calico jack's ferry

There is not much to say about it. It's closed. The Park Service gave exclusive ferry service rights to some other company. The property is for sale.

My Girl Scout troop was lucky enough to be able to be given a wonderful tour by the outstanding captain at Calico Jacks. We approached our trip to Shackleford Banks and the lighthouse not quite as excited as we could have been because of the ridiculous government shut down, but thanks to the spectacular folks many the captain of our boat, my troop had a wonderful experience. He took the time to tell the girls stories, to follow sea life as it jumped from the water, get as close to the wild horses as he could with out "being on the island". It was a wonder history lesson, because he KNEW the history, he watched some of the history first hand. I was looking forward to taking another trip this October with hopes of the government allowing my girls to visit the island and lighthouse, but I am really second guessing the trip due the government once again ruining what was a wonderful experience. Why can't the leave well enough alone? The services of Calico Jack's will forever be missed!

We had a great experience getting out to the Cape Lookout light for the day. The ride was smooth on the way out and the ride back was too despite a storm coming. I look forward to returning and using Calico Jack's to get back out to the most beautiful beaches I have ever been to.

I reviewed this business a couple years ago - but wanted to follow up on the National Park Service taking over all the ferry operations to Cape Lookout. What a shame that local ferry operators on Harkers Island can no longer transport visitors to the wonderful Cape Lookout Lighthouse. You should take the time to read Calico Jack's "comment section on the NPS takeover" on their website. If you read this you will further understand why this is not only a TRAVESTY but a TRAGEDY. Another classic example of the government taking a perfectly good situation that benefits EVERYONE and turning it into a situation that benefits only the (guess who?) GOVERNMENT! Totally sad to see this happening - but then the government is screwing up everything else. My condolences to the former ferry operators of Harkers Island and Calico Jacks in particular.

Calico was very accommodating .The facility was clean and timely. We arranged to have a pick up at 5pm from the island and due to the 90 degree day, they picked us up early. We would use this service in the future.

For $10 per person you can go over to the Lighthouse and spend as long as you want there. They leave twice an hour and return once. You get to pass Shackelford and see the wild horses on the way over. The staff is friendly and the trip is well organized and they stop to allow picture taking.

We lucked out on our trips over and back--saw dolphins less than 20 feet away and a very young foal among the ponies.The captain was pleasant and accommodating, and the ride was fast and fun and refreshing on a hot day. Only thing I wish had been different--we went the last week in August, and the trips back from the island ran only every hour instead of every half hour. The timing was a little off for us--we would have liked to have left sooner to get on to our next destination--but it was a minor inconvenience.

The boat captains were great but since the Federal Gov it taking over the ferries next year I guess Calico Jack is mad but he has a real attitude.He told our friends that dogs aren't allowed even though their dog was in the back seat of the car.Mrs. Calico snapped at a lady when she asked if there was a restroom??Oh well I guess we don't need to worry about him next year.

Went on their Carolina Skiff today. The ride over was pretty nice but the wind came up pretty high and the ride back to Harker's Island was a bit rough. Felt very safe though, the captain was very safety conscience and made us aware of what to expect. We would use this company again.

I love this ferry!- but the thing that annoys the deck out of me is the fact that they advertise a 10 dollar ride but wont charge unless you have 20 dollars or more. Im on vacation, and by myself, I get there early, but then because Im only 10 dollars by myself, I have to run up and down the island looking for an ATM in time so I can get on. Its irritating to have the added stress of trying to get money in time, and more than a little irritating that instead of them having to pay a minuscule fee from my card, Im paying an extra 2.50-3.00 in bank fees. This is the modern age. I expect this out of a cafe or service in say Atlantic or Cedar Island, but this is literally 10 miles from Beaufort, and they need to come up to the modern age. Also, another thing I find annoying is that if you are there and theres not enough for the ferry, they wont take your money and basically ignore you even though its 8:45 AM on a beautiful day. (meaning a lot of people are coming or will come.) Its pretty disrespectful.That said, once on the boat its wonderful. The captains as a rule are very nice, knowledgeable, and do their best to see you have a good time. Really, if they could fix their customer service when you walk in, it would be 5 stars easily.

The Capt and his wife and crew are always very safe and accommodating. They go out of their way to tell you facts about the area. We love the little store to grab snacks and the bathrooms are always clean.

We love this service! They are helpful and efficient! They run every half hour to the Cape, which is great! The staff helped me find the Conch Tours that you can use on the Cape. The staff is knowledgeable about the area. There were some do,phones nearby so our captain went right over so we could see them! Thanks for this as we have never seen them. They have changing rooms and bathrooms that are nice and cleanLast year we used them to go to Shackleford and the Cape. Consider doing this as you can get to the other end of Shackleford than the companies in Beaufort take you to.They say this is the last year for ferry service due to the NPS contract. I hope it is not true! We will miss you.

Friendly and knowledgeable service to Cape Lookout. Reasonable prices and they will pick you up from the cape at the time you set. They also have a very clean changing facility and restroom at their dock. Took us past Shackleford Banks to see the wild horses. We stayed on Atlantic Beach and the 30 minute drive to the dock was fine.

Captain Matt was great gave us info about the area on the boat trip over and miss Sara in the office was nice and very helpful

Love this ferry service - feels like you've known them forever - knowledgeable about the area - family atmosphere