Fort George Island Transportation Tips by grandmaR

St. Johns River Ferry

When my sister rode down the ICW with us in 2003, my BIL drove the rental car down to meet us (pamphlet photo 2), and he took this ferry. So when we went to see the lighthouse in Mayport, I thought we might also take this ferry.

The St. Johns River Ferry dates back to 1948 when the Fernandina Port Authority completed construction of a road down Ft. George Island. Previously, there had been no road and no water connector between Mayport and the Island. The ferry route is shown on the map-image 3. There are two ferry boats the MV Blackbeard (1950's style which is the standby ferry) and the 1990s style car ferry MV Jean Ribault.

It operates every day including holidays and the cruise takes 8 minutes. Weekdays they start from Mayport at 6 am (the first one from Ft. George is 6:10 am) and continue on the hour and half hour. The last ferry from Mayport is 10 pm and from Ft. George is 10:15 pm. Weekends they start as late as 6:20 am from Mayport.

PASSENGER TYPE COST
Pedestrian/Bicycle $1.00
Motorcycle $2.50
2 axle (Private) $3.25
2 axle (Commercial/RV) $3.50
3 axle (Private/Commercial/RV) $3.25
4 axle (Private/Commercial/RV) $4.00
Passenger Bus $8.00

The ferry dock was right outside the base. The ramp was labeled that it was unsafe to support weight unless the ferry was under the outer end. It was a few minutes after 11 so we must have just missed one. We got into line, and immediately a whole bunch of other people lined up behind us. The last person in line was a lady in a red convertible who went around in front of us going the wrong way.

There was apparently quite a lot of current in the river because the ferry operator banged the ferry around on the pilings of the dock quite a bit going both directions (photo 5). We were first on the ferry and were right in the front of the middle lane (photo 4) - nothing in front of us.

Because of the way the ferry had banged around on the way in, I was afraid to get out of the car, and the ride was so short I'm not sure I would have had time to take many pictures anyway.

Mode: TO

Phone: 904-241-9969

Type: Ship/Boat

Website: http://www.stjohnsriverferry.com/

Route A1A

In this area, State route A1A runs along the barrier islands, including Ft. George Island. From the ICW, we can see the A1A bridges, and from the highway, we can see the beach and marshes of the barrier islands.

If you take the ferry across the St. Johns River (next tip) and follow A1A North past Kingsley Plantation, you will cross the Fort George River. The road goes on through the Big and Little Talbot Islands which are a Duval County park. The next bridge goes across Nassua Sound to Amelia Island, the first barrier island in Florida (photo 2).

On Fort George Island, A1A skirts the ocean side, continuing north to Little Talbott Island State Park. On this stretch of A1A, the Kingsley Plantation road is the only side road off the highway, and it is easy to miss.

Mode: TO

Type: Car/Motor Home

Website: http://books.google.com/books?id=8uH1XWIsHPAC&pg=PA70&lpg=PA70&dq=route+a1a+fort+george&source=web&ots=wpT2prb34t&sig=vbAABkEFh5wJDNjPSHbX11lL1m4