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Guided kayak trips on the Schuylkill River, past Boathouse Row and the Center City skyline.
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Philadelphia Cruise Co. runs private pontoon boat charters on the Delaware River, BYOB, up to six guests. Day and sunset cruises with skyline views, plus charters for proposals, photoshoots, and intimate weddings. Luxury pontoon, laid-back pace.
Seasonal kayak and swan-boat rentals at the Penn's Landing marina on the Delaware River
Sea Philly runs private cruises for up to six on the Delaware River aboard a restored 1961 Chris-Craft. Trips leave from the Penn's Landing area and run about ninety minutes for a day or sunset cruise, with longer excursions on request. The boat is BYOB
Offers private trips for two to six aboard an enclosed cabin cruiser, the most weather-protected of the small Delaware River operators, which makes it usable in the shoulder seasons when open boats are cold. Cruises leave from the Penn's Landing area and run in river, sunset, and brunch formats, with catered food available on board. The whole boat is chartered as a unit rather than sold by the seat.
A seasonal passenger ferry across the Delaware River between Penn's Landing and the Camden waterfront, running in the warmer months. The crossing takes about twelve minutes and lands beside the Adventure Aquarium and the Battleship New Jersey, and it is the cheapest way to get out on the river, doubling as short transport and a low-cost way to see the skyline from the water.
Sailboat charter on the Delaware River, sailing from the Penn's Landing area aboard SV First Light, a 32-foot O'Day 322 that carries up to six passengers with a licensed captain. It is the only sailboat charter operating on the Philadelphia waterfront; the other river operators run powered vessels. Trips head north past the Ben Franklin Bridge toward Cherry Street Pier, Race Street Pier, and Graffiti Pier, and south past Petty Island, an undeveloped island in the middle of the river. When wind and tide allow, the engine comes off and the boat sails. The ninety-minute sunset and day sails cover the central waterfront; a three-hour historic tour runs south to Fort Mifflin and back along the New Jersey bank past Red Bank battlefield and the Battleship New Jersey, covering the river's history, including the Black maritime history of the Delaware.