Hotels in Alameda

Alameda is an island city in San Francisco Bay, tucked against Oakland and linked to it by bridges and the Posey and Webster Street tubes. It feels more like a small town than a Bay Area city, with streets of restored Victorian houses, a walkable old-fashioned main drag along Park Street, and the long, calm shoreline of Crown Memorial State Beach. The former Naval Air Station on the island's west end now houses the aircraft carrier USS Hornet as a museum, alongside a cluster of distilleries, wineries and breweries in the old hangars.

The ferry to San Francisco is the most pleasant commute in the region and also the easiest way to reach Alcatraz departures. Be honest: this is a quiet, residential place with little nightlife and a thin hotel scene, and traffic through the tubes can be slow at rush hour. Oakland airport is close by, while SFO is a longer drive across the bay. Stay near Park Street for walkable restaurants and shops, or near the ferry terminals if San Francisco is the main reason you came.