It was a great day on the water with the Amelia River Cruises & Charters company at the helm…read more It was my first time visiting Amelia Island and Fernandina Beach and wanted to get an overlay of the area and the river cruise seemed like the perfect thing to get an overview of the area. And I wasn't wrong! The tour lasted about 90 minutes (and it leaves promptly FYI) and takes you along the shoreline of Amelia Island - past the shrimping boats and past a Civil War era fort - before heading towards Cumberland Island National Seashore. This is where the true fun of the tour was for me. I had no idea really the history of the island and found it fascinating how the Carnegies and Rockefellers and more of the country's elite used this random Georgia seashore as their private escape. The history of both Cumberland and Amelia Islands is incredibly fascinating and the guides for both the Florida and Georgia sides respectively were well informed and personable. Plus - you'll very likely see a ton of great wildlife throughout including dolphins and wild horses and pigs. It's a great way to spend an afternoon in the area and a fabulous introduction to Cumberland Island National Seashore/Park.

Really nice boat Super friendly tour guides…read moreStunning g views of fort an horses on Cumberland Island Wonderful sunset.! Good pricing!

Great time today, park not crowded, weather a bit cool and not to much activity or sightings of…read morereptiles with the cooler temps, well worth the time spent, almost total silence except for a few of the birds in the area. All the employees are so friendly and helpful with any and all questions, each and everyone one them went out of their way to make your time spent them memorable. I highly recommend a visit there to learn about our ecosystem and how everything works together and how we have to treasure our little blue planet

We went on Friday 4/10/26. Order tickets on line if you can. We didn't know that and had to spend…read morethe entire day there to do the boats, train and reptile shows. I will say the children (twins are 6 and oldest granddaughter is 10) loved the entire experience. Staff are very friendly and engaging. We had a nice breeze and gators as d snakes were out. Kudos to the friendly staff.

Came here expecting a hiking trail and was sorely disappointed. The description sets the…read moreexpectation of a beautiful hidden gem of a nature preserve with boating facilities and a nature trail. The closest to "boating facilities" was a small dock where you could drop a kayak into the black muddy water. The "trail" was a strip of dirt and pine needles that stretched roughly 200 meters along the side of the water until you could no longer walk through the brush. Very disappointed! The two people fishing in the brown water looked miserable.

This is a nice multi-purpose hideaway preserve and park in northern Duval County. Good for…read moreboating, hiking, fishing, and more. It is right on Thomas Creek and has a boat dock, fishing pier, covered picnic area, bathroom facilities (though not very clean), water fountains, and hydrants among other amenities. There are pristine views of the creek, landscape, and preserve. Truly a near hidden gem.

This was one of the coolest things my family and I were able to do while at Amelia Island. Bobby…read moregave great directions as I had never ridden a speed boat before and soon we were flying across the water with ease. Learning about the history of the place, seeing Navy bases and an old Carnegie mansion was so amazing. My family and I loved it so much! Please try this out if you're ever in the area!

Though expensive, this was a really fun experience. We had two adults and 10yo and 12yo kids. I was…read morereally worried about driving the boat as I've never driven anything on water before - but it was easy to get the hang of and super fun! We did the 2.5 hour tour and saw dolphin in the water, as well as a few wild horses on Cumberland island. (Beware there is no restroom on this trip.) Our trip guide (Cray) was great. Definitely recommend doing this adventure at least once!

If you're looking for a relaxing, picturesque sail on the water with occasional moments of…read moreadrenaline-induced existential reflection--Windward Sailing is the spot on Amelia Island. The captain and his wife guided us across the open waters like a man born with a rudder for a spine. The boat was beautiful, the views were breathtaking, and the wind... well, let's just say my hair looked like I lost a fight with a leaf blower. At one point, dolphins swam alongside us, probably just to mock my sunburn. It was majestic. Magical. In short--10/10 would sail again.

Amazing trip and the owners are so Kind and attentive to…read moreevery detail. I have always wanted to sail and the trip was great. Weather was not so great but the owners more than made up for it.

We absolutely loved this tour and experience. Max 6 people on a boat, we were 4 and no one else…read morebooked so it was totally like a private tour. Price is worth it for the comfort and private experience. Owner is totally chill, surfer guy vibes, very friendly and very knowledgeable about sea life and dolphins with years of experience. You can tell he loves what he does and is passionate about his business. He brought us out around until we found a huge swarm of dolphins and we just followed them the whole time. There was a tonnnnn of them. Didn't see manatees this time but I don't think they are as common as the dolphins as that's where the dolphins live and reside. It was a great way to start your morning and my 8 year old son absolutely loved it. We don't support seeing dolphins in captivity and he also explained how horrible it is having them in captivity. This is a great way to experience seeing dolphins without the exploitation of dolphins. Highly recommend and would absolutely do this again if I came to town again.

I cannot say enough good about our tour. Captain Dustin was so personable and knowlegable. He…read moreinteracted so well with the kids and made the tour not only educational (which it was - VERY!) but so fun too. We saw MANY dolphins and he could spot them far off and would steer right over there and point out where we should look. He has a good sense of humor is professional in conduct and in speech, which I appreciated very much too. If you could give a score of 10 star, I would definitely give it 10!

Just got home from a wonderful afternoon on the water. Jason scheduled our sailing experience on…read moreMiss Connie's Misadventures. This 30-foot catamaran was the perfect vessel to explore these Florida-Georgia waters. Captain Terry was ready and waiting for us right at 1pm. It was super easy to navigate to North 14th street in Fernandina and find the marina right in time. We had some rain in the way over, but it cleared up just as we parked and embarked. Captain Terry provided safety precautions, showed up where to stow our drinks and gave us the lowdown on our route to the ocean. Once he put the sails up, the wind took us peacefully into deep blue. We saw several dolphins, 2 wild horses on Amelia island, and some pretty birds enjoying the open air. It was a romantic afternoon with my husband. We got to step away from Corona claustrophobia and feel as free as a fish in the sea. Terry even recommended The Salty Pelican, so we have another yelp place to dine in soon! Great boat for taking friends and family out to enjoy Florida's fresh ocean views and get some sun. The weather was kind to us and I only got a little sunburn. Don't forget to ask Terry to play his sailing playlist!

From the owner: We bring the fun to you!read more

Great place. Friendly service and clean, safe equipment. And great location for boating…read morearound.........kids loved seeing the submarines. Will be back!!

The ownership here is honest, ethical and fair. This is a long-established business with local…read moreownership and a really great reputation. We have been extremely satisfied with our interactions and will soon be purchasing our boat.

Great family run business. The owner went above and beyond to give me and my son a great experience…read moreat a great price on jet skis. Thank you!!!!!

My husband and 12-year-old daughter rented the speedy jet ski that seats two people. They had a…read moregreat time and had so many nice things to say about Stone, the young man who led them out to the "playground" area of water. Also, it was very easy to book online. Good to know: if you've never done any water sports activities on Amelia, you should be aware that the trip to the "playground" area took them about 20-minutes one way, and that was going top speed on the speedy jet ski. The ride out and back was still lots of fun for them, but it did take up a big chunk of the hour. Also good to know - book early. I went online on a Tuesday and the earliest available was Friday - and only 3 different time slots. We definitely recommend Forza and we plan to rent jet skis from them again when we return next summer!