If you'd rather drive the boat than sit on one, Backwater Cat Adventure hands you the controls of a two-person catamaran and has you follow a guide boat through the water off the north end of the island. The company designs and builds its own boats, has run tours since 2016 and also operates in Palm Coast. On Amelia Island, trips leave from Dock E at 3 South Front Street in the Fernandina Harbor and return along the Amelia River to the same spot.
There are two tours, and the difference matters:
- 2.5-hour Amelia and Cumberland tour: passes Fort Clinch, crosses toward Cumberland Island, Georgia, and stops for about 30 minutes on an island beach for swimming, shelling or a closer look at the wild horses. There's no restroom at the island stop.
- 75-minute Amelia Island tour: a backwater loop with a pause on the water off Fort Clinch. It's too short for Cumberland, the beach stop or the horses.
Drivers must be 18 with a valid driver's license, and kids 5 and up can ride with an adult. Each boat seats two people from the same party, and the company won't pair you with strangers; in an odd-numbered group, one person rides in the guide's lead boat, or you can pay for both seats to drive solo. Under Florida rules, drivers born after January 1, 1988, need a temporary boater's license, which means a short open-book test online; the link comes with your booking. The weight limit is 300 pounds per person, and bottled water is provided.
Tours don't go out in rain, high wind or temperatures under 65 degrees. If weather cancels yours, you're rescheduled or refunded, but cancelling yourself within 72 hours of departure forfeits the payment. The FAQ also notes the Amelia location closes in January and most of February.
If you'd rather someone else drive, Amelia River Cruises runs narrated Cumberland tours from the same harbor. Riptide Watersports offers guided self-drive CraigCat tours too.