San Francisco Alcatraz App Guided Tour with Cruise and Jail House
San Francisco, USA
- 1 to 2 hours (approx.)
- Offered in: English
Explore our promoted experiences
Overview
What's Included
- App Guide
- Unlock secret stories, audio, and music
- Official Alcatraz ticket, including ferry ride to the island (Value of $48)
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Pier 33San Francisco, CA 94133, USA
Your tour will start at Pier 33
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
1
Pier 33
25 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
2
Alcatraz Island
1 hour • Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Stroller accessible
- Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Transportation is wheelchair accessible
- Wheelchair accessible
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
3.7
based on 52 reviews
Deborah_L, May 2026
If using Viator, be aware that you may be given incorrect information regarding how to obtain your vouchers for the tour, time to arrive/ board for your tour and pricing. We have used Viator in the past and all went very well however, the Alcatraz tour was booked through Viator and another intermediary which ended up giving us the incorrect information and no ability to download the voucher code (in addition to the cost being increased by more than $60 total! Save your self the cost and complexity and wait to book at the pier. The staff there was very helpful and they found our booking through these several intermediaries (sometimes they are not able to locate such prepaid reservations) especially during busy times….
Colleen_V, May 2026
Easy boat ride over. You can spend as much time as you want there and return on whatever boat you wish. Definitely do the audio tour of the cells.
Luc_D, May 2026
Well organized and interesting. Gerry terminal easy to find. Tour of jail cells is informative and it’s cool how they use real criminals voices.
susan_f, May 2026
Super organised - thank you - thoroughly enjoyed this trip. So efficient and easy - beating the queues!
Jennifer_W, Apr 2026
The ferry ride was no issue. Once on the island coukd not listen to audio tour it would constantly stop and not start up again. Also people should know once on island they provide audio tour so no need to pay for another. Would not recommend this through Viator.
LauraElena_P, Apr 2026
There was no tour and I wasn’t told in advance, could have planned something else. Bad planning from the company
Emer_C, Apr 2026
Boat and dock swarming with flies on upper deck. Recommend sitting inside. Fun and great way to spend a couple of hours. Good history lesson too about first indigenous people
Sonia_B, Apr 2026
The only reason I’m not giving 5 is because it took too long to get the final tickets and I was getting worried that I was not going to receive them. They sent an email with just letting me know that tickets are coming in a different email.
Bobby_H, Apr 2026
What an Amazing experience. Pre pay your ticket in advance for a day you would like. Can bring your snacks. Or purchase snacks on the boat. Arrive to departure early to get the best seat on the boat.
Kelly_K, Apr 2026
Booked for 8:30 am, get pushed back to 9:20 then to 9:40. Boat was small. Dirty windows you could not see through. Could have shown up at the Alcatraz tours and bought the 9:20 tickets which would have gotten us a bigger boat. Next time I would just show up and buy them myself.
William_C, Apr 2026
It was very busy on the boats and in the cell area. It was very enjoyable experience. I would go again
Stephen_H, Apr 2026
A very interesting trip and you really get the true experience of what it must have been like to be locked up in a high security prison.
The trip involves a lot of walking although transport up and down the hill is available for those with infirmities. The gardens were a surprise and very colourful in late March.
I was equally surprised that so much of the Island was left derelict, although well loved by nesting sea birds. If the intention is to focus
on wildlife then maybe worth removing all the concrete and allowing a re-wilding of the old staff accommodation area on the Eastern tip.
Melissa_W, Apr 2026
Something for everyone, very organized, family friendly and accommodating for those that need a little assistance.
Leeann_D, Apr 2026
Alcatraz is a great experience, but expect a lot of walking. The hills are steep when walking to the prison. There is a trolly car that will take you to the top, but it runs every 20 to 30 minutes. Also, if you want to see everything it will take a little more than 2 hours, so plan other activities accordingly.
Anne_K, Apr 2026
I found the whole process of this tour annoying. I received so many emails that it was difficult to find the actual booking number once I set up the app on my phone. I also thought it was annoying that I had to line up to get my ticket printed for the ferry, even though I already had a ticket on my phone. The app asks way too many questions and we ended up skipping most of it and just doing the guided tour of the prison house that’s already included with your trip to Alcatraz.
James_W, Mar 2026
Apparently the Pintours App code will lapse immediately if you check App function (once) before the tour without starting the App tour. We usually do not wait until the last minute to check out our software so we lost our tour (passcode invalid except our first check).
We also never got ferry tickets until late (but did get a vendor message asking how we liked our your on the day before the tour. After asking about our missing tickets, they arrived but were not for the time we scheduled. So we wasted an hour before and had a short visit.
Never got any comment from vendor.
Amanda_T, Mar 2026
I honestly thought there would be more to this than just the cell house audio tour.
The app code didn’t work - but didn’t matter as you’re given an audio unit at the island.
Boat trip is quite short and boarding process easy.
It was interesting experience - good to hear about the history.
Mervet_K, Mar 2026
It’s so worth it to make this trip and visit the island
And learn all about what took place
I truly loved the audio recording
The city of San Francisco is magical in every sense
Duncan_M, Mar 2026
This is a great trip and well worth the money and time.
Make sure you put this on your to list and - DO IT!!
Christine_W, Mar 2026
The audio tour never told us where to start and what destination to move on to. After listening to the guide babble on for the first 10 min, we switched it off and listened to the free audio tour that is provided on the island.
Jenny_B, Mar 2026
The aviator service is always the best but the sound tour is the worst. The internet doesn’t work well at the island and even if u download before u get there it doesn’t work. It cut off so many times I decided to just give up and turn it off.
James_T, Mar 2026
very good adventure. However, there was a lot of walking up and down the hills. Long waits in the line for the boats.
Ann_M, Mar 2026
It was interesting but unfortunately they have let it go. Buildings have had no maintenance and the grounds were a disgrace
Michele_K, Mar 2026
The ferry ride part of the package was great, however the App audio tour was very difficult to navigate & not very user friendly.
Rebecca_C, Mar 2026
Great tour of Alcatraz delving into the history of the Island and how it came into being. Well worth the trip!
Jessica_G, Feb 2026
The tour was amazing. We got to explore the whole island without time limit. The self guide for the jail was amazing!!
Zoe_L, Feb 2026
The tickets came through at 0100 of the morning of the tour (not the day before as promised), which was a little stressful. And then instead of the tour being at 1045, the time we booked, the ferry tickets were for 1130! Luckily this time worked for us. This rings true with what some other people have reviewed.
The QR code worked fine, and the app you downloaded from PinTours with extra info and your guide info was good. The ticket included the Jail House audio no problem!!
William_H, Jan 2026
Tour was canceled with no heads up from Viator. We only found out like others when we showed up to the pier. Not even a tour guide showed up. We had to ask someone that worked at the fairy who told us Alcatraz was closed for the day. Yet they still send me request for a review on how we enjoyed our tour. I will never use them again. Anyone can take your money and a reservation. It is the follow through and communication that makes you a successful or a failure. You failed. I even went as far as to reach out via text to verify the tour was still on. I got a response saying a representative will get back to me shortly. They never did.
I called yesterday and was told I would get a refund. I asked for an email confirmation of the refund. They read back my email address, so I know they have it. Nothing. Yes, I checked spam. See if I get my refund in the next 5 business days.
Response from Host, Jan 2026
I am so incredibly sorry for the frustration and disappointment this caused. To show up at the pier with no communication—especially after you took the proactive step of texting us for confirmation—is completely unacceptable, and I sincerely apologize that we let you down.
While the maintenance closure on the island was an unexpected situation beyond our immediate control, our communication with you should have been seamless, and it clearly wasn't. Please know that your refund has been prioritized; if you do not see the credit or a confirmation email within the next few days, please contact us directly so we can resolve this personally. We value your time and your feedback, and we are committed to making this right.
Stephen_P, Dec 2025
Not happy at all. Allowed my booking for 5 people and took my money (nearly $500) on the day, when we rocked up at Pier 33 Alcatraz Boat departure, we were told they were overbooked. Visitor told me there’s a “glitch” in the system, but any refund also doesn’t compensate us for the hours we lost where we could have planned and done something different. 🥺
Louise_W, Dec 2025
All very punctual, easy to find, friendly staff.. easy to get around, signposted clearly and the audio listening was very interesting.
From $77.99
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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