Boat Tours & Cruises on Long Island

One of the best ways to experience Long Island is from the water. Sightseeing cruises, sunset sails, lighthouse excursions, wildlife tours, narrated harbor trips, tiki cruises, and other captain-operated experiences let visitors see the Island’s bays, harbors, lighthouses, wetlands, maritime communities, and coastal scenery from a completely different perspective.

This directory focuses on bookable boat tours and cruises rather than ordinary self-drive boat rentals or fishing-only charters. The options range from narrated Great South Bay and wetlands cruises to historic sailing vessels, North Fork lighthouse trips, Port Jefferson harbor cruises, Hamptons tiki boats, and whale-watching and sunset excursions from Montauk.

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Boat Tours & Cruises on Long Island Interactive Map

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How to Use the Map

Use the cruise-type filter to separate sightseeing and harbor tours, sunset and specialty cruises, lighthouse excursions, wildlife and eco tours, sailing trips, tiki and social cruises, and private harbor cruises. The experience filter can narrow the results further for sunsets, lighthouses, wildlife, family-friendly trips, narrated tours, live music, historic vessels, and social cruises.

You can also browse public ticketed departures separately from operators that offer private cruises. Regional filters cover Nassau County, western and central Suffolk County, the North Fork and Riverhead area, and the Hamptons and East End. Each map marker includes the operator, departure area, cruise category, official website, telephone number when available, and driving directions.

Sightseeing and Harbor Cruises

Traditional sightseeing cruises are available in several parts of Long Island. Freeport Water Taxi & Tours operates narrated bay trips on the South Shore, while GLORY Harbor Tours provides short electric-boat excursions from Greenport. The Moon Chaser offers narrated sightseeing on the Great South Bay from Captree, and the Discovery Wetlands Cruise explores the Stony Brook Harbor and wetlands environment. Long Island Aquarium’s Atlantis Explorer adds another educational option on the Peconic River in Riverhead.

Sunset Cruises

Sunset cruises are among the most common bookable boat experiences on Long Island. Freeport Water Taxi and Nautical Mile Cruises both offer South Shore sunset options. Shoreline Trading Company combines Great South Bay sunsets with live music aboard Running Wild, while Liberty Clipper offers sunset sails from Port Jefferson. Montauk visitors can choose sailing experiences from Mon Tiki or sunset excursions from Viking Fleet.

Lighthouse Cruises

Long Island’s offshore lights make lighthouse cruises a particularly strong fit for the Island. East End Seaport Museum operates seasonal trips from Greenport to Long Beach Bar “Bug” Lighthouse, while Cross Sound Lighthouse Cruises offers a Long Island Lights route from Orient Point through waters filled with historic navigational landmarks. Visitors interested in seeing more of these structures on land can also browse our Long Island Lighthouses directory.

Wildlife, Nature and Educational Cruises

Several operators focus on the natural side of Long Island’s waterways. Discovery Wetlands Cruise provides a narrated nature experience in Stony Brook, the Atlantis Explorer travels the Peconic River and nearby waters, and Freeport Water Taxi offers seal-watching and bird-watching eco tours. At the eastern end of the Island, Viking Fleet operates whale-watching cruises from Montauk Harbor.

Sailing and Historic Vessel Experiences

The WaterFront Center in Oyster Bay gives visitors the opportunity to sail aboard historic vessels on Oyster Bay Harbor. Liberty Clipper brings a large traditional tall-ship experience to Port Jefferson, with public day and sunset sails. Mon Tiki in Montauk offers catamaran outings ranging from sunset cruises to public sailing and swim experiences.

Tiki and Social Cruises

For travelers looking for a more social experience, Tiki Boat Long Island operates public and private tiki cruises from Port Jefferson, while HampTiki offers captain-operated private outings from Hampton Bays. These cruises are less about formal narration and more about enjoying the waterfront setting with friends, music, refreshments, and sunset views.

Boat Tours in Nassau County

• Freeport Water Taxi & Tours, Freeport: Narrated bay cruises, sunset cruises, seal watching, bird-watching eco tours, happy-hour trips, and private cruises from the Nautical Mile.
• Nautical Mile Cruises, Freeport: Public sunset and specialty cruises plus private-event options from Woodcleft Avenue.
• The WaterFront Center, Oyster Bay: Historic-vessel harbor sails, sunset cruises, marine ecology programs, and private charters on Oyster Bay Harbor.

Boat Tours in Suffolk County

• Onda Bella Cruises, Northport: Quiet electric private cruises around Northport Harbor.
• Discovery Wetlands Cruise, Stony Brook: Narrated nature and wetlands excursions in Stony Brook Harbor and surrounding wetlands.
• Liberty Clipper, Port Jefferson: Tall-ship day sails, sunset sails, and private charters from Port Jefferson.
• Tiki Boat Long Island, Port Jefferson: Public ticketed and private tiki cruises from Port Jefferson Marina.
• Atlantis Explorer Tour Boat, Riverhead: Seasonal educational boat tours departing behind Long Island Aquarium.
• GLORY Harbor Tours, Greenport: Short electric harbor tours exploring Greenport and Peconic Bay waters.
• East End Seaport Bug Light Cruises, Greenport: Seasonal lighthouse excursions to Long Beach Bar “Bug” Light.
• Cross Sound Lighthouse Cruises, Orient Point: Narrated Long Island Sound lighthouse cruises departing from Orient Point.
• Shoreline Trading Company, Bay Shore: Great South Bay sunset cruises, including live-music trips and Fire Island experiences.
• The Moon Chaser, Captree: Narrated sightseeing excursions, live-music cruises, specialty events, and Fire Island dinner transportation from Captree.
• HampTiki, Hampton Bays: Private captain-operated tiki cruises on Hamptons waters.
• Viking Fleet, Montauk: Whale watching, sunset cruises, lighthouse-oriented excursions, and other seasonal trips from Montauk Harbor.
• Mon Tiki, Montauk: Public and private catamaran sails, sunset cruises, music sessions, and family sail-and-swim trips.

Planning a Long Island Boat Cruise

Boat tours are unusually sensitive to weather, wind, tides, seasonal schedules, and minimum-passenger requirements. Departure times may change, and some trips operate only on selected days or during summer and early fall. Reservations are strongly recommended for lighthouse cruises, sunset sails, whale watching, and smaller-capacity specialty trips.

Check the operator’s instructions for arrival time, parking, footwear, age restrictions, food and beverage rules, accessibility, motion-sickness considerations, and cancellation policies. For lighthouse and wildlife trips, bringing binoculars and a camera can be worthwhile. Even on warm days, conditions on the water can be cooler and windier than they are on shore.

Research Methodology

This directory was researched in August 2026 using current operator websites and 2026 schedules where available. The inclusion standard requires a captain-operated sightseeing, sunset, lighthouse, wildlife, educational, sailing, social, or similar excursion that visitors can book as an experience. Ordinary self-drive boat rentals and operators focused only on fishing charters are excluded. Operators that offer fishing in addition to qualifying sightseeing or excursion cruises may still be included. The map uses hard-coded coordinates rather than runtime geocoding.

Key Facts & Details

Category	Details
Directory	Boat Tours & Cruises on Long Island
Operators Included	16 boat tour and cruise operators
Geographic Coverage	Nassau County and Suffolk County, from Freeport and Oyster Bay to Greenport, Hampton Bays, and Montauk.
Main Cruise Types	Sightseeing, harbor tours, sunset cruises, lighthouse cruises, wildlife and eco tours, sailing, tiki and social cruises, and private harbor trips
Public Cruises	Available from many operators; schedules and ticket availability vary seasonally
Private Cruises	Available from selected operators and identifiable with the map’s booking-format filter
Excluded	Ordinary self-drive boat rentals and fishing-only charters
Related Guides	Lighthouses and Marinas
Visitor Note	Schedules, routes, prices, vessel assignments, age rules, and weather cancellations can change

From the protected bays of Freeport and Oyster Bay to the historic harbors of Port Jefferson and Greenport and the open waters surrounding Montauk, Long Island offers boat excursions for nearly every kind of visitor. Use the map to find the experience that fits your plans, whether that means watching a sunset, sailing aboard a tall ship, visiting a lighthouse, spotting wildlife, listening to live music on the Great South Bay, or simply seeing Long Island from the water.