Rockland – Vinalhaven Ferry

The Maine State Ferry Service, run by the Maine Department of Transportation, operates the Rockland-Vinalhaven route, the busiest of the six island lines it runs out of Rockland. The crossing covers about 15 miles of Penobscot Bay and takes roughly 1 hour and 15 minutes each way, with six round trips a day, every day, in the current summer schedule (March 9 - November 1, 2026). All tickets are round trip only; there is no one-way fare, and unused tickets do not expire. Passenger, commuter and bicycle tickets can be bought online in advance, but a ticket alone does not guarantee a seat on a specific sailing unless it is tied to a reservation. Vehicles are the real logistics challenge on this route. Reservations open one month before the travel date and can be made by phone starting at 9:30 am or in person at the Rockland terminal starting at 7:00 am for Vinalhaven sailings; they go off sale two hours before departure and carry a non-refundable $17 reservation fee on top of the vehicle fare. Anyone without a reservation who wants to bring a vehicle back from Vinalhaven must call the island terminal at 5:30 am the day before travel to get a line number; non-reserved vehicles otherwise queue on a strict first-come, first-served basis and boarding order is only confirmed once loading starts. Fares follow a peak season (June 1 - September 30) and a lower off-peak season (October 1 - May 31). A round-trip adult passenger ticket is $23.00 in peak season and $15.75 off-peak; a standard vehicle round trip is $55.00 peak and $41.50 off-peak. Bicycles, motorcycles and trucks (charged per foot) have their own published rates. The service runs year-round, including winter, when Sunday sailings drop from six trips to four.