Ocracoke – Cedar Island Ferry

This Ferry is a 2 hr 15 minute ride. You can either take it from Cerar Island to Ocracoke or Visa Versa. We chose to catch it from the Outer Banks from the Ocracoke side going to Cedar Island. Its a great ride to relax… enjoy the Atlantic and maybe even catch some Z-Z-Z’s in your car (which is what I saw many Mom and Pop’s doing. We chose to get out of our car walk around It was a stormy day, so there was a big group of us taking pictures of the lightning on the
fun! I got a great shot of the lightning (which is now my Screen Saver on my computer). The ferry is followed the WHOLE way by seagulls. They have been so domesticated by the tourists/​locals that they will even take the food out of your hand. We are locals and we take all our visiting friends and families on the ferry to the Outer banks and we tell them, if your going to feed the seagulls, be prepared to get the «Fall Out» from them like 10 minutes later… literally! It goes right through them.
There are Bathrooms on board. Cleanliness is not their main concern, but to know there is facilities is reasurring. There is a closed in area with seating. They have tables where we found lots of people playing cards or reading. Even during the stormy weather, the seas did not shake up the ferry, so I dont think being sea sick will be a factor.
There was no snack bar, so if your going to be hungry, take something on board. We took Pizza. I wrote about that in my review on «Ocracoke Pizza Company».
You HAVE to make reservations for this ferry. You also have to be there ½ hour prior to leaving, or you can lose your reserved spot. It cost us $ 15.00 dollars one way with 6 people in a van. Prices vary with your mode of transportation. One thing you can do, is park your car at one of the ports, walk-​on board and that costs $ 1.00. Or take a bike on board and bike the island. That will cost you $ 3.00.
Overall it’s a great way to get from port to port.

This is the first time that I’ve ever come to hate getting on a ferry.
My partner & I rushed to this ferry after getting off of one from Hatteras to Ocracoke. The one that we just got off runs every 30 mins. We found out that this one runs every 3 hours.
However, we had just gotten off the previous ferry. We had an hour until the next ferry. The problem was that it was going to take an hour to drive from one end of the Ocracoke Island to the other side. So, we zoomed.
One other thing, you gotta have reservations. You can do without a reservation but you’ll be set on the side as standby. We lucked out. We were the very last car allowed in and the only one without a reservation. We definitely didn’t want to wait 3 hours for the next ferry ride.
BUT, it sucked to discover that this ferry ride was 2 ½ hours long. Ok, not too bad at first. BUT, we had zoomed across the island with no stops. So, everyone else was eating lunch and drinking beverages. We had no lunch and we were hungry! (We boarded right at noon.) And, of course, the chips vending machine inside the ferry was broken. (And it didn’t help that there was no places to stop by for food right after you get off the ferry. You’re gonna drive at least 10 miles before you even see food.)
The 2 ½ hour ride was really a travel killer. It was too long that we planned a different way back home. No way in hell were we gonna go back for another ride.
This ferry ride is gonna cost you $ 15.00. That is, if you’re driving a regular car. The ferry itself is nice, clean and air-​conditioned. Once you get on, I suggest you rush inside to stake your claim on seating. If you’re not in the mood for a/​c, you can go up on top and enjoy the sun.
Suggestion: bring food and something to read.