Hamptons Boat Tours & Sightseeing Cruises
See The Hamptons From The Quiet Side Of The Water
There’s a version of the Hamptons most people never see. It’s off the road. Off the dock. Out where the back creeks of Shelter Island go still in the morning, where the South Fork coastline lights up at sunset, and where the harbors of the North Fork finally make sense from the angle they were built for. We’re Charters in The Hamptons — cousins running a family charter operation out of Shelter Island, right between the Twin Forks. Our Hamptons boat tours are private. They’re captained. And they’re built around the day you actually want, not a clipboard schedule.
We’ve been doing this out of Shelter Island since 2016. The fleet is up to 26+ vessels now, including 57' and 62' Pershing yachts, and every captain on the water for us holds a USCG (US Coast Guard) license. Book a tour and you’re not buying a seat. You’re buying a captain who knows where to point the boat.
Types Of Boat Tours We Offer In The Hamptons
Sunset run, slow eco loop, full sightseeing day, lunch by boat — we keep the options flexible so you can match the day to the mood.
Sunset cruises.
Our most-booked tour. The light coming off Peconic Bay around 7 PM in summer is the reason people fall in love with this stretch of Long Island in the first place. See our Hamptons sunset cruises for what’s included.
Shelter Island eco tours. Quiet. Slow. Unlike anything else on the East End. We run these through the back creeks that border the Nature Conservancy’s Mashomack Preserve. More on that further down — it’s the tour we’re proudest of.
Sightseeing cruises.
A wider loop of the Twin Forks. Shelter Island shoreline, Greenport waterfront, Sag Harbor village, and Montauk waters if the day allows it. See our Shelter Island sightseeing cruises for the details.
Dock & dine cruises. Lunch or dinner at a waterfront restaurant, boat in and boat out. We handle the slip. You handle the menu.
Fishers Island tours.
A quick crossing, a harbor loop, then back. Our Fishers Island boat tours page covers the routes.
More tours are coming. A Hamptons Sightseeing Cruise. A North Fork Winery Cruise with ferry pickup from Greenport. A Greenport Harbor Tour. A Sandbar Day Trip. Ask when you call — we’ll tell you what’s on the schedule that week.
Sunset Cruises In The Hamptons
If you only do one tour out east, make it this one. We push off about 90 minutes before sunset, point the boat into Peconic Bay, and let the sky do the work. Most sunset cruises run two to three hours. Bring food and drinks on board. We’ll handle the music if your playlist isn’t ready.
These work for almost anything. A date. A small family group. A 12-person bachelorette. A quiet hour with friends. Different boats for different group sizes, but the view doesn’t change — the sky going pink over the bay with the Twin Forks on either side of you.
Shelter Island Eco Tours — The Back Creeks Experience
This is the tour we’re proudest of. The east side of Shelter Island is covered by the Nature Conservancy’s Mashomack Preserve. About a third of the whole island. Eleven miles of coastline.
Locals call it the “Jewel of the Peconic,” and the back creeks around it are some of the quietest water you’ll find on Long Island in summer.
We run our Shelter Island eco tours on smaller vessels — the ones that can slip into shallow creeks the bigger boats can’t reach. Osprey nests. Herons. Sometimes deer at the waterline. On a good morning, the only sound is the wind. It’s the opposite of a busy Sag Harbor afternoon, and that’s the whole point.
A few things we’ll point out:
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Mashomack’s tidal creek system — the part most people only see from the trails
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Dering Harbor on the north side of the island
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Osprey poles the Nature Conservancy has been stewarding since 1980
Best time is morning, before the wind picks up. Bring a hat. Bring a camera. Save the loud music for the sunset tour.
Sightseeing Cruises Around The Twin Forks
Shelter Island is the only spot in the Hamptons that sits between the North Fork and the South Fork. That’s not a marketing line. It’s a literal map fact, and it’s why our sightseeing tours can cover more ground than tours launching out of one side.
A typical run hits some combination of:
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Shelter Island shoreline, north and south
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Greenport waterfront and the carousel area
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Sag Harbor harbor and the windmill
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Montauk waters, time and weather allowing
Most sightseeing cruises run three to four hours. We can stretch it to a full day if you want a swim stop, a sandbar visit, or lunch at a restaurant somewhere in the middle.
Dock & Dine And Restaurant Cruises
The Hamptons has a handful of restaurants that let you tie up and walk in. We know most of them, and we know which ones will hold a slip if you call ahead. A dock & dine cruise is what it sounds like — we take you to lunch or dinner by boat, drop you at the dock, and bring you home when you’re done.
Good for date nights. Anniversaries. Any group that wants a real meal in the middle of the trip instead of cold sandwiches on deck. Tell us where you want to eat. We’ll figure out the route.
Why Tour With Charters In The Hamptons
We’re cousins. We grew up in the marina business on Shelter Island, on these exact creeks and harbors. That’s the reason we know where the herons fish in May, which dock in Greenport gets crowded first on a Saturday, and how to time a sunset run so the light hits Sag Harbor at the right moment.
A few things that actually matter:
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All captains hold USCG (US Coast Guard) licenses. Every tour. Every boat. Every time.
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Founded in 2016. A decade running this same stretch of water.
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Fleet of 26+ vessels including 57' and 62' Pershing yachts. We match the boat to the group, not the other way around.
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Custom pickup at Greenport and Sag Harbor. Staying on the North Fork or the South Fork? We’ll meet you on your side.
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Team of 11. Small enough to know our customers. Big enough to run multiple tours a day.
Most of our competitors run scheduled, ticketed cruises with 30-plus strangers packed onto one boat. We don’t do that. Our tours are private. Your group, your captain, your route. That’s the whole offer. We also rent boats for full-day or half-day use — see our Hamptons boat charter rentals page for the rental side.
Service Area & Pickup Locations
We’re based at 63 Menantic Road on Shelter Island. From there we run tours across the East End: Shelter Island, Greenport, Sag Harbor, Montauk, the North Fork, and Fishers Island. Custom pickup is available at Greenport on the North Fork and at Sag Harbor on the South Fork. That’s useful if you’re not making the crossing to Shelter Island for the day.
For Long Island boating rules and waterway info, the official resource is the New York State Parks boating page. It covers the laws that apply across all these waters.
Ready to Get on the Water?
Quiet eco tour through the back creeks. Sunset run with friends. Full sightseeing day across the Twin Forks. Whatever your version of a Hamptons boat tour looks like, we’ll build the day around it. Call (631) 251-1777 or email captain@chartersinthehamptons.com to check availability.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best boat tours in the Hamptons? The best one depends on your group. Sunset cruises are our most-booked tour. Our Shelter Island eco tour through the Mashomack back creeks is our signature offering and the quietest option in the area. Twin Forks sightseeing tours give you the widest view of the East End. All our tours are private and captained.
How long do Hamptons boat tours last? Most run between two and four hours. Sunset cruises are usually two to three. Eco tours are two to three. Full sightseeing tours are three to four. We also run half-day (4-hour) and full-day (8-hour) options if your group wants more time.
What can you see on a Hamptons boat tour? Plenty. From our Shelter Island base you’ll see the Mashomack Preserve coastline, Dering Harbor, the Greenport waterfront, Sag Harbor village, and the South Fork beaches from the water. On longer trips, Montauk and Fishers Island. Back creek tours also turn up osprey nests, herons, and wildlife you won’t see from shore.
How much do Hamptons boat tours cost? Pricing depends on the boat, the route, and how many people are coming. Smaller eco tours start lower than full Pershing yacht sunset cruises. Every tour is private and built around your group, so we quote each one when you call. Try (631) 251-1777 — we’ll walk you through it.
Are boat tours in the Hamptons family-friendly? Yes. Our tours work well for families, kids included. Life jackets in all sizes are on board, the boats are stable, and we can keep the route close to shore for a calmer ride. Eco tours and sightseeing tours are especially good for families — quiet water, short distances, and plenty to look at.
What is the best time of day for a Hamptons sunset cruise? Push off about 90 minutes before sunset. In June and July that’s around 7 PM. In August and September, closer to 6:30. That gives you time to get out into Peconic Bay, find a good spot, and watch the sky change without rushing. We’ll confirm the exact pushoff time when you book.
Do you offer pickup at Greenport on the North Fork? Yes. Greenport is one of our custom pickup locations. Staying out east — Greenport, Southold, Cutchogue, Mattituck — and we can pick you up from the Greenport waterfront. No drive over to Shelter Island. Just tell us when you book.
