All Alcatraz tours: the six packages compared
The package I point most first-timers to
The Alcatraz Ticket, Ferry & Self-Guided App package ($78, rated 4.5 from 3,783 reviews) is the one most people book. It bundles the official ferry and island admission with a self-guided phone app tour, you skip the ticket line, and you can stay on the island as long as you like before riding any return ferry back. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure. Getting yourself to Pier 33 is on you — there is no hotel pickup on any of these.
All six packages
Prices run $48 to $159 per person. Alcatraz City Cruises (alcatrazcitycruises.com) is the only company authorized to land passengers on the island, and every package below rides its ferries. What changes is what gets added around the crossing.
Most bookedAlcatraz entry includedAlcatraz Ticket, Ferry & Self-Guided App
Lowest priceOfficial ferry ticketAlcatraz City Cruises with Ferry & Audio Tour
Night optionAlcatraz entry includedAlcatraz, Ferry & Audio Tour with Night Option
Bay cruise combo$45 entry fee includedInside Alcatraz Tour with Bay Cruise
City comboAlcatraz entry includedAlcatraz Island & 72-Hour Hop-On Hop-Off Tour
Day trip$45 entry fee includedAlcatraz Tour with Muir Woods & Sausalito
Each category has its own page: the day tour page compares the two plain tickets, the night tour page covers the evening ferry, and the combo tours page weighs the bay cruise, the bus pass and the Muir Woods trip against each other.
Cheapest, most booked and biggest, side by side
Three sensible starting points. The official ferry product is the least money that gets you onto the island; the app package is the middle path; the bus combo turns one booking into three days of sightseeing.
| Alcatraz City Cruises with Ferry & Audio Tour | Top pickAlcatraz Ticket, Ferry & Self-Guided App | Alcatraz Island & 72-Hour Hop-On Hop-Off Tour | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $48 | $78 | $120 |
| What you get | Official ferry, admission & audio tour | Ferry, admission, audio & app tour | Ferry, admission, audio + 72-hr bus |
| Time on the island | 2–3 hours | As long as you like | Standard island visit |
| Free cancellation | Up to 24 hours | Up to 24 hours | Only up to 12 days before |
| Best for | Lowest price | Most first visits | Seeing the whole city |
| Rating | 4.7 | 4.5 | 4.6 |
| View → | Book this → | View → |
Where each one falls short
None of these is perfect, and I would rather you hear it from me than from the reviews after you have paid. The night option carries a 4.3 rating, the lowest of the six, mostly because some guests found the island as crowded in the evening as by day. The bay cruise combo is non-refundable once booked — no fog exception, no change of plans. The bus combo cancels free only up to 12 days before your visit, a much stricter window than the 24 hours everything else gives you. And on any of them, the queue for the return ferry can reach an hour on busy afternoons.
Take the earliest ferry you can get. Departures run roughly every 30 minutes from 8:45am, the cellhouse is quietest before midday, and you dodge the worst of the afternoon return-ferry queue.
Can’t make these dates?
Browse more available alcatraz island tickets and find one that fits your schedule — all with instant confirmation and free cancellation.
Still deciding? Start with how Alcatraz tickets actually work — the 90-day booking window explains most of the sold-out panic you read about.
Frequently asked questions
Which Alcatraz tour is best for a first visit?
For most people, the $78 self-guided app package: official ferry, island admission, skip-the-line entry and no time limit on the island. If budget decides it, the $48 official ferry product covers the same crossing and cellhouse audio. The tour reviews go through each package in detail.
What is included in every Alcatraz package?
The round-trip ferry from Pier 33, island admission and the “Doing Time” cellhouse audio tour, which runs about 45 minutes. The rest — app tours, night crossings, bay cruises, bus passes, Muir Woods — is what separates the packages. The cost page compares them against the $47.95 official walk-in price.
Can I still visit if the official calendar shows sold out?
Usually, yes. Official tickets open 90 days ahead and summer weekends go weeks early, but the packages on this site hold their own allocations of genuine Alcatraz City Cruises ferry tickets. Check live availability for your date before assuming the island is full.
Do these packages use the real Alcatraz ferry?
Yes. Alcatraz City Cruises is the only company authorized to land passengers on the island, and every package here includes its ferry from Pier 33. Nobody selling tickets on the street near Fisherman’s Wharf is selling anything genuine.