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Maine Island Ferries: Routes and Day-Trip Planning
Ten islands with scheduled service, ordered by how realistic a day trip is. Crossing times and operators, but not timetables: those change too often to be worth repeating here.
Maine island ferry planning starts with a route and a travel date. The mainland terminal, island landing and return sailing matter as much as the crossing itself. Compare the connections below, then use the operator’s timetable for the day you intend to travel before treating an island visit as a day trip.
How far out each island is
Crossing times on one axis, easiest first. The gap between the seventeen-minute hop to Peaks and the two hours to Matinicus is the whole difference between an afternoon and a trip you have to book a bed for.
One-way crossing time, not a schedule. How long you actually get ashore depends on the day’s sailings, which change several times a year — check the operator, and plan around the last boat back.
Every route, in detail
| Island | From | Crossing | Cars | Day trip |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peaks IslandThe easiest island in Maine to visit. Frequent boats all day, a loop road you can walk or cycle in a couple of hours, and food near the landing. | PortlandCasco Bay Lines | 17 min | Yes | Easy |
| IslesboroThe shortest state ferry crossing, twenty minutes from the beach at Lincolnville. Long and thin, so bring a bicycle or a car. | LincolnvilleMaine State Ferry Service | 20 min | Yes | Easy |
| Cranberry IslesGreat and Little Cranberry, minutes off Mount Desert Island, with a museum on Islesford and lunch at the dock. | Northeast Harbor or Southwest HarborCranberry Cove Ferry and Beal and Bunker | 30 min | Foot only | Easy |
| Swans IslandA short hop from the quiet side of Mount Desert Island to a working island with a good beach and very little else. | Bass HarborMaine State Ferry Service | 40 min | Yes | Workable |
| MonheganAn artists’ island with no cars and seventeen miles of trails on a square mile of rock. The day-trip window is short; most people wish they had stayed over. | Port Clyde, Boothbay Harbor or New HarborMonhegan Boat Line and others | 60 min | Foot only | Workable |
| North HavenSmaller and gentler than Vinalhaven across the Thorofare, with a village you can see on foot from the landing. | RocklandMaine State Ferry Service | 70 min | Yes | Workable |
| Chebeague IslandQuieter and much larger than Peaks. The long boat down the bay is half the point; there is also a shorter crossing from Cousins Island. | PortlandCasco Bay Lines | 75 min | Foot only | Workable |
| VinalhavenA working fishing island with quarries you can swim in. Big enough that a bicycle helps and a car is genuinely useful. | RocklandMaine State Ferry Service | 75 min | Yes | Workable |
| Isle au HautHalf of it is Acadia National Park, and almost nobody goes. Boats are few and the schedule is unforgiving; plan around the return rather than the outbound. | StoningtonIsle au Haut Boat Services | 45 min | Foot only | Overnight really |
| MatinicusThe furthest offshore community on the coast, with a handful of sailings a month. This is an overnight trip or no trip. | RocklandMaine State Ferry Service | 135 min | Yes | Overnight really |
Compare Maine island ferry connections
| Island | Mainland connection to check | Timetable owner |
|---|---|---|
| Peaks Island | Portland | Casco Bay Lines |
| Islesboro | Lincolnville | Maine State Ferry Service |
| Cranberry Isles | Northeast Harbor; separate Southwest Harbor/Manset service | Beal & Bunker and town transport information |
| Swan’s Island | Bass Harbor | Maine State Ferry Service |
| Monhegan | Port Clyde; other mainland routes have separate operators | Monhegan Boat Line |
| North Haven | Rockland | Maine State Ferry Service |
| Chebeague | Cousins Island; separate Portland connection | Chebeague Transportation Company and Casco Bay Lines |
| Vinalhaven | Rockland | Maine State Ferry Service |
| Isle au Haut | Stonington; landing depends on service | Isle au Haut Boat Services |
| Matinicus | Rockland | Maine State Ferry Service |
Which Casco Bay ticket fits a Portland island day?
Choose a passenger ticket for a walking island outing from Portland. Casco Bay Lines passenger tickets are round-trip; vehicle fares use separate conditions and include only the driver, with other passengers paying their own fares. A car-free island day therefore avoids making vehicle space the central booking decision. The operator runs year-round on seasonal schedules: its 2026 fall timetable is September 8–October 12, followed by the winter timetable beginning October 13. [1] [2] Keep each island trip tied to its mainland port. A Casco Bay ticket does not cover the Monhegan departures from New Harbor, and an island ferry is not a through coastal coach service. The three-day Portland itinerary gives a city-and-ferry visit a full day on the bay. Use the route tool below to keep departure ports distinct.
Sources (checked September 27–28, 2026)
- cascobaylines.com — Round-trip passenger tickets; vehicle ticket includes driver only; tariff priority; checked 2026-09-27.
- cascobaylines.com — Year-round service; Fall 2026 and Winter 2026/27 schedules; checked 2026-09-27.
Match the outbound and return sailings
Read the timetable for both directions, with the same travel date and the correct island landing. A departure in one direction does not establish a return later that day. Seasonal schedules, service days and disruption notices can change the practical choice.
Isle au Haut is not automatically an overnight-only destination: its boat operator describes day visits, including seasonal Duck Harbor access. The landing and schedule still decide what that particular trip permits. Do not transfer a Town Landing time to Duck Harbor or assume that every seasonal stop appears on every sailing.
Keep passenger and vehicle arrangements separate
A passenger ticket does not establish that you can take a car. Peaks Island has a vehicle ferry; Chebeague connections involve different passenger and vehicle arrangements depending on the route.
Do the same for bicycles, pets and freight. Their arrangements belong to the operator and route, not to an island-wide yes-or-no label. Mainland parking and the last return sailing are separate details worth settling before departure.
Crossing time is only part of a day trip
Allow the timetable to shape the visit instead of choosing solely by the shortest stated crossing. Boarding, stops at other landings and the time available before the return all affect the outing. An island served from several mainland ports cannot be represented accurately by one universal crossing duration.
Use the Rockland, Maine guide or Portland, Maine guide for the mainland part of the trip.
Sources: September 14, 2026 — Maine State Ferry Service, Casco Bay Lines, Chebeague Transportation Company, Isle au Haut Boat Services, Monhegan Boat Line, Town of Cranberry Isles, Beal & Bunker.
Common questions
Which Maine island is easiest to visit for a day?
Peaks Island from Portland. The crossing is seventeen minutes, boats run all day, and you can walk or cycle the loop road in an afternoon. Islesboro from Lincolnville is the next easiest at about twenty minutes.
Can you take a car to a Maine island?
On the state ferries, yes: Islesboro, Vinalhaven, North Haven, Swans Island and Matinicus all carry vehicles, though reservations matter in summer and space is limited. Monhegan, Isle au Haut and the Cranberries are foot passengers only, and Peaks is walkable enough that most day visitors leave the car behind.
Which islands are not worth attempting in a day?
Matinicus and Isle au Haut. Matinicus has only a handful of sailings a month and Isle au Haut's schedule leaves very little time ashore. Both are overnight trips, and treating them otherwise is how people get stranded.
Where do I find the actual departure times?
From the operator, every time. Schedules change several times a year, differ between weekdays, weekends and holidays, and get cancelled for weather, so a timetable copied onto a travel site is wrong within months — and the cost of it being wrong is someone stranded on an island. This page carries the things that change rarely and links to each operator for the things that do not. Plan around the last boat back rather than the first one out, and on the state ferries book a vehicle space well ahead in July and August.
