Touring Wilmington on Alternative Transportation
Experience Wilmington NC by Segway, Carriage, Trolley and Riverboat
From stately Southern mansions and cobbled side streets, to the sparkling Cape Fear River and its boardwalk lined with shops, Wilmington is best explored up close and at an unhurried pace.
Exploring Wilmington by Segway
For those who want to see and experience all that Wilmington has to offer, but still have energy left to enjoy the city’s bustling night life, it’s hard to beat a Segway. These personal transportation devices take just a few minutes for most people to master and let visitors duck in to the same nooks and crannies they could on foot. Cape Fear Segway offers Segway rentals and guided tours every day of the week and on Sunday afternoons.
Horse Drawn Carriage
A tour of the downtown by horse drawn carriage has the added advantage of being an experience in itself. Riders in these white, open are carriages roll over the cobblestones above the surrounding traffic and are treated to thirty minutes of narration by a costumed driver with a wealth of interesting tidbits to share. The company prides itself on using rescued horses.
Carriages depart regularly from Market Street between Water and Front Streets. Rides are offered daily from April through October and during more limited hours in the off-season. Private carriages are available year-round.
Old-Fashioned Trolley
After forty-five minutes on one of the Wilmington Trolley Company’s old-fashioned trolley tours, visitors have enough knowledge of the city’s historic past to make for lively dinner table conversation. Drivers make a large loop of the downtown, taking guests by such historic treasures as the old Cotton Exchange, Thalian Hall, the Bellamy Mansion and Chandler’s Wharf and along Water Street with a view of the river.
Because it is roomier than a carriage, the trolley is a fun and relaxing option for larger groups or those with small children. Tours depart from the corner of Dock and Water Streets.
Sightseeing River Cruises
Riverboat cruises offer yet another way to see the downtown, as well as to easily access one of the gems of the area: the USS North Carolina Battleship. Docked at the foot of Market Street, the Captain J.N. Maffitt offers 45-minute sightseeing cruises twice daily which include a tour of the harbor and an opportunity to see the busy port in action. The same boat also serves as a river taxi, shuttling visitors back and forth to the Battleship every half hour.
North Carolina’s largest riverboat, the Henrietta III, gives visitors a more extensive cruise experience, either from one of its open air decks or from inside a climate-controlled salon. In addition to daily 90-minute sightseeing cruises, the Henrietta offers narrated lunch, dinner and sunset cruises and a variety of specialty entertainment cruises. The boat runs from April through October and can be boarded at the foot of Dock Street.
Both river tours provide ample opportunity for nature lover’s to spot pelicans, cranes, egrets and even an occasional alligator on undeveloped Eagle Island on the opposite bank.
Historic downtown Wilmington, North Carolina
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