As of June 1, 2024, it is currently FREE for both vehicles and passengers to ride the Galveston Island ferry, as the ferry is currently a toll-free service provided by the Texas Department of Transportation. You can find more pricing and ticketing information for the ferry on our Tickets & Fares page.
At this time, as it is free to ride, there is no need to purchase tickets for the Galveston Island ferry.
No smoking is allowed once aboard the ferry vessels.
Vehicles must be turned off once aboard the ferry vessels.
No swimming or diving is allowed from the ferry vessels.
Once aboard the ferry you may feed the seagulls, as well as dispose of a loved one's ashes, but must do so from the rear of the ferry vessel only.
Vehicles should not exceed a weight of 80,000 pounds.
Vehicles may have a maximum length of 65 feet.
Vehicle width should not exceed 8.5 feet, and vehicle height should not exceed 13.5 feet.
When their is no wait to board, the ferry ride between Galveston Landing and the Bolivar Landing takes approximately 20 minutes plus an additional 10 minutes to load/unload.
You can plan on a round-trip taking you approximately one hour.
During the busiest traffic seasons, the wait to board the ferry can exceed 2 hours.
The Galveston Ferry will often post in real-time the number of ferrys in service and the current wait times on their Twitter/X account (you must have a Twitter/X account to view recent posts).
The Galveston Island Ferry takes passengers on State Highway 87 between Galveston Landing (on Galveston Island) and Bolivar Landing (on the Port Bolivar Peninsula).
From 2014 - 2023 the Galveston Island ferry carried on average more than 1.5 Million vehicles and more than 4.9 Million passengers each year.
The ferry vessels comprising the Galveston Island ferry make approx. 40,000 crossings each year.
You can contact the Galveston Island ferry customer service via phone at (409) 795-2230.
The ferry is busiest (and sometime full for vehicles) most often on weekends, and during rush-hour in the mornings and afternoons.
During busier season, the wait to board the ferry vessel can exceed two hours.
You can view the current traffic conditions for vehicles waiting to board the ferry at the Galveston Ferry Landing and at the Bolivar Ferry Landing to get an idea of how long your wait may be to board.
The Galveston Ferry will often post in real-time the number of ferrys in service and the current wait times on their Twitter/X account (you must have a Twitter/X account to view recent posts).