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!

When you live in Maine, who thinks about taking boat tours? That's for tourists!! (Lol!!)…read more Seriously, though, we had guests in town, so we thought it'd be fun to charter a boat for the four of us to go up the Penobscot River to Bangor. (At least that was the initial itin.) Me matey, Jay (after some due diligence on boat companies in the Bucksport area) , chose Penobscot Boat Tours as our charter. Jay said the communication(s) with Capt. Jeff Sennett (Owner/Operator) was excellent; his boat was faster/stronger to get us to Bangor and back in the least amount of time; and, the price for a 4-hr charter was less than other quotes. Splendid!! It was a dreary start to Tuesday when we arrived at 11 am with weather not looking promising for a jaunt up to Bangor; windy, rainy and choppy waters on the menu. This daunted us not, though! So, "Gilligan" and the gang (that'd be Mr. and Mrs. Howell, and the Professor), arrived at the Bucksport Marina in good spirits for our "3-hr tour"... er, 4-hr tour at Penobscot Boat Tours! ;) The boat was very cool (as all boats are!), and the Capt. Jeff (our imposing "Skipper" for this tour) made us all feel very welcomed, in good hands, and rarin' to-go!! After some discussion about the weather and tour route, we all agreed to a downriver jaunt for lunch in Belfast, and return to home base. Prior to Belfast, though, we made a special request of our intrepid Capt. (despite the hairy weather that we could see going on upriver) to take us a few miles upriver to where the Marsh River confluences into the Penobscot River. The rough-n-tumble ride was, of course, E-Ticket! (In all honesty, though, the confluence was a bit anticlimactic, but the ride was awesome!) Anyway, we turned around and headed for what was to be drier climes. The weather improved immensely and made for some pretty alluring scenery! Normally, we just drive to Belfast (20 mins) mainly not seeing the water much, behind trees/forests and such. So, seeing the coastline from the water -- seeing all those privileged homes tucked and nestled in splendid nooks and crannies! -- was a totally new POV, that's for sure! Capt. Jeff would slowdown now-and-then to point spots of interest out to us, to see seals basking on rocky shoals, and numerous heads bobbing up-and-down in the middle of the bay was pretty darn awesome!!! When we got to Belfast, Capt. Jeff gave us a suggestion for lunch (which we took and enjoyed), while he waited. The trip back to Bucksport was leisurely and beautiful as the summer sun shone upon our last leg back. The whole experience of seeing the land from the water was just wonderful! We never felt rushed; Capt. Jeff was very generous with his time. It was SO worth the cost and, more so, the experience! We will definitely be chartering another trip in the near future with Penobscot Boat Tours...!!! We all had such a great time...!!! :D

Booked our cruise the day before for a 4-hour trip and had a wonderful time cruising up to Bangor.read more

Our tour on Lulu Lobster Boat with Captain Mike and our tour guide Mark was genuinely the highlight…read moreof our trip! I was not expecting to really learn such a wealth of information- Mark did an incredible job of providing an educational experience not only full of information and history, but with plenty of laughs as well! He really made this such a special experience- you can tell that he truly loves what he does and takes pride in his roots in Bar Harbor, and it was heartwarming to get to get a local's perspective on what makes the town and its history so special. It can be a lot colder out on the water than it is on land so dress accordingly! The lobstering portion of the tour was educational and interactive, and the second half of the tour where we got to see seals (and their babies!) was so exciting and special. The views from anywhere in the boat were great. My partner was able to actually drive the boat along with Captain Mike for a bit, and had such a cool experience while learning so much from his wealth of experience. We were originally on the waitlist for this tour as we discovered it last minute, and consider it a huge blessing that we were able to get on as it was such as highlight- definitely do not miss this experience!

Wonderful storytelling and sights, especially for the price I (frankly) expected much less. Our…read moretour narrator and captain were friendly, but not in a weird way. You can tell the care taken to educate and entertain safely -- and there are no bad seats! Our boat was nearly full and everyone on board had a great time and chance to see, hear, and experience everything.

Incredible tour guides!!! So friendly and personalized. Really give you a local experience and…read morelunch is amazing. MUST DO if you are in Maine!

We can't recommend this experience enough. The 1.5 hour tour was the perfect length. Our captain…read moreand first mate went above and beyond to make our experience great. We even saw a baby loon! Don't sleep on the lobster role. It was the best of my life, and I even lived in ME.

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.

What great employees! Excellent personalized service at boat pickup. We'll use this company every…read moreyear!!!

It's taken me a little time to decide if I should write this review or not. What led me to write it…read morewas Facebook. More specifically, the Maine Boat Rental Facebook page. I'll get back that in a bit. I rented the boat I'm writing about from August 15-17, 2025. First I want to tell you what happened and I will provide facts supported with pictures Maine Boat Rental provided me (actually a video of the boat before I took possession and several pictures showing the damage they claimed I caused). After returning the boat, I received an e-mail on 26 August stating, "This email is to confirm a one-time charge in the amount of $251.74 has been successfully completed. The reason for this charge was $26.74 GAS FILL, $175 BENT BIMNI ROD SCRATCHES ON REAR AND FRONT OF BOAT, $50 ADMIN FEE FOR CC FOR SECURITY DEPOSIT and is associated with your reservation CC A5L-GDV. If you have any questions, please contact Maine Boat Rental at [207-313-6248] and we will be happy to assist you." I immediately called them and they said the Bimini rod was bent and there was damage to the hull of the boat. I asked them to send me the video/pics and they did. Me being me, I looked at the pictures and then watched the video (the one taken before I rented the boat). I ended up doing screen-shots of the video. I compared the screen shots with the damage they said I did, then put an Adobe pdf file together to send them showing that EVERY scratch, gouge, bent rod, etc., was already on the boat. I sent that file to Maine Boat Rental and asked when I was going to get my refund. About a week later I received an e-mail from Nichoal that said, "After spending a lengthy amount of time comparing videos and pictures, I have found that the bimni bar was bent badly during your rental and the cost of replacing that is over $1,200. I have also found that there are in fact new scratches on the boat the worst of them down to the fiberglass and will require a in-depth patching process to ensure water intrusion will not happen in the future." I asked her if she saw the Adobe pdf file I sent her and she hadn't (remember, she claimed to have spent a "lengthy amount of time comparing videos and pictures" - obviously not looking at their own Facebook page). I again sent the file which clearly shows the damage they charged me for was already on the boat. Once she realized I did my due diligence, she immediately refunded my $175 in damages. Now, what caused me to write this review. I was looking at other reviews and their Facebook page. Facebook has 2 pictures showing their ski boats all docked together (posted on July 17, 2025). The last boat (farthest from the picture taker) is the boat I rented. In that picture, taken almost a month before I rented the boat, is the bent Bimini rod. The bend in the bar clearly matches the damage picture they sent me. That was the icing on the cake. How many renters have been charged for this Bimini rod they claim is over $1200? I have yet to find a Bimini top for more than $500 but that's not the point. The point is unsuspecting renters are renting from Maine Boat Rental and probably getting charged for damage that was already there. They probably charged every person that rented this particular boat, July 17 through now, for that damage. Pretty crappy way to try and get more money from people. I mean, $1000 for a 3-day rental isn't enough? I just caution you, if you're planning on renting a boat from them, to take pictures of every bit of damage (bent rods, scratches, prop damage on the engine, etc.). In fact, make sure the person from Maine Boat Rental dropping off the boat is in those pictures so they can see you took them before you got the boat not after the fact. The pictures I've posted - higher resolution pictures = damage they said I caused / lower resolution pictures = screen shots I took from their video before I got the boat. For the record, I did rent from them (I am Sean M on the contract and fuel receipt).

What an AMAZING business. One of the last true shops in the world that truly believes in honest…read morecustomer service. I recently bought a 1978 used boat for $600. So of course it was going to require work. The motor would not run. I took it in and they got it running for only $125. STUPID CHEAP!! Now, understand that I know NOTHING about boats. This is the first one I have ever owned. So I got the boat home, and it would not start. Turns out the distributor cap was bad. (Keep in mind this is a 1978 so the thing is old and not taken care of when I got it) So I take it back to the shop. As I am backing out into the road, the propeller hits the road and broke 2 fins off. When I arrived at the shop, the owner and the mechanic stopped everything they were doing to give me and my boat full and immediate attention. The mechanic spent a ton of time going over the details of the boat with me. This was 30 minutes before closing and the mechanic was determined to fix it that day and he did. New distributor cap $20!! The ne went over the boat with me. Everything from start up procedures, to wiring and battery connections. Then they spent about an hour calling around to find me the right part and get me fixed for again a stupid low price. The owner spent time going over the part with me step by step to ensure that I could mount the prop myself and save even more $$$. I have been back and forth to the shop 4 different times bugging them because I just don't know about boats and every time I show up, they make me feel like I am the only customer that they have. Keep in mind this is mid May and the shop is 300 yards from the largest lake in Maine within the same town. So they are BUSY! If I was them, I would hate to see me coming, but they act as if I am the only one in the world. I truly love these guys. Small town charm with big city professionalism, experience and service. DO NOT GO TO ANY OTHER SHOP for all your ATV, boat and snowmobile needs. These guys are the best!

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

Jeremy was great tour guide! We absolutely loved our time in the Lil' Toot. We got great view of…read morethe Castine coast line and enjoyed some interesting history about Penobscot Bay. Even spotted an eagle and a few seals!

We just had the best day on the L'il Toot. Zander knew so much and really kept it fresh and…read moreinteresting. I don't usually like tours but I loved this one. Such a fun way to get out on the water, learn about the area and get around.

One of the best guided tours I have been on. Casey is an amazing guide and Jesse was great with the…read morelogistics getting us back and forth from the start and finish. The water was relatively calm which made for a nice day of sea kayaking. Casey was great with providing safety instructions before and during the trip. He was a wealth of information about the wildlife, geology of the area, and the history. It was like we had the ocean to ourselves. We saw a couple of bald eagles and tons of seals primarily harbor seals but several gray seals as well. Can't recommend this company enough. Kayak on the quiet side of the island. You won't regret it. My family of four would do this trip again.

Took a guided tour of Acadia with Jackson, and Maine State was perfect. Reservations were easy to…read moresecure, had every thing ready to go, and guide Jackson was fantastic. Highly recommended taking the guided tour.