A visit to Amelia Island is incomplete without a tour of our scenic waterways.
Amelia River Cruises & Charters provides narrated, historic and wildlife sightseeing tours with views of dolphins, manatees, sea otters, alligators, and the wild horses of Cumberland Island National Seashore. Our tours are offered in the morning, afternoon and at sunset; with special trips available for group charters.
In the summer, we offer educational shrimping eco-tours led by a naturalist. We also can do weddings, funerals, birthday parties, business meetings, and other special events.
Open 7 days/Week: July 23 – Aug 4, 9am – 7:30pm Aug 5 – Sept 1, 9am – 7pm Sept 2 – Sept 22, 9am – 6:30pm Sept 23 – Oct 20, 9am – 6pm Oct 21 – Nov 2, 9am – 5:30pm Nov 3 – Nov 27, 9am – 4:30pm Nov 28, – 9am – 10am Nov 29 – Nov 30, 9am – 4:30pm
Open 6 days/Week: Dec 2 – Dec 23, 9am – 2:30pm Dec 24 – Dec 25, CLOSED Dec 26 – Dec 31, 9am – 2:30pm
Maritime weddings are believed to have begun around the year 1,000. While we haven't been doing weddings on our boats quite that long, Amelia River Cruises & Charters has been offering a unique wedding venue on the pristine waters that lap the shores of Amelia and Cumberland Islands for over 20 years.
Getting married on the water is fun and unique. A picturesque backdrop of maritime forests, wilderness shorelines, the historic marina, or a pre-civil war era fort will help any couple make a memorable wedding experience. Look for playful dolphins and wild horses to show up for the special occasion. Cruise past popular landmarks, shrimp boats, or include a breathtaking Amelia Island sunset.
You have so many choices with a boat wedding. Options include a choice of three different sized boats, all of which have restroom facilities. You can choose the length of your cruise, live music, personalized catering, or bring your own. In fact, some couples have the ceremony before getting onboard, after boarding the ship, or sometimes the boat is a perfect rehearsal dinner option. Often, a wedding on the water is less expensive, too. Decorations are provided by Mother Nature, and sunsets, wild horses and dolphins may be on your guest list at no additional charge.
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a unique way to build up your team? Think about a unique business meeting venue, like a boat. We offer 45, 89, and 149 passenger boats that can be used for an outing or catered, complete with food, music, and beverages for a meeting to impress the most challenging team.
Imagine the coastal views, wild horse, historic landmarks, and playful dolphin surrounding you while you brain storm and build cooperation among your staff. Forget the suit and tie, online meetings, or a stuffy golf course; have a little fun at your next business meeting. And yes, we have restrooms onboard.
Amenities:
Fully accessible for wheel chairs and scooters. We keep a wheelchair in our ticket kiosk in case the pitch of the ramp on the dock make a guest uncomfortable.
History plus wildlife tour!
The crew was amazing. Incredibly knowledgeable about the history of Amelia and Cumberland. Also a little good humor in there,also! We will definitely take a different tour next time we are on Amelia.
Well worth it!
Awesome experience. We did a Sunday afternoon in November and toured up through Cumberland Island. Cpt John’s history narration was the highlight. We’ve lived here for a number of years, and I learned more about the history of the area in these two hours, than the last five years. we also saw the wild horses, various birds, and pods of dolphins that seemed eager to swim right up and under the boat. Also, if you are concerned about things like the water being rough or seasickness, don’t be. You stay pretty much in the river and with the size and stability of these very large pontoon-style boats, it is not an issue. Highly recommend. Keep up the great work!
Beautiful! Relaxing! Fantastic!
We 4 women on our last night in town wanted to go on a sunset boat ride. We then found out there was one BYOB, adults only, no narrative talking, a very talented young woman singing!!! Wahoo!!! The weather was perfect! We saw horses on Cumberland Island! We saw a wedding party getting pictures taken at the Fort State Park! We saw dolphins! As we were headed back in, the storm & clouds were coming in behind us!! We were able to see the night shrimp boat working too!! It was a fantastic and fun 2 1/2 hour boat ride!! Thanks!!
Lofton Creek was lovely in November
We loved our kayak trip up Lofton Creek over Veteran's Day. There were so many wild purple asters in bloom and we enjoyed the fall colors. Our guide "Paddlin' Madelyn" was very knowledgeable about the ecology of the river.
What a Lovely Experience!
What a fun little informative, picturesque excursion out in the water! We choose to take the 1 hour sunset cruise and so glad we did! The first 30 minutes the captain shares a lot of information about the town of Fernandina Beach along with a bit of history as well! The second half of the tour relaxing music is being played while you can snap some photos, chat with travelers and enjoy the beauty around you! We saw plenty of dolphins on our cruise as well as varies birds, and even wild houses (from afar on Cumberland Island) . Don’t forget to pack a small cooler with a beverage or 2 and even a small snack if you’d like, they welcome you too!