Insider Secrets about Alcatraz Tickets
We have ticket prices below, but we want to warn you that some Alcatraz tour ads and websites are intentionally misleading. These guidelines will help you avoid disappointment and save you money. We have no business relationship with any of the Alcatraz tour operators. If any company that sells Alcatraz tickets ever becomes a sponsor or advertiser on this site we will disclose that relationship here; we currently have no such sponsors.
1. Make sure you pick the kind of ferry ride you want! Ask the provider, "Do I walk around the island on this tour, or just sail around it? This page is about buying a ticket to take a ferry and walk around on Alcatraz. (Other services offer boat trips where you go around the island but do not land.) You get to take a self-paced audio tour, explore the prison, walk through the gardens. Double check about your tour's itinerary to avoid confusion and disappointment.
2. It's a National Parks Service monopoly. Only one company, Alcatraz Cruises (links below) has the right to bring you to Alcatraz island and the park. Other companies will sell you tickets and charge a $10 handling fee without telling you that you're at the wrong website. Unless it's part of a larger tour to multiple places (like Alcatraz, Sausalito and Muir Woods for one price) you're throwing away money.
3. Reputable tour companies do sell multi-location tours. We're trying to warn you about operators who over-charge for Alcatraz visits as a single destination. A number of tour operators will sell you a tour that (for example) visits Fisherman's Wharf, Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge, Sausalito, Muir Woods etc. for a single price. These trips are considered more convenient by some travelers and if the package price seems right there's no reason not to use these tour services.
4. When you buy a ticket to Alcatraz, part of the huge National Park called the GGNRA, you're really getting two tickets combined into one:
- A ferry ride from Pier 33 in San Francisco to Alcatraz Island and back
- Entry to the National Park facilities on Alcatraz (part of the GGNRA), and optional guided tours of the island and the old prison
You can't buy either half of the ticket by itself -- it's a package deal.
5. You can choose a daytime visit or a more expensive nighttime tour with extra content. We have the complete schedule here. Although they allow kids on the island after dark, Alcatraz can be a spooky place and with young family members you may want to stick to the daylight sailings.
6. Kids under 18 have to be with an adult at all times when you're on the island. This is an old prison on an island that was previously a 19th century fortress, and it's a good idea in any case to supervise kids while you're here.
Alcatraz Ticket Prices
There's only one ferry company serving the island. Alcatraz Cruises in San Francisco made a deal with the National Park Service to be the exclusive ferry provider to the island. We presume the Park Service did this to better control access to the park and to control traffic at the pier, but our readers often ask why there is no other choice.Alcatraz Ticket Prices (Includes ferry trip from Pier 33)
| Daytime | Nighttime | Alcatraz and Angel Island Combined | |
| Adults (Ages 18-61) | $26.00 | $33.00 | $58.00 |
| Junior (12-17) | $26.00 | $32.00 | $58.00 |
| Child (5-11) | $16.00 | $19.50 | $40.00 |
| Infants and Toddlers (0-4) | Free | Free | Free |
| Seniors (62+) | $24.50 | $30.50 | $56.50 |
| Family Ticket (2 adults + 2 children)* | $79.00 | NA | NA |
* The Family Ticket is only available by phone or at the Ticket Booth, not online through the Alcatraz Cruises website. No minors under the age of 18 are allowed to tour Alcatraz Island without being with an adult, who has to stay with them at all times while on the island.
Note that the National Park Service and Alcatraz Cruises can change these prices at any time.
You can buy all tickets except the family pack in advance at the Alcatraz Cruises website. During the summer we recommend you buy a few days in advance since some or all sailings often sell out well in advance of the tour date.
Caution: If another company sells you a ticket to Alcatraz, check the price against the prices above. If they're charging you more than this list indicates, they may be ripping you off. Tour companies can combine a visit to Alcatraz with other tour sites and charge you just one price, and they then buy the ticket(s) on your behalf from Alcatraz Tours. But they're not supposed to increase the price for the Alcatraz trip above "face value" unless they give you their own special tour once you're on the island etc. We cover this in depth at the top of this page.
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