North Carolina Ferry
North Carolina Ferry
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
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4.5
305 reviews
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189
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5
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23
Matt R
Burlington, NC165 contributions
Jun 2020
In June 2020, the NCDOT announced they would be adding several more daily trips between Hatteras and Ocracoke on the ferry system to accommodate for larger amounts of visitors. This was several days before our trip to Hatteras to get on the ferry to go to Ocracoke.
When we got to Hatteras, we were there by 12:50 for the 1:00 ferry and we were the 20th car in line. We did not get on the 1:00 ferry for some unknown reason. Therefore, we had to wait in line for an additional 35 minutes for the 1:30 ferry. The ferry ride over to Ocracoke was smooth, but we passed several ferries which were only 1/4 full.
Unfortunately, our ride back from Ocracoke to Hatteras also had some huge delays for unknown reasons (it was definitely not because of the number of cars, because they were packing the cars on the ferry). When we were getting on the ferry at Ocracoke to go back to Hatteras, one of the DOT workers was extremely rude and rolled his eyes at me when I was trying to park my vehicle, to a great enough extent that another employee came up to us and apologized for him later on the ride back to Hatteras. Our entire ferry experience to and from Hatteras and Ocracoke lasted about 5 hours, whereas, we only spent 2 1/2 hours on Ocracoke, including time to eat lunch. Ridiculous waste of time for what should be a smooth and fast service.
If NCDOT is going to add more routes, then they need to plan accordingly and make sure things are running smoothly at the appropriate time. We used the same ferry system in July 2019 without any rude DOT workers and the whole ride process was a ton faster. Hopefully they can figure out the issues before the high point of tourist travel hits in July.
When we got to Hatteras, we were there by 12:50 for the 1:00 ferry and we were the 20th car in line. We did not get on the 1:00 ferry for some unknown reason. Therefore, we had to wait in line for an additional 35 minutes for the 1:30 ferry. The ferry ride over to Ocracoke was smooth, but we passed several ferries which were only 1/4 full.
Unfortunately, our ride back from Ocracoke to Hatteras also had some huge delays for unknown reasons (it was definitely not because of the number of cars, because they were packing the cars on the ferry). When we were getting on the ferry at Ocracoke to go back to Hatteras, one of the DOT workers was extremely rude and rolled his eyes at me when I was trying to park my vehicle, to a great enough extent that another employee came up to us and apologized for him later on the ride back to Hatteras. Our entire ferry experience to and from Hatteras and Ocracoke lasted about 5 hours, whereas, we only spent 2 1/2 hours on Ocracoke, including time to eat lunch. Ridiculous waste of time for what should be a smooth and fast service.
If NCDOT is going to add more routes, then they need to plan accordingly and make sure things are running smoothly at the appropriate time. We used the same ferry system in July 2019 without any rude DOT workers and the whole ride process was a ton faster. Hopefully they can figure out the issues before the high point of tourist travel hits in July.
Written 24 June 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Elsa C. L.
New York City, NY4,953 contributions
Aug 2021 • Couples
Clean and on-time passenger ferry with organized staff who are informative, like you’re on a tour, for a fair fare at $5 one way. It takes approximately an hour from Hatteras to Ocracoke.
On a sunny day, it’s a nice, smooth ride!
I only wish that there is a boat that leaves Ocracoke back to Hatteras at around 6 p.m. as the 3:30 is too early and the 8:00 leaves passengers with a long wait.
If rented golf carts are not restricted only until Howard’s restaurant, the 8:00 p.m. ferry would have been perfect as passengers could have enjoyed the beach or driven the gold cart all the way north or hike the trail.
On a sunny day, it’s a nice, smooth ride!
I only wish that there is a boat that leaves Ocracoke back to Hatteras at around 6 p.m. as the 3:30 is too early and the 8:00 leaves passengers with a long wait.
If rented golf carts are not restricted only until Howard’s restaurant, the 8:00 p.m. ferry would have been perfect as passengers could have enjoyed the beach or driven the gold cart all the way north or hike the trail.
Written 15 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
JMS130
Henrico, VA2 contributions
Sept 2022
Had a 2 day vacation to OBX and my son insisted we go on day two to Ocracoke and ride the ferry. We drove an hour to get there from Kitty Hawk, waited 30 minutes for the ferry, and they squeezed us in like sardines. I was the last car on the ferry that got stuck behind a big RV and other cars all around me. I could NOT OPEN MY DOOR to get out of the car. I began to get heat exhaustion and dehydrated trapped inside my car. No one came to help me. No communication from the crew. This was my first ferry ride and my last. After an hour, we finally got to the island (and there's no warning that this will be an hour trip one way and an hour back not counting wait times to get on the ferry) and I was a nervous wreck at the thought of being trapped again on my ride back. This was an experience from hell. There wasn't anything on the island that I couldn't have seen on the mainland. The hour long ferry ride is not worth it, especially if you get trapped inside your car. I want to complain to the ferry but don't know who to contact. This was a dangerous situation for me as a 64 year old trapped inside a hot car on a 90 degree day. The open windows didn't help because I had cars all around me and a big RV in front of me - no air flow. I saw nothing from the car and felt robbed of the ferry ride experience. My 39 year old son was with me and he climbed out of the window of the car like a race car driver, but I'm not as limber as he is. Do something else. You'll be glad you avoided the ferry to Ocracoke. I had to return home the next day so I wasted a full day of my two day vacation trapped in a car on a ferry and saw nothing but the cars all around me. The ride back was better but still a long wait. The woman counting the cars let us on to the ferry and when we pulled up, they said it was full. So we had to back the car up to the front of the line. Talk about a disappointing day. I cried all the way back to my hotel.
Written 10 September 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Amy R
Houston, TX404 contributions
Sept 2020
Very relaxing ride over to Ocracoke island, which I would say skip. The ride was the best part. What was bad is we reserved a spot on the ferry to go to Cedar Pass which is a 2 1/2 ferry ride so we could continue our trip to Atlantic Beach N.C. You have to be at the ferry by 12:30 for the 1:00 ferry so we were there about noon. Got our ticket and where in line for the ferry. When the ferry arrived they exited all the vehicles and then came to our line and told us that the Coast Guard had closed the ferry down for the day. That was not what we wanted to hear but as we know Mother Nature does it’s own thing. What was disappoint is that they could easily radioed the personal on shore where we were so we didn’t wait. Then we had to wait in another line to get a refund even though it was paid but credit card, all we had to give them was our name. I’m sure since they cancelled the ferry they have a button that can refund all. So then we raced to the other side of the island to catch the ferry going back to Hatteras and proceed with our 4 hour journey down to Atlantic Beach. Very long day!
Written 14 September 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Bob Pleco
1 contribution
Sept 2021 • Couples
Drove 70 miles to get to the ferry, arriving before 9am, with intentions to take the listed 9:30am first ferry. About 40 cars were already in line when we arrived. Eventually one ferry boat arrived took only a few cars. Another boat, another small group of cars. We now has been waiting 2 hours so I asked one of employees how long it might be and she “probabably 1pm”. What??? We left. Already wasted half the day then 90 more minutes to drive all the way back to out rental in Kitty Hawk. Very disappointed. Even for a free service, if they run it like this, it only costs you and delivers nothing. Many other left the line prior to us, btw, and I’m sure many more did once the extended wait time news made it to others by word of mouth. Oh that’s another issue- zero communication by the workers or facility, unless you walked up and asked. Nothing on the web, etc. Had no idea what we were in for. But fat zero by the NC ferry dept.
Written 29 September 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dennis W
Severna Park, MD490 contributions
Mar 2020
We stayed in Morehead City and planned on taking the 8:30 ferry to Ocracoke, but they cancelled it due to mechanical problems so we got on the 4:30 PM departure, A little over two hour ride. There is a passenger lounge on board but it is not much. No food service just a couple of vending machines. Spent the night in Ocracoke, and then took the ferry over to Hatteras. Somewhat smaller ferry and a little over an hour trip. Ferry does not go in a straight line because of shoaling so the route is almost horseshoe shape! If they could go direct it would be a 15 minute ride. Relaxing ride when weather is nice.
Written 1 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Leslie M
86 contributions
Oct 2021 • Family
Wasted an entire day of our vacation trying to get to ocracoke. We were supposed to be on the 10 am ferry the next day. They called and told us it was cancelled due to a coast guard inspection. We rearranged all of our plans to catch the last one out at 4 pm a day earlier. Added a second hotel night etc. Got there, got on the ferry 40 minutes out the ferry turned around and we were told there was a minor mechanical issue and we were returning. 40 minutes back to cedar island and zero communication from the staff. We all sat wondering if we were gonna fix it and head back out or if we weren’t getting across. Zero communication until another passenger came up and said they were moving cars off. Because of all this we missed our hotel reservation and were CHARGED for a hotel we physically could not get to!!!! I understand that there are gonna be mechanical issues, but they entire ferry full of people could have spent that 40 minutes making arrangements or cancelling reservations. Then this poor lady at the booth had to deal with every angry car. Complete mess.
Written 26 October 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Alberto T
Orange County, CA314 contributions
Jan 2021
I took the ferry from Hatteras to Ocracoke which is free or charge for passengers) at noon, and a return trip at 5:30 on the same day. It was a very smooth and picturesque ride and took about an hour as stated on the website. Due do it being the off-season (mid-January) and perhaps because it was a Thursday, there was not a long wait in either direction. On the Hatteras side, one of the workers let me know that I had mistakenly got in the line for the priority lane. I didn't see any signage, but it didn't really matter since there weren't a lot of vehicles anyway.
Written 24 January 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Deborah V
Hudson, OH68 contributions
Jun 2020
The free ferry is efficiently run. We drove down from Kill Devil Hills on a cloudy day to take the ferry across to Ocracoke. The wait to board the car ferry on a Friday morning was about 45 minutes. The ride across was nice enough. We spent a few hours in Ocracoke and then headed back. We waited 2 hours to board the ferry coming back. It's a nice trip but recommend you budget your time accordingly.
Written 12 June 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
SteveK28762
Worcestershire, UK88 contributions
Sept 2023 • Couples
We took 2 ferries: Cedar Island to Ocracoke, and Ocracoke to Hatteras Island. What a great service. We reserved the first ferry in advance (only $15) and the second is a drive-up and get on service with ne reservations (and it's free!). Really great and easy, so no issues at all.
I wonder if they could make more of the service though - the visitor centre at the Cedar Island end is almost empty and not very welcoming. No drinks or snacks available. On the ferry, there's a machine which is reluctant to dispense anything, holding on to all snacks as though its life depends on it.
I really feel that, given we were on board for over 2 hours (1st ferry) and over an hour (second ferry) they could make more of the journey? Perhaps that's just me being a tourist?
However, the ferries were a great way to travel to the Outer Banks so highly recommended.
I wonder if they could make more of the service though - the visitor centre at the Cedar Island end is almost empty and not very welcoming. No drinks or snacks available. On the ferry, there's a machine which is reluctant to dispense anything, holding on to all snacks as though its life depends on it.
I really feel that, given we were on board for over 2 hours (1st ferry) and over an hour (second ferry) they could make more of the journey? Perhaps that's just me being a tourist?
However, the ferries were a great way to travel to the Outer Banks so highly recommended.
Written 5 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I am visiting the Outer Banks in August, and was wondering how early I should arrive to avoid a long wait for the ferry. The day I am planning to take the ferry from Hatteras Island on Tuesday August 14, 2018.
Written 23 May 2018
We rode the ferry from Hatteras in the morning and back to Hatteras in the afternoon and didn’t have more than a 15 minute wait either way. However that was in early May. There was more than one ferry running. They run more often in August so it shouldn’t be a long wait. Check the schedule at ncdot.gov/ferry.
Written 23 May 2018
htremblay2017
Sherbrooke, Canada
HI ,I have a bus VR 40' +un trailler 20' .TOTAL 65 feet it s ok ?? for ferry,..thank you .
Written 18 October 2017
I actually counted the cars on the ferry trips we took. It seems that 20 - 25 was the number. I also think weight comes into play as one time there was room for more cars and they didn't allow them to board.
Written 22 June 2017
Is there public transportation from the ferry landing on Ocracoke to the lighthouse or do we need to take our vehicle?
Written 21 March 2017
Unfortunately, you need to have a vehicle. But, if you have one already, the ferry takes it too. You just drive right on up the ramp.
Written 4 April 2017
NoVa to Hatteras Ferry Options - Driving from Northern Virginia to Hatteras, arriving on Saturday, July 2nd, and contemplating taking a ferry from the mainland to Hatteras. The only option that we have found so far, given our NoVa starting point, is a ferry from Swan Quarter to Ocracoke, and a second ferry from Ocracoke to Hatteras. Is there any other ferry option that would work better for the Virginia to Hatteras trip? Do you think taking the ferry (ferries) will save us time, versus driving down OBX in Saturday traffic? Thanks for your time.
Written 15 March 2016
I concur with Ms. Sheila; you would be missing out on a wonderful drive. Especially coming down from Virginia; hit Hwy. 12 and enjoy the ride. White sands beaches, abundance of wildlife and the locals; will take the time to assist you in your commute.
Written 16 March 2016
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