San Francisco
Viator VIP Early Access to Alcatraz and Exclusive Cable Car Sightseeing Tour

Early Access to Alcatraz and Cable Car Sightseeing Tour

San Francisco, United States
  • 7 hours
  • Offered in: English
San Francisco Tours
All San Francisco Tours
Audio Guides
Kid-Friendly
Likely To Sell Out
Unique Experiences

Overview

Visit Alcatraz Island before most visitors arrive and tour San Francisco on a motorized classic cable car. Head to Alcatraz early to enter this National Historic Landmark District. Explore the former prison via the award-winning audio guide, and enjoy a sightseeing tour of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Palace of Fine Arts, and Fort Point on a cable car retrofitted with wheels, so you can see more of the city.
  • Beat the crowds and be one of the first to Alcatraz for a fascinating award-winning audio tour
  • Admire fantastic city views aboard a cable car bus, a converted cable car with wheels for mobility
  • Snap photos from Fort Point, and cross the iconic Golden Gate Bridge
  • A boxed lunch and admission are included for added convenience

Why Travelers Choose This Tour

Be among the first people of the day to reach Alcatraz with this ticket.

What's Included

  • Transport and sightseeing tour by motorized cable car
  • Admission to Alcatraz Island (Valued at $39.90) and Alcatraz audio tour
  • Boxed lunch (sandwich or salad), cookie, and bottle of water
  • Professional guide
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Gratuities

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

  • 1370 The Embarcadero
    1370 The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94133, USA

    Meet your guide in front of Pier 33 next to the lamppost across from the information booth. Tour Guide will be wearing an orange jacket and holding a flag, both adorned with the Hornblower Classic Cable Cars logo. Please arrive to check-in roughly 15 - 20 minutes prior to scheduled tour start time.

Start time

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

This experience in San Francisco combines one of the city’s top attractions, Alcatraz, with a tour of famous neighborhoods and sights. Start in the early morning at Pier 33, where you meet your guide who is wearing an orange jacket and holding a flag with a Hornblower Classic Cable Cars logo on it.

Set off on one of the first ferries of the day to Alcatraz. When you arrive, tour the cellblock and other areas independently using the award-winning audio guide, which includes commentary from former inmates and guards. Learn what life was like inside the jail cells of notorious criminals like Al Capone.

Once you’ve toured the island, make sure you grab a ferry to continue your San Francisco tour. Meet your guide back at Pier 33 to get your boxed lunch. You have some time to explore the pier before your cable-car tour.

Your tour stops at the Palace of Fine Arts, rides across the Golden Gate Bridge, and stops at Fort Point. Your tour ends with a drop-off at Alcatraz Landing.

Alcatraz Island

2 hours 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Pier 39 (Pass By)

Fisherman's Wharf (Pass By)

Golden Gate Bridge (Pass By)

Ghirardelli Square (Pass By)

Fort Point National Historic Site

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Palace of Fine Arts Theatre (Pass By)

Vista Point

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park (Pass By)

Boudin at the Wharf (Pass By)

SS Jeremiah O'Brien (Pass By)

USS Pampanito (Pass By)

Hyde Street Pier (Pass By)

Lombard Street (Pass By)

Golden Gate Bridge Welcome Center (Pass By)

Marin Headlands (Pass By)

Golden Gate National Recreation Area (Pass By)

Presidio of San Francisco (Pass By)

Pacific Heights (Pass By)

Bay Bridge (Pass By)

Treasure Island (Pass By)

Transamerica Pyramid (Pass By)

Salesforce Tower (Pass By)

Grant Avenue (Pass By)

Coit Tower (Pass By)

Telegraph Hill (Pass By)

Little Italy (Pass By)

North Beach (Pass By)

Saints Peter and Paul Church (Pass By)

City Lights Booksellers (Pass By)

Washington Square (Pass By)

Additional Info

  • Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
  • ALL TRAVELER NAMES ARE REQUIRED AT TIME OF BOOKING. Failure to provide this information will result in cancellation of your tour. Please provide all passengers' full names. Provide first name (lower case letters) and last name (upper case letters) as it appears on each passenger's identification. All passengers 18 and older must present ID to take the ferry to Alcatraz.
  • Cable cars are wheeled and not on rails to provide maximum flexibility for city sightseeing
  • Dress in layers as temperatures can be quite cold on the water or on the open-air cable car
  • If vegetarian lunch is required, please note in Special Requirements box at check-out
  • Please note: On days when traffic is exceptionally heavy or visibility is bad due to fog on the Golden Gate Bridge, the cable car will go to the bridge's viewing parking to but not cross it
  • Tour Itinerary 8:00 AM – Check in with your tour guide in front of Pier 33 next to the lamppost across from the information booth. (Please see our Contact Us page for more information.) Your tour guide will be wearing an orange jacket and holding a flag, both adorned with the Hornblower Classic Cable Cars logo! Your tour guide will take your lunch order, give a quick run-down of the day, and provide you with all your Alcatraz tickets. You will board one of the first ferries to Alcatraz. 9:00 AM - Arrive at Alcatraz Island. Take advantage of more than 2 hours to explore the island, including the award-winning audio tour. 11:40 AM – Boarding begins for the 11:55 AM ferry back to San Francisco. You must be on the the 11:55 AM ferry back to San Francisco to continue the tour! 11:55 AM – Ferry departs back to San Francisco! 12:15 PM – Disembark ferry and meet your tour guide at the check-in location. Your tour guide will provide you with your lunches. You will have 30 minutes to explore Pier 33's spectacular grounds and gift shop. 12:50PM – Meet your tour guide at the check-in location, where you will be escorted to your Cable Car. 1:00 PM - Enjoy your professionally guided, premier Cable Car tour of San Francisco, where you will stop at the Palace of Fine Arts, ride across the Golden Gate Bridge, and stop at Fort Point. 3:15 PM – Arrive back at Alcatraz Landing, the end of your adventure! Thank you for riding with us!
  • Not wheelchair accessible
  • Service animals allowed
  • Near public transportation
  • Infants must sit on laps
  • Most travelers can participate
  • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 26 travelers

Cancellation Policy

This experience is non-refundable and cannot be changed for any reason. If you cancel or ask for an amendment, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

  • This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
  • This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

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Traveler Tips

Early access is grest, you have time to check Alcatraze first!
As it’s said in others reviews, it’s a really good idea be the first to arrive to the island.
The cable car does has wheels so it's build for the normal road.

Reviews

4.5
1,062 reviews
Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews
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Reviews by Viator travelers.
Showing 1-10 of 1,062 reviews
Awesome
Joseph_N, Mar 2020
Thoroughly enjoyed our day. Our tour guide, Jessica and driver, Dawn made the day infirmative and fun.
Not a good outfit
Kara_B, Mar 2020
Tried to cancel because my company cancelled the trip I was on due to the virus - and was told I could not. Do not book with this company EVER
Great tour and super guide
Allan_B, Feb 2020
Vicki was very knowledgeable and friendly Joan was a great trolley driver and the trolley was a beautifully restored 1922 trolley
Excellent way to explore main sights in SF.
josepmaria_C, Feb 2020
The whole tour was amazing. As it’s said in others reviews, it’s a really good idea be the first to arrive to the island. Two hours is time enough to cover everything you can see in Alcatraz. Bus tour was really interesting, as well as all details provided by Jessica. I really appreciate all the short walk strolls in this tour. I will like to suggest to enlarge tour time in order to add more short walks. I truly recommend this activity, plus we were lucky that our group was small and Jessica answered all our questions. Last thought for the driver we got, sorry I don’t remember her name but I loved how she drives the fancy nice bus.
Tour for Quick Stop over in San Francisco
CAROLANN_F, Jan 2020
Only had 1 full day in San Francisco and different people wanted to do different things! So took this tour and what a great choice it turned out to be. Met Joseph at the dock side he took out food orders and explained what we would be doing, he stayed with us until we had our tickets ready to board for Alcatraz brilliant going in early being first away from any crowds (it noticed later on) when we arrived back he gave us a tour of the city golden gate it was such a good day and he was so knowledgeable and fortunately for us we were the only family who had booked the tour that day so we ended up having the cable car bus to ourselves. Well worth the money.
Great Trip
Denise_C, Nov 2019
Valerie is a fantastic guide, very knowledgeable and extremely enthusiastic. Our driver was the best ( unfortunately I don't remember her name). She also knew the history of the city as well. The two of them were outstanding
Alcatraz
teldridg, Oct 2019
The tour through Alcatraz was amazing. Make sure you do the audio tour. Then the tour through parts of San Francisco was just as great. Our tour guide and bus driver was amazing. I would highly recommend the tour.
Fantastic day!
Adam_H, Oct 2019
Joseph and Joan were brilliant guides and drivers on out day at Alcatraz and touring SF.I thoroughly recommend this Aviator trip.
Fantastic
Moster73, Oct 2019
This tour gets my highest recommendation. Our guide Jessica and our driver Roger was amazing. This was a great way to spend a day in San Francisco.
Feature packed tour
Dianne_R, Oct 2019
This tour was well worth the early start. We were first to arrive for the day at Alcatraz before it got busy. We watched the short film upon arrival and then had an audio guide for the prison cells. It provided a chilling recount into life at Alcatraz. Our tour guides, Joseph and Joan were fantastic! Lunch was well organised and the drive in the Cable car (which was really a bus) provided an overview of the sights in San Francisco. We stopped for many photo opportunities and Joseph was very informative. I would recommend this trip to see Alcatraz in detail and also to see San Francisco's major sites.
Must see in San Francisco
Nick_the_Q, Oct 2019
The tour of Alcatraz was more than expected. The history and information provided was excellent. The tour in the "cable car" was interesting, informative and entertaining. The tour guide and driver couldn't have been more helpful or enthralling. What a duo ! And the sites we saw and the things we learned of San Francisco was superb.
Perfect way to see San Francisco
Richard M, Oct 2019
The boat to Alcatraz left on time and we had plenty of time to tour the facility. We were given a hearty box lunch, then we boarded the trolly for an extensive trip around the SF area. It was slightly chilly so we were given blankets for our legs. Robin and the bus driver were extremely knowledgeable and personable. Robin was happy to take our pictures. We could have never seen all the sites without doing this tour. It was def worth the cost!
Alcatraz
Scenic61385010937, Oct 2019
Excellent tour! Jessica was awesome and the driver was the best!! I highly recommend this tour package.
Bucket List....✔️
Passenger532631, Sep 2019
Excellent tour and awesome tour guide, Jessica & driver, Joan!! Getting into Alcatraz first is awesome cause after it gets super busy!!
Early access to Alcatraz & Cable Car Sightseeing Tour
Hannah_W, Sep 2019
Our guide Vicky was very helpful & informative, she ensured we saw everything we wanted to see. It all ran on time & I consider this to be a great way to see Alactraz & the Golden Gate Bridge. Excellent value for money, would recommend this trip.
Great tour
Inspire03205647745, Sep 2019
Best part of this tour was the guide, Jessica & driver Zach. Very informative & fun tour. Great highlights & scenic stops.
Excellent
gareth_M, Sep 2019
Excellent trip well worth the money, got more than we expected, Vicky and Igor were very knowledgable
Amazing
Leif P, Sep 2019
Great experience awesome tour guide. Kyra and Joan were great! The audio tour on Alcatraz was well done.
Tour recommended
Timothy_R, Sep 2019
This was a great excursion, the lunch provided was perfectly adequate and the tour around San Fran was really informative.
Excellent trip
david_M, Sep 2019
Had a great. Getting to Alcatraz before the masses was great. The tour afterwards was excellent. The tour guide was fun, polite and friendly.
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