Combine Alcatraz Island tour with a side trip to the world-famous Silicon Valley. Visit some of Silicon Valley top sights and drive by iconic sites like Googleplex, Facebook, Yahoo, NASA or drive through Palo Alto and Stanford University by luxury SUV, with a private tour guide. Picture the birthplace of Silicon Valley with a closeup photo stop at the HP Garage in Palo Alto, and much more.
The is the perfect combo custom tour of Silicon Valley and Alcatraz Island for visitors who have little time to spend in San Francisco Bay Area. Alcatraz ferry and prison tickets are also included in the tour price, a worry-free tour package and totally private.
Why Silicon Valley is one of California’s top tech sites and tourist destination? Silicon Valley innovations and technology have changed the course of human history. These innovations and creations from Silicon Valley impact our daily lives and are forever changing the way in which we daily acquire sources of information, communicate, work and do banking. Visiting Silicon Valley makes travelers understand better how the concentration of these tech firms like Apple, Google, Facebook, Oracle and iconic sites like Stanford are all interconnected in the Silicon Valley region. With so much to see in the huge area of San Mateo and Santa Clara, we highly recommend the full day Silicon Valley custom tech tour, and even then it might not be enough time. However, if you are curious and want to make a quick photo stop at the iconic tech firms like Facebook and Google, we can manage this side trip to Silicon Valley before heading back to San Francisco to be on time for your Alcatraz tour.
We are often asked by customers if the public can go inside the tech giants’ facilities. Unfortunately, the most notable Silicon Valley tech giants do not offer tours of their campuses or access to the public inside their facilities. However, some allow limited public access around their premises, whilst others like Google, Oracle, Apple and Facebook, don’t. It is understandable that they have the right to be protective in this new era of cyber-attacks and security issues.
The only way a member of the public can tour the inside of campus buildings is if they are escorted by an employee. So, if you happen to have a friend or relative who works there, you can ask them for an invitation, and we will drive you there.
What all visitors should know is that, even if you are invited by a famous Silicon Valley firm like Google, you will never be allowed to visit their offices upstairs. All visitors remain restricted to the lobby area downstairs or in the food court area. In reality, this offers no benefit as there is nothing much to see.
Our tour guides’ tip of the day. To take full advantage of your one-time trip to Silicon Valley, by focusing on what you can actually see and get insider access to places that will make your holiday memorable. This can include the famous Computer History Museum, Stanford walking tour of the campus, Stanford stores and library, President Hoover Tower and museum. Or you can take a guided tour inside the world-famous Intel Museum to learn how ‘silicon’ is used in manufacturing chips and semiconductors, visit the NASA visitor center and you may also gain access to Moffett Fields’ NASA visitor’s center US Military Historical Society and Museum.
It is also possible to walk around the Googleplex (Google Headquarter) campus, visit the Google map buildings and enter the Google merchandise store, visit the YouTube complex in Mountainview and picture yourself with the giant Google Android lawn statues, or spend some time at the Yahoo or Oracle merchandize stores.
Tips and recommendations: We recommend limiting yourself to one or two sites to visit in Silicon Valley, due to the lack of time and traffic jams between San Francisco and Silicon Valley. This is not a regular full-day Silicon Valley tour; the drive from San Francisco to Silicon Valley takes 75 minutes each way, which leaves you with only a couple of hours to enjoy the area. We therefore recommend focusing either on areas like Mountain View where Google, NASA and the Computer History Museum are located, or Palo Alto where you can visit Stanford as well.
It is important to be back in San Francisco on time for your Alcatraz visit. Alcatraz ferry and Alcatraz island are managed by the national park service, and we don’t have control over their schedule and regulations. There are limited departures per day, and we don’t want to miss that. Alcatraz tickets are valuable and hard to get as they get booked up to 2 months in advance, particularly during summer and holidays.
Please don’t book or plan anything south of Mountain View or Palo Alto. We will not go to San Jose or to Cupertino. Please let your tour guide choose the right place for you away from traffic and as close possible to San Francisco, allowing us to return on time for your Alcatraz tour. Unless you have a large group, no advanced booking or prior planning is required. Remember that this is not about the Silicon Valley experience, but about your Alcatraz tour, which remains the focus of this adventure. Leave the driving and planning to us - you will be in good hands and you will have a great time.
08:00 am – complimentary private meet-and-greet at your preferred pick-up point.
Drive to Silicon Valley on highway 280 or 101 based on traffic, but both are subject to heavy traffic. The driving time will take about 75 minutes, based on road and traffic conditions.
Choose one of these options, but not more than one, due to lack of time:
•Visit Computer History Museum, Facebook, and Oracle
•Visit Google headquarter / Googleplex (from outside), Google merchandise store and picture yourself with giant Google Android lawn statues;
•Drive by Google, visit Palo Alto and a quick detour past Stanford University;
•Visit the NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Drive by Yahoo and Facebook;
•Drive by Oracle Corporation, Facebook headquarter and Googleplex;
•Or you may also choose to combine a guided tour of Oracle, Facebook headquarter (from outside) and visit Hiller Aviation Museum (from inside), which is the perfect choice for families with kids.
11:30 am /12:00 pm Leave Silicon Valley and head back to San Francisco, before the rush hour, to visit Alcatraz Island.
1:00 pm or 1:30 pm – Drop-off at Alcatraz cruise ferry terminal in San Francisco where you will take the ferry to Alcatraz. Times and itinerary may vary based on many factors including, but not limited to, Alcatraz tickets availability (often sold out 8 weeks in advance, the sooner you book the better), road and weather conditions, seasonal schedule, vehicles and tour guides’ availability.
For all Alcatraz combo tours booked in less than eight weeks, we reserve the right to offer you the half-day Silicon Valley Tour on the first day and Alcatraz tickets on the second day. You will go to Alcatraz terminal on your own on the second day and return to your hotel on your own too.
Our Silicon Valley and Alcatraz combo tour ends at Alcatraz ferry terminal pier 33 in San Francisco, as tour guides are not allowed to guide or escort customers to Alcatraz Island. The Alcatraz award-winning audio tour is available in 10 languages and provides all the information you require.
The drop-off back to your hotel is also not included after your self-guided tour of Alcatraz. We recommend staying at one of the hotels located in the nearby area called San Francisco Fisherman’s Wharf, as it is a walking distance from Alcatraz pier 33.
This custom tour by SUV (luxury car) is totally private and the price is per person.
We don’t offer semi-private tours; all our trips are totally private.
| 1 person | 2 persons | 3 persons | 4 persons | 5 persons | 6 persons | 7 persons |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $759 | $419 | $349 | $299 | $249 | $229 | $219 |
| 1 person | $759 |
|---|---|
| 2 persons | $419 |
| 3 persons | $349 |
| 4 persons | $299 |
| 5 persons | $249 |
| 6 persons | $229 |
| 7 persons | $219 |
This is a private city tour by large luxury van (like 15 seaters deluxe minibus) The price is per party (small group).
This tour by large van is totally private and not available for public reservations or individual booking.
| 1 – 5 Persons | 6 – 7 Persons | 8 – 10 Persons | 11 – 12 Persons | 13 – 14 Persons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1859 | $2079 | $2399 | $2589 | $2779 |
| 1 – 5 Persons | $1859 |
|---|---|
| 6 – 7 Persons | $2079 |
| 8 – 10 Persons | $2399 |
| 11 – 12 Persons | $2589 |
| 13 – 14 Persons | $2779 |
What's Included in this Silicon Valley 5.5 Hour tour+ Alcatraz?
All applicable taxes, Silicon valley 5.5-hour private and guided tour in a luxury vehicle, complimentary pick-up in San Francisco downtown, Fisherman's Wharf, and surrounding areas or neighborhoods, but not outside of these areas. Alcatraz tickets and award winning cellhouse audio tour.
What's Not Included in this Sillicon and Alcatra tour?
Meals, Driver's gratuity tips (Gratuities are recommended and customary in the USA at 15%-20%), and entrance tickets to museums, Stanford Univerity any all optional site(s) or monument(s). The drop off at your hotel after your Alcatraz tours to keep the cost down, so you enjoy a free afternoon in famous Fisherman’s Wharf.
Miscellaneous
Alcatraz hours of operation are seasonal. This Silicon Valley and Alcatraz combo tour is not available in winter because the last departure for Alcatraz is at 12:30 pm in winter, which leaves no time to visit Silicon Valley. Please contact us before you book this Silicon Valley Alcatraz combo tour in Winter (December 1, through to the end of March or April). If we receive your transaction or reservation during the period of December 1, through to the end of March, we will either void your reservation, offer you alternative tour options, or refund your booking. Refunds could take 10 business days before your funds are returned to your account.
Alcatraz Closures: Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day and for special events. Many sites are closed in Silicon Valley on Monday and Tuesdays and others on the weekend.
-All our tours, including Alcatraz, are subject to availability even if the transaction is approved. We do reserve the right to void or refund your transaction when Alcatraz tickets are sold out. This is totally out of our hands as the only provider of Alcatraz tickets and tours are governed by the U.S. National Park Service.
-We do require 8 business weeks in advance when booking our Alcatraz tour during the peak season, holidays and weekends. The peak season refers to the period of April to the end of October.
-We reserve the right to offer you alternative tours when Alcatraz is sold out, if you decline our offer, we simply fully refund your transaction which takes about 10 business days before your funds are available to you, as stated on our terms and conditions page available in all languages.
Common mistake some customers make: When Alcatraz tickets are sold out, customers rush desperately to directly book the Alcatraz tour on our website, without taking the time to review our terms and conditions in this regard. In this case we are not to blame, as we made it extremely clear that we have no control over Alcatraz tickets when they are sold out, and for that reason we do require at least 8 business weeks booking in advance!
Tour guides are not allowed to conduct guided tours to Alcatraz island. Your Alcatraz adventure is a self-guided tour as stated on our website (a self-guided audio tour done on your own).
In order to keep the cost down, we therefore do not include a drop-off at your hotel after your visit to Alcatraz so you don’t pay overtime or have a driver waiting for you while visiting Alcatraz Island.
The Fisherman’s Wharf hotels are walking distance from Alcatraz landing. Public transportation is very affordable and available everywhere.
***We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone ***
Silicon Valley Tour Terms, Conditions and Policy
Many sites, firms and museums are closed on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, during the holidays and weekends - this varies from place to place. Most of museums and sites have admission fees that are not included in your tour price. We are extremely transparent, so we are not to blame for any misunderstanding regarding our Silicon Valley tour terms and policy as stated on this website. We highly recommend that you check out these places and firms before you book your tour. Check out these private museums, firms and their websites to learn more about their schedules, closures and hours of operations.
Here are the most famous sites and their websites:
Intel Museum: (daily open 9 am–6 pm but closed on Sunday, during the holidays (and may close at any time without a prior notice as this a private company).
The Computer History Museum: Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays and for private events without a prior notice. Otherwise, it opens from 10 am to 5 pm Wednesday to Sunday (but may close at any time without a prior notice as it is a private museum).
Stanford Campus Walking Tour offers a 70 minutes approximately free walking tour at 10:45 am and at 3:00 pm upon availability (first-come, first-served basis). Closed during the holidays, inaugurations and for private events. Sometimes, they may not have enough volunteers to carry out this free tour and may cancel it at any time and without a prior notice since it is a private university). Please note Stanford University charges entrance fees and requires special parking permit for large buses or vans and these fees are not included in your our prices and are also subject to availability to book the permits. If you have a large group please contact us before booking your tour if you want a visit to Stanford University.
NASA Ames Research Center: Hours: Tuesday - Friday 10 am - 4 pm and Saturday - Sunday noon - 4 pm. Closed Mondays and federal holidays and for private events. Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose: https://www.cdm.org/please check their schedule as it changes constantly
The Tech Museum of Innovation: please check their schedule as it changes constantly.
Hiller Aviation Museum: please check their schedule as it changes constantly.
***It is customers’ responsibility to check all these sites and other firms before booking this Silicon Valley tour.
Please understand that many sites, firms, parks like Alcatraz and Muir Woods, or universities like Stanford, do not allow tour guides to carry out guided tours inside their campus or perimeters. In addition, parking in places like Stanford is a major issue regardless the size of the vehicle you book. So please exchange your telephone number with your driver so he or she meets you back at a specific place or landmark after your self-guided walking tour (on your own). All vehicles more than 7 seats require extra $400 to 650 parking fees/per hour to enter Stanford University (minimum 2 hours is required -these fees are at the charge of customers).
This tour lasts 5.5 hours, door-to-door service if we start and end the tour in San Francisco downtown area, since we are located in San Francisco, not in Silicon Valley. But when our Silicon Valley tour starts in the Silicon Valley Area (instead of San Francisco), the tour lasts 4 hours maximum as it takes us 90 minutes’ drive from San Francisco to Silicon Valley.
Please note, to keep costs down, we don’t include drop off at your hotel after visiting Alcatraz island.Please feel free to check our Terms and Conditions page for more information: https://www.alcatraztoursf.com/reservation-terms-policy
Muir Woods redwoods park is a must-see destination on any trip to the San Francisco Bay Area, but quite frankly, nothing matches the size of the giant sequoias we saw in Yosemite national park, they are 3 times larger, older and more impressive than these small young redwood trees in muir woods .
There are many parks of redwoods but they are far from San Francisco, we only had one day in the city and this was the best combo tour we found, it exceeded our expectations in every way. We are so glad we booked this all-inclusive San Francisco redwoods combo tour, we saved yourself so much traffic and stress .
Our California National Park travel package included San Francisco tour combined with Muir Woods, Yosemite and Redwood National Park- What a great experience! Although we arrived in Redwood National Park in the fog, it did not deter our quest to see the real giants away from the crowded muir woods forest! This is a bucket list adventure and amazing destination.
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This is great alternative tour experience when Alcatraz tickets are sold out. We were happy with this trip, it combined our city private tour, and the ferry cruise around Alcatraz island, that was perfect as it was our last day in California.The cruise ship trip was over an hour, a ferry trip that took us around SF bay, around Alcatraz Island, and under the Golden Gate Bridge.
From the city tour to Alcatraz Island, we and our kids had an amazing adventure, a bit cold in San Francisco Bay in summer ironically, but were very interested in the criminology and forensics stories of Alcatraz and San Quintin prison like Charles Manson, the Zodiac, Fong “Little Pete” Ching, Zebra killers, Felix Mitchell, the Unabomber, Scott Peterson, and Clarence and John Anglin and Frank Morris and their famous ‘Escape from Alcatraz’. Wow! the feeling visitors get when you are stepping onto Alcatraz island.
Our Muir Woods & Alcatraz combo tour was exactly what we needed as we only had one day in SF. The tour is Well Worth the money that you spend. The big redwoods in muirwoods forest are impressive but the forest was crowded, and Alcatraz tour must be on everyone’s bucket-list, these sights and attractions in SF are amazing places to visit and see when you visit san fran.
Why everybody is so crazy about Alcatraz? Alcatraz Island is dim, cold, morbid, and crowded. We felt nothing, seen nothing, heard nothing that made it so appealing, a bit overrated in our opinion. Why criminals have become victims? They deserved to incarcerated in Alcatraz prison! Some visitors were even asking for autographs from a former inmate of Alcatraz, this makes no sense to me.
This is an incredible tourist attraction of San Francisco bay area, if you plan on visiting San Francisco you got to add Alcatraz to your bucket-list, more than Muir Woods or Napa. Alcatraz Island history itself is a very interesting story, before it even was used as a federal prison. How anyone could even escape from this remote Island? The audio headphone guided tour is informative and the stories and sounds of prison officers makes the guided tour so real. I am taking back amazing pictures to show my friends in Japan.
Worry-free vacation package, we were lucky to find and book this all-inclusive SF Alcatraz tour package, it was a worry-free reservation all included, the perfect way to indulge in San Francisco if you have no time. It was convenient, affordable, and fulfilling combo trip of SF city attractions and Alcatraz tour, a must-do when visiting the city by the bay, and worth every penny you spent.
Reserve Alcatraz tickets in advance, the tour was So much better than I was expecting. You get a ferry ride from San Francisco pier to the Alcatraz island. It was rainy, and foggy that day, but still well worth the trip. The trip was very well run, we were welcomed in the dock by a ranger who let us know some key information and rules before visiting the prison.
Alcatraz prison is just as portrayed as in the Hollywood films about Frank Morris (with Clint Eastwood) in this maximum-security prison Alcatraz, the cell still preserved as seen in the Clint Eastwood’s movie “Escape from Alcatraz”. No trip to San Francisco is complete without visiting Alcatraz Island. It took me 2 tours in Alcatraz before I felt the strong atmosphere and energy you get after stepping off Alcatraz cruises ferry and onto the dock. This city private tour and Alcatraz is an exceptional combo trip I recommend for all visitors (worry- free).
Alcatraz Island tour is outstanding and a stunning sight and my favorite attractions in California, but you got to book your Alcatraz tickets very early. We booked our Alcatraz tickets 2 months in advance as a tour combined with the city tour, but the next day, Alcatraz park service got sold out. The energy and the impression you get when vising Alcatraz is something you need to experience for yourself. We loved our city tour as well with Jonathan, the tour guide was amazing and fun.
Book your Alcatraz tickets immediately when you plan your trip to san fran, we had initially planned to book Alcatraz Island night tour but it’s 100% impossible to get. The day tour was not bad at all apart from the fascinating story of Alcatraz, the trip to the island is phenomenal, and the city tour completed the package trip and appeal to all ages. That’s was a good company to work with.
Book your Alcatraz tickets months in advance before you travel to San Francisco, this is a must-see attraction when visiting San Francisco and Northern part of California. A police officer from South Africa who traveled with us on the ferry had a stop over in SFO, just to visit Alcatraz. Dress in layers, ironically summer is not warm, weather is cool and gets foggy in the SF Bay. The views of Alcatraz from San Francisco are better than the views of SF from the island, but this combo tour is a must do and saved us time and money.
This is an incredible tourist attraction. We did the tour with our kids, and they loved it too. The audio tour was well done, we took tons of pictures, hanged out and enjoyed the views of the city from Alcatraz Island. The views are spectacular from Alcatraz, go to the officers’ gardens’ side that overlooks the golden gate bridge, but watch out for the steps, they are very steep. Army officers and their wives who stationed on the Island in the early 1900s, planted all kind of vegetables there (The beauty on the beast).
