Boat Travel

Several ferry lines run out of San Francisco. Blue & Gold Fleet operates a number of routes, including service to Sausalito ($10.50 one-way) and Tiburon ($10.50 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 ($27 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 (each costs $9.25 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. www.eastbayferry.com.)

Alcatraz Cruises (415/981-7625. www.alcatrazcruises.com.)

Blue & Gold Fleet (415/705-8200. www.blueandgoldfleet.com.)

Golden Gate Ferry (415/455-2000. www.goldengateferry.org.)

San Francisco Ferry Building (1 Ferry Bldg., at foot of Market St. on Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA, 94111. 415/983-8030. www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com.)