Our boat tour with Captain Dan's Around the Island Tours was absolutely terrific!! This was easily…read moreTHE highlight of our day on Chincoteague. Captain Dan took us all around Chincoteague and Assateague, including up into the shallow marshes where the smaller boat could get us wonderfully close to the wildlife and scenery. We saw bald eagles, the Chincoteague ponies, Assateague Lighthouse, and some absolutely beautiful parts of the islands that you just can't appreciate from the road. You can normally see dolphins, but they didn't make an appearance for us. What really made the trip special, though, was Captain Dan himself. He was incredibly knowledgeable, personable, and clearly loves the area. We must have asked him a billion questions about everything under the sun--wildlife, fisheries, the ponies, the islands, local history, the marshes, even county sewage issues -- and he happily answered every one of them in depth. It felt much more like spending a couple of hours exploring Chincoteague with a very knowledgeable local (he's 7th generation on Chincoteague!!) friend than taking a standard tourist boat ride. The two hours flew by, and we came away knowing that we had seen and learned so much more about Chincoteague and Assateague than we ever had before. We can't recommend Captain Dan highly enough. If you're visiting Chincoteague, put this tour on your must-do list!

EXCEPTIONAL TOUR-- I took the 1/2 pony 1/2 dolphin tour!…read moreCapitain Doug was experienced and had a need for speed so hold on! what a thrilling ride!!! ;) First we saw the wild ponies -- the capitain found all their hiding places and we were up close and personal with the ponies. Then we sped out to the ocean to see the dolphins! The ocean is chopping so hold on!! Again, he found the dolphins near the shore and gave us every angle to get a great picture! On the way back he spotted a young pelican and we stopped to check it out! Yes, you need to take this tour!

What an amazing trip! My mom waited 70 years for this! We booked our trip for a Saturday 2pm and…read morethere were only 2 others on the boat. We went in with the idea that we will have a great trip on the water and learn a little about the area. Fingers crossed to see the horses, that is what mom waited all these years for! We saw part of the heard on the way out from a distance and were happy with that. Then we saw a pair of eagles and dolphins and a group of pelicans and leaned about wallops island. On the way back the heard was closer and we got the experience of a lifetime. They came closer and closer and we were in awe. Captain John was great and the rest of the staff were very friendly and the boat was very clean. We also got a special shell from a little entrepreneur!

We took an early Sunday morning boat tour around the Chincoteague Wildlife refuge with Captain…read moreJohn. Although it was cloudy and raining, John reassured us that we would have better chance of seeing wildlife in such a weather. He took us to interesting places around the island including the lighthouse, oyster beds, mariner's cross, and popular bird nesting grounds (egrets, pelicans, laughing gulls, black backed gulls, ducks). We also saw the ponies from afar. Overall, this was a great memorable exprience! P.S. only suggestion: could rain coats be provided to customers in a rainy weather?

A delightful real life experience of the famous Chincoteague Island and ponies. Storybook boat ride…read morearound the island at 6am spoiled us with ponies right off dock. Ours tour was chock-a-block full of personal stories from our husband and wife Captain and tour guide duo extraordinaire. Our eye candy consisted of a sting ray enjoying a clam breakfast, flopping around in the shallow waters like a happy kid in the candy shop. It was topped by a crane slurping down an eel then a bald eagle. We spied a few more ponies then made our way around the other side of the island for a full grand tour. Appreciated the excellent service and comfortable boat.

The best part of our trip! The sunset tour was perfect for our ten year anniversary! The staff was…read morevery great from start to finish. Our tour guide, Aiden was awesome. He was very knowledgable about the ponies and history of the island. We got a great view of the ponies and dolphins, as well as a great tour of the island.

BEST.TOUR.EVER. Captain Shane was at the helm of the boat and when I tell you he was fantastic, he…read morewas that and more! Kind, funny and the kids loved him because he was so patient with them and answered their 865468 questions without getting annoyed once. Captain Shane brought us to the dolphins and they put on a show. There were dolphins everywhere and it was a sight to see. We wanted to extend our tour as we had only booked a one hour tour and Captain Shane was able to get us booked for another hour in order to see the wild ponies. We not only saw wild ponies, but a bald eagle as well and so many pelicans. Captain Shane took us around the whole island and was just an overall great tour guide. 100% book this tour!

We did a 2-hr 5pm tour this evening, and it was fantastic! Even my tour-skeptical husband who has…read morevisited Chincoteague several times enjoyed seeing the islands - CHQ and Assateague- from a different perspective. The boat was comfortable, the tour info interesting (great storytellers!), and we loved the natural beauty all around. Plus lots of ponies. Definitely recommend!

Saw the horses! Had a safe and fun time! Thanks Captain Mark!! Thanks for weaving in a lot of cool…read morefamily history into the tour

CPT Mark entertaining…read more Saw the ponies, see. the Mare and other ponies. Able to capture great photo. Going to see Dolphins now We are enjoying the tour.

Fantastic boat tour. Captain Randy is a true born and bred Teague islander! The stories, knowledge…read moreand historical information he shared were priceless. We loved it so much we booked a second trip the same week. Saw Dolphins, ponies up close, eagles nesting, so many other birds! Learned a lot about the island and waterways and the bygone eras. Fun, engaging, informative trip. 10 out of 10.

We had a wonderful boat ride with Randy as he gave a lot of information about the island, the…read moreponies and how the area has changed over the years. Very personable. A worthwhile tour.

To say this was our daughters favorite part of our vacation may be an understatement!!…read more My wife and daughter squeezed into a last minute opening for the time of their lives!! Our daughter learned so much, had a blast, and carried some fish! Captain Barry really made them feel important and special! I'm sure he makes every trip the best ever; but we really enjoyed the time/effort he put into pointing wildlife out and explaining marine life!! Our nature obsessed kid wanted to go again as soon as they docked! If you're looking for a fun adventure (not pony watching) then this is the place for you!!! Captain Barry also has the coolest Jeep in the parking lot! We forgot our water bottle and saw him the next morning getting gas and he hopped out to return the water bottle (we didn't even know we left behind!)

Captain Barry's has become our family tradition with all the generations in our family. We never…read morestop learning something new with Captain Barry and we could not imagine our family vacation without this experience.

If you want to go on a tour to look for ponies and other wildlife, this is the tour group you…read moreshould book. Captain Mike was great. He not only got us so close to the ponies, he pointed out bald eagles, the different birds that were flying around. I was amazed at how he could recognize what horse was there by sight. From hundreds of meters away while in the middle of the bay. He also had some fantastic and funny stories about Chincoteague (wait for the Sugar Shack story) what is was like growing up in the area. You can tell he loves his home very much. The pontoons were brand new and stable and very comfortable. It was windy when we went out but I never felt nervous because the pontoon was so sturdy and stable. We got some great photos. And Captain Mike was awesome. I would go again.

Saw many cool things. And the guide was fun and full of information! I will totally go againread more

We did the afternoon kayak tour. Our guide Brody was there right on time and wasted no time…read moregetting us in the water. I was nervous as it has been 25 years since I have been on a kayak and I have a bum knee. We opted for a tandem kayak and I am glad. Brody knew all about the marsh and really enjoyed sharing his knowledge. Not only did we see ponies, we saw a variety of other wildlife like various birds and turtles. This was a 2 hour experience and we traveled about 3 miles into the marsh. We were the only ones on the tour and to their credit, they did not cancel it. But, like Brody said, it is not a job!

Do NOT use this your company, or any tour company for pony swim week. It is price gouging to an…read moreextreme and they take advantage of people who have never been there before. They wanted us to pay $95 to park at a little gravel road and also wanted to charge us $75 per kayak to put our OWN kayaks in at a PUBLIC boat ramp. They use fear and intimidation to try to get you to pay it, claiming the water is dangerous. It is not at all. Then on swim day, they were using the public boat launch for their own customers when they should have their own. We also witnessed the tour guide leave a member of the group back at the ramp while she sat there sobbing because she had no clue what to do and wasn't even holding the paddles correctly. Other people helped her out and they told the tour guide but he said she could just go on the next group. But what if she had friends in that group? Absolutely horrendous way to treat your customers when they pay $250 per kayak. We also witnessed a tour guide trying to cross the channel on Friday and the coast guard yelled at him multiple times to get back. He stated he 'knew someone over there' but they continued to yell at him and he finally got back. These people only care about the money, not their customers and clearly do not know what they're doing. Do not recommend. You can easily park at East Side public boat launch ramp with a $20 launch permit from the town hall. Don't be intimidated by these people.

Amazing! Our tour guide knew so much and knew great areas to see horses. He got us so close to the…read morehorses. The tour started on time. I had two kids with me (5 and 1), they loved it. Such an amazing experience!

We had an awesome two hour cruise with Aiden this morning. We loved the fact that it was a smaller…read moregroup allowing for a more personal experience. He was able to get us in pretty close to the marsh where the ponies were grazing. He provided the history of the ponies and the island. He was able to name the various ponies and their offspring. Aidan shared information regarding the oyster and clamming industry in the area as well. He was a wealth information. It was wonderful to see how proud he is of his family heritage and his hometown. It was a great cruise and passed by way too quickly. We saw Bald Eagles, frolicking dolphins, lots of birds, and a few of the various herds that inhabit Assategue Island. It was all around a great experience. I would highly suggest this tour if you will be in the area.