Trip Destinations Wrightsville Water Tours & Taxi and The Cape Fear Naturalist
offer a wide variety of tours and excursions for visitors to the beach
and year-round residents alike. Whether it’s a quick hour’s turn
around the harbor or a day long birding trip to a pristine wetland pine
savannah, you’ll see more, learn more and enjoy more. Around Wrighstville Beach The One Hour Harbor Cruise -
Set sail on the Shamrock for a cruise around Wrightsville Beach’s
Harbor Island - the island which separates the barrier island of
the beach proper from the mainland. Locations of historical,
ecological and cultural note will be featured. Tours depart
daily Monday-Saturday at 11am and 1pm.Cost - $25/person. Bid farewell to the setting sun with a 1 ½ hour Sunset Cruise.
Wrighsville Water Taxi offers several versions of its famed Sunset
Cruise to celebrate the sunset. All sunset cruises depart the
Blockade Runner Dock at 6:30 pm and return at 8:00 pm. Earlier
Spring and Fall. Routes vary with season. weather, and whim on the Basic Sunset Cruise but
may include Masonboro Island, Figure Eight Island, Bradley Creek, Money
Island or some other combination. Water, marsh, Shamrock, sunset
– it’s a simple combination but very satisfying.
Cost: $25
Combine Wrightsville Water Taxi’s popular Sunset Cruise with a catered dinner from one the area’s fine restaurants on a Sunset Dinner Cruise. Call for full details - cost varies with number of passengers, destination and menu. Ideal for special occasions.
Salute the setting sun with a proper toast on a Sunset Wine Tasting Cruise.
This cruise combines the Sunset Cruise with a sampling of fine wines
and light music. Cost varies with number of passengers. By
special arrangement only. Explore Masonboro Island Masonboro
Island is a pristine, undeveloped 8 ½ mile long barrier island located
just south of Wrightsville Beach. This ecological jewel and its
miles of unspoiled beaches is accessible only by boat. Let Wrightsville
Water Taxi and the Cape Fear Naturalist not only take you there, but
help you truly explore it. In season the Shamrock makes daily Masonboro Island Shuttle
trips to Masonboro for those who wish to spend a beach day far from the
madding crowd. Bring lunch, water, beach gear and
sunscreen. Shamrock leaves the dock Monday - Saturday at 9:00 am.
Return from Masonboro at 3:00 pm. Roundtrip
cost - $20/adult, $10/children under 12. Reservations strongly
recommended. Build your shell collection on a Masonboro Island Shelling Tour.
The Cape Fear Naturalist offers guided 1 ½ hour shelling trips several
times per week during the summer, providing boat, captain, collection
bags and a knowledgeable guide. Cost - $35/person For
an in-depth introduction to the fascinating and complex ecosystem of
Masonboro Island spend a full morning or afternoon (three hours)
with the Cape Fear Naturalist as part of the Masonboro Island Environmental Program.
Learn to identify the unique shells, plants and birds that can be found
on barrier island. Measure water quality in a Tidal Creek and learn how
it affects local marine invertebrates. Beach, marsh, creek
and maritime forest will each be visited. Led by trained
naturalists and experienced educators. Cost - $50/person. Pirate Cruises to Money Island Visit fabled
Money Island with a costumed Pirate guide on a 2 1/2 hour cruise to
what is rumored to be the spot where the legendary Captain Kidd buried
his ill-gotten booty. This tour begins and ends at the
Wrightsville Beach Museum every Thursday afternoon in season. In
addition to Captain Kidd, you'll also learn about all the other pirates
who plied these waters such as the ferocious Blackbeard and Stede
Bonnett, the gentleman pirate. $30/adult and $20 per child. Group
rates and private trips are available. Come Fishing With Us Fishing from the beach or pier is fun, but the big fish are in the deeper water. Join us on Shamrock for our twice weekly Inland Bottom Fishing
cruises. The Cape Fear Naturalist provides rod, tackle, bait and
license as well as local knowledge. Try your luck going after flounder,
bluefish and sea bass on a two hour fishing trip to the teeming and
beautiful waters of Masonboro Sound.Cost includes guide and all necessary licenses - $20/Adults, $10/children under 12. Cape Fear Birding Tours Captain
Joe Abbate is also known as Avian Biologist Joe Abbate. Come see the
many and varied birds of the Cape Fear Region with a true expert.
Learn more about salt marsh ecology while looking for some of the amazing Waterbirds of Masonboro Island.
The Red-Breasted Merganser, Bufflehead, Lesser Yellowlegs and the
Common Loon are just a few of the species you can expect to see on this
hour and a half trip aboard Shamrock. Cost - $35/person
Take
advantage of a rare opportunity to visit Hutaff Island, a small
unspoiled barrier island and Audubon Sanctuary Island north of Figure
Eight Island, with a knowledgeable guide to the Shorebirds of Hutaff Island.
Keep your eyes open for sights of Piping Plover, the Common Tern,
Hooded Merganser and the Western Sandpiper. Pack a lunch and bring your
binoculars for this 4 hour tour. Cost - $65/person
There are
more birds than can be seen by Shamrock alone and The Cape Fear
Naturalist is your means to see them. Call to arrange a guided birding
expedition to other birding hotspots in the the Cape Fear region. How
about a trip by electric canoe through the cypresses of
Willmington's Greenfield Lake
looking for Cormorant, Anhingas, Black Night Herons, Widgeon and
Gadwall? Or explore the maritime forest of Carolina Beach State
Park on a Songbird Walk? Or a nature excursion to a Long Leaf Pine Savannah in the endangered Green Swamp
in search of the rare Red Cockaded Woodpecker among the carnivorous
plants? Let the Cape Fear Naturalist tell you all
about the area's opportunities.
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