Start with the question the websites do not ask for you: are you visiting Smith Island for an afternoon, or staying the night? For an afternoon between late May and mid-October, book Smith Island Cruises, which leaves Crisfield's Somers Cove Marina at 12:30 and brings you back after some two and a half hours ashore. For anything else — out of season, overnight, or with the island's own schedule — take the Island Belle II, the family-run mail boat that crosses from Crisfield's City Dock every day of the year.
Then check the calendar. On October 1, 2026 the visitor cruise had four dates left: October 3, 4, 10 and 11, all weekends. After that, the mail boat is the only regular public way over, and its rhythm is built for islanders: out of Ewell early in the morning, back from Crisfield at 12:30. Plan on a night on the island unless you have found a Tuesday-to-Thursday afternoon run that suits you.
All of this is Somerset County, Maryland, on the Lower Eastern Shore. Crisfield sits at the end of MD 413, and Smith Island lies offshore across Tangier Sound — the water the Nanticoke River reaches after passing the free state ferry at Woodland in Delaware.
The mail boat's morning and midday runs, and the cruise's last October weekends
Island Belle II — Tuesday to Thursday
| From Crisfield | From Ewell, Smith Island |
|---|---|
| 12:30 | 07:30 |
| 16:00 |
Island Belle II — Monday, Friday and Saturday
| From Crisfield | From Ewell, Smith Island |
|---|---|
| 12:30 | 07:30 |
Smith Island Cruises — final 2026 dates: October 3, 4, 10 and 11
| From Crisfield | From Ewell, Smith Island |
|---|---|
| 12:30 |
Island Belle II times as posted by the operator (updated May 8, 2026) and cross-checked against the City of Crisfield and the Smith Island Cultural Center on October 1, 2026; only the times all three agree on are shown. Visitor cruise: Smith Island Cruises' 2026 calendar. Smith Island Belle II — Current Departure Times · 2026-10-01
What the day cruise costs, and why the mail boat's fare is a phone call
Only the visitor cruise publishes its fares. The ticket is a day trip, round trip included, and it is sold online or collected at the Capt. Tyler Motel. Groups of fifteen or more pay less if one person pays for everyone, and groups of forty adults can ask for dates outside the season.
The Island Belle II does not post a fare at all: its website asks passengers to phone for current pricing and availability before buying.
| Adult | $ 35 |
| Child 3–11 | $ 18 |
| Child under 3 | Free |
| Adult in a group of 15 or more | $ 30 |
| Child in a group of 15 or more | $ 15 |
| Somers Cove Marina, with a cruise ticket | Free |
Smith Island Cruises 2026 rates, read on October 1, 2026 Smith Island Cruises — Cruises and 2026 schedule · 2026-10-01
City Dock or Somers Cove in Crisfield, Ewell harbor on the island
Know which Crisfield pier your boat uses before you park: the two are a few blocks apart, and the walk with luggage is longer than it looks.
Crisfield
Crisfield has two departure points, and the one you want depends on the boat. The Island Belle II and the Captain Jason use the City Dock, where West Main Street — MD 413 — runs out at the harbor. The visitor cruise leaves from Somers Cove Marina, the basin a few blocks south, and its tickets are collected at the Capt. Tyler Motel, 701 West Main Street, before you drive round to the boat.
Cruise passengers park free at the marina. For everyone else the island's cultural center lists two options: Somers Cove Marina itself, on (410) 968-0925, or the Old Lumber Yard at 1010 Broad Street, which runs on an honesty envelope.
Ewell, Smith Island
Ewell is the largest of the three villages and the one every boat from Crisfield serves. The boats tie up along the harbor front on the creek side of the village, a short walk from the Smith Island Cultural Center at 20846 Caleb Jones Road, and none of the operators publishes a berth number.
Rhodes Point is joined to Ewell by Smith Island Road, so it is reached on foot, by bicycle or by golf cart once you land. Tylerton is different: it has no road link, and the island boat listed as calling there is the Captain Jason.
Nine miles across Tangier Sound to a marsh with three villages
In a straight line the City Dock and Ewell harbor are about nine and a half miles apart, and the boats cross the open water of Tangier Sound, the eastern arm of the Chesapeake Bay. The visitor cruise takes about 50 minutes; the mail boat publishes no crossing time.
The USGS map explains why the island has more than one harbor. Ewell and Rhodes Point sit on the western part of the marsh, joined by Smith Island Road, the one road between villages. Tylerton lies to the south beyond a maze of creeks with no road link at all, and the whole group ends at the Virginia line, where the marsh continues as Accomack County.
Before you leave Crisfield for Smith Island
- Treat the mail boat as the lifeline it is
The Island Belle II also hauls the mail, parcels and freight. Passengers share the boat with the island's supplies.
- Phone ahead, every time
Both island boats ask you to call to confirm: (410) 726-1824 or (443) 235-3992 for the Island Belle II, (443) 880-1508 for the Captain Jason.
- Book the cruise online
Smith Island Cruises requires reservations and asks passengers to arrive by noon for the 12:30 departure.
- Staying overnight changes the plan
With a 12:30 boat out and a 7:30 boat back, the year-round service naturally means a night on the island. Day visitors are better served by the cruise, in season.
- Getting around on the island
Bikes and golf carts are rented from the Bayside Inn in Ewell. Golf-cart drivers must be 21 and show a license and a credit card.
- Limited step-free access
The City of Crisfield describes ADA accessibility on the island ferries as limited. Call the operator to discuss boarding.
A mail boat since 1916 and Maryland's only inhabited offshore island
Capt. Otis Tyler and his son Dale have run the Island Belle II for 43 years, and they date the business to 1916, when Otis's great-grandfather started it with his sons. The boat calls itself one of the few mail boats the United States still has, and on an island with no bridge, that is literally how the post arrives.
Smith Island Cruises reminds its passengers that Captain John Smith came this way in 1608 and that this is Maryland's only inhabited offshore island. The islanders' own museum, the Smith Island Cultural Center in Ewell, opens daily from noon to 4 p.m. between May and October for $3 a head, with children 12 and under free — a reasonable first stop off the boat. Further up the Bay, Talbot County's seasonal Oxford–Bellevue Ferry shows the Chesapeake's other ferry tradition: a short river crossing that has worked since colonial times.
The boats
Getting to Ewell, Rhodes Point and Tylerton
Which boat should a day visitor take to Smith Island?
In season, Smith Island Cruises: it leaves Somers Cove Marina in Crisfield at 12:30, takes about 50 minutes and allows around two and a half hours ashore. Adults pay $35 and children 3–11 $18. The final 2026 sailings are October 3, 4, 10 and 11.
Can I reach Smith Island in November or January?
Yes, on the Island Belle II, which runs all twelve months. It leaves the Crisfield City Dock at 12:30 and comes back from Ewell at 7:30 in the morning, so a winter visit means staying overnight. Call first, because trips are cancelled for weather and wind.
Which boat goes to Tylerton?
Tylerton has no road connection to Ewell. The Smith Island Cultural Center lists the Captain Jason, (443) 880-1508, as the boat that stops at Tylerton on its way to and from Ewell; call for its times.
Is Rhodes Point a separate ferry stop?
No boat from Crisfield is listed as landing at Rhodes Point. It is linked to Ewell by Smith Island Road, so you land at Ewell and continue by bike, golf cart or on foot.
What does the Island Belle II charge?
The operator does not publish its fare. Its website asks passengers to call (410) 726-1824 or (443) 235-3992 for current pricing and availability.
Does the mail boat sail on Sundays?
The published sources disagree, so we have not listed a Sunday timetable. Phone the Island Belle II the day before if you need to travel on a Sunday.