It's free. You get what you pay for! Long wait on a Wednesday in October. Arrive super early,…read morebefore the ferries start if you want to be on the first one. We arrived at 10:30AM and waited for 5 ferries until we got on. They don't hold a ton of cars and they carry commercial vehicles which ofter take up the space of 2-3 cars. They hold about 30 cars and it takes 55 minutes to cross. It use to be faster but they have to take a longer route now. This ferry is funded by the state of North Caroline and is part of the transportation budget. They use to allow the ferry to go over budget but now they cut back service after the season to make sure they stay under budget. Unless you really, really, really want to see Oacracoke, it's not really worth losing 7 hours of your day. There are a few nice places to eat, but not a ton of shopping.

It's amazing that the ferry still runs FOR FREE!!! And it runs all day and night. It's so nice…read moresometimes to be trapped on a boat and do nothing besides stare at the water. Which is what I did for over an hour. You drive into the line and wait to board. The ferry boards and you wait for it to get rolling. Then you wait to get out of your vehicle if you so desire. Lots of waiting which is fine. It's nice to not have to be in a rush to do anything! It's also a nice place to catch a sunset.

FAVORITE PLACE HERE. We spent hours finding the most amazing shells. The water is crystal clear and…read morethe wanes aren't bad at all. I would come back in a heart beat.

We had so much fun on Shackleford Island. We saw so many horses, found a lot of cool shells, and…read morethe beach was beautiful. It's about a 30 minute ferry ride from Beaufort. There is a restroom but NO amenities or food available for purchase. Bring everything you need with you. Once we arrived, there was a tour guide but it wasn't much of a tour. She walked us to the other side of the island to show us two horses on the beach and then walked all the way back to where we started to show us where to find the best shells. Her "tour" lasted about 30 minutes. We did most of the exploring on our own and that's when we found the majority of the horses. As long as you aren't looking for a super guided tour, this is a great day trip!

What a wonderful experience! From booking our tickets with the kindest lady to going on our…read moreadventure with the kindest men/captains of the boat. I didn't catch his name but one man was kind enough to talk to us about the horses, the island, and answer all our questions. He gave clear directions about where to go to find shells and the best spot to see the horses. The boat ride over itself does get faster then I expected so plan ahead for that. We had two small children with us, one being a baby and they enjoyed the boat ride too. The staff was very helpful getting out stroller on and off board. everyone was so kind and helpful and we had a beautiful day!

Overall good experience wait times were a little bit longer than expected but peak season …read more Everyone was helpful

Nice relaxing tour of the bay. Didn't get to see any Carrot Island wild horses though, so I was a…read morelittle disappointed. Easy to make reservations, but its not guaranteed to go unless they have enough people. The boat is huge and accommodates a lot of people. Bathrooms were clean, snacks available, plenty of historic information. It's good for tourists, a nice relaxing ride.

Maybe we were lucky! We saw the wild horses plus a 6 month old foal with its mother and a junior…read morehorse about 2 years old. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and lead us to the wild horses. Well worth the trip! Jeannie, our guide was very helpful and the ferry captain shared a bit of the history of the port as we ferried out to Shackleford Bank.

The Cedar Island Ferry as mentioned and as advertised connects....well Cedar Island to Ocracoke…read more You're talking 22 miles and about two hours and fifteen minutes door to door. Here's what you need to know. The below link is for the schedule. Note that this run changes its schedule seasonally. 2 RT in winter, 3 in spring & fall and 4 from about Memorial Day to Labor Day. www.ncdot.gov/travel-maps/ferry-tickets-services/routes/Pages/default.aspx Do you need a reservation? In theory, yes. It's $15, for now - more on that in a moment, and at the below link you can make a reservation and you can also see the number of available car slots for each day and time slot if you're not sure. Can you just show up and pay the $15 day of? Absolutely, just be aware, again, that this run is very limited per day in the number of departures. Note that you can call NCDOT up until 6pm the day prior to cancel for a full refund or to change your date and/or time without penalty. ferry.ncdot.gov/reservations/ For my trip last week, I got the MV Sea Level. Only fourteen years old and it more than took care of business. www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:448824/mmsi:367520980/imo:9677727/vessel:SEA%20LEVEL With that said, I was on the 7:30 am departure on a Wednesday with some nasty weather coming in that would shut the ferry system down the next day so the load was light at only 4 cars. We had about a 2:1 staff to passenger ratio. The passenger lounge was more than comfortable. They had the A/C blasting (not at all needed) and I took up two seats facing aft and another couple took two seats facing forward while the rest stayed rocking and rolling in their cars. My trip, I know, was probably abnormal compared to summer and on a weekend. I made the trip from Atlantic Beach to Cedar Island in 50 minutes cruising along with almost no traffic once I got through Morehead City. Same as at the ferry terminal where I was the last of the four cars for the ride and I got there 30 minutes prior exactly. The upside was that we left a few minutes early since everyone was more than there. In better weather, this is a great chance to sit outside and enjoy the sun and the water or in the weather I had, to sit inside and bob around while reading in perfect peace and quiet. No problem doing this one again. (RIght, as for the $15 part. As of 1/1/27, the routes on the NC ferry system that are now free, will all start to charge some type of fare and the two which currently charge (this route and Swan Quarter) will supposedly have their fare increased for the sake of long term maintenance and boat procurement. So if you can, ride 'em while their free or still at $15 because who the hell knows what next year will be.)

The Cedar Island Ferry takes about two hours to journey to Ocracoke and unlike the Hatteras and…read moreMinnesott ferries, this one requires a reservation. You can still show up, as I did, and hope someone cancels but you could be waiting a while. While waiting, enjoy the comfortable and air-conditioned terminal that has snacks and a restroom but no wifi. There are also picnic tables all around and a beach. The ferry is an enjoyable ride and surprisingly only $15 each way. A large passenger area has seating including tables and power outlets. You can bring your own snacks or purchase from the on-board vending machines. There are also restrooms. [Review 772 of 2025 - 4204 in North Carolina - 24332 overall]

Our last-minute date night with Lookout Cruises was absolutely incredible. The sunset was stunning…read moreand truly unforgettable, and the entire evening felt effortless from start to finish. Captain and crew--Mike and David--were professional, kind, and attentive. A special mention goes to the captain's mom, who has served as his assistant for the past 26 cruises--she is truly a treasure and adds such a warm, personal touch to the experience. All of the staff had genuinely jovial personalities, making the atmosphere even more enjoyable. One of the most thoughtful details was having crew members walk around and take photos of each couple throughout the evening, allowing everyone to simply be present while still capturing lasting memories. It was the perfect evening to take in the stunning coastal views, watch dolphins play, and see Fort Macon from the water. The boat was exceptionally clean, and safety was never a concern--it was clear we were in very capable hands. We were so impressed that we've already booked their 4th of July fireworks cruise and can't wait!

We did two trips last week. The sunset cruise and the Cape Lookout cruise. Both were excellent as…read morealways. I've been going on this catamaran for roughly 25 years. Each time the fun and food are unmatched.

Always giving you the star treatment great family fun and memories. Thank you again.read more

This was a great experience out to the lighthouse. We were able to catch the ferry and the driver…read morewas friendly, and gave a little informal lessons about the area. Overall it was great. Just make sure you don't miss the last ferry ride. 2025-07 #558

My family and I signed up for a boat charter out to shark tooth island to find some shark teeth…read morethis summer. This was by-far our favorite activity that we did on our vacation. In the past, we have rented kayaks from Pogie's and have always loved renting through them. Pogie's was AMAZING to work with both during this trip and in the past. They were very kind and attentive to us during our time with them and gave us some local tips for our adventure. They were able to accommodate our larger group and went above and beyond to make it a fun and successful outing. I highly recommend this place!

You've driven by, wondered how to take that micro adventure. It's too expensive, I've never kayaked…read morebefore, it's too sunny... Well STOP it and stop on by. Book online it will shave off some precious sand dollars. No waves? That's great, too easy. You don't have to put a boat in the water, they have a cool slide to launch you so you don't look like a weirdo. Service was friendly, helpful and able to launch even the stockiest of gentlemen. (Also bring cash for tip)

Fun for all! This is 100% geared towards kids, but Captain Spike definitely throws in some adult…read morehumor too. The trip is perfect amount of time for the kids to not get bored. Mrs Fettuccini was great and remembered every kids name. The treasure was icing on the cake - my kids loved it. Absolutely a must do when in the area.

This tour was amazing. Took the evening Ghost Float tour. It was fun exciting ghostly and had…read moregreat story's the staff was great. Definitely worth the visit.

We took the ferry boat out to Sand Dollar Island. It was a neat experience. The ride out there was…read moreabout a half hour, we spent 2 hours on the island, then we spent an hour on the boat coming back. You could go out into the water as far as you liked to search for sand dollars. I only went about ankle deep. I found a couple broken pieces of sand dollars. I couldn't believe the size of the shells I found! I had quite a collection when we left. We also found some creatures there. The person driving the boat was fun and knowledgeable. We also saw some wild horses and dolphins on the way back. It was fun.

Save your money and do not book this tour if you do not want to waste your money…read more They literally leave loads of people who have already exploited the very small pile of dirt (sandbar) they leave you on to bring more and more people onto a tiny crowded space. All the private tours have already gotten all the sand dollars before their ferries hit the sand. We booked the Sand Dollar Island tour and went as far out in multiple directions and found nothing. There is also a very fierce current going out which could be extremely dangerous. We booked online less than 24 hrs in advance & during the night my military son's pregnant wife came down with Covid and had to be rushed to the ER. I explained how we could provide medical letter and proof and they refused to have extenuating circumstances policies. So basically keeping the money for themselves is more important than customer service. They were rude and care only about their profit, not people nor our service men and women.