Pelee Island Ferry

Has anyone ever taken the Pelee Island Ferry from either Leamington or Kingsville Ontario to Sandusky?

If so how was the trip and how does the it compare to driving? I would like to know how long is the trip, how long is the stopover at Pelee Island, can you get off at Pelee Island, lake conditions, cost compared to gasoline and how long does it take to get to CP from the Sandusky dock (directions would be great also). Anything else about the lake crossing would be good to know also

I understand that you can take bicycles on the ferry. It would be very cool to "bike" it from Ontario to CP!, but I don't think bicycles are allowed on the CP penninsula. Maybe now that thinking "green" is in style, CP may reconsider the bicycle policy put at least a bicycle parking lot near the gates.

Any and all comments are appreciated.
*** Edited 8/11/2007 4:19:36 PM UTC by acrossthelake***

I haven't done it, but according to mapquest, it would take about 4 hours
*** Edited 8/11/2007 8:55:08 PM UTC by bakes9***

I was told it only takes about 1 hour to maybe a hour and a half. Thats not including the 45 minutes or so to get there though.

You wouldn't be able to ride your bike down the causeway.

You could be a lil sneaky - park your bike at the employee area and take the employee bus :-) THey rarely check ID's.

Or take the obscenely long route of the Chausee.

You might just check the ferry's website at <http://www.ontarioferries.com/jii/english/schedule_fares.html> to get schedule information. But you'll find there's just one trip a day to Sandusky.

Since it's August, the Ontario mainland port is Kingsville.
Daily except Friday and Sunday
Dp. Kingsville: 10:00am
Ar. Pelee Island: 11:30am
Dp. Pelee Island: 12:00n
Ar. Sandusky: 1:45pm

Dp. Sandusky: 2:45pm
Ar. Pelee Island: 4:30pm
Dp. Pelee Island: 5:00pm
Ar. Kingsville: 6:30pm

Friday and Sunday, a long layover on Pelee Island and a change of ships is required with arrival in Sandusky at 7:45pm. A return to mainland from Sandusky is not possible on Friday and Sunday without an overnight stop on Pelee Island.

Dp. Kingsville: 1:00pm
Ar. Pelee Island: 2:30pm
Dp. Pelee Island: 6:00p
Ar. Sandusky: 7:45pm

Dp. Sandusky: 8:45pm
Ar. Pelee Island: 10:30pm
Dp. Pelee Island: 8:00am (Sat. and Mon.)
Ar. Kingsville: 9:30am (Sat. and Mon.)

One-way fare (passenger with bicycle): CAD 31.50

I talked to a few people who took it and while they thought it was cool it is pricey (well, it doesn't save you much money on gas or much time). According to the folks I talked to at the company many people do take the ferry to Sandusky for Cedar Point. The fares is per person plus just under 50 bucks for a normal size car. It takes just over 3 hours to make the crossing (depending on time spent at Pelee Island). The boat docks in downtown Sandusky and that is roughly two miles to the entrance to the causeway.

You could save money and bring your bike and simply call a taxi when you arrive in Sandusky. Sandusky has numerous taxi companies and by calling a taxi you wouldn't have to pay for parking...!

Unless you are looking for an adventure, I wouldn't recommend it, espically if you are from Windsor. It wouldn't be much longer time wise to drive and unless you got a car what gets 5 mpg then it would most likely also be cheaper.

*** Edited 8/12/2007 4:14:29 PM UTC by Andrew***

Many of the hotels in Sandusky run shuttles to Cedar Point. You could ride your bike to the hotel and just catch a shuttle from there. That way you can leave the bikes in the room and not worry about them being stolen.

I read in another thread that if you wanted to ride your bike to the park you have to take the chausee but even then you can only go as far as the toll booths. There you could lock your bike to the fence and walk across the parking lot.

An alternative to the ferry would be to fly. I flew from Sandusky airport to Pelee once and it was a great experience flying over the park and the islands. Im sure there are flights to the Canadian mainland. Keep in mind it was $80 one way to Pelee.