Review: Boston Harbor Islands

On Saturday, after several years of procrastinating, my friends and I finally went to one of the Boston Harbor Islands. We chose Georges Island because the ferry from Long Wharf goes directly to it and it has some modern amenities like rest rooms and a snack bar. The tickets cost $14 for a round trip and include access to Georges Island and Spectacle Island. You can catch different boat to one of the other many islands from Georges or Spectacle for a few more dollars. You are required to select a return time when you buy the tickets, so it helps to plan ahead. Apparently, this is to prevent everyone from attempting to return on the last ferry of the day, which would not have enough seats. You can try to switch return times, but you will be on standby and will not be guaranteed a seat. The trip to Georges takes about 25 minutes.

Georges Island is 39 acres and most of that is taken up by Fort Warren, a National Historic Landmark. Fort Warren was built in 1847 and served as a prison for Confederate soldiers during the Civil War. We decided to forgo a ranger-led tour, which was offered only a few times during the day, and explore on our own using a brochure. I can't say I learned a lot, but it was fun to wander aimlessly about a historical place. I enjoyed that nothing was really preserved or recreated and the only places that were off limits were spots with dangerous structural damage. Wandering into whatever rooms you wanted and descending blindly down stairs into blackness without rails or lights has its charms. It was fun to not know where you'd end up. It made me feel like a little kid exploring somewhere cool that was off limits.

The rest of the island is cute and has some pretty views of other islands and the distant Boston skyline. Although the island is not very big, it was easy to get away from other visitors. Most people congregated in the picnic area, by the snack bar, and in the main part of the fort. If you don't like crowds, try wandering between the shore line and the outside wall of the fort. We went right from the dock area and only encountered one or two other visitors walking that way.

I'd recommend bringing your own lunch or, if you are ambitious, having your own mini-barbecue in the picnic area. The snack bar has limited, overpriced options and is run inefficiently. We ordered burgers inside a small room, were given a small slip of paper with burger written on it, and gave the slip to the cashier to pay. Next we wandered outside to the grill area. After waiting for several minutes, we finally realized that we were supposed to give the grill guy the slip of paper. He told us it would take 15-20 minutes to cook our burger and we were towards the beginning of a large group of people. As we waited impatiently, we realized even when our burgers were ready, we had no way of identifying our order. No one had written our names or a number on the slip of paper. As a result, people ahead of us in line grabbed burgers that should have been ours. This could have easily been remedied by having the cashier write a number on the slip or having the customer write her name. The cashier should also have told people to give their slips to the grill man. The cheeseburger was decent, but not worth a half an hour wait and all the hassle.

Our attempt at walking on the rocky beach ended quickly when we realized we were in the middle of a bunch of dead (I think) jellyfish. They were about the size of a saucer and didn't move, but it was still unnerving. I'm not sure if you can be stung by coming into contact with a dead jellyfish, but I certainly didn't want to step in one! If you walk on the beaches, watch your step.

We left on the 10:30 ferry and returned on the 2:00 ferry. Unless you are planning on visiting other islands, this is a good amount of time to allot. Since Georges Island is fairly small, three hours is plenty of time to explore and eat without getting bored or feeling rushed. Make sure to bring sunscreen, sunglasses or a hat, and a bottle of water with you. The midday sun can be draining and if you are walking around, there is not much way to avoid it. Overall, it was a cheap and relaxing experience away from the city. I'd gladly visit some of the other islands for more day trips.