hardy boat cruise

The cruise was relaxing, informative, and gorgeous at sunset. The Captain knew the history, geography, and culture of the coastline and islands. We would take this cruise again.

very nice cruise, small but comfortable boats, they limit the amount of people on the boats, which is good; reservations not needed, but recommended especially in summer season. we did the seal cruise, saw seals, in the water, not on the rocks like we wanted; cruise leaves at 12:00 SUNDAY after Labor Day, and if it's high tide, the seals will be in the water; they return to the rocks during low tide.

While on our recent extended family vacation, we decided to take the puffin cruise as it was something I had been interested in doing for many years. We were actually referred to Hardy Boat Cruises by Cap'n Fish cruises as they felt they were unable to make sure that one of our party would be able to lipread the guide on the boat due to her hearing loss. When calling Hardy Boat to see what kind of arrangements would be needed to ensure "lip-read"-ability, they were more than happy to accommodate and said that seating would be reserved on the upper level toward the front so that member of our party could fully participate in the cruise. When we arrived for the puffin cruise, we checked in about 40 minutes prior to the boat departing and were told that our seats were on top and set aside for us. It was wonderful to see that they followed through. Everyone enjoyed the cruise and the puffins, even though it was toward the end of the season and the puffins were in the process of leaving Eastern Egg Rock. We still saw quite a few puffins as well as the other seabirds that inhabit Eastern Egg Rock.We also had the fortunate experience of sailing the same cruise as Dr. Steve Kress and many of the Project Puffin staff and volunteers. What a huge wealth of knowledge aboard the ship and it was amazing hearing the story of how Project Puffin came about from Dr. Kress himself. We were able to purchase the Project Puffin book onboard the ship and have Dr. Kress autograph it.Binoculars are a must if if you want to see the puffins up close, also a camera with a good zoom lens is a must if you wish to capture your memories. I took over 200 pictures on the puffin cruise alone and got some good action shots as well.Finally, fill out the comment cards that the staff pass around toward the end of the cruise as you are sailing back to the harbor from Eastern Egg Rock. All completed cards are entered into a drawing for a free cruise of your choice on Hardy Boat Cruises. I happened to be the lucky winner on this particular cruise so I am looking forward to my next adventure with Hardy Boat Cruises.

We took the 5 pm Hardy boat Puffin Project boat tour this past July and it was fun, educational and filled with friendly people. We took our 7&9 yr old boys and they said seeing the puffins was their favorite part of our visit to Maine. We especially enjoyed the Audubon staff that was on board for this tour, and we saw quite a few puffins that day. We also saw some porpoises, harbor seals and many other unique birds. Go!

What a great trip, only an hour for a reasonable price, the crew was helpful and well informed. Snacks and drinks were available and affordable, friends went on the puffin trip and were impressed also.

Clean , friendly & fun .Couldn't ask for a better ride to Monhegan Is. ( Of course it was a picture perfect day .) The Island is beautiful . but less than user friendly . The trails are very rough & there is a painful lack of benches & places to rest out of the sun on a hot day .

This was a late afternoon cruise to an island where Puffins have successfully bred and flourished. The naturalist from the Audubon Society gave us a humorous and educational talk about all the sea birds that live on this island, and we were fortunate to see some puffins swimming in the water. The boat is the same one that ferries back and forth from Monhegan Island, so the captain and crew are very familiar with the area. It was a great way for us to watch the sunset and enjoy the water while learning about this adorable little bird!

No complaints here. Fun puffin and bird watching sunset cruise with Audubon expert. Really friendly staff and clean boat.

I've always wanted to see Puffins and was determined to get to them on this trip to Maine. What a professional operation! Great staff, especially the Captain (very competent and reassuring with life vest, life boat information, weather warnings). And the commentary from the Audubon Society affiliated guide was superb. One tip, get there EARLY. For a 5.30 departure, all the upper deck seats were already filled at 4.55! Have fun!

We took the boat out to Monhegan for a day trip this summer - it was easy, affordable and pretty quick. On the way back, grab some food at Shaws!The boat was pretty full - making a reservation the day before is probably a good idea if you're there in peak season. The day we traveled was right after a storm had come through - so on the morning trip out there was a good bit of roll in the boat, and probably about 10% of the passengers seemed to be having a problem with seasickness. That's a risk on any of the boats - they're all about the same size. By the afternoon trip, things had cleared up and no worries at all - so if you know that might be a problem for you, it's worth paying attention to the weather. Nice staff, and efficient overall. Highly recommend these guys.

A two-day trip to Maine was this year’s “summer treat” for my 7-year-old grandson, a budding naturalist, and myself. We went up specifically to see the Puffins. I made reservations months in advance for both the Puffin Watch and the Monhegan Island ferry. I’d originally opted for the Seal Watch instead of the day trip to Monhegan, but after Stacy chatted with me awhile, she recommended a day trip to Monhegan Island; the return ferry includes a stop near the rocks where seals hang out. I’m glad I followed her guidance. Both trips were great, and well worth the special trip up to Maine.The staff and crew could not have been more friendly and helpful. Mr. Viss from Project Puffin was as personable as he was knowledgeable. His splendid talk about Project Puffin also included descriptions (with visual aids) of the other seabirds we would likely see. Sightings of Puffins and other seabirds, as well as harbor porpoise and seals, were promptly and accurately noted over the speaker system. The pilot was adept at maneuvering the boat so that everyone could get a good look at Puffins floating on the water near the boat. He gave us plenty of time to capture photos or video before moving on. The crew hands out comment cards near the end of each voyage which go into a large can for a raffle. The prize is a free Hardy Boats trip for one, of your choice. I won the raffle after the Puffin Watch trip, and the staff was kind enough to apply the voucher to my Monhegan ferry fare, which I’d already paid. A bonus!

We took the puffin cruise on July 7th. Before starting this excursion, the captain offered to refund the tickets of any who would get seasick due to the rough seas that day. Anthony of the Audubon Society gave a beautiful explanation of the birds that we would expect to see in addition to the puffin. This made all the difference in enjoying the cruise. It's true that the 7-10 foot waves made photography difficult and the cloudy conditions made for poor visibility. Still the birds were so many. Even though some on board were so sick that they were vomiting all over the place, nobody regretted taking the cruise. It was great!For a short video, check out this link- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEP3u0XPiYA&feature=youtu.be

once in a lifetime chance to see the Puffins. Excellent value, great service with excellent commentary from an expert from the Audubon society.

We went with friends for a day trip in Maine during the 4th of July weekend. Our big stop was to go on a puffin watch cruise with the folks at Hardy Boat Cruise. The check in was smooth as we had already made reservations for 11. The crew and guides on the boat was knowledgeable and overall the trip was fun. We saw plenty of birds and was able to see puffins!

My husband and I took our daughters, aged 11 and 13, on the puffin tour and thought it was very well done. We had a beautiful day with blue skies and calm water, and although we forgot our binoculars it was easy for all of us to spot several types of birds over and over again during the journey. We stationed ourselves on the second level on the life preserver containers at the bow, which was the perfect spot to listen to the Audubon speakers and ask questions about Project Puffin as we went along. They and the captain were great at pointing out bird sightings, and we found it all very interesting even though we're not especially "bird people." Worth the money for a unique experience :)