There’s a huge market for things ‘off the beaten path’ these days, with travellers railing against the standard tourist traps and instead searching out their own ‘hidden gems’ or taking recommendations from travel bloggers. That’s all well and good, but it won’t be long before those unusual places become tourist traps themselves. I’m all for finding new and interesting places to visit, but it’s unfair to disregard the traps just because they’re too ‘touristy’.

In defence of the tourist trap, here are popular places that I love and would implore you to see.

The Eiffel Tower, Paris.

Image via whologwhy Flickr

Yes, there are people everywhere. Yes, the queues to get to the top are ridiculously long, but why should you miss out on seeing it because other humans are at the same time? It’s a truly magnificent structure and can result in some amazing nighttime photos. If you’re bothered by the gift shop prices, just don’t buy anything.

Times Square, New York.

Image via snorpey Flickr

Plenty of people count Times Square as a tourist trap, but I think it’s just one of those places you end up at as it appears to be a central place. The bright lights and billboards are synonymous to what New York means to bright-eyed and bushy-tailed visitors and it doesn’t disappoint. Don’t succumb to the shops and you’ll enjoy taking snaps of the lights, steam grates and traditional yellow taxis. I’ve not been back to New York since they pedestrianised Times Square, but I’m curious to know if it’s still the same.

The Great Wall, China.

Image via jrover Flickr

I’ve not actually been to the Great Wall, but it’s still on my list of places to see – despite being told by various people that it’s not much worth the visit. For me, how can a random café you find in the back streets compare to the sheer magnificence and back story of the wall? I mean, you can see the thing from space and people built it with their bare hands! Again, if you’re upset by gift shop prices or crowds, just don’t buy anything and do some research before you go.

Alcatraz, San Francisco.

I was quite lucky in that I didn’t have to pay for my trip to Alcatraz, but I still think the jaunt is worth the money. Alcatraz is a typical tourist trap – it attracts thousands of people a day, it’s got an extensive gift shop full of tat, and you can have your photo taken in front of an Alcatraz backdrop before you’ve even boarded the boat over there. However, what did I do? I took the time to stay back from the crowds, I didn’t buy anything from the gift shop, and I didn’t pay the $20 for the photo. Without those things, I still enjoyed my visit and thought it was a worthwhile place to see. I was so impressed with the knowledge of the tour guides and was fascinated with their talks. Taking those tales home with me instead of an Alcatraz-branded mug and keyring was a much better decision.

Trevi Fountain, Rome.

Image via fwee Flickr

Another hugely busy place – but it doesn’t have to be. If you’re there when hundreds of other are and you’re finding it hard to get a good picture, you’ve just picked the most inconvenient time to go. It’s obvious that if you turn up at lunchtime, so will have everyone else that day. Think about visiting at different times – early in the morning or when people are starting to wander off to find a trattoria.

Being branded a tourist trap doesn’t always make a sight less-worthy of being seen, and neither does being a ‘hidden gem’ make it any good. Guidebooks now are packed with unknown sights because that’s what they think people want to see, but there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the big attractions. If you want to go ‘off the beaten track’ then that’s fine, but don’t turn your nose up at the oldest attractions just because there are other tourists there. It’s travel snobbery and you just might be missing out on something truly amazing.

Tell me your favourite tourist traps and why you still love them in the comments.

The post Off the beaten path? Give me tourist traps any day appeared first on Blonde in the City.

A few suggestions looked close, but they were mostly pre-bookable places. A quick scroll down brought up a bar I’d heard of but not visited before – Giant Robot. It had actually been in the running for our wedding venue at one time!

Giant Robot – a very American dinner and cocktails

A really quirky and diner-style restaurant, Giant Robot turned out to be an awesome recommendation from the Vivi in Stile app. Inspired by the drinks booklet, we ordered a couple of cocktails to start date night with some sauce and then picked from the very ‘American Brasserie’ menu. He went for the beef meatballs with olive oil mash, and I immediately picked out the Arancini – cauliflower cheese balls fried in breadcrumbs. You can order 3 or 5 of the balls but I reckon I could’ve eaten fifty, they were that tasty.

The atmosphere inside Giant Robot is such a buzz. The lights are low, candles flicker at your table, and music rumbles softly in the background as you catch snippets of other people’s conversation. With me sipping on my Pineapple Fix (a mix of Bacardi rum and sweet pineapple juice) and him trying to be dainty with a Cuba Libre (Havana Club rum with lime juice and cola), it was a great night to be planning the biggest party of our lives. We went all out and ordered the Baked Alaska for dessert too, only to be left with eyes bigger than our bellies and a serious case of meringue sweats.

Nightjar – Prohibition cocktails and swing music.

This place is so popular it books up fast, so make sure you get in quick with your reservation. We didn’t get to the dinner reservations in time so booked for pre-dinner drinks instead and had the table from 6.30 – 8.30pm, which gave us (me being a slow drinker) the chance to order two cocktails each. I’d known to look out for the little bird on the door so we didn’t get lost and miss our slot, phew. When you arrive you check your name off with the doorman and walk down into the underground speakeasy. I’ll advise you to have a look at the drinks menu on their website before you go, just to see how creative the cocktails are and to pick your favourites. The menu inside the bar doesn’t have pictures. We spent a good 10 minutes trying to pick what we wanted – there is so much choice!

I eventually settled on a Blue Moon as my first drink, which came with a vegetable crisp pegged onto the glass. A mix of gin and vermouth with purple yam marmalade, it was the most delicious cocktail I’ve tried in a long, long time. Next up was a Cole Buttered Rum, which included a 23 year Zacapa rum with chai tea infusion and honey syrup. It even came with a hot coconut butter syrup to pour over the run, which then cooled to make an edible wax. So creative!

My other half decided to brave a Prohibition cocktail, which was so strong it made my eyes water at one taste. Named the 12 Mile Limit, the super-strong concoction included rum, cognac, rye whiskey, grenadine and lemon juice – wow. Without giving Vivi in Stile a go I doubt I’d have found Nightjar, but now I know about it I’d happily drink there every night if I could! Did I mention that the waiters are the prettiest beings on Earth? This fact can only be summed up with a Jennifer Lawrence gif.

The Vivi in Stile app in more detail.

While Vivi in Stile is great for discovering great places to eat and drink in your city, there’s much more to the app. It brings together some of the most stylish and influential tastemakers on the UK and Italian style scenes to tell all on style advice and city guides. The ‘Stile’ section has articles and inspiration on design, fashion, and all things Italian. There’s even an events section, where you can see upcoming interesting events happening in your area. And it’s not just London, which is refreshing for a lifestyle app like this one. Cities such as Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, and Glasgow are covered too.

Vivi in Stile is free to download, either on your iPhone or on Android.

This post was made possible by Vivi in Stile, but opinions are my own.

The post Explore your city with the Vivi in Stile app from Peroni appeared first on Blonde in the City.

Breathe.

I’ve even made a list to write this post about making lists. How’s that for being anally retentive? Here’s my travel preparation list for freaks like me.

1. Lather, rinse, repeat

So as to make sure we don’t miss our flights, I have to re-write every detail in a notebook. Then to ensure we don’t screw up our passport details, I write all that information in a notebook too. Ok, so I do a lot of re-writing – maybe it’s an OCD thing, but it means if I need any information I can get it in just a few page turns. So when people are wracking their brains for the hotel address to put on their immigration cards on the plane, I’m writing it out easily from my notebook. Then when we need to get a cab on the other side, we have the full address and phone number of the hotel written out in case there’s a problem. Everything is in my notebook – passport numbers, boarding passes, addresses, flight numbers and times, and airport tips I’ve read on other blogs. I’m a bit mental, aren’t I…

2. Money makes the world go round

A lot of things in the travel world are struggling to survive in this digital age, but there’s one thing still standing strong – travel money. I still take money with me, because it makes me value the budget more. I’m shit at maths, so seeing money in front of me helps me to understand what my limit is. It’s a bit like learning how to add up at school and having to use HB pencils as visual guide. Oh, that’s just me then? Oookay.

Getting travel money isn’t as hard as it used to be either. These days you can order your travel money online and have it delivered to you the next day. So if you’re anything like my brother and are travelling to Croatia just before a UK Bank Holiday and forget to order your Kuna, one quick visit online to order and you’ll still get it delivered on time. Magic.

3. Making the most of suitcase space

One of my most frequent travel mistakes is to pack my favourite individual items of clothing, which always results in a “WHAT THE HELL DID I BRING WITH ME?” freak-out when I’m at the hotel. I packed my strapless dress, but didn’t think to bring a strapless bra? I remembered to pack the white pencil skirt, but all the knickers in my case are bright red.

Breathe…again.

Nowadays I pack outfits instead of clothes. This is made much easier by putting the outfits on and taking photos, like making your own Packing LookBook but with less pleather and song lyric titles. Instead of packing a single floaty dress and having to use a boob tube as an emergency underskirt (This actually happened. I don’t want to talk about it), sorting out entire outfits actually results in better use of suitcase space and makes sure you use every item you take. I can’t be the only one who’s dragged 20kg of t-shirts and no shorts halfway across the world – can I?

4. Mooooncuuup dot com

It’s actually mooncup.co.uk, but anyway. Ladies, we’ve all been there, traipsing the cobbled streets of a foreign land trying to find a successful translation of ‘tampon’ on the internet. Sometimes our periods decide to surprise us – it happens. It’s hugely frustrating trying to track down tampons and sanitary pads when they’re not always sold in the same places in every country. It also ends up being damn expensive and wasteful. So, the mooncup is a perfect substitute to the not-always-economical tampon empire. I’ll let you read this excellent SFW review on xojane.co.uk to learn more about it, but I will say that it’s eco-friendly, small enough to fit in your hand luggage (and your vagina, incidentally), and much more reliable when globetrotting.

5. My night-before list

More lists. Now do you see what I spend most of my time doing? This list is one I make the night before an early flight and leave by my bed. It usually looks like this:

It’s all the stuff I use in the morning and then could potentially leave behind and cause a mental breakdown mid-air when I realise I’ll have to charge my phone at stupid times because I’ve forgotten the leads.

I think you’ve figured out by now that I like to be organised. Ahem.

Do you have any weird rituals or lists that you absolutely have to stick to in case you forget something? Please tell me I’m not the only weirdo on the planet…

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Boarding Atlantis Submarines

I ‘checked-in’ at the Atlantis shop at 10am and gripped tightly onto my boarding pass as the passenger boat, named the Sub Seeker, pulled up to the pier. Snapping our photographs as we boarded, the assistant explained we’d be shipped to Atlantis VI in under 15 minutes and be sitting on the seabed in no time. Safety checks were the first priority and we soon sailed along the coast, past beautiful hotel beaches and the airport landing strip, before arriving at the waiting Atlantis submarine. Taking turns to walk over the ramp, everyone climbed down the hatch one-by-one and settled inside the 65ft long, fully air-conditioned submarine.

Journey to the seabed

Starting with another safety talk (which is always welcome under the sea!) the submariner looking after us that morning asked if we’d ever been in a submarine before? Joking that he hadn’t either, which had even the kids giggling, he started to explain what we’d see at certain points on our journey down. The kids were told to look out for Spongebob, which had them staring intently out of the portholes. Each section of seats comes with a Caribbean Sea fish guide, complete with illustrations and names, so you can find out exactly which fish you’ve managed to spot.

As we sailed deeper and deeper, the submariner pointed out specific fish and took pictures for guests as the pilot steered the submarine as close as he could get us to the colourful coral. Kids ooh’ed and ahh’d as the submarine passed schools of brightly-coloured fish, delicately swimming together through the clear blue waters. It wasn’t just the children that were enjoying the experience, however. The adults seemed just as enthralled in the surprises lurking in the reef, and I definitely heard the same gasps from all ages!

In the hope of seeing a turtle make her way to her nest on one of Aruba’s many gorgeous beaches, I pressed my nose against the glass and stared right out into the sea. She never appeared, but I guess that just means I’ll have to return to the island and try again next time.

Coming up for air

After we had passed the Morning Star shipwreck and the submariner pointed out a massive barracuda settling down for a nap on the deck, we touched the bottom of the Caribbean Sea and all cheered for the captain. It was time to return to the surface. The gloriously white sands beneath up shifted, and we began our ascent to the tune of ‘Yellow Submarine’, which had everybody and their granny (literally) singing along.

image courtesy of Atlantis Submarines Facebook page

Climbing up through the hatch, the sun beamed into eyes accustomed to the sea’s shade and warm winds gently rocked the submarine from side to side. Not ready to leave, I walked onto the return boat and wished I could go back down for another try at spotting a turtle.

One of the best family activities there is on Aruba, Atlantis Submarines was a delight for everyone on board. Who were the kids and who were the adults? I couldn’t tell when we were all pressing our faces against the glass to get the best look at sea life.

Tips for a great trip with Atlantis Submarines

Visibility throughout the submarine is great, but to get the best view inside, try to get on the Sub Seeker boat last and sit on the right-hand side so you’ll be first on the submarine. This means that when you climb down the hatch, you can sit right next to the pilot and steal a look through the huge convex window in front.

See the submarine surface from a trip by booking the tour after the first of the day, or any afterwards. As you wait on the Sub Seeker, you’ll see the bubbles appear and the submarine arrive from the seabed with its previous customers.

You can book an expedition with Atlantis Submarines on the De Palm Tours website. Please note: this experience is available for children aged 5 years and up or 37″ tall only.

This post was made possible by and originally featured on TheTravelEditor.com. Opinions are my own.

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After a friendly welcome, we sat with our drinks at the bar and soaked up the atmosphere. A roaring fire in the corner helped stave away the thought of the rain outside and the short wait for a table left us excited for the menu. The Stables is all about ‘real’ food, freshly prepared from locally-sourced ingredients in line with the seasons – we were practically drooling at the menu. Using locally-grown, reared and harvested ingredients means the chefs have full confidence in the quality of their dishes.

Sunday lunch proved to be a popular family outing at The Stables due to tables being full of families enjoying food together in local surroundings. We sat overlooking the courtyard and immediately felt cosy with the under-floor heating warming us up (later discovering a melted Kit Kat in the bowels of my handbag.) Outside it was raining but inside this homely pub in the middle of the Durham countryside, it was warm and welcoming.

Beer battered cod and chunky chips with a pea puree countered the sorry weather outside, and the roaring fireplace complemented the delicious food. Huge bay windows played picture frame to the courtyard outside, parasols still up, and the family meals surrounding us provided a comforting hubbub. Including the hearty roast as the perfect Sunday treat, the menu at The Stables Beamish Hall promises traditional home-cooked food with a unique twist and certainly lives up to its ‘regional cookery’ expectations.

Whether you want a quiet lunch with friends or a family function with your clan in mind, The Stables Beamish Hall is not only homely but big enough to accommodate everyone’s needs. Pick a table by the window and make an indulgent menu choice – it’s too good to pass up.

This post originally appeared on TheTravelEditor.com

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Round like a lemon curd tart, the pastries take around 4 or 5 bites to finish (depending on how hungry you are, of course) and are so delicately sweet that after 3 in a row you might start to feel a little green around the gills. Pastéis de Belém have been making these sugary treats for so long, they churn out around 15,000 tarts a day and each one is as delicious as the last.

Round sheets of thin pastry are layered and filled with the creamy and sweet ‘custard’ of milk, eggs, sugar and other secret ingredients. The tarts are then baked at 400°C to create the perfect custard consistency and a beautiful brown crust. Naturally, the Portuguese have the art of eating one down to a tee also! Served slightly warm, you can sprinkle the tarts with powdered sugar and cinnamon to add a kick to the already sweet custard.

There’s often a large queue outside for the takeaway section and the seated areas are usually very busy. A maze of small seated areas, make your way around the back rooms until you find a spot or hover for a few for a few minutes until a table becomes available – the waiters are pretty quick to get your order and your tarts will arrive within 5 minutes. It’ll take a lifetime to get the secret recipe out of them though …

Best enjoyed with a traditional Portuguese espresso, a couple of pastéis de nata will only begin your obsession with all the other national pastries. On the way out, you can pick up a pack (or four) of the tarts – just don’t eat them all at once.

This post originally appeared on TheTravelEditor.com

The post Traditional Pastéis de Nata at Pastéis de Belém, Lisbon appeared first on Blonde in the City.

Being only a short walk to the beach, Casa da Olga stands in beautiful and historic Praia das Maçãs in the west of Portugal. The village is only 20 minutes away from Sintra, with its rolling hills, incredible views and beautiful architecture. The cottage can be used as a home for plenty of sun-worshipping or as a base for a romantic break and tourist adventure across Sintra and Lisbon.

image courtesy of Lisbon Coast Cottages

Praia das Maçãs

The town has everything you need if you’re planning to enjoy an entire stay in Praia das Maçãs; from a small convenience store and post office to a local market and bakery with fresh stove-made breads, muffins and biscuits.

If you plan to visit further afield, the village has great transport too. Buses make their way towards Sintra every 30 minutes and a hundred-year-old tram provides a scenic ride to Sintra once an hour on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The local transport is cheap, with the tram only costing 2 EUR each way per person and buses 2.95 EUR per person for a single journey.

Making your way to Lisbon couldn’t be easier either. Trains run almost every half-hour from Portela de Sintra or Sintra train stations, lasting only 40 minutes into Rossio station in Central Lisbon.

The beach and the cottage

Only two minutes from the beach front, Casa da Olga sits on a quiet street surrounded by other holiday homes and local houses. Perfect for a spot of sunbathing when the beach gets too hot or crowded, the garden has loungers and a BBQ to enjoy cooking some local fish. Lisbon Coast Cottages (the owners of Casa da Olga and other villas) also provide a lovely welcome basket of homemade jams, traditional bread, locally made butter, fruit, a bottle of wine and biscuits. Everything you need for a relaxing, romantic break in Portugal by the beach!

Praia das Maçãs sits right next to Praia Grande, where coastal walkways connect each beach to the other. The smaller beach is still plenty big enough and has a hut selling toasties, salads and ice-cold drinks – so you can spend the entire day in the sun!

Excursions

Casa da Olga is ideally located for day excursions and has plenty of transport links if you’re a non-driver or don’t fancy hiring a car. Note that the tourist towns nearby can get busy on weekends and it’s often difficult to get parking spaces.

Sintra is only 20 minutes away by bus or 40 minutes by tram on the weekends and is home to plenty of historical castles, palaces and gardens. You can purchase a tour bus ticket and make your way up the hills to each tourist spot, starting with the beautiful gardens and caverns of Quinta da Regaleria and ending with the intricacy of Monserrate Palace. There’s not a single castle or palace in Sintra that isn’t worth seeing; the history is fascinating and the architecture beautiful. Make sure you leave enough time in the day to get a bus back down to the centre of the town.

You can’t visit Portugal and not pop along to Lisbon to take in the easy Portuguese way of city life. Being only a 40 minute train journey from Sintra, the city is vibrant compared to the calm beaches of Praia das Maçãs, yet still manages to steer clear from the frustration of incredibly densely populates areas like London, UK. Spend a morning strolling between coffee and pastry shops, then the afternoon sightseeing, taking a trip on the old trams, and shopping for traditional Portuguese gifts in the shopping district. Read more about day trips to Lisbon in Lisbon Travel Tips – 24 Hours In Lisbon.

This post originally appeared on TheTravelEditor.com

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If you’re looking for a fun sailing activity to do while in Aruba, even if you have little kids, then Jolly Pirates and their Sail, Snorkel & Swim trip is the ideal treat. Including lunch and an open bar, the 9am – 1.30pm trip is a great way to experience Aruba’s exciting sea life up close and have fun doing so on a real pirate ship.

On board the pirate ship

Life’s a beach when you’re on the Jolly Pirates ship. The Pirate’s Poison punch flows freely, the sun beams down every single day, and snorkelling and swimming are the only tasks on the agenda. No swabbing the decks here!

This isn’t a pretend ship by the way, it’s a real (albeit a little bit smaller than average) ship with a wooden wheel and flags ahoy. You can sunbathe on the deck as it sails to each snorkel point, or sit in the shade under the canopy if the blazing sun becomes too much. There’s music to get you in the mood for partying too, which becomes suspiciously more exciting when it’s time for the rope swing to make an appearance…

Snorkel and swim

It’s exciting sailing along the Aruban coast in a hunk of a real pirate ship, but the snorkelling you get to do along the way is even more fun. With the Snorkel, Sail & Swim option, Jolly Pirates will take you to three main snorkel points on the island. The first stop is the Antilla Shipwreck, which is 55ft deep and requires you to wear a lifejacket. Jump into the cool water from the deck and you’ll be glad of it – the lack of clouds in Aruba can be overwhelming without a break from the heat. Look under the water and you’ll be able to see the wreck, as well as a few scuba divers taking the chance to explore.

You’ll see plenty of fish here too, slipping between your legs and making you jump if it’s your first time snorkelling. Then it’s back on the boat for more Pirate Punch and more dancing as you sail along to the next spot – the beautiful Boca Catalina. Much shallower than the previous spot, you’re not required to wear a lifejacket, but they do advise you use it as it’s very easy to become distracted by the sea life! Here is where you’ll swim with Yellow Striped Grunt and Sergeant Majors, and you might even get a look at some tiny squid! The water is a lot steadier here, so there are fewer jokes about turning up in Panama 4 days later – phew.

The final stop is Malmok, a shallower spot very close to the shoreline with much smaller (and cuter) fish. It’s not all about the snorkelling though; you can swim around the boat and practice being a mermaid with your flippers too. I’ll admit I spent a fair few minutes doing the latter, and I’m not embarrassed about it!

After all the water fun, it’s time for a BBQ lunch. Jolly Pirates order the food from caterers, so it arrives hot from the kitchen and is literally shipped to the boat from shore. It’s an easy chicken drumstick and BBQ ribs dish with rice and potato salad, but if you’re vegetarian they’re more than happy to provide an alternative if you let them know in advance. Suitably full from lunch, we all took a quick dip to cool off again and then it was time for what everyone had been waiting for – the rope swing.

This is where the music starts pumping a little louder, a queue forms, and everyone has a go at swinging themselves off the side of the bow. The crew will even get the girls lining up to try a tandem swing, where they essentially get a backflip piggy-back straight into the Caribbean sea!

After plenty more Pirate Punch and BBQ, there was only so much rope swinging people could take, so before long we were all back on the boat and sailing with huge smiles back to the Jolly Pirates pier.

Hints and tips

1. Be last on the shuttle boat and you’ll be first on the ship to take your pick of sunbathing spots
2. They’ll warn you aboard the ship too, but drink responsibly and don’t go ‘overboard’ with the Pirate Punch
3. The water is shallow and smooth enough to take underwater photos of the fish you’ll swim with, so look into getting an underwater camera bag to keep photos of your experience

You can see more about Jolly Pirates, view images from past tours, and receive a discount by booking online on their website.

*This post originally appeared on TheTravelEditor.com and the trip was kindly arranged by them. Opinions are my own.

The post Real pirate ship review. Sail, snorkel & swim with Jolly Pirates, Aruba appeared first on Blonde in the City.

On a short trip to the Vatican, one of the many things I wanted to do was to eat a real Italian pizza. I’d done all the frozen ones, the imperfect homemade ones, the ones in the predictable restaurant chains – real pizza meant finding a cute ristorante pizzeria in the middle of the city and promising to marry it. I picked the margherita, he picked the ham calzone. I fell in love – literally. If you could date a pizza and not lose friends, I’d date this one forever.

A family run pizzeria just a few steps from St Peter’s, Borgo Nuovo is a place where locals and tourists mix to indulge in a love of one thing – hearty Italian food. My margherita was flawless. The dough was just the right blend of crunchy and airy, allowing the tomato sauce (surely a family recipe) to rest on top and not seep to the bottom. The cheese had been melted with just the right care, not too stringy yet not too flat. The flavours were to die for, making me wish for a bigger stomach in order to eat two, or three, or four of the same pizza in one night.

The atmosphere at Borgo Nuovo added to the great realisation that we’d just eaten the best pizza in Rome. Seated against the window we watched tourists wander past and pop in to view the menu, only to excitedly take a seat seconds later. Being so close to St Peter’s, the restaurant is the ideal place to enjoy dinner after a long walk about the city. Not confined to pizzas, the menu also comprises of traditional pasta dishes with grilled fish and American steaks (not to mention the ice-cream scoops and coffee cakes.)

Prices start from 7.50 EUR for the mouth-watering margherita pizza.

This post originally featured on TheTravelEditor.com

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Arriving for the Alcatraz night tour

The boat trip for the night tour includes a video and audio introduction to keep you entertained on the ride over, and once you’re back on solid ground on the island you can follow a tour guide up the hill for a guided walk. We heard about a prisoner’s 10-year escape plan, security measures all around the island, and the hidden weapons that (fortunately) were never used.

The walking tour led us up to the door of the main cellhouse, where the audio tour begins. Slipping the headphones over my ears, I walked up the metal staircase to the cellblock level and immediately felt how bleak it must have been to see those walls every single day. The audio tour includes the real voices of ex-prisoners and guards, which makes the whole experience feel even more real.

The audio tour

Guided through the main building section by section, I expected the night tour to be a little spookier. Thanks to the summer the sunset wasn’t until almost 7pm, so if you like your night tours creepy and cold I’d advise to visit Alcatraz during the darker months.

As I listened to the stories of ex-prisoner’s escape attempts, riots and relationships with each other – the cell building felt cruel and grim. How would it make me feel to live in a cell like the one I was staring into, day in day out? Out in the recreation yard I stood at the top step and peered over to the San Francisco coast, Golden Gate bridge in plain sight. The voices continued through my headphones, telling me their stories, and I felt a little guilty for feeling sorry for them.

The main building itself is quite a bleak place, and as you’re looking at the cells and hearing the stories of foiled escape plans and violent riots, you can all but feel incredibly lucky that there’s a boat back to Pier 33. The prison has long been shut down and named as a National Park, but that doesn’t stop the Park Rangers from being as scary as the prison guards were back then. Questioning me suspiciously: “Where are you from?” “Do you smoke?”, one ranger had been given word that a visitor had been smoking in the yard – which was banned on the island. I fit the description, and even though it wasn’t me they were looking for the ranger did a really good job of making me feel guilty! It was a relief to hear that they don’t lock people up in the cells these days…

Rack ‘em up!

Waiting until the last of the audio tour visitors had given back their headphones, three of the rangers showed a group of us how the cell doors worked. The prisoners had to be counted numerous times a day, sometimes it being the only time they got out of their cells, and so the repetitive noise of the doors opening and closing would have been a very familiar sound. After the counting, a guard would shout “Rack ‘em up!” and the doors would clang to a close, locking the prisoners inside. It was interesting to hear what the clanging sounded like and to imagine hearing it numerous times a day. I don’t think I’d have stayed sane for very long.

Extras on the Alcatraz night tour

Even though it doesn’t feel any creepier, the night tour includes a booklet you’d usually have to pay $1 for during the day and walking tours up to the main cellhouse and talks on the way back down to the boat.

The guides on Alcatraz are extremely knowledgeable and open to questions or queries. They tell their stories with such details, which brings so close to home the fact that Alcatraz was a functioning prison just 49 years ago.

Hints and tips

1. Hang back when getting off the boat. If you steam up the hill towards the main building, you’ll miss out on a really informative guided walk.
2. Take your time around the main cellblock. There are two boats back from the night tour, so it’s worth catching the final boat to make the most of the talks outside the cellhouse.
3. Take a coat, even in summer! It’s windy out there …

You can read more about the night tour, book tickets online, and compare other day and combined tours at the Alcatraz Cruises website.

*This post was made possible by Hornblower Cruises & Events and originally appeared on TheTravelEditor.com. Opinions are my own.

The post Rack ‘em up! An Alcatraz night tour to remember appeared first on Blonde in the City.