Quote: When we had visitors recently from the Uk we were trying to decide where to take them. A friend suggested a 1000 island boat tour and I did some research to find a suitable trip. There are a few companies that do these types of boat trips. I decided to book us with Gananoque Boat Line as I read good reviews about them and this is the one my friend used.

They do several tours from a one hour tour to a 4.5 hour tour. We wanted longer than an hour, and considered their 4.5 hour tour which included a stop off at Bolt Castle. I had been told this was very good and the castle tour enjoyable but found this tour was only available on weekends and we wanted a weekday. So instead we went for the 2.5 hour tour which included details of many of the shipwrecks in the area. The cost was $30 each.

We got to Gananoque an hour before our tour was due to begin and exchanged our internet voucher ticket to real tickets. It was incredibly hot that day and we ended up sitting in the nearby cafe eating ice cream before joining the line to board.

The boat is three tier with the bottom deck having a cafe and seating inside and a small standing and seating are at the front and rear. The second deck also has a indoor area with seating as well as smaller outdoor spaces. The deck tier is all outside with standing room and seating. We started off in the middle but soon moved to the top deck as the weather was so beautiful. Thankfully the motion of the boat across the water causing a good breeze, soon gave some relief from the heat.

There is a constant narration as you travel both in English then French. At the points where there are shipwrecks you can view the sonar and video details on the screens around the boat. The narrator also points out all the relevant sightseeing areas as well as giving a history of the area and the waterway.

The cafe on the bottom deck sells hot dogs, burgers, chips, drinks etc and we had four of their hot dog combos which had hot dog, chips and drink. The four cost me just over $20.

I can thoroughly recommend this tour. We enjoyed it very much. I was relaxing, entertaining and informative. The boat was clean and the narration good, although having to repeat everything in French was annoying as I'm sure it would be the other way round for a French speaker. But that is just something you have to put up with in Canada.

When you get to Gananoque there is a large parking area which is free. There is also a gift shop - your ticket includes a discount coupon. There is also a cafe. Take time to wander round the waterfront to the beach area as it is very pretty too.

Definitely worth doing if you are anywhere near the area.
From journals Two weeks of fun in Ontario