the ID requirement is for the person buying the tickets
 

Not all members of the party.

So in the summer the word is that people are lining up as early as four or 5 AM to get those tickets that are sold on the same day. By 7 AM the line is reported to be 50 or 60 people long. So unless you like to spend most of your morning standing online I would look for other alternatives.

There are places selling tickets when they're sold out at a premium. You can also buy them as part of another tour and call and explain you're not going to go to the rest of the tour.

https://www.sanfranciscotourhub.com/...z-tickets-faq/

You can do a cruise that takes you around the island without actually going on. I don't personally see the appeal of Alcatraz so I've done this to her and enjoyed it quite a bit.

https://www.extranomical.com/HTML_PA...M_THE_ROCK.htm

Thanks for that link to SF tour hub, it has tickets to Alcatraz on the Sat we are there, works out perfectly, little pricey but we still combined it with the city tour on Sunday

Great find ^

as for why, I don't ask, its what she wants ha!!!

I think Alcatraz is awesome -- particularly the audio tour. Different strokes I guess...

Yay, glad you got tickets. Alcatraz tix are tough once sold out but premium is worth it. Enjoy your visit!!

Post if you have any qs on other stuff.

If I take the 8:45 am Early Bird boat to Alcatraz on a Tuesday (in late October) and want to do a full, unrushed tour before catching a flight out of SFO to the East Coast later that day (with no checked bags), what's the earliest flight I should try to book? Would 6:00 pm be doable, or is that too early? I'd have to pick up my carry-on at the Hyatt Centric after Alcatraz and then take BART over to SFO. Thanks.

6pm is more than doable, and will give you plenty of time to tour Alcatraz, pick up luggage and head to SFO. 3 hours is sufficient for a full unrushed tour, particularly on a midweek early bird ferry. I think the earliest flight would be 3'ish.

Excellent. Thank you.

If I end up with a 6:00 pm or later flight, is there anything in that general area that I should try to see before heading to the airport? Thanks again.

USS Pampanito
 

Want to go inside a WWII submarine? I think it's pretty cool. USS Pampanito

If it's a clear day, I'd go up to Coit Tower...head up the Greenwich stair a few blocks away from Pier 33.

Both the Greenwich stairs and the Filbert stairs are worth a visit -- they are parallel, a block apart. Go up one and down the other. (And yes, Coit Tower is worth a visit too, of course.)

I strongly agree with the Coit Tower recommendation, and especially the Filbert stairs route to get there. Take your time going up through that unique and isolated little neighborhood.

At the tower, there is often a long line to get up to the top of the tower (must buy a ticket). It's a nice view up there, but I think 90% of what's great about the place is walking around the tower at the top of the hill, and the Depression-era murals on the interior walls of the ground floor. That part you can do for free.