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.

We love the Ugly Anne sunset boat tours. They are the best! We gave my husband the gift of a sunset…read moreboat tour for Father's Day. He loved it so much the first time we gifted it again! The views are beautiful even in cloudier weather. Would highly recommend!

Shepler's Mackinac Island Ferry June 2026…read more With friends from Albion and Grand Rapids, the four of us were heading from Mackinaw City to Mackinac Island earlier this summer. Parking was smooth - we would be on the island for three days and could leave the SUV in an adjacent parking lot. Short line to the ticket booth, and seamless booking for our ferry, which would leave in about an hour. Time enough for us to cross the parking lot (standard overnight parking - $25 per night; premium dock lot parking - $50/75 per night) and have a light lunch of fries and onion rings at The Dixie Saloon, accompanied by a Kentucky Mule. The ferry was very well organized, from the ticketing to the lining up. The only downside was ferry staff required the 80 or so passengers who were not a part of a local tour group leave the protection of the covered queue: the unfortunates in the line (including my group) had to wait in the cold wind and rain for more than 20 minutes while a ferry boarded the fortunate (in the special tour group) in comfort, sans wind or rain. (Adult basic round trip $39) Once aboard, the trip went great. This is not a slow boat - we were tooling right along for the 20 or so minutes it took to get from the City to the Island. Given the raw weather outside it was great to shelter in the covered seating below the outside seating. Shepler's crew also did their best to help with our luggage: they gathered our stuff when we purchased our tickets, so we were free to wander around Mackinaw City until it was time to board. (Tipping is appropriate.) Offloading was a bit trickier, as we sought to have the luggage gathered by the horse-drawn taxis that would take us to our condo on the island. Took a while but ultimately Shepler's crew got our bags and transferred them to a taxi. Great service, good coordination, slight bumps making us wait in the rain so that the privileged few could board their own ferry ahead of us, but altogether a great experience.

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.

The only thing I would say is that there are far too many companies that are taking people over to…read morethe island. We did get confused on where to go and we were not the only ones. Once we were on the ferry it was a nice smooth ride. Short 15 min. The seats on the bottom section is quit cramped for leg room and I'm short. Thank goodness it's a quick ride over.

This is a ferry transfer to Mackinac Island. The ferry leave every half hour. Very convenient. They…read morehave secure parking lot for your vehicle with a parking fees. The ferry is by person. They have a small waiting room and restroom while waiting for your scheduled time. The ride takes 25 minutes. The check in is easy. Once you on the ship, you can enjoy the view or take a nap. I brought my beer with be while riding on the ship. The trip is smooth during clear weather. The return trip also easy to board.

We took the Arnold ferry from Mackinaw City to the island and it was a great experience. Buying…read moretickets online ahead of time was easy (just be sure you have the correct departure city as they also have a ferry from St. Ignace). The tickets are round-trip and are not for any specific date or time, which was really helpful for us as we were traveling with family and it made it easier to coordinate and be flexible. The ferries leave every 1/2 hour or so from Mackinaw City and every 30-45 minutes from the island during the month of June. The schedules are easy to find and read on their website. The ferry was so fun and quick, and I loved seeing the bridge and other boats on the trip. Tip, for the best bridge views on the way to the island, sit on the port (left) side and opposite on the way back. We were able to check our bags on the return trip which was helpful as we had acquired souvenirs (mostly fudge, of course). Everything was packed carefully onto a luggage cart, then unloaded quickly at the Mackinaw City dock when we arrived. There is a parking lot right at the dock, and additional parking lots across the street from the dock. Parking was about $20 per night and payable via a QR code. They even have a shuttle that will take you across the street. Next time I really want to go on the ferry that goes under the bridge. It's a longer trip but seems like it would be such a cool experience.

We had a great experience on the ferry to Mackinac Island, so I was surprised to see such mixed…read morereviews on here. We booked our tickets in advance and boarded the first ferry to the island around 9 am. Be sure to arrive early, as there was a long line of people waiting to board the boat. You can choose between inside seating or sitting at the top of the boat - totally up to your personal preference! The ferry ride was smooth, comfortable, and took around 25 minutes. We had no problem catching a ferry back from the island, but be sure to give yourself enough time to queue in line before the ferry is set to depart, as lines do form.

Every time we come here we have a great experience. They actually go every 30 minutes in the…read moreafternoon and we got there 1:25pm. My husband ran in to buy the tickets for us and they let us board. The ticket pays for there and back $39 per adult. Kids that are 5 and under are free. It was a little rocky on the way back. We prefer to stay in the lower cabin to avoid the kids falling over or getting sprayed with water. There are plenty of seats. They also have space for wagons and strollers which is super nice. The staff were great too. We love going to the island.

Having to pay to park for a business of which I am already giving money to, is Obscene!…read more Still, we enjoyed the ride and the charm of the staff.

"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