We’ve made the trip between Ocean City, MD and central NJ dozens of times. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve said “we should try the ferry one trip.” Well, we finally did it!
The Cape May – Lewes Ferry goes between… Cape May, NJ and Lewes, DE obviously. 🙂 Connecting the tip of NJ to the nearest point across the Delaware Bay, the 85 minute ferry ride takes both automobiles and walk-on passengers across the bay. A one-way tickets costs $37 per vehicle and $10 per person ages 14 and up (children 6-13 are $4 and under 6 are free). In the summer they have between 8 and 9 departures per day. Reservations are required and can be made online.
You have to check-in 30 minutes prior to your departure time. We arrived well before that and after checking out the terminal setup we decided we had time to check out Lewes for a little while. We tried unsuccessfully to go to Cape Henlopen State Park (we didn’t want to pay the entrance fee for such a short time) and then drove through the historic town and went down to Lewes Beach to walk around for a bit.
We headed back to the terminal, checked in at the booth, and parked our car in the row we were assigned. We left the car and went inside to check out the terminal. There was a bar, coffee shop, and restaurant, as well as some shops and tourist information. There was a great patio out back where we relaxed for a while and watched the ferry arrive.
They made a boarding announcement and asked everyone to return to their cars. We went back to our car and waited our turn to drive onto the ferry. They packed the cars onto the ferry pretty tightly. Once we were parked on the ferry, we got out of the car and went to the deck above. Soon after we left Lewes, headed for NJ. The end to end process from boarding call to the ferry pulling away was about 25 minutes.
There were plenty of seating options on the ferry. On the outside of the main level they had rows of aluminum seats on either side of the ferry. The upper level had Adirondack-type chairs for lounging. An indoor area offered comfortable train-like seats, some grouped around a table in the middle. They served drinks and food inside and sold some souvenirs as well.
We grabbed a table inside and then occasionally went outside to wander or sit for a while. It was fairly windy on the deck but a beautiful day to be outside and enjoy the views. My husband and son even spotted some dolphins off in the distance. Before long we could see Cape May on the horizon.
Everyone was called back to their cars and after the boat had docked, we drove off the ferry. The ferry had backed into the dock in Lewes so we drove straight in to get on the ferry and straight out to get off. The captain does all the hard work so you just have to drive your car forward!
We really enjoyed taking the ferry. The trip between our parents’ homes in MD and NJ is relatively short and easy but sometimes you just need to mix things up a bit. Especially since covid, we’ve been driving a lot and have tired of the same route over and over again. The ferry was a great change of scenery and pace. It definitely wasn’t a time saver, as you have to factor in arriving early at the terminal, but it was still worth it to us. Plus we got to have a great dinner in Cape May and check out the area a little bit. And the drive up from the beginning of the Garden State Parkway is much nicer than taking 95 to 195 to the central section of the GSP. If you aren’t pressed for time, I highly recommend the Cape May – Lewes Ferry as an alternate way to get between the Delmarva Peninsula and NJ.
