The guy running the ferry was exceptional. A great ride. We arrived early, car 1 of 4. Boarded…read morefirst, un boarded 1st. Cost $5.

A four car cable ferry that crosses Lake Charlevoix and began operating in 1876, when the operator…read moretook passengers across the lake in a rowboat. The ferry is a unique experience and you can't beat the view on a beautiful fall day. The cost is $3.00, takes about 10 minutes, and runs April through November. Check out the original fares on the sign from 1884

Due to unforseen events my cruise had to be refunded. Captain Chris was quick to notify my of the…read moresituation, and I understand fully. I highly recommend either cruises they offer. A wonderful, friendly crew, very knowledgeable and funny. A truly enjoyable adventure to take again and again. Mark Muetzel.

Nice boat ride with great views and lovely staff. It would have been better to have some narration…read moreof the area to go along with the ride. But it was an enjoyable time.

They offer two different types of parking here, and they both cost money. The regular parking costs…read moreless, but you need to take a shuttle to the parking lot, which is off site. The premium parking costs more but it's near the dock. So you choose! We chose the regular parking, but we almost missed getting on the ferry because it took a while to get to the parking and back. Ferries leave every hour, usually, so we would have had to wait an hour. So, four stars because of the parking situation. It's kind of a bummer, but they got you by the cojones because where else are you going to park if you want to catch the ferry to Mackinac Island? The rest of the ferry experience was great. The people expertly tag and handle luggage, and the ride is smooth. You can sit on the deck and take in the view, but keep in mind that it's very windy and can get cold, even during the summer months. Or you can sit below deck where it's climate controlled. You can still get a great view below deck. The trip from the mainland to Mackinac Island (and vice versa) takes about 17 minutes, and they depart right on time. Don't be late, or you'll have to catch the next ferry.

I've only ever taken Shepler's ferry to and fro Mackinac Island from Mackinac City! It's typically…read morea really smooth experience and the porters/boat crew are always friendly and helpful. The ride itself is about ~15 minutes one-way unless you're taking one of the morning Mighty Mac where it travels under the Mackinac Bridge! That Mighty Mac journey is about 25 minutes. The FAQs are also really helpful and detailed so read that before going on and parking! FYI that Arnold Transportation (another company) holds the winter contract so Sheplers doesn't operate after Oct 31.

Excellent well run, clean, well maintained, efficient with polite staff. They get you to and from…read morethe island without any problems. Lots of parking for a fee. ($15)... If you haven't been to the island, you should go. This is the way to get there.

We saw the ferry schedule in our hotel and walked 5 minutes to the terminal. We bought our tickets…read morein advance, it was $38 per person round-trip. There were reduced fare for children and veterans with an added charge for bicycles. Parking in their lot is an additional $15 per car, we left our car at the hotel, Schleppers does all kinds of boat rides and even hosts weddings on their fleet of ferries. They are family owned & operated for over 76 years, and offer the fastest ferries to Mackinac Island. A ride was 16-minutes each way. We purchased our tickets from their website & they were scanned from our phone going in each direction. We sat upstairs, outdoors. There was seating outdoors. Our ferry was half full, there was a lot of extra seat. The highlight of our boat ride was going under the Mackinac Bridge.

So somewhere between 3-4 in terms of overall experience…read more They had ferries run frequently which was great, the boats were reasonable, plenty of seating, staff was helpful and nice, and the ride wasn't too long. Some of the issues - pricing is quite high - $39 per ticket which is spicy for round trip and the worst part is that you have to pay 40$! for parking. That is not ok at all in any capacity to pay $40 for parking when you are already paying close to $40 for a ferry ticket. Why on earth would parking be so pricey?!?!?!?!? Additionally while there were quite a few ferries going back and forth, some of them, particularly the last one didn't leave at the time that was present on the schedule which is a major no no particularly for out of town tourists - the schedule said 8pm, but the ferry actually. leaves at 7:30pm officially and left early at around 7:25pm or so!! Which if we had actually been "on time" we would have been left in the cold of Mackinaw island. Ferries need to leave at the time they say they will leave - leaving earlier is not ok!!! That and the cost is probably my biggest frustration and negative on this place. Don't nickel and dime your customers, and leave not early not late - at the scheduled time.

The boat was on time and got you from the island to the city speedily. What else would you want?read more

Yet another review site for Shepler's ferry boat to Mackinac Island…read more.. The ferry parking and the enhanced ferry ticket, which is round trip ticket for the island. Get the round trip if you come back the same day, slight savings. We took the Shepler's ferry several years ago. It's bigger than the Norman and more popular. Ride is about the same either way, more crowded, usually.

Shepler's is pretty much the only ferry service to Mackinac Island now. Their prices have gone up…read moreand they charge for parking now, which I don't recall them doing in the past. It's unfortunate, but onsidering the financial issues of the ferry companies it makes sense. Overall, we had a good experience on our trip. Even on a moderately busy day, you may have to wait a bit to get on a ferry. Sometimes they fill up and you'll need to wait for the next one, which can mean another 30 minutes of standing around. If it's a stormy or windy day, it's best to stay on the lower deck to avoid getting soaked. Big waves leads to big splashes.

"Cause I'm free to decide, I'm free to decide"…read more(The Cranberries) You can decide on a few ferry services to get you to and off Mackinac Island, but for us, our decision to travel with the Mackinac Island Ferry Company's ships from St. Ignace to Mackinac Island was a good one. We bought our tickets on the website, and that was super easy to do. Our two fastPASS Round Trip adult tickets were $31 each plus a $2 convenience fee. Our tickets directed us to park at Dock #3 in St. Ignace, and that location is well marked with big signs. Parking is free, and the dock was well staffed with plenty of folks to answer questions and keep the traffic flowing. There are no arrangements available to book a ferry for a specific time, you just go and wait on line for the next one. The ferry company steps up departures during heavy tourist season. It was quite a sight to see the deck hands hustling when our ship arrived from St. Ignace to get us off the island. We must have seen them unload 100 bicycles and scores of luggage carts for those spending some time on the island. Expect your ride to take 15-20 minutes.

I've used Star Line as my way to get to and from Mackinac Island every single time over the years…read moreand they have all been 5-star experiences! They are wonderful and always on time, and offer different types of boats to suit all your different needs - they even have a pirate boat! I have yet to try that one because the timing never lines up, but hopefully one day I'll get to! We always book in person, so I am unaware if there is a way to book it online beforehand. I also normally go during the peak season for Mackinac Island, but I think because there are so many companies and ferries to and from the island, it'll never be sold out for long. Perhaps you might show up and the next available departure is sold out, but the following one won't be and you can easily get that one and wait a little longer before departing! Once you're on the island, there is no set time to come back with your roundtrip ticket. You just come back whenever you're ready and get in line to do so, and I appreciate that convenience and flexibility! Every once in a while as well, the Star Line ferry will take a different route, once again just depending on which time you book! The most recent time I took the ferry, which was this past summer, we happened to be on a boat that took a little detour UNDER the Mackinac Bridge!!!!!!! That was so exhilarating and not anything I ever imagined doing, but loved it when I got down there and could be the proper TROLL that I am haha! It was a nice bonus treat at no extra charge and really started our journey over to Mackinac Island nicely! Star Line is also so convenient and you can easily bring your dog on board as well, in addition to bikes and strollers. They have good, organized systems built into place for all of your needs around this and that doesn't go unnoticed by me either. It's much appreciated and always a good time aboard Star Line ferries!

Going to one, or both, of the Manitou Islands has been on my bucket list for awhile now and thanks…read moreto this here ferry company I can cross South Manitou off the list. It's about an hour and twenty minutes each way and they leave right on time so don't dawdle! I wasn't sure this day trip would even happen as I didn't reserve in advance. I took a late Sunday to late Wednesday trip Up North and most of that last Wednesday was tied up in the glorious Manitou excursion. I would have preferred to have done in Tuesday but due to staffing issues there was no trips on that Tuesday or Thursday. For some reason their website wouldn't let me complete the reservation process when I tried earlier in the week and my phone call went unanswered as well. Not sure about the website but the telephone I'd likely chalk up to the same staffing issues. With some fussy Yelpers that'd be a bullet train to One Star Land but this trip was spur of the moment and roll with it and you know what? Everything worked out. I rolled up into Leland, MI with maybe 15 minutes to spare, paid in cash and secured a last minute spot. I missed out on sitting for the duration of the trip, unless I wanted to pop a squat on the deck, which I did here and there, but I also got to flout the Covid mask rules, being out in the open breathing in the lake air. There's a cool lighthouse warning against a shoal in the middle of Lake Michigan and the boat got pretty close with the captain giving us some interesting facts about it over the loudspeaker. His voice sounded kind of Eric Wareheim which I liked. The water wasn't too choppy at all. It was a pretty smooth ride both ways, and great for picture taking. I'll save my observations about the island itself for my review of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore as both Manitou islands are part of the park and this boat service just makes sure people get there and back. They did a great job of that. Don't bother with their gift shop, though. You can find much better prices on Manitou Island merchandise over in Traverse City, which you'll probably want to go to anyway. Hoodies were half the price in some shop downtown there, practically at t-shirt prices. I didn't buy anything there, but I did wanna go back, especially after seeing the gift shop here, but I had to work the next morning and needed to start moving downstate. (I wanted one more epic Lake Michigan sunset and drive over M-22 so I skipped the quicker I-75 route.) I already want to go back to South Manitou on a camping expedition and then maybe graduate to the more rugged North Manitou Island so hopefully one day I can bang out an update here.

Me and my girlfriend had a wonderful time or the boat and with the people who ran the boat…read morefriendly, highly recommended if you have never been to the islands

I've used Star Line as my way to get to and from Mackinac Island every single time over the years…read moreand they have all been 5-star experiences! They are wonderful and always on time, and offer different types of boats to suit all your different needs - they even have a pirate boat! I have yet to try that one because the timing never lines up, but hopefully one day I'll get to! We always book in person, so I am unaware if there is a way to book it online beforehand. I also normally go during the peak season for Mackinac Island, but I think because there are so many companies and ferries to and from the island, it'll never be sold out for long. Perhaps you might show up and the next available departure is sold out, but the following one won't be and you can easily get that one and wait a little longer before departing! Once you're on the island, there is no set time to come back with your roundtrip ticket. You just come back whenever you're ready and get in line to do so, and I appreciate that convenience and flexibility! Every once in a while as well, the Star Line ferry will take a different route, once again just depending on which time you book! The most recent time I took the ferry, which was this past summer, we happened to be on a boat that took a little detour UNDER the Mackinac Bridge!!!!!!! That was so exhilarating and not anything I ever imagined doing, but loved it when I got down there and could be the proper TROLL that I am haha! It was a nice bonus treat at no extra charge and really started our journey over to Mackinac Island nicely! Star Line is also so convenient and you can easily bring your dog on board as well, in addition to bikes and strollers. They have good, organized systems built into place for all of your needs around this and that doesn't go unnoticed by me either. It's much appreciated and always a good time aboard Star Line ferries!

Update, they found the bag. Except they were asking for our credit card information to ship the bag…read moreover to us. How are we gonna pay for something they lost? But fortunately they sent it back to us without charge. So thankful for them finding our items and sending it back.