*Warning, this is lengthy. The night tour is amazing and I could not help but share all my photos and details. All of the images can be viewed larger by simply clicking on them :)
I had been to Alcatraz in August 1992 with my parents on our family vacation. Matt has never been. While I was searching for the different tour options I came across the night tours. They are only offered on certain dates/ seasons. I thought it would be really neat to see if at night. Maybe it would add to the scary effect!? Some people have said that they would rather go to Alcatraz in the day for their first trip. So I was a bit hesitant. Was Matt going to miss out on something by going at night? I am always second guessing my choices when it comes to vacations because I want everything to be memorable, perfect, and worth it! Matt actually got on me about this during this trip. I kept asking "Did you like it?" after everything we did. He told me to calm down and just enjoy myself. Not everything turns out the way you want.
I had been to Alcatraz in August 1992 with my parents on our family vacation. Matt has never been. While I was searching for the different tour options I came across the night tours. They are only offered on certain dates/ seasons. I thought it would be really neat to see if at night. Maybe it would add to the scary effect!? Some people have said that they would rather go to Alcatraz in the day for their first trip. So I was a bit hesitant. Was Matt going to miss out on something by going at night? I am always second guessing my choices when it comes to vacations because I want everything to be memorable, perfect, and worth it! Matt actually got on me about this during this trip. I kept asking "Did you like it?" after everything we did. He told me to calm down and just enjoy myself. Not everything turns out the way you want.
The roof of each ferry is covered in Solar Panels! Downstairs there are TV screens explaining how they derive their power from alternative sources. It even shows the percentage of power coming from each source at a given time. We went sailing by our ship as we headed off to Alcatraz. The Alcatraz pier and the one in which the Jewel docked were right next to each other. We had chosen the earlier night tour, it began at 5:55pm. I am glad we did because this gave us additional time after to explore the island and attend the "extra" tours.
Well I can assure you, making your first Alcatraz trip a night tour is totally worth it. I am so glad I booked it. When you arrive it is still daylight, so you can see the outside of the buildings with sunlight. We had some great opportunities while there. When we got back home from the trip Matt said the the Alcatraz tour was his favorite part of our entire vacation.
Well I can assure you, making your first Alcatraz trip a night tour is totally worth it. I am so glad I booked it. When you arrive it is still daylight, so you can see the outside of the buildings with sunlight. We had some great opportunities while there. When we got back home from the trip Matt said the the Alcatraz tour was his favorite part of our entire vacation.
A guide, National Park ranger,walked with us from the bottom, all the way up (I think he said it's equivalent to 13 flights of stairs). He would pause along the way talking about history and other facts of the island. This gave everyone the chance to catch their breath and still have energy for the self guided/headphone tour inside. Once we arrived at the cell house we were directed to a line that wraps around the showers/receiving area for new inmates. At the end of this line you were given headphones in your preferred language.
At this point the tour is mostly self-guided with your headphones. You can pause if you want to take more time to explore an area. The cellhouse was actually pretty crowded and there were moments where it was hard to see something being discussed because of the crowd. As the evening went on it got better as people headed back off the island. I will let the next few pictures tell the story of the tour.
Once our headphone tour ended we had the opportunity to see the hospital. They don't always open it to the public, but on this evening it was. We headed up there to check it out. Medical equipment from those days was so different. The wheelchair creeped my husband out, so I took a picture and told him I would use it as torture if he ever crossed the line with me, haha.
We also saw "Birdman's" cell/ hospital room. They kept him up there because he was so bad!
We also saw "Birdman's" cell/ hospital room. They kept him up there because he was so bad!
After the Hospital, we opted for two of the bonus tours. First up was the "Behind the scenes" tour. We weren't sure what this meant, but it sounded interesting. We were warned that you must have stable footing to go on this tour. Our guide was fantastic. He really knew a lot about the history and details of Alcatraz. I wish I could remember his name!
He took us in to Corridor A, which is locked during normal "business hours." Within this area there is a stairwell that goes DOWN. It leads to the underground area of Alcatraz. Many many moons ago there was a Citadel on the island and that building was incorporated in to the construction of the prison.
We got to go under the main prison to see the old construction, corridors, rooms, etc. It was fascinating. I don't want to give away too much just in case someone has the chance to go on the tour.We had to wear hardhats because the area is old and there are low ceilings.
He took us in to Corridor A, which is locked during normal "business hours." Within this area there is a stairwell that goes DOWN. It leads to the underground area of Alcatraz. Many many moons ago there was a Citadel on the island and that building was incorporated in to the construction of the prison.
We got to go under the main prison to see the old construction, corridors, rooms, etc. It was fascinating. I don't want to give away too much just in case someone has the chance to go on the tour.We had to wear hardhats because the area is old and there are low ceilings.
We went on one final tour of the evening which focused on the story of the infamous 1962 escape of three inmates. The guide was incredibly knowledgeable about the details of the case. I have always been curious as to whether they survived the ordeal. During this tour I was able to get some of the most impressive night shots of the buildings and island.
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