December 2013
This tour was an excellent introduction to the wonderful city that is San Francisco and allowed us to decide on the experiences we wished to follow up on given we only had 4 days in the city. The guide was particularly helpful in answering any questions we had. The visit to Alcatraz was the highlight. We would have no hesitation in recommending this tour which represents excellent value for money.
Review by: Daniel W, April 2013
Alcatraz is really worth to visit. The Self guided Tour tells a Lot about the History of the Island. The view from the Island towards the City is Some of the most spezial ones I ever saw. To See the City from there was really Nice.
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