What a great experience! It was more than a boat ride, and more than a guided tour. Our hosts…read morearen't just knowledgeable, they're enthusiastic about all the sights you can see from the water. They know about history, wildlife, buildings and people, and they share the information with passion. Thoroughly enjoyable, highly recommended, and a great value.

Had the best time taking this tour! You have a boat with only your party so no random strangers!…read moreThe captains take you to local places along the waterway and then take you to see if any dolphins are swimming around! You finish with a BREATHTAKING sunset view. Can't wait to go again!

Highly recommend! Amanda is knowledgeable and personable. She not only shared her passion for…read moreWilmington itself but also connected Wilmington's history to what was happening in other parts of the country at the same time. Definitely worthwhile.

I highly recommend the walking tour of historic Wilmington with Amanda. She was knowledgeable of…read morethe city's architecture, history, industries and geography, and I learned so much that helped me to appreciate and enjoy the city during my first visit. The tour covered a broad time period from the eighteenth century until present but stayed within a reasonable walking area for the 1.5 hour tour. This is a great way to start your visit, to orient to the area and to learn something new about Wilmington and all of our history. Finally, I appreciated that Amanda was so welcoming of my dog to accompany us.

I've always had a love affair with water. When we think about New York, we tend to think about tall…read morebuildings and no green space, but 15 minutes from my house in the Bronx, was the Atlantic Ocean and Orchard Beach. This beach was free, and just a bus fare or car ride away. Some of my favorite memories as a child are my mother and grandmother filling a scotch plaid cooler that they got with their plaid stamps, with hard boiled eggs and grapes and bread and drinks and plums and salt and cookies. I can see my mom and grandma now in their one piece bathing suits, sun hats and sunglasses enjoying the freedom that we all got getting out of our apartment in the Bronx and feeling that beautiful ocean air and getting in that water. I remember fondly as a teenager heading over to the Shorehaven Beach club which was an inexpensive way for families like mine to join some kind of club where we could have access to a pool and sports facilities, etc. I have great memories of making lots of friends and enjoying many a summer day playing paddle ball, watching the entertainment and eating my cantaloupe and cottage cheese to stay slim Now, years later, I'm happy to say that I am a homeowner on Oak island. What a charming little beachside town. No high-rise hotels, no major thoroughfares running through it and lots of family-owned businesses. I really like it. Once a year, my best friend from third grade, Amy, and her family come down from Riverdale in the Bronx and Baltimore, and my kids come down and we spread a glorious week at the beach. This year they rented an oceanfront house just a few blocks from mine that had a pool! Boy, was that a game changer! We had the best time sitting under the shaded porch on the back and cooling off in that luscious pool. For Mark and Amy's anniversary, we decided to take an hour boat ride out of Southport that travels through the intracoastal waterway and surrounding areas such as Bald Head Island and Southport. We got tix to Southport Boat Rentals. I thought the entire experience was a big winner. It's 20 bucks for adults and $10 for kids, and you get a full hour. Access to the boat was very easy. It's literally right across the street from Flavas ice cream by Provisions in Southport. We each had plenty of room to sit and we were a large crowd of 18. I wish the seats had backs to them, but that's just me talking like an old man. Overall, the seats were cushioned and comfortable. It was the perfect time of day to go as Erik had mentioned. With it being 1pm in the afternoon, the sun was overhead, and since the boat is covered, we were in the shade the entire time and enjoyed the beautiful breeze from the water. It was so exciting when we saw dolphins playing in front of us and fascinating to see parts of the surrounding area we had never seen before. I want to commend the two young men that ran this boat. I wish I remembered their names. One was very attentive to our getting on and off securely and in enjoying our trip. A special shout out to the young man who drove the boat and was our guide. He was knowledgeable, interesting, a good public speaker with a clear voice friendly and quite impressive for a young man of his age. He has a future! Some of our kids said they were bored, but I just think it's kids not being used to turning off all the electronics and just taking in the beauty of the world around us. Underneath their resistance to embrace nature and quiet, I think they really liked it. We returned back to shore without a hitch and it felt like a nice full hour with a lot of cool information shared with us. Once again, the staff was very helpful in getting us off the boat and onto land. Mark and Amy topped off the afternoon with treating each of us to whatever we wanted at Flavas across the street. Who am I to refuse a waffle cone with coffee ice cream and sprinkles? I would highly recommend anyone in the Southport Oak Island area to take this cruise with Southport Boat Rentals. Seeing everything from the water will give you a brand new perspective of your magnificent surroundings and how blessed we are that we can enjoy such wonderful gifts of nature and the beauty of the water in NC. Enjoy!

We arrived in Southport too late for a beach day, so we decided to explore the market and booked a…read more6 pm cruise. Such a great decision - overcast weather and beautiful scenery. Our guide was knowledgeable and gave us all types of insider tid bits, not just the run of the mill tour info and history. It lasted about an hour, and again, our amazing guide was accommodating and chased a few dolphins so the kids on board could see them. Another plus- you're allowed to bring drinks on board and there's a few bars nearby to grab and board. Overall, pricing is great and hospitality is even better. Definitely treat yourself on a slow day in Southport or post-dinner cruise.

The Fort Johnston-Southport Museum and Visitors Center is the perfect place to start off your visit…read moreto Southport, NC. It's a great way to get acquainted with this small town and learn a little about their film and local history. The building dates back to 1746 and is perfectly situated across from the water, with chairs out front to sit in to enjoy the view. Best of all, it's free to visit. I especially loved the room with exhibits about movies and television shows that have been filmed in Southport over the years (they were filming a Netflix show on the waterfront when I visited). It's also the meeting point for Southport Fun Tours, which I highly recommend. While the museum isn't going to knock your socks off, it's perfect for a town the size of Southport, and a place you can easily cover within a few minutes if you're in a time crunch.

The Fort Johnston-Southport Museum & Visitor's Center is a great way to start your exploration of…read moreDowntown Southport. Admission is free. The museum part provides good background information on the town and its history. One room contains all the films made in the area and also has some memorabilia from those films. The Visitor's Center has many brochures and maps and the ladies working the day I was there were very helpful about parking and about my ferry ride the next day.

Old Baldy is North Carolina's oldest standing lighthouse. Admission for adults is $8 and gives you…read moreaccess to the lighthouse and Smith Island Museum of History. To reach the top of the lighthouse you have to go up 108 stairs and 5 landings. It could be considered challenging for some. The views at the top are worth it and were beautiful. If you are on BHI a trip to Old Baldy is a must.

$6 for admission to Old Baldy? Hell yeah…read more This attraction is run by a non-profit, and I suspect they do a pretty solid job of not making so much of a profit. I'd like to come back during peak season sometime to get the fully-fledged 2-hour history tour, but even without doing that, you'll get plenty out of just visiting the lighthouse and its one-room history museum. The lighthouse itself is rad. The view is fabulous. The setting can't be beat. A no-brainer if it's your first visit to the island. (And if it's open.)

The Old Brunswick County Jail was not open for the season when I was there but I could still walk…read morearound and admire the two story brick building. It was built in 1904 and served as a jail for 70 years. The Southport Historical Society stepped in to restore the building and preserve history and it opened to the public in 2004. On the second floor are two jail cells and each cell could hold four bunks, a toilet and a sink. The jailer lived downstairs with his family. It would be great to go back when it is open and hear the stories on the museum tour. "Crimes of the Heart" starring Sissy Spacek had some scenes filmed at the jail.

This is a great small museum. I didn't take a full tour. We were greeted by a very hospitable…read moremuseum host who engaged my grandchildren immediately with a scavenger hunt (with the promise of a reward afterwards!) We had great fun looking for all the items and learned a few things along the way! I'll need to go back for an adult perusal!

This is a very nice small museum that packs a lot in a small space. The museum covers the history…read moreof Southport including indigenous people, pirates, merchant marines, the Civil War, WWII, to the present. It's a wonderful place to learn about the important role Southport has played in both North Carolina and the USA's history. Great for children of all ages.