About This Tour

Alcatraz and Bay Cruise

This tour is a combination of two separate tours; a Bay Cruise and an Alcatraz Day Tour. The Bay Cruise takes you along San Francisco's waterfront, under the Golden Gate Bridge, along the Marin Headlands, around Alcatraz and back to Fisherman's Wharf.

You can take the Bay Cruise Tour at any time you are in San Francisco. You must take the Alcatraz portion of the combination tour at the designated time and date, however. Plan a full day for this tour. By combining the morning Bay Cruise, lunch, exploring, and the afternoon Alcatraz Day Tour you'll have a wonderful day.

As you depart Pier 43 ½ on the Bay Cruise you will see the merchant ship “USS Jeremiah O'Brien” and the WWII submarine ”USS Pompanito”, each a National Historic Landmark.

Continuing west toward the Golden Gate Bridge you have excellent views of the San Francisco skyline, the bustling neighborhood of North Beach, Aquatic Park swim clubs, the in-the-water museum of historic ships at the Hyde Street Pier, and the San Francisco Maritime museum.

Further west you see Fort Mason and the Marina District, which took the brunt of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. You'll also cruise past the St. Francis Yacht Club, host to many championship sailboat regattas throughout the year, including the “Big Boat Series” in the late fall, with modern “hi-tech” sailboats to 80' from around the world.

Even further west, as you approach the Golden Gate Bridge, you will be afforded spectacular views of the newly re-furbished Crissy Field marshlands, and the heavily forested hillsides of the Presidio, each former military installations, but now part of the Golden Gate National recreation Area.

As you sail directly under the Golden Gate Bridge into the pacific Ocean, historic Fort Point will be on your left, and on a clear day you may be able to see the Farallon Islands some 27 miles west of the Golden Gate, as well as the Pt. Bonita light house on the northwest corner of the entrance to San Francisco Bay.

Then you cruise under the Golden Gate Bridge into the Pacific Ocean and the back under the bridge and start cruising along the beautiful Marin Headlands. As you clear the headlands, Sausalito with be off to your left and you'll head between Alcatraz and Angel Island, with views of the east bay hills of Berkeley, and the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge. As you cruise around Alcatraz Island, your guide will discuss the history of the island.

After rounding Alcatraz, the cruise will take you along San Francisco's waterfront and bring you back to Fisherman's Wharf.

The cruise takes one hour. As you are cruising, the narrative available in 8 languages will point out major San Francisco attractions, describe San Francisco's history, and an in depth description of Alcatraz and its history.

About the tour operator:

Tickets for the Alcatraz tour are booked with the National Park Services's authorized concessionaire. A $10 per ticket booking fee is included in the prices shown on this page. Tickets for the Bay Cruise are booked through Red & White Fleet.