10 Scenic Boat Trips That Won’t Sink Your Budget

Staten Island Ferry

New York City's Staten Island Ferry has to be the world's best public-transit sightseeing deal: It's free. It shuttles daily between the Whitehall terminal at the southern tip of Manhattan (subway lines 1, 4, 5, J, R, and Z) and St. George on Staten Island, running every 15 minutes during weekday rush hours and every half hour otherwise, between 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. A one-way trip takes about 25 minutes.

The most dramatic way to experience the Staten Island Ferry is to start at St. George. You'll first pass some industrial areas on the New Jersey side and nondescript areas of Brooklyn on the other. But Manhattan's iconic skyline is straight ahead, and along the way you'll pass the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Unfortunately, getting from Manhattan to St. George without taking the ferry is a bit of a hassle—travelers must take the subway to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, then take the bus over the Verrazano Bridge, and finally make a transit or bus connection to St. George—so most folks settle for a round-trip boat ride.

Golden Gate Ferry

San Francisco's Golden Gate Ferry operates commuter routes around San Francisco's scenic Bay Area. The easiest trip is from San Francisco's iconic Ferry Building, at the foot of Market Street, to funky Sausalito in Marin County, where you'll find lots of restaurants and shops. Along the way, you'll have a good view of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge. The 25-minute trip runs eight times a day on weekends and more often on weekdays.

The longer trip, from the Ferry Building to Larkspur in a higher-speed ferry, takes about 30 minutes and covers twice the distance. But this service is mainly for commuters: The Larkspur terminal doesn't offer much for tourists. This trip runs 20 times each weekday, mostly during rush hours, and only four times on weekends.

Also good: The rival San Francisco Bay Ferry system runs from the Ferry Building to terminals in Alameda, Oakland, and Vallejo, along with trips to some of these points from Pier 41 near Fisherman's Wharf and from South San Francisco. Trips take about an hour and run 10 times a day on weekdays and seven times on weekends.

Washington State Ferry

Washington runs an extensive ferry network on Puget Sound. Most routes primarily serve Seattle's commuters, but others link to more remote areas. The ride from Anacortes, north of Seattle, to the San Juan Islands, with two daily round-trips going on to Sidney, British Columbia, on Vancouver Island, in the summer, is one of the state's most scenic trips. Most routes island-hop among some combination of Lopez, Shaw, Orcas, and San Juan (of which Orcas is probably the main tourist center). You'll pass through calm waters and sail among forested islands, with views as far as the area's several volcanic peaks, and maybe even catch a glimpse of some orcas. The longest trip takes a bit over an hour.

Hong Kong Ferry

Hong Kong has one of the world's most scenic harbors, and the Star Ferry frequently plies the strait between mainland Kowloon Peninsula and either of two stops on the island of Hong Kong. The trip, which runs from 6:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., takes only a few minutes, but you'll get a great view of the busy skylines on both sides of the strait along with views of the many junks and cargo vessels that keep the harbor busy. Nighttime city lights can be spectacular.

Sydney Harbor Ferry

Like Hong Kong and San Francisco, Sydney is renowned for its beautiful harbor. Sydney Ferries' passenger boats depart from downtown Circular Quay ferry terminal and fan out on eight different routes. Trips take about 30 minutes on a slow ferry and 18 minutes on a fast ferry; either way, you'll get great views of the famous Harbor Bridge and Opera House as well as a lot of the metro area.

Greek Islands Ferry

The Greek Islands may be the focus of many full-scale cruises, but you can also reach several of them on easy public-ferry day trips from Piraeus. Blue Star Ferries operates some of the most popular short routes. Probably the best choices for out-and-back day trips are the tour from Piraeus to Mykonos, with stops at Syros and Tiros along the way, and the tour from Piraeus to Santorini, with stops at Paros and Naxos. On both, you'll pass by several picturesque islands with steep hills and quaint towns.

Santorini is probably the most spectacular of the stops. Rather than doing Mykonos or Santorini all in a day, you might want to stop and spend a day or two. Trips to more distant island centers are generally overnight.

Rhine Valley Boat

Upscale river-cruise operators ply various stretches of the Rhine between Amsterdam and Basel. If you prefer to hit just the high spots on a day trip, try the KD Rhine, which runs four or more daily trips between Boppard and Rudensheim, with some extending to Mainz/Wiesbaden to the east or Koblenz to the west and a few even reaching Cologne. The stretch between Boppard and Rudensheim boasts some of the best parts: picturesque villages including Bingen, Bachrach, and St. Goarshausen; castles towering over the steep valley; and the narrows at the Lorelei Rocks. The trip takes two and a half hours downstream or four and a half hours upstream. You can also take the boat one way and return by train.

Venice Vaporetto

Venice's renowned vaporetto canal boats function the same way buses or rail-transit systems do in cities on dry land. The main trunk line traverses the Grand Canal and lagoon, from the railroad station to the island of Lido, passing by ornate palaces and historical St. Mark's Square and underneath famous bridges. Branch lines serve smaller canals and outlying islands. Within the time limits of your ticket, you can hop on and off at as many stops as you want.

Lake Geneva Boat

Those visiting the many communities that line the shores of Lake Geneva can take advantage of commuter-service boats that ply both sides and make dozens of stops in Switzerland and a few in France. From every angle, you'll see some combination of snow-capped Alpine peaks, green hills, and manicured villages. The CGN operates trips that run on a complex series of interconnected schedules and cover the entire lake, from Genera to Villeneuve. The longest single-boat trip links Geneva with Lausanne in about four hours, but you can connect in Lausanne for the east end of the lake. Some of its boats are paddle-wheelers.

Norway Fjords Boat

Norled runs a series of passenger boats along and into some of Norway's spectacular fjords. Probably the most popular is the seasonal service from Bergen to Flam, a five-and-a-half-hour trip. You'll go between the coast and some offshore islands then quickly turn and enter what may be the country's largest fjord. You'll make a series of stops at local communities as the fjord narrows and complete the trip at the end of a branch fjord in Flam. The scenery, of mountains and fjords, is fantastic. At Flam, you can return to Bergen by boat. Or do as most tourists do and take the train back to Bergen or on to Oslo. The Flam trips are seasonal, but you can take most of the itinerary between Bergen and Sogndal all year.

More From Smartertravel:

• Getting the Most Out of a Rail Journey
• 10 Charming Lakeside Cottages for Summer
• 10 Iconic U.S. Drives