TRAVEL TIPS
Boat Travel
Several ferry lines run out of San Francisco. Blue & Gold Fleet operates a number of routes, including service to Sausalito ($11 one-way) and Tiburon ($11 one-way). Tickets are sold at Pier 41 (between Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39), where the boats depart. Alcatraz Cruises, owned by Hornblower Yachts, operates the ferries to Alcatraz Island ($30 including audio tour and National Park Service ranger-led programs) from Pier 33, about a half-mile east of Fisherman's Wharf ($3 shuttle buses serve several area hotels and other locations). Boats leave 10 times a day (14 times a day in summer), and the journey itself takes 30 minutes. Allow roughly 2½ hours for a round-trip jaunt. Golden Gate Ferry runs daily to and from Sausalito and Larkspur ($10.75 and $10 one-way), leaving from Pier 1, behind the San Francisco Ferry Building. The Alameda/Oakland Ferry operates daily between Alameda's Main Street Ferry Building, Oakland's Jack London Square, and San Francisco's Pier 41 and the Ferry Building ($6.25 one-way); some ferries go only to Pier 41 or the Ferry Building, so ask when you board. Purchase tickets on board.
Information
Alameda/Oakland Ferry. 510/522–3300; sanfranciscobayferry.com.
Alcatraz Cruises. 415/981–7625; www.alcatrazcruises.com.
Blue & Gold Fleet. 415/705–8200; www.blueandgoldfleet.com.
Golden Gate Ferry. 415/923–2000; www.goldengateferry.org.
San Francisco Ferry Building. 1 Ferry Bldg., at foot of Market St. on Embarcadero, San Francisco, California, 94111. 415/983–8030; www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com.
