Georgia · Georgia Department of Natural Resources (state-run Sapelo Island passenger ferry)
~25 min
Georgia Department of Natural Resources (state-run Sapelo Island passenger ferry)
From $15.00
Georgia Coast
Next departure
LIVE
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Weekly pattern from the Sapelo Island NERR ferry schedule (version dated September 14, 2025), checked October 15, 2026. Meridian departures lead; Sapelo departures are listed separately. Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday/Thursday differ from Monday, Wednesday and Friday, which is the base pattern shown here.
Departures 1–10 / 10
Departures 1–10 / 10
Crossing time
~25 min
Operator
Georgia Department of Natural Resources (state-run Sapelo Island passenger ferry)
Map – Sapelo Island Ferry
Fare type
Price
Public tour, adult (13 and up), per the SINERR tour page
$15.00
Public tour, child (6-12), per the SINERR tour page
$10.00
Guest of a permanent resident, per trip (state rule)
$5.00
Permanent resident or dependent, each way (state rule)
$1.00
Permanent resident annual pass (state rule)
$25.00
There is no public ticket counter. SINERR says the ferry needs an advance reservation, that only island landowners (private landowners, Georgia DNR, SINERR and UGAMI/LTER) can make ferry reservations, and that every visitor must be pre-registered by a landowning host who books for them; ferry tickets are sold only to visitors on a scheduled public tour. SINERR's public-tour page lists $15 for ages 13 and up, $10 for ages 6-12 and free for ages 5 and under, booked by phone at 912-437-3224; it does not say whether that price is the ferry ticket or a separate charge. The state rule on ferry fees (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 391-4-6-.06, read on Cornell LII) sets $1.00 each way or a $25 annual pass for permanent residents and dependents, $5.00 per round trip or one-way trip for guests of residents, and a round-trip $15 adult / $10 child ticket for participants in DNR tours and other visitors; children under six ride free. The rule was last amended with effect from February 12, 2013, and no newer confirmation of those amounts was found, so check current fees with the Visitors Center. The UGAMI page says UGAMI users pay $5 round trip, cash or check. All fares in US dollars (USD).
The Sapelo Island ferry is a state-run passenger boat between the mainland landing at Meridian, near Darien, and Sapelo Island, a barrier island with no road or bridge connection to the mainland. Georgia's Department of Natural Resources runs it. The Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve (SINERR) posts the timetable and answers calls at its Visitors Center, 912-437-3224. The crossing takes 20 to 30 minutes, and the boat carries people, not cars.
This is not a walk-up ferry. SINERR describes Sapelo as having restricted visitation and says advance reservations are required. Only island landowners can make them, a group SINERR defines as private landowners, Georgia DNR, SINERR and the UGA Marine Institute and its long-term research program, and every visitor has to be pre-registered by a landowning host. For travelers without a host, SINERR says ferry tickets are sold only to people on a scheduled public tour. Those tours run on Wednesdays and on Saturdays except the last Saturday of the month, and the tour page lists $15 for ages 13 and up, $10 for ages 6 to 12 and free for ages 5 and under.
The timetable changes by weekday. Monday, Wednesday and Friday boats leave Sapelo at 7:00 a.m., noon and 4:30 p.m. and leave Meridian at 8:30 a.m., 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. On Tuesday and Thursday the midday Sapelo boat moves to 2:30 p.m. Saturday starts an hour later, and Sunday has a morning and an afternoon pair, plus an extra 2:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. pair on the first and second Sundays of the month. The ferry does not run on New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Day, Thanksgiving Day or Christmas Day.
Guests are asked to arrive 15 minutes before departure. Parking for the ferry is at the SINERR Visitors Center, and a state rule last amended in February 2013 sets a lower fare of $1.00 each way for residents; confirm current amounts with the Visitors Center. Bicycles, canoes, lawn and beach chairs, oversized coolers and boxes, folding tables and fuel cannot go aboard.
Arrive at the terminal several minutes before departure; vehicle lanes close earlier than the foot-passenger gate.
Check the operator's service alerts before you set out — weather, tides and vessel maintenance change sailings.
Confirm accepted payment methods: some crossings are card-only and some take cash only.
Frequently asked questions
No. SINERR says Sapelo has restricted visitation and that advance reservations are required. Only island landowners can make ferry reservations, and each visitor must be pre-registered by a landowning host. SINERR also says ferry tickets are sold only to visitors on a scheduled public tour.
SINERR says the ride takes 20 to 30 minutes between Meridian and Sapelo Island.
On Monday, Wednesday and Friday the boat leaves Meridian at 8:30 a.m., 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. and leaves Sapelo at 7:00 a.m., noon and 4:30 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday use 2:30 p.m. instead of noon from Sapelo. Saturday and Sunday differ; the schedule table on this page shows each day.
SINERR lists public tours at $15 for ages 13 and up and $10 for ages 6-12, with ages 5 and under free; ferry tickets are sold only with a scheduled tour. A Georgia DNR rule sets $5.00 for a resident's guest and $1.00 each way for permanent residents, but that rule was last amended in 2013, so confirm with the Visitors Center at 912-437-3224. The tour page does not say whether the $15 tour price includes the ferry.
No. SINERR calls it a passenger-only ferry. Parking for the ferry is at the SINERR Visitors Center, 1766 Landing Rd SE, Darien, and handicap parking is at the dock.
SINERR lists New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day as days with no ferry. SINERR's tour page adds that the ferry skips a run only if the seas are too rough for safe passage. The schedule says the ferry does not run on most major holidays, so for any other holiday confirm with the Visitors Center at 912-437-3224.
SINERR lists bicycles, canoes, lawn or beach chairs, oversized boxes and coolers, folding tables and chairs, and liquid and flammable fuel. Pets may not go in the cabin and need proof of rabies vaccination, and they are not allowed on state tours.
Arrive no later than 15 minutes before departure. Public-tour guests check in at the Visitors Center first; private-tour guests check in with ferry staff.