Alcatraz Cellhouse Tour (Audio Tour)

One of the highlights of an Alcatraz visit is the Cellhouse Audio Tour, titled “Doing Time: The Alcatraz Cellhouse Tour.” 

This is often referred to as the Alcatraz Cellhouse Tour. It’s an immersive self-guided tour that brings the prison to life with real stories. 

The audio tour is included with your Alcatraz tour ticket for all regular Day, Night, Combo, and Behind the Scenes tours.

Here’s what you need to know about the award-winning audio tour of Alcatraz:

The Cellhouse Tour Experience

After you arrive at the main cellhouse on Alcatraz, you’ll see a desk with audio tour headsets. 

Rangers will hand you a device (available in 11 languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Russian. You put on the headphones and follow the prompts – the tour guides you through the prison corridors in a set route. 

This audio tour stands out because it features the voices of actual former prisoners and correctional officers who lived or worked on the Alcatraz Island.

As you stand in D-Block, you’ll hear a former inmate describing the sensation of solitary confinement; in the mess hall, a guard talks about the food riots. 

The narration is expertly produced, and background sound effects (clanging cell doors, footsteps, distant shouts) create an atmospheric experience. It’s like being transported back in time.

Cellhouse Tour Highlights

The audio tour leads you through Broadway (the main corridor of cells), past Al Capone’s cell and others, into the solitary confinement cells, the library, the visitation room, and the convict dining hall. 

In fact, if you fancy, you can also step inside an empty solitary cell – audio will have a prisoner describing the darkness.

Don’t miss the segment that vividly recounts the infamous 1946 “Battle of Alcatraz” escape attempt – as you stand where it happened, you’ll hear gunshots and shouts recreated, with narration by participants.

The tour ends in the utility corridor where Frank Morris and the Anglin brothers made their famous 1962 escape (the “Escape from Alcatraz”); you’ll learn how they chiseled out of their cells and vanished. 

The voices and stories really make history tangible.

Tour Duration and Pacing

The audio tour lasts about 35-45 minutes, but you can pause, replay, or stop at any time. You move at your own pace. 

There are points where the audio says “feel free to spend more time here and press play when ready to continue,” allowing you to look around or read exhibit panels. 

If you rush, you could finish in 30 minutes; if you linger and also read plaques or explore side rooms, it might take an hour. 

There’s no need to rush – if on a day tour, you have plenty of time until the last ferry. If you are on a night tour, you will have a fixed ferry to get back to the mainland.

Do I have to take the Alcatraz audio tour?

No, the Alcatraz Cellhouse Tour is optional – but strongly recommended, especially for first-time visitors. Walking the prison without context isn’t the same as hearing the dramatic stories that took place in those exact spots. 

Even many who dislike audio tours end up appreciating this one. If you really don’t want to use it, you can certainly explore on your own; there are some written signs and you can chat with rangers who are around to answer questions. But most people do use the audio tours.

Families can each take a headset; children as young as 5 or 6 can follow along (there’s also a children’s version available if needed). 

If you have a hearing impairment, ask a ranger – they have written transcript booklets in multiple languages as an alternative.

In summary, the Cellhouse Audio Tour is a must-do part of Alcatraz. It’s often cited as a highlight of the trip, making the prison’s history very personal and poignant. 

Even repeat visitors find new details in it. As one travel writer put it, “there is no better way to experience Alcatraz than through the voices of those who lived it”. So don’t skip it – it will enhance your understanding of The Rock’s infamous past.