When Do Alcatraz Tickets Become Available?
Alcatraz tickets are generally on sale about six months ahead — that’s as far as the official booking calendar currently extends, based on our tracking of live inventory. There’s no published on-sale schedule beyond that: new dates simply appear at the far end of the window as time moves forward.
The booking window, by tour
Day Tour
The Day Tour is the workhorse — roughly 15 departures a day, hundreds of seats each. It’s on sale six months out and rarely sells out completely. Prime morning departures (8:40–10:30 AM) go first, especially on weekends. If you’re flexible on time of day, you can usually book the Day Tour a few days ahead.
Night Tour
The Night Tour is the scarce one: three evening departures, and it routinely sells out several days in advance, faster on weekends and holidays. In our October 2026 snapshot, four consecutive days (Oct 9–12) were fully sold out while the Day Tour had hundreds of open seats on the same dates. If you want the Night Tour, book the moment your dates are firm — or set an alert and catch a cancellation.
Behind the Scenes Tour
The scarcest ticket of all: 30 people per tour, one afternoon departure, and it sells out weeks ahead. When we checked in early October 2026, the entire month was gone — the first open tour was November 19. This is the one to book before flights. Full Behind the Scenes guide →
Alcatraz + Angel Island Combo
The combo tour runs on limited dates with small boats (about 130 seats). It sells through faster than the Day Tour but doesn’t draw the Night Tour’s frenzy. Weekend dates go first.
When does each tour sell out?
As a rule of thumb, from what we observe:
- Behind the Scenes: weeks ahead — the 30-person capacity means it books out furthest of any tour.
- Night Tour: days to a week ahead in normal periods; faster around holidays and summer weekends.
- Day Tour: almost never fully — but the best morning slots go 3–7 days ahead on weekends.
- Combo: limited dates mean it can sell out a week+ ahead on the days it runs.
Summer (June–August) and holiday weeks compress everything: book earlier, or plan to hunt cancellations.
What if my dates are already sold out?
Sold out today doesn’t mean sold out forever. Visitors cancel and reschedule daily, and their spots return to the official calendar immediately — there’s no waitlist absorbing them first. That’s the entire premise of SoldOut Watch: we watch the official inventory around the clock and alert you the instant a spot on your dates reopens.
Check right now: see the live availability calendar, or start a free test watch for one of your dates.
Tips for booking Alcatraz tickets
- Book only from Alcatraz City Cruises, the authorized operator at Pier 33. Resellers mark tickets up; the official site sells at face value.
- Decide Night vs. Day early. Night Tour scarcity is the #1 reason trips get replanned.
- Morning Day Tour slots are the next scarcest — 8:40 and 9:20 AM go first.
- Build in a buffer day. If your heart is set on the Night Tour, give yourself two or three evenings in San Francisco so a cancellation has room to appear.
- Don’t trust “sold out” as final until your trip is over. Keep watching — or let us watch for you.