The island for the day
No rental house required. The ferry runs every day, and a lot fits between the morning boat and the evening one.
You don't need a week to see Bald Head Island. Park in Southport, ride the passenger ferry for about 20 minutes, and you can be climbing Old Baldy a few minutes after you step off the boat. Here's how a day trip works, with the prices and times from each operator's own website.
How the day works
Park in Southport and ride over
Leave the car at Deep Point Marina, 1301 Ferry Road SE in Southport, where the General Lot is $13 a day, and buy a $23 round-trip ticket ($12 for ages 3 to 12) online, in the Bald Head Island Ferry app, or at the window. Morning boats leave Deep Point at 7, 8, and 9am, then 10:30 and noon, and the crossing takes about 20 minutes.
Walk to Old Baldy
North Carolina's oldest standing lighthouse is about a five-minute walk from the landing along Lighthouse Wynd. Climb its 108 steps, then visit the Smith Island Museum of History in the keeper's cottage. In the fall it's open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm, and it closes for January and February. For the guided history tour by golf cart, take the 10:30am boat over.
Get some wheels, or walk
Only licensed drivers may drive a golf cart, and both island rental companies require renters to be 21 or older. Island Adventure Cart Rentals, next to the ferry landing, rents a four-seater for a half day ($50) or a full day ($90), and Cary Cart Company's hut by the landing rents by the day. Bikes cost less: Coastal Urge on Maritime Way rents cruisers for about $25 a day, and Riverside Outdoor Recreation rents bikes at the marina.
Lunch by the water
The marina has the closest food: seafood baskets on the deck at Jules' Salty Grub & Island Pub, pizza and cocktails at Will O' The Wisp (Thursday to Saturday in the fall), and coffee and ice cream at Sandpiper. With wheels, mid-island adds the Maritime Market's cafe on Maritime Way and Jailhouse Provisions in the old police station on Edward Teach Extension.
Find a beach
West Beach is within walking distance of Harbour Village, and with a cart or bike every public beach access is in reach. There are no lifeguards on the island's beaches, so swim with care, and the public restrooms are at Marina Park, by the marina.
Catch a boat back
Afternoon boats leave the island at 2:15, 3:45, and 5:15, and evening boats at 6:30, 7:30, and 8:30. Later boats run until 11pm from April through October and 10pm from November through March, a little later on Fridays and Saturdays.
Where to eat near the ferry
Eat & drink
Jules' Salty Grub & Island Pub
A harborside pub at the entrance to the marina: Calabash-style seafood baskets, burgers and po'boys, a summer sushi bar, and a pet-friendly deck facing the ferries.
Marina
Eat & drink
Will O' The Wisp
The marina's pizza and cocktail bar: build-your-own or signature pies in 9 or 18 inches, salads, hoagies, wine, frozen drinks, and island-named cocktails.
Marina
Eat & drink
Sandpiper Coffee & Ice Cream
Coffee, espresso drinks, smoothies, pastries, grab-and-go breakfast, and Tar Heel Creamery ice cream, steps from the ferry landing at the marina.
Marina
Wheels for the day
Licensed drivers only on golf carts, and renters must be 21. Bikes go everywhere carts do.
Getting around
Island Adventure Cart Rentals
EZ-GO golf cart rentals next to the ferry landing: 4- and 6-passenger carts by the half day, day, week, or month. Every driver must be 21 or older with a valid license.
Marina
Getting around
Cary Cart Company
Golf cart rentals from a hut by the ferry landing: 4- and 6-passenger carts (some enclosed) by the day or longer, booked online and picked up when you arrive. Renters must be 21 with a license.
Marina
Activity
Riverside Adventure Company
A clothing and gift shop steps from the ferry, plus rentals through Riverside Outdoor Recreation: bikes and e-bikes, kayaks, paddleboards, surfboards, and beach chairs and umbrellas.
Marina
Activity
Coastal Urge
Rentals and outfitting on Maritime Way: bikes, beach chairs and umbrellas, paddleboards, kayaks, and surf lessons, plus a store stocked with Patagonia, YETI, and Lilly Pulitzer.
On the island
Around the landing
Quick answers
- Can you go to Bald Head Island for the day?
- Yes. The passenger ferry runs every day from Deep Point Marina in Southport. Park for $13, buy a $23 round-trip ticket, and you can walk to Old Baldy within minutes of landing; carts and bikes rent by the day near the ferry.
- Ferry timetable
- Do you need a ferry reservation?
- Reservations are optional, and walk-up riders board from the standby line, but booking ahead is the way to lock in your time, especially on summer weekends.
- Getting here
- How long is the ferry ride?
- About 20 minutes across the mouth of the Cape Fear River, from Deep Point Marina to the island marina.
- Can you bring a bike or a dog?
- Bikes can ride along with an oversized baggage ticket, or you can rent one on the island. Dogs ride on the ferry's outside decks, and on the island they must be restrained at all times.
- Can you drive a golf cart without a license?
- No. Only licensed drivers may drive a golf cart on the island, the Village fines unlicensed drivers $250, and both rental companies require renters to be 21 or older.
- Getting around