With the summer season started, many fishers are heading out to get some good-sized catches and to relax in the nature. But where should you go to if you live in Northern California? Fox Rent A Car knows it! Have fun at the best fishing places in Northern California.

Fishing places Northern California: Clear Lake

Clear Lake has some records to its name. Not only is it the largest freshwater lake in the state of California, it also has been awarded to be the number one lake of the nation for bass fishing! You will find a good amount of largemouth bass here, as well as channel catfish, bluegill and crappie. Best time to come is from March through June and in September and October. Save the date for your fishing trip!

Fishing places Northern California: San Joaquin River Delta

San Joaquin River Delta is an ideal place for fishing. Five important rivers meet here and build a huge delta. This delta has been connected through artificial channels, so the total water ways add up to more than 1,000 miles! The delta is known to be one of the nation’s best bass fisheries. However, be careful since there are huge tidal fluctuations that you have to be prepared for. On the other hand – the fish that you can catch here is just as huge as those fluctuations, so good luck!

Fishing places Northern California: Lake Oroville

Lake Oroville is a beautiful 15,500-acre lake in Northern California. All year long you can catch decent-sized spotted and largemouth bass, which may not have record sizes, yet the sheer number is a fishermen’s dream.  The most action takes place in the four arms of Feather River, North, idle, West and South forks. You can come here for fishing all year long, yet best times are April and May, as well as September and October.

Fishing places Northern California: East Park Reservoir

Northwest of Sacramento, you can go for some great fishing at East Park Reservoir, which is open year-round. Especially in the spring time the size of bass gets big, yet there is less bass in the summer months, which can get very hot. If you come here for fishing in the summer, come very early or late afternoon, or what do you think about a night fishing trip? Other fish that you can find here include bluegill, catfish and crappie fish.

The Fox Rent A Car team wishes you a sensational summer and great fishing trips. What are your favorite fishing places in Northern California, and when is the best time to go there? Have a great catch!

About Fox Rent A Car:

Fox Rent A Car, your discount car rental company, has been providing excellent customer service along with low rates for rental cars since its founding in 1989. Today, our success in these areas has enabled us to develop into the largest independent car rentals company headquartered in California. You will find Fox Car Rental offices conveniently located at major airports throughout the world.

San Francisco is a great city wit lot of flair, amazing neighborhoods and wonderful views in any direction. There are tons of places to see, and even more hidden spots to discover. But as a visitor, you don’t have much time to run trial and error walks; you need to know which the best parks in San Francisco are. Fox Rent A Car knows this and to help you preparing your stay, we present you the Top 5 Parks in San Francisco.

Best Parks in San Francisco: Grandview Park

The name Grandview Park speaks for itself – what you have from here is a top view of San Francisco, the bay and the ocean! After a tough climb up the endless stairs you will have a hard time to put in words what you are seeing. A panoramic view of the whole city and surrounding in any direction! To make the climb up this 140 million-year-old rock more acceptable, the neighborhood has decorated the stairs with beautiful mosaic stones. Have fun!

Best Parks in San Francisco: Land’s End Park

If you are looking for good places to hike and walk, this is your destination! Stroll around on nice trails, eventually even climb down to the ocean if you are fit enough to get down there on those rocky grounds. You will get breathtaking views of the ocean and its habitat, and if you are looking for a place for a romantic date, you should come here to watch the sunset together. If you want to see a little more technical stuff, wait for the big container ships or watch the USS San Francisco Memorial.

Best Parks in San Francisco: Crissy Field

Crissy Field is one of the more touristy parks in San Francisco, but its definitely worth it a visit. You will have spectacular views of the Golden Gate Bridge, which you can almost walk underneath. If you want your dogs to run for a while, enjoy beautiful sunny weather and take a walk on the sandy beach while glimpsing at one of the city’s major sights, don’t look any further!

Best Parks in San Francisco: Ocean Beach

If you like the ocean and sandy beaches, this may be one of your favorite places as long as you can live with the cold weather. Unlike in Southern California, Ocean Beach is very windy and often foggy, so don’t forget your jacket and long pants to wear! It’s a nice spot for joggers and if you want your dog to run for a while too, but bad for sunbathing, surfing or swimming. This is what San Francisco is about!

Best Parks in San Francisco: Corona Heights Park

Located directly beneath Buena Vista Park, Corona Heights Park offers great views of the city in combination with beautiful local plants, gorgeous red rocks and endless room to get rid of all your stress. You will have awesome panoramic views of the city, downtown and the ocean, so never forget to take your camera! Even when weather is foggy or rainy you will enjoy it here, since less people come up to the park.

We wish you a great time at San Francisco’s best parks. If you know other places then let us know? Which parks are your favorite ones, and why? We want to hear your stories.

About Fox Rent A Car:

Fox Rent A Car, your discount car rental company, has been providing excellent customer service along with low rates for rental cars since its founding in 1989. Today, our success in these areas has enabled us to develop into the largest independent car rentals company headquartered in California. You will find Fox Car Rental offices conveniently located at major airports throughout the world.

Did you know that only about 9% of Napa county is actually covered with vine plants? It does look from the freeways as if all of the fields and grass areas grow vine, but if you take a look at Napa from a hiker’s point of view, you will discover the large fields and hills between the vine fields, and get amazing views over the vineyards from the top of smaller mountains. Napa has a perfect climate for hikers – warm, but not hot. Especially spring and fall are highly recommended for hiking in Napa Valley. High humidity to let those beautiful forests grow that will provide you with some shade during the warm summer days. Fox Rent A Car wants to present you some of the paths with different difficulty levels so that you can pick where to go!

Redwood, Ritchey Canyon Trails

This trail at Bothe-Napa Valley State Park starts just in the middle between St. Helena, CA and Calistoga, CA. You can hike up to 6.5 miles (round trip), and the total elevation on the hike is 1,200 foot. You will pass amazing trees and enjoy pure nature. There is a camping ground next to the trail, so if you plan to hike for a little while, why would you not want to camp there?  Ritchey Creek will be your companion throughout the hike, be careful though if it rains, since the water level can rise easily.

Robert Louis Stevenson SP

Do you know who is Robert Louis Stevenson? He is the author of Treasure Island, a fascinating piece of work we all know! Stevenson spent his honeymoon at this park in 1880 and until today, the site where he stayed at is marked. Today, you can hike through this State Park up to the top of Mt. St. Helena. The hike is five miles, partially through rough terrain. However, you will get rewarded with the amazing view of the Bay Area!

Bale Grist Mill State Historic Park

The center of this park is a grist mill that was built in the late 1840’s and gets its energy from a beautiful water wheel. There is a 2-mile hiking trail (round-trip) down to the Bothe-Napa Valley State Park. There are regular events at the mill that allow you to get inside the building and to receive a free tour. Mostly, those demonstrations take place on the weekends, so maybe you get lucky on the day of your hike?

Napa River Trail

Napa River Trail is about 2.4 miles and has very little elevation. It is easy to hike on this trail so even if you are not very active or sporty, you can walk here very smoothly and comfortably. You can also take your dog here and let him run. The walk basically leads you from the North of the city of Napa, down to the South part.

Sugarloaf Ridge State Park

Sugarloaf Ridge offers wonderful hiking trails that allow you to fully enjoy gorgeous views of Napa Valley. There is a 6-mile loop so you can spend a whole day hiking through the vine valleys. Hike on the Bald Mountain, Vista, Gray Pine, and Meadow Trails and see why Napa Valley belongs to one of the most beautiful parts of California.

If you know any hiking trails that you would like to tell us about, let us know! The Fox Rent A Car team wishes you a wonderful time in Hiking in Napa Valley!

About Fox Rent A Car:

Fox Rent A Car, your discount car rental company, has been providing excellent customer service along with low rates for rental cars since its founding in 1989. Today, our success in these areas has enabled us to develop into the largest independent car rentals company headquartered in California. You will find Fox Car Rental offices conveniently located at major airports throughout the world.

Every month, Californian cities host a variety of trade shows with international importance and relevance. But which ones are those? Where should you go, when and where will the trade shows take place? At Fox Rent A Car, we are here to help you. We have prepared a list of trade shows that take place at our California locations. Whether you want to go there for business or private reasons – enjoy!

July 13^th – July 15^th INTERSOLAR NORTH AMERICA

Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, CA.

This trade fair focuses on how to make our world a better place to live in. Alternative energies, new strategies and tips and tricks to take advantage of solar power – this is what you can expect to take home from here. Intersolar North America 2010 features about 550 exhibitors from the United States and international locations, and expects about 20,000 trade visitors.

July 13^th – July 15^th SEMICON WEST

Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, CA.

As a proud partner of Intersolar North America, SEMICON West will take place on the same days at the same location venue. Semicon West has successfully established itself to be the premier event for all products and technologies that are based on microelectronics. Whether you are looking for new designs, technologies, or the most recent developments – you will get this here. This year will be very important for the Semicon West, as it is the 40^th year this event takes place!

July 13^th – July 15^th CALIFORNIA GIFT SHOW

Los Angeles Convention Center

The California Gift Show is one of the most important events for businesses and business owners that are specialized on gifts from all over the world. This trade show is exclusively for wholesale trade professionals only, so you need to identify yourself to take a look at this huge collection of international gift ideas.

July 22^nd – July 25^th COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL

San Diego Convention Center

It is obvious that Comic-Con International 2010 is the most important trade show of the month in California! Every year, this show breaks records in visitor and exhibitor numbers, and those who are lucky to get a ticket will show off costumes they worked on for the last weeks and months. This spectacular event in San Diego only offers advance ticket reservations, so hurry up and be part of the scene!

July 22^nd – July 25^th SAN DIEGO YACHT AND BOAT SHOW

SCMA (Southern California Marine Association)

In its sixth year, and at the same time as the Comic-Con you have a chance to see what living in San Diego can be about. The San Diego Yacht and Boat Show offers a good alternative to those of you who want to escape the comic-con craziness and get an update on how you can spend your time on the ocean.

Whichever show you will attend, we want you to have a great time. If you need travel tips for our locations, feel free to read more in our blog, and if you need a rental car we’d be happy to help you too. If you know about other trade shows in California, Washington State, Utah or Arizona that we should list, let us know!

About Fox Rent A Car:

Fox Rent A Car, your discount car rental company, has been providing excellent customer service along with low rates for rental cars since its founding in 1989. Today, our success in these areas has enabled us to develop into the largest independent car rentals company headquartered in California. You will find Fox Car Rental offices conveniently located at major airports throughout the world.

San Francisco is one of the destinations in the United States that everybody must have visited at least once in a lifetime. Accordingly, there are as many types of accommodations available to the tourists. How about a Bed & Breakfast instead of your average hotel chain? According to the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau, 15.4 million people came to the City by the Bay in 2009! But in which ones of the 32,976 rooms available should you stay at? What are the best Bed & Breakfasts for travelers with a limited budget? The Fox Rent A Car team can help you out:

Cheap Bed & Breakfast Inns in San Francisco: The Chateau Tivoli

The Chateau Tivoli, or “the Painted Lady”, as it is referred to by its owners, artists, architects, authors and its visitors, is a wonderful Victorian house to stay at. If you are interested in architecture, you probably heard of this building before. For its guests, the Chateau Tivoli offers nine charming rooms and suites, just in the old style!

Cheap Bed & Breakfast Inns in San Francisco: Hotel Mirabelle

Hotel Mirabelle is located in the Mission District of San Francisco, very close to MUNI and BART, which lets you get to other parts of the city very quickly and easily. The prices of this place are unbeatable and on the weekends you can get complimentary continental breakfast until noon! The rooms are cozy, yet cute and include a mini-fridge and mini-microwave, ideal if you could not finish the delicious food you got in one of the nearby restaurants.

Cheap Bed & Breakfast Inns in San Francisco: Hayes Valley Inn

Hayes Valley Inn is a true home away from home. It has a great location, yet is one of the most affordable places to stay at if you want to be close to Downtown or other famous and important districts. Hayes Valley Inn offers small but comfy rooms. However, bathrooms and restrooms are shared. The staff makes sure that every spot of the house is very clean so sharing a bathroom or restroom gets acceptable here.

Cheap Bed & Breakfast Inns in San Francisco: Hotel Bijou

Hotel Bjiou offers great deals, just around the corner of all tourist attractions and shopping places around Union Square! The rooms are small, but very clean and the free breakfast you will get at this place will fill you up for the whole morning.

Another benefit – there is a mini-movie theatre at the hotel that offers two free shows per night. Public transportation is close by and since you are located right in the city center just avoid bringing a car. It is very expensive and hard to find good, affordable and safe parking.

Cheap Bed & Breakfast Inns in San Francisco: Edward II Inn & Suites

This place is has been voted to the Top 3 of the Romantic hotels in San Francisco! Knowing this, you should definitely take your significant other. Edward II Inn & Suites has 25 guest rooms and 5 suites, the suits come with Jacuzzi tub in the bathroom! The rooms are decorated in English style. The Bed & Breakfast is located a few minutes away from San Francisco’s Presidio and recreational area, which makes it even more convenient for a romantic get-away!

A nice place to stay in San Francisco does not have to cost you and arm and a leg. You will see gorgeous places and houses with history and style, and also meet great people from all over the world! Fox Rent A Car wishes you a great trip to San Francisco!

About Fox Rent A Car:

Fox Rent A Car, your discount car rental company, has been providing excellent customer service along with low rates for rental cars since its founding in 1989. Today, our success in these areas has enabled us to develop into the largest independent car rentals company headquartered in California. You will find Fox Car Rental offices conveniently located at major airports throughout the world.

After we already presented good and cheap golf courses in Seattle and Las Vegas, we are now heading to the San Francisco Bay area. At our three locations in San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland are plenty of golf courses you should give a try. Fox Rent A Car presents 9 of those courses that you will love!

1. Lincoln Park Golf Course San Francisco

Lincoln Park Golf Course offers a well-maintained ground with a spectacular view of the Golden Gate Bridge! If you just can’t see this bridge often enough, this is your Golf Course of choice.

2. Harding Park Golf Course San Francisco

Harding Park Golf Course does have quite some history and if you go there, you may even see some celebrities! It is a municipal park and you should definitely go there, especially when the grounds are dry.

3. Golden Gate Park Golf Course San Francisco

This golf course does not have the golf-pro atmosphere, but rather allows you to relax, chill and to just enjoy your game. Beginners and medium players will feel very comfortable practicing their skills on this course.

4. Montclair Golf Course Oakland

Montclair offers double the entertainment! Hit a bucket of balls on the golf driving range, or enjoy the nine hole par 3 pitch and putt course. No matter how much time you have in Oakland, you will spend it well in this place.

5. Metropolitan Golf Links Oakland

A driving range and 18 holes is what expects you at Metropolitan Golf Links in Oakland, CA. Despite its size, this place is welcoming and affordable, so definitely something you should check out.

6. Alameda Chuck Corica Golf Complex Oakland

This place offers you a lot of entertainment for the buck! It has three courses that you can discover and you will not have to spend a lot of money for a whole day of golfing. What else do you want?

7. San Jose Municipal Golf Course San Jose

San Jose Muni Golf Course offers flat, well-maintained and beautiful holes, as well as a two-story driving range. It is relatively easy to play and therefore a very good spot for beginners.

8. Rancho Del Pueblo Golf Course  San Jose

Rancho Del Pueblo offers nine rather easy holes and is a good place for those of you who either like to play a smooth and fast game, and also is great for beginners! The golf course is very affordable and you will actually get more for your money than you thought.

9. Santa Teresa Golf Club San Jose

In the South corner of San Jose you will find yourself at Santa Teresa Golf Club, where you can chose between a long course and a short course, both of them at great affordable rates. The greens are very well maintained and it’s a great spot for you and the whole family.

Not all places mentioned here? Let us know what other golf courses you can highly recommend and where our readers should go to. Have a lot of golfing fun at an affordable price!

About Fox Rent A Car:

Fox Rent A Car, your discount car rental company, has been providing excellent customer service along with low rates for rental cars since its founding in 1989. Today, our success in these areas has enabled us to develop into the largest independent car rentals company headquartered in California. You will find Fox Car Rental offices conveniently located at major airports throughout the world.

Northern California history – what are you thinking of when you hear those words? Mostly, your thoughts will cover Woodstock, eventually Alcatraz and of course the Golden Gate bridge. This is quite a good beginning, but there is more to see! Fox Rent A Car today presents you the most historic places in Northern California.

Historic Sites in Northern California: The Presidio in San Francisco

The Presidio is located in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park and for more than 200 years presented a strong and military station. The Presidio was in the hands of the Spanish and of Mexico, and now belongs to the United States. In 1994, the Presidio could retire, yet even today it is the place for the annual Memorial Day Parade in San Francisco.

Historic Sites in Northern California: The Tribune Tower in Oakland

In the 1920’s the 21-story Tribune Tower in Oakland was built. Until 1989 it was home to the Oakland Tribune, but now provides office and condominium space. Despite its age, the Tribune Tower belongs to the tallest buildings in Oakland and proves itself to be one of the city’s most important landmarks.

Historic Sites in Northern California: Old St. Mary’s Church in San Francisco

Since 1854, Old St. Mary’s Church has been in use and except for a break of three years after the big San Francisco earthquake in 1906, this building got used permanently. Even though the building was not destroyed from shaking, it got burned to the ground, even the church bells melted! Today, it serves Chinatown and Nob Hill and is a must-see of Califoria’s Historical Landmarks!

Historic Sites in Northern California: Old Sacramento State Historic Park

Old Sacramento State Historic Park is one of the most important sites of the city, when you plan on visiting the old landmarks. Among others, it hosts the city’s oldest remaining firehouse and the Big Four House. A must see and host to several museums, carriages and historic trains!

Historic Sites in Northern California: The Dutch Windmill in San Francisco

The Dutch Windmill is also located in the Golden Gate Park and its construction began and ended in 1902. The purpose of this windmill was to ensure a constant water supply for the city and it is only thanks to this construction, that the Golden Gate Park was created around it. Even though the windmill got restored in the 1980s, it desperately needs another restoration very urgently.

You see, there are quite a few other historic landmarks in Northern California that you should see when you are around. Plan a whole day or even more to stroll around in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, there is so much more to see! Enjoy your trips and send us some pictures!

About Fox Rent A Car:

Fox Rent A Car, your discount car rental company, has been providing excellent customer service along with low rates for rental cars since its founding in 1989. Today, our success in these areas has enabled us to develop into the largest independent car rentals company headquartered in California. You will find Fox Car Rental offices conveniently located at major airports throughout the world.

WIN A FREE CAR RENTAL FOR JULY 4th HOLIDAY!!!

Leave a comment on this post and win a complimentary three day rental
overthe July 4th weekend from Fox Rent A Car!

It’s easy… Here is all you have to do.  Simply comment on  this post and tell us your most funny and hilarious July 4th story in 200 words or less. The story can be about you, your  family, your friends and any funny or compromising situation that any of you have been involved in over a July 4th  holiday. This could be a story that you have been telling each other for the last several years, and it always comes up over the July 4th holiday. Share your story with us and it may be chosen as the best one posted. We look forward to hearing from you.Win a Rental Car for 4th of July!

Requirements of participation:

1. Participants cannot be employed by Fox Rent A Car.

2. Leave a comment on this blog with a short story (up to 200 words), about your funniest event on a 4th July.

3. Promotion ends on June 24, 2010 at 12.00 PM PST

4. Winner will be notified by email on June 26, 2010 and have to respond within 48 hours with the complete contact information. If we do not receive a response within this given period, we will select another winner.

5. Winner will be selected for originality and creativity by the Fox Rent A Car Marketing Department and therefore may be subjective.

6. Available Cars: Economy through Full-size cars and intermediate SUV.

7. Fox Rent A Car will give out 1 (one) rental car to the selected winner for a rental period of 3 days. (Fees, taxes, and optional insurance are not covered by the promotion and have to be paid by winner)

8. Pick up date must be anytime from July 1-31, 2010 at any of our Fox Rent A Car locations.

9. Fox Rent A Car Standard Policies apply.

What are you waiting for?

Make us laugh really hard and win a free rental car for the 2010 4^th of July Weekend from Fox Rent A Car!

Statistics show that more and more grandparents take their grand children on a vacation. While in former days, the kids visited their grandparent’s houses, today all of them discover new places and have their travel adventures together! Which kid (and his or her parents) can say no to this opportunity? Travel Industry Association of America found out that 30% of all U.S. American leisure travelers who are grandparents, took their grand children on one trip or more! Did you know that there is even an official name for grand parents traveling with their grand children? It’s called grand travel! Even more and more kids and teenagers feel confident traveling with their grand parents – but what should all of them know and consider? Fox Rent A Car prepared a list of useful tips for traveling with grand children:

Travel with Grand Children: Medical Security and Official Documents

Make sure you have copies of the medical cards for all of your grand children, as well as permission from the parents that you can make medical care decisions! Note – you will need a notarized letter in case of an emergency. Also take all prescription cards, make sure your grand children have  dental insurance and their insurance is valid in the location you will go to! Always have a list of emergency contacts with you. Also, you need to make sure your grand children have a valid ID card with them. Eventually, even take their passports too. This is a worst case scenario, that nobody wants to happen, but if it does, it helps if you are prepared.

Travel with Grand Children: Planning Phase

Who decides where to go to, what to do, where to stay, when to travel? It may take a little longer to prepare everything, but discuss options with your grand children. Where would they like to go to? What can you do with them, and what is just too much for all of you? Combine your experiences and their creativity; the results will amaze all of you. You can also plan by using senior and kids’ discounts – in the end you will pay less with those discounts than using a family ticket!

Travel with Grand Children: On the road/ airplane

Remember how it was when you traveled with your own children? They needed to be entertained, especially in those “boring times” of sitting in the car, on the airport or in the train. Make sure you have some games handy, some music or books. Try to do something exciting with your grand children – they can watch their DVDs at home, too. Play and learn, isn’t that what grandparents offer to their grand children? Also check out our collection of posts about traveling with kids.

Travel with Grand Children: Your trip

Again – playing and learning is what your trip should be about. Show your grand children that there is a life without TV, computer and Xbox. In the end, it is just like in the old days: the more energy the children use during the day, the better they will sleep at night and the more comfortable they will become to spend time with their grand parents. Respect each other though – the world has simply changed so much during the past decades, you may just need to accept new hobbies, as weird as they may be for you! Consult the parents if you are not sure. Also, don’t forget that the kids won’t get tired as easily as you will!

Travel with Grand Children: After the trip

When everybody gets back home, its always a feeling of relief, but even a little sadness since the adventure “grand travel” is over. But take a few hours, and prepare a little presentation of your trip with your grand children! Using their computers to show the pictures, tell everybody what a wonderful trip it was! Be a good example of a person, parent and grand parent, and enjoy the time with the little ones as much as you can!

Have you traveled with your grand children before? Where did you go to, and what advises do you have for other grand parents? What is a must-do, what is a must-not-do? Share your stories and experiences, and help grand traveling even more!

About Fox Rent A Car:

Fox Rent A Car, your discount car rental company, has been providing excellent customer service along with low rates for rental cars since its founding in 1989. Today, our success in these areas has enabled us to develop into the largest independent car rentals company headquartered in California. You will find Fox Car Rental offices conveniently located at major airports throughout the world.

If you are visiting San Francisco, one of the places you have to go to is Alcatraz. There are several tour companies that offer cruises to The Rock and you should not miss out on this adventure. The official website to book tickets from is Alcatraz Cruises, prices range from $26 for the “basic” Alcatraz tours, to up to $58 for the combination ticket for Alcatraz Island and Angel Island. Today, we have prepared a list of 10 things to do to get to Alcatraz when you want it, and to fully enjoy the tour.

1. Book well in advance: You can book tickets up to 90 days earlier. We recommend to book them about one month in advance, especially during the summer season and if you book for a family or larger group.

2. Take the Early Bird Tour: The first tour to Alcatraz Island starts at 9.00am from Pier 33. It is a day less to sleep in, but well worth it since you can stroll over an almost empty prison island. The later you go, the more packed it will be, or you even have to rush to get the last ferry back to the city. Parking around Fishermen’s Wharf is expensive and rare, so you may simply want to take public transport from your hotel, or ride the Cable Car.

3. Take advantage of the Audio Tour: you will already purchase it with your ticket and audio tours are available in English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Japanese Dutch and Mandarin. Former prisoners and guards tell their stories and explain Alcatraz Island from their point of view, and you will hear about living at Alcatraz. For those who prefer to read those routines, check out this Facebook page.

4. Talk to people who work there: Eventually, you run into a former inmate or guard and who else can tell you amazing stories that hardly anybody else will hear?

5. Dress accordingly: It is San Francisco, and Alcatraz is about 15 minutes from the Coast by ferry. Cold gusts can quickly ruin the outside activities, such as walking on the island to other buildings or simply enjoying the view over the city. Remember – you can always take the jacket off, but you won’t be able to buy one when it gets too cold or windy.

6. Stroll around The Rock: See as much as you can, walk everywhere you can (and is allowed). Go and see the kitchen, the guard’s cells, the garden and the housing for the guards and their families. Much is burned down, yet there is still a lot to see and learn.

7. Study the breakout of Frank Morris and the brothers John and Clarence Anglin: Try to imagine how desperate they must have been to get through this breakout. The famous Escape from Alcatraz with Clint Eastwood may be a good preparation for this trip.

8. Plan enough time for visiting: Getting to, through and from Alcatraz will easily take you 4-5 hours. Take something to eat and drink with you to avoid the tourist prices on the ferries.

9. Get souvenirs: It may sound kitschy, but there is so much fun stuff to buy for yourself and loved ones that it would be too hard to just walk by.

10. Watch out for the birds: Alcatraz Island is home to thousands of seagull, so pay attention where you step and what is above you.

With a little planning, Alcatraz will become one of the most memorable San Francisco tours you have done in the City by the Bay. Even though the Alcatraz prison is closed for almost 50 years now, you can feel the cold and stiff atmosphere of a prison that hosted the toughest and dangerous inmates. Later on, let us know how you liked it! We are excited to hear your stories.

Enjoy your trip!

Fox Rent A Car, your discount car rental company, has been providing excellent customer service along with low rates for rental cars since its founding in 1989. Today, our success in these areas has enabled us to develop into the largest independent car rentals company headquartered in California. You will find Fox Car Rental offices conveniently located at major airports throughout the world.