About Sam Delgado
I’m Sam Delgado, a San Francisco waterfront tour guide. I live in North Beach, and for over a decade I’ve walked groups down the Embarcadero to Pier 33 — I’ve ridden the Alcatraz ferry more times than I can count. Alcatraz Island Tickets is my independent guide to the Alcatraz packages sold on GetYourGuide.
Why this site exists
Alcatraz is the attraction people fail to book. Official tickets open 90 days ahead, summer weekends sell out weeks in advance, and the street vendors around Fisherman’s Wharf don’t sell genuine tickets. I’ve met enough visitors standing at Pier 33 with the wrong piece of paper to want a page that says plainly how the real tickets work and what to do when the official calendar shows sold out.
What I do here
I compare the six Alcatraz packages this site covers, read through the traveller reviews, and write up what each one includes, who it suits and where it falls short — downsides included, because the fog, the crowds and the return-ferry queue are all real. I’m not the National Park Service and I’m not Alcatraz City Cruises, the only ferry operator authorized to land passengers on the island. I don’t sell tickets; when you’re ready to book, the links here send you to GetYourGuide to complete the booking.
How the site is funded
When you book through a link on this site, GetYourGuide pays me a small commission at no extra cost to you. That keeps the site free, and it doesn’t change what I recommend — the affiliate disclosure has the full picture.
Questions or corrections? Get in touch, or start with the tour comparison and the reviews.