We took their Nature Cruise with Kevin and Annalise. Kevin was funny and entertaining, telling us…read morestories of the rich folk who built cottages on the waterfront. Annalise was very knowledgeable and told us about lobstering, showed us seals and bald eagles, and even a shy harbor porpoise. It was a fun 2 hour cruise and much less crowded than the ones at the harbor.

We took the puffin tour: Nice service and crew- gave me ginger chewable when I was sea sick,…read morechecked in frequently to make sure everyone on the boat was doing okay. We saw puffins, seals, and a few porpoises. Pictures do not do it justice Wish the speaker down low were higher- hard to hear while out boating. It is chilly too so make sure to wear pants and a jacket! So fun

Omg great food , long wait but the pier was nice and once we got back in it was a great view nice…read morestaff

This was fun! Would definitely do this again! Got to hold lobsters! Would be great for kids about…read more10+. Great for families. Rachel our guide was very informative. She taught us so much about lobsters. Don our captain was very funny. He told us before we left water was choppy. We might not make it to seal island. We made it. Tour would have been great even without seals.

We had the most enjoyable two hours with Captain Eli on the R.L. Gott. We learned so much about Bar…read moreHarbor, the Gott family and how their boat name came to be, the inhabitants of the local islands, conservation and sustainability efforts of the land and wildlife, North Atlantic farm raised salmon, and best of all, the ins and outs of the lobster fishing industry. A good guide can make or break a tour like this and Captain Eli was a great storyteller with a wealth of information. In addition, we saw harbor seals, porpoises, cormorants and bald eagles. Appreciated that they allowed both sides of the boat to get good views of the wildlife. It does get chilly on the boat so bring a jacket. Highly recommend this tour.

Our tour was great! We got to see a lot of wildlife (seals, porpoises, bald eagles and more). Eli…read morewas a great guide with good stories and kept us safe in the boat. It was fun to see him pull a lobster trap.

Great value for money! Two hour tour of the harbor with fun and education too!! Captain Will…read moreand Chris were great! Worked to get everyone involved! Kids were thrilled and engaged too! Would definitely recommend!!! Will do this every trip to Bar Harbor!!

When you can learn and have fun at the same time all while enjoying some fresh sea air on the…read morewater, that's a great day! The captain and crew were so knowledgeable and friendly. Two hours was perfect...and "just enough" of each activity. We came for the lobstering experience but found the seal watching a highlight as well. I was also surprised how affordable the fare was. Bring a little cash for a tip as I guarantee you will want to thank your hosts for an great time!

We went with a couple friends of ours and one other couple. Plenty of room in the boat with…read morecomfortable deck chairs. Close to three hours on the water with our Captain and his trusty four-legged first mate, Mack. It was a beautiful day. We saw puffins and seals, osprey and an eagle and other seabirds. Captain was very friendly and knew the bay very well. We all had a great time.

Captain Robertson's puffin tour was one of the highlights of our trip to Maine last week - small…read moregroup setting was perfect. Thanks again, Jamie for the trip & the conversation. We're going through photos, will be sending some to you for web/FB/etc.

If you are looking for a mellow boat ride around the harbor, this is a nice cruise to take. It…read moresays that it's a 2 hour cruise but, in total, to include getting on and off the boat, we were only out for about an hour and a half. We went at sunset and it's amazingly beautiful. The staff is obviously a working staff and they get the passengers involved by having us help with lifting the sails (if you'd like to volunteer). That part was fun and it's a lot of arm work. Very safe journey. Do bring a jacket with you because it does get cold on the water.

Over all a great time, hour and a half sunset cruise. The Skipper and crew weee super nice and…read morefriendly. One caution, check the weather forecast before you go and dress in layers. On our trip it started to rain and we got wet, not soaked but just enough to make it uncomfortable. The temperature does drop about 10-15 degrees once you leave the dock. The standing temperature was 68 degrees when we left the dock, with the sun setting, rain and lower temperatures of the bay it got into the mid 50's on the water. So dress accordingly.

For my birthday, we joined a whale watching tour in the Gulf of Maine.  We honestly weren't sure…read morewhat to expect but were blown away by getting to see 3 different types of whales (Humpback, Minke, Finback), with multiples of each type and also two blue sharks. The people that led our tour were knowledgeable and friendly and I also appreciated they had food and drinks onboard for sale (and single serve dramamine). We had a hot dog, their ocean gin drink, and a blueberry harbor ale and couldn't have had a better time. Make sure to get there early as the most in demand seats on top of the boat were full after they let the people waiting in line early on the boat. I'd say we got there 30 minutes earlier than needed and got some of the best seats but there weren't many left. There is a shop with good coffee close so you can have one person hold your spot in line while others do that. Dress warmer than you think you need: we ended up wearing long sleeve shirts and pants with jackets and beanies and it wasn't a rough or especially cold day at sea and closer to 70 degrees on land. .

Spent the July 4th weekend in Bar Harbor and we booked this company for the whale watching as well…read moreas for the fireworks on the water. I will start by saying that the staff is absolutely wonderful! Super attentive and polite and was constantly checking on all of the riders. The ride was long but we went to two locations before we finally got a glimpse of one humpback whale- Anthur. The captain did his best to get us as close to the whale as possible without disrupting it and also tried to make sure both sides of the boat got ample time to view. The narrator on the boat had a ton of information to provide which was really cool. It wasn't just about whales, we learned about other sea life and productivity and sustainability as well as about the harbor and Acadia park. It was an experience for sure. I do tend to get a little motion sickness which thankfully I was spared on this trip- but unfortunately it seemed like it was happening all around us where people were just losing it. The staff was quick to react and accommodate those riders with bags, drinks and food. Prepare for the cold because even though it was 80 degrees on land, it was extremely windy and freezing out of the water. They do provide hot chocolate and coffee and snacks on board for purchase, you can also bring food on board as well. We went back out again in the evening for the fireworks- they do a trip out towards the lighthouse and the porcupine islands and again provide lots of information about the islands, sea life, and about the earlier settlers. That part was great- the fireworks (out of their control) was eh. Everyone said Bar Harbor has some of the best fireworks and unfortunately they were super underwhelming. Would I do it again..... probably not, but it was an experience that we enjoyed and have stories to tell.

We went on the Sea Princess Cruise on a Sunday afternoon. It worked out wonderfully as we did not…read moremake minute to minute plans during our trip and we found this fabulous outing by boat. We really enjoyed the tour of the different islands and the stop in Little Cranberry Island with only 75 winter residents. It's entertaining and educational, the perfect combination. I highly recommend this tour when visiting the area!

In my opinion the real test of a tour company is how do they handle less than ideal circumstances…read more Our weather conditions were awful - cool and foggy. Could not see a thing and definitely no seals, eagles, mountains or other wildlife. But we did have Donna as our narrator - she was awesome. We all learned so much - she was so knowledgeable and shared lots of interesting info and fun facts. Great visit to the island. Also fog lifted a few times and we saw the beautiful aquamarine water in Somme's sound and the nesting cliffs of the Peregrine falcon. Captain Rob and Mate Jordan did a great job as well. Highly recommend.

Great products and customer service . Always on time with Kayack delivers and pick ups .read more

My partner and I visited the Acadia area for Labor Day weekend - during COVID so no surprise that…read morethe whole world had also descended upon rural Maine that weekend. We hadn't made any reservations for activities ahead of time, so the morning we decided we wanted to paddleboard, I was a bit nervous in case all the businesses in operation were already booked up. I called 10+ places with no luck, then stumbled upon The Activity Shop's number. Turned out to be our lucky day - The Activity Shop is located ~1 hour outside Acadia, so they didn't seem to be inundated with tourists. The owner (I think), Chris, worked with us on the phone to figure out the details of our reservation - and he is one of the nicest people I have ever met. He took the time to explain everything - the best area to paddleboard, when to go to avoid low tide, safety tips, etc. The place he recommended, Blue Hill Harbor, was devoid of other tourists and amazingly gorgeous - we felt like we owned our own slice of paradise. The boards we rented were high-quality. They seem to only offer full-day rentals which can be a bit pricey ($65 per board) but I liked not having the pressure of having to return the boards within a certain amount of time. We played around as long as we wanted and when we were done, we could just leave the boards by the dock and let the Activity Shop know we were done - super easy. Definitely recommend The Activity Shop if you are looking to rent kayaks / canoes / paddleboards near Acadia - a much better experience than the tourist traps in Bar Harbor!