I got to the island yesterday, arriving on the ferry from Cedar Island. That one requires a…read morereservation. This one at the north end of the island, does not. Other than "priority traffic," it is first come, first served, lining up in queue on the roadway. There is a ferry terminal building here with restrooms and vending machines but there aren't any other facilities. No air conditioned waiting room or such. Just wait patiently and you'll be on your way soon enough. [Review 784 of 2025 - 4216 in North Carolina - 24344 overall]

If you are already on the island and came by vehicle, this is one of the ways you get back to…read moremainland. Sometimes you can get on the next ferry or you might have to wait for the one behind. Depending on weather the ferry's run often. Make sure you find out on the NCDOT website.

Welcome to Ocracoke Island (or thanks for visiting, depending on your direction). The Terminal at…read morethe south end of the island will be where you wait to catch the ferry to Cedar Island and rejoin the mainland. The terminal is clean, comfortable and air conditioned. It has restrooms and vending machines for an easy wait. It also overlooks the ferry dock area so you can see it coming and you can keep an eye on your car in the parking lot as well. Be prepared for a two hour journey to Cedar Island though there is a passenger lounge on board with seating and restrooms. Note that there is a NORTH ferry terminal which will be your ride to Hatteras. Be sure you're headed to the correct one! [Review 773 of 2025 - 4205 in North Carolina - 24333 overall]

What a great way to travel to and from Ocracoke! The staff at the terminal were extremely friendly…read moreand engaging...even for the last ferry of the day! The ferry was clean and offers restrooms, indoor cabin seating with a few tables plus outdoor deck seating. The Cedar Island ferry arrives later in Ocracoke. If an earlier arrival is needed, you'll want to drive farther North for the Swan Quarter ferry. The Cedar Island ferry is the better option to return home after a day on Ocracoke. Bon Voyage!

the people working on this ferry treated us like actual garbage when we were first getting on. get…read morehelp!

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.

This was my third and final ferry ride of the trip, arriving at Hatteras Inlet from the Ocracoke…read moreNorth Terminal. A super easy and comfortable ride that was quick. I took a snooze in the RV. The terminal on Hatteras has a waiting area, restrooms and a vending machine. In 1957, North Carolina purchased a four-car ferry operated by Hatteras Islander Frazier Peele, marking the beginning of formal ferry service between the two islands. By 1960, Peele's ferry was running regularly, and the state soon expanded the fleet to accommodate growing tourism and local needs. Today, the Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry is one of the most popular routes managed by the North Carolina Department of Transportation. This route is free! [Review 786 of 2025 - 4218 in North Carolina - 24346 overall]

Present day Hatteras Inlet, an estuary along the Outer Banks separating Hatteras Island from…read moreOcracoke, was formed by the Great Gale of 1846, which was in fact a hurricane. The span between the land spots is approximately two miles by ferry, which to my big surprise was free and took less than an hour. I understand the ferry I was on was one of a fleet of 8 ferries operated by the North Carolina Department of Transportation. The scenery and views you'll see are fabulous with the area being loaded with fishermen. It's called the "Blue Marlin Fishing Capital of the World," but even with the Gulf Stream running only 10 to 15 miles out, to me it's questionable. The ferries generally run every half hour "on season" with a capacity of around 40 to 50 vehicles.

Every vacation town needs a visitor center and for Ocracoke Island this is the place. Everything…read moreon Ocracoke is fairly small and compact which is cool because in premise everything is easy to find and this place is no different. Just head towards the Cedar Island & Swan Quarter Ferry dock and you'll find a small parking lot with the visitor center located across the road. The one odd thing worth mentioning is that this visitor center is managed by the NPS. This is due to the large presence that the NPS has on the island with the pony pens, the lighthouse and all of the beaches falling under it's jurisdiction via the Cape Hatteras National Seashore umbrella. So if you come what will you see here? There are two buildings with public restrooms on the right and the actual visitor center on the left. The visitor center has exhibits on the main island attractions like the British Cemetery, the Ocracoke Ponies, the lighthouse and the history of pirates in the area which of course involves Blackbeard. Also note the large map on the outside wall of the building which puts everything in the village in a good context as to where it is and how far. The VC also serves as a gift shop with a plethora of books being the main offering along with a good display of pamphlets, brochures and catalogs for Ocracoke accommodations, restaurants, shops and attractions. This is also the launching point for any and all seasonal ranger activities that take place on the island for adults and children. The day we visited we didn't see any ranger presence but the manager who was at the visitor center was great. She was a funny as hell and a great resource for information. She was also a great help in particular with how to find the best parking for going to Spinger's Point. If you need some help getting around on the island (help but not recommendations for lodging or food as policy dictates anyone working here can't do that) or for some kind of trinket of Chinese plastic to take home with you this is your stop. According to the below page the visitor center is open daily 9-5 with the exception of Christmas Day. www.nps.gov/caha/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Bottom Line: Free parking, a nice bathroom, friendly people and a decent gift shop…read more The Ocracoke Island Visitors' Center is run by the National Park Service and is proportionate to the size of the island - small. The facility is nice but there's not much to it. I enjoyed looking around the gift shop and picking up a few items to commemorate my trip to the island. I also got a map of the island and I always appreciate a nice, clean bathroom! I suspect there are periodic ranger talks but I didn't see the schedule for them.

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]

The Cedar Island Ferry is an economical, comfortable option when you're heading to and from the…read moreIsland. They are very punctual and reservations are recommended if you want to be sure to get a spot, so plan ahead to be sure you get to/from Cedar Island in a timely manner. It was a smooth, relaxing ride today with beautiful weather. The ferry itself is comfortable with plenty of passenger seating inside and outside. Clean bathrooms are a plus. Sit back and enjoy the beautiful views!

Needed a quick ride on a holiday, Saved the day! Showed u in time and reasonably priced.read more

We were leaving our vacation rental in the Outer Banks in Salvo, NC, when our car stopped, well, it…read morestopped starting. Tow truck came, but my daughter and had no way to get off the island. No regular taxi would take us, no rental car businesses, and no Hyundai dealer to leave our car with. No bus, no railroad. You get the point. However, Gaston, from Island Hopper, massively saved the day. He drove us all the way to the closest Hyundai dealer, in Chesapeake, VA. 2 hours away. Great price, so nice to talk to. Island Hopper and Gaston -- angels among us!

If you want to go to Ocracoke and don't have your own boat or a small plane to land at the island…read moreairstrip, then the NC ferry system is the only way to go. The system offers three different routes over to the island from Hatteras (most popular by a lot), Cedar Island and the way we chose for this trip, from Swan Quarter which is the least popular. Why the least popular? I think it comes down to two big reasons: The crossing takes, if everything runs smoothly, at least two and a half hours and there really isn't much of anything to see or do near the Swan Quarter dock area. If you want desolate and nothing, I recommend driving to Swan Quarter from somewhere like KDH, Manteo or Nags Head. Nice loooong drive around the perimeter of the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge and Lake Mattamuskeet. For the first hour, maybe, I saw three cars once I got on to 264. Check in was fast and easy. I made a reservation the day prior (for a standard sized car/SUV you're looking at $15 to make the crossing) and once I gave my name, it was checked off on the clipboard, a receipt was given and then we lined up. ferry.ncdot.gov/#/ We had about 30 minutes to kill and got out and walked around. No real place to go past inside the admin. building to use the bathroom or to walk along water line even if there are signs warning about snakes and gators. The Cedar Island pulled up right on time and the unloading/loading was done very efficiently and we even left a few minutes early. Very smooth ride over with no real bumps or chops. Weather was in the upper 50's, cloudy with some drizzle. Compared to the long lines to board over at Hatteras this one was a comparative breeze. Sure the ride is on the long side but the weather was great and I sat either inside the small passenger lounge or topside reading which was a-ok with me. The other obvious advantage to taking this boat versus Hatteras to get to Ocracoke is the ability to make a reservation. With the first come-first served-priority system of loading at Hatteras you can get blocked out for hours. I know this first hand. The day prior to this we got to Hatteras a little before 10am and they were telling people that maybe...they could get us on the 2pm boat...maybe and if not it would be the 3pm. Hell. No. Overall it was a great experience and in any future OBX trips I would have no problem leaving for Ocracoke from here.

What a great way to travel to Ocracoke! The staff at the terminal were extremely friendly and…read moreengaging...even at 5:30am! The ferry was clean and offers restrooms, indoor cabin seating with a few tables plus outdoor deck seating. The Swan Quarter ferry offers the earliest arrival time to Ocracoke. Make sure to secure your reservation before the trip or else your ship may sail without you! Bon Voyage!

We did both the half day fishing trip and the sunset dolphin cruise. The trips went well…read more Keep in mind that these boating trips are highly dependent on the weather and what may seem like good condition conditions on land are not always the same out on the ocean. The trip can get canceled, so it's best to book them during a time where you'll still be able to reschedule if needed. Both our fishing trip and the sunset cruise were canceled due to poor conditions, but because I booked them earlier in the week, we were able to reschedule and still do both later in the week. My daughter (who is only 9) got sea sick on the fishing trip, which was a bummer but the crew and other passengers were very kind and helpful. There needed up being several sick people on the trip. It seems like a norm for this kind of thing. I guess you don't know until you try it. I was a little disappointed that there wasn't more info about how long it would take to get out of the sound and how long you would actually get to fish. Of the 4 hours we booked, we fished for maybe a little over an hour. It took 1 hour to get out and 1 hour to get back. Then there is moving around in between. My son loved it though. He caught several fish and was able to take a couple home. Overall, it was an interesting experience and I would take my son again. The sunset dolphin cruise was great. The crew was awesome and the music was nice. We didn't see any dolphin but I knew booking that it was a maybe. I'm a glass half full kind of person, so it depends on your expectations and how you handle things. Just cruising around on a boat with the sun going down was super nice. I was a little worried because it said smoking was allowed on the boat, but thankfully no one was smoking because it would've made me sick and I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much. Another cool highlight of the trip was that on the sunset cruise there was a kid fishing off the back (a family member of the captain I assume) and he allowed my son to fish with him. A fish was caught, and he told my son he could take it home. The captain even fillet the fish at the dock for us. It was such a fun and unique experience. Everyone run Miss Hatteras was great!

Did you know the sound of waves has been proven to relax the mind. The color blue is associated…read morewith feelings of calm, peace and listening to the ebb and flow of waves and the swell of the sea naturally soothes and relaxes the brain. I recommend you de-stress by going for a trip on the Miss Hatteras! She is a fishing boat that sails out of the picturesque Oden Dock in Hatteras, N.C. Our leader for the trip was Captain KP Scott, also the owner, and is supported by first mates Chase and Wolfie. Natalie Scott is also a Captain but most frequently is the one booking your trip over the phone and does all kind of other important tasks. All were friendly, helpful and professional. The half day trip is approximately six or seven miles off shore. Trigger fish and black sea bass are most commonly caught. Please be generous with these hard-working mates, 25 percent tip based on the trip cost is a reasonable gratuity. Highly recommend the Miss Hatteras!

Super impressed with the new owners of Morris Marina & Ferry Service. While I really liked the…read moreMorris family, with roots into the SF community - they did zero to upgrade. The Davis family, who owns the service to Cape Lookout now owns the Portsmouth service, they have painted the ferry, built and replace the landing on the shore side, putting in a walking pier, poured a ton of concrete pads, new structure for their office. Very impressive and I spoke with Captain Randy, lots are planned. Prices have gone up 30%. Shrug. They now will deliver ice, bait, whatever to Portsmouth if needed. They also have fresh water station and air up.

The best ferry service on the East Coast rode on the other boat The Green Grass was her name from…read more1979 until The Donza Lee took her place. I will be on her 11/2/2021 and still love going to the island by this ferry service family owned proud Americans and was passed down from generation to generation.