Day-trips to the island leave at 10:00am and return to Leland at 5:30pm. A day on the island gives you the chance to explore and experience South Manitou’s great beauty and history. No food service is available on the island, so please pack a picnic lunch. There is a bar with packaged snacks and drinks on board. When visiting South Manitou for the day, you will need a National Park Pass for an entrance fee into the National Park. The minimum pass available is $25.00, and is good for a week at the mainland Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park as well. Annual passes are also available for $45.00. We also sell the America the Beautiful passes which are good for all national parks/forests and those are $80.00 each. These passes are only accepted at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park. These are different then the State Park pass, which is on your license plate.
NPS Link: http://www.nps.gov/slbe/planyourvisit/southmanitouisland.htm
MANITOU ISLAND TRANSIT IS AUTHORIZED WITHIN SLEEPING BEAR DUNES NATIONAL LAKESHORE TO PROVIDE THE FOLLOWING SERVICES: FERRY TRANSPORTATION SERVICE TO NORTH AND SOUTH MANITOU ISLAND, MOTORIZED GUIDED LAND TOURS OF SOUTH MANITOU ISLAND, TRANSPORTATION OF PERSONAL WATERCRAFT, AND CHARTER TRANSPORTATION SERVICES TO NORTH AND SOUTH MANITOU ISLANDS.