Discovery Tours
(Available by Request for Groups of 30 or More)
The Port of Fernandina is strategically located at the intersection of the Intracoastal Waterway, the St. Marys River and the St. Marys Inlet, to the Atlantic Ocean. It’s because of this location that our history is so rich. The very first explorers recognized this and settled on our shores. These ancient highways that once transported Explorers, Missionaries, Settlers, and yes even Pirates, today give us access up and down the coast to many of these historic destinations.
After years of offering informative narrated sightseeing tours, Amelia River Cruises has begun our Discovery Tours. This is a series of day long adventures exploring distant shores. Each tour will include a three to five hour cruise to our final destination. With historians and naturalists onboard and local tour guides along the way, you will be able to appreciate the true splendor of this coastal region.
Kingsley Plantation/Fort Caroline
Includes a scenic two hour cruise from Fernandina Harbor down the Intracoastal Waterway along the entire western shore of Amelia Island through the Timucuan Ecological and Historical Preserve. We will stop at the Kingsley Plantation for a tour of the grounds and access to the oldest surviving plantation house in Florida built in 1797, compliments of a National Park Service tour guide. The cruise will then take us along the Fort George River for lunch at the Ribault Club built in 1928 for the affluent much like the Millionaires Club on Jekyll Island Ga.
Today it has been restored and hosts special events. Back on board we will cruise south along the intracoastal and enter the St. Johns River and make our final stop docking at Fort Caroline National Memorial, the site of the restored fort constructed by the French Huguenot explorer Rene de Laudoniere in 1564 as one of the first permanent settlements in North America. Our tour of the fort will be narrated by a National Park Service tour guide. At the completion of our tour we will board a motor coach and make another stop at the Ribault Monument atop St. Johns Bluff with a commanding view of the St. Johns River. Back onboard the bus we will make our return trip to Fernandina Harbor.
Jekyll Island Club
Visit the Jekyll Island Club and arrive by boat much like the club members did a century ago. This tour includes a four hour cruise along the entire western shore line of Great Cumberland Island, most of which today is part of Cumberland Island National Seashore and Little Cumberland Island Georgia. Explore the less traveled backwater creeks with views of what remains of the Carnegie mansions along the way. Captain Kevin McCarthy and his wife Cecilia will share their personal family history, which is intertwined with the history of the island going back to the time of James Oglethorpe who first brought Cecilia’s ancestor here in 1737.
Crossing the St. Andrews Sound will give us views of the old lighthouse on the northern tip of Little Cumberland Island with the Atlantic Ocean on our east and the south end of Jekyll Island to the north. A few miles upriver the Jekyll Island Club will come into view. The island was purchased in 1885 by a group of northern businessmen, as a winter resort. It’s members included Henry Hyde, Marshall Field, J. P. Morgan, Joseph Pulitzer, and William Vanderbuilt to name a few. Today it has been transformed into an elegant resort.
The Jekyll Island Club Hotel is the only four star resort on Jekyll Island and a National Historic Landmark. A short walk from the boat you will enter the club and enjoy a gourmet lunch in the club’s Main Dining Room. When lunch is completed our guests will enjoy a trolley tour of the grounds and cottages, then return to Fernandina onboard a motor coach.
St. Augustine
Rediscover the Ancient City of St Augustine. This cruise will give you a whole new appreciation for the incredible rich history of Northeast Florida. Your cruise will begin from the Historic Port of Fernandina and will be captained by Kevin McCarthy along with his wife, Cecilia, the owners of Amelia River Cruises & Charters. Kevin will share his vast knowledge of the region and invite other historians and naturalists to join us and share their insight throughout the cruise.
This tour will take us along the entire western shoreline of Amelia Island, then into the Timucuan Ecological and Historical Preserve. Along the journey you will enjoy views of the vast marsh lands that make up the preserve and catch a glimpse of the Kingsley Plantation as we pass by.
Crossing the St. Johns River careful to avoid the large ships making their way to port, we will then enter the Intracoastal Waterway and travel under each of the bridges that cross the waterway in Duval and St. Johns counties. Ultimately we enter the Guana River Marsh Aquatic Preserve. As we cruise through the preserve the signs of civilization completely disappear. You can almost imagine yourself as one of those original explorers as very little has changed on this part of the waterway.
We will then stop for lunch at a popular Intracoastal Waterway restaurant. Cap’s On the Water is one of those Old Florida waterfront restaurants, with an open air oyster bar, seating under the scrub oaks that shade your table, with a view of the river, an extensive wine list and not surprisingly an excellent seafood menu. After our relaxing lunch we will return back onboard for the last leg of the cruise to our final destination the Ancient City of St. Augustine; arriving there early enough for some sightseeing and shopping. Finely we board a motor coach for the return to Fernandina Harbor.
