Area Info & Planning Tips


Many of our clients ask for assistance with planning their Madeline Island/Apostle Island Adventure.  We have found this information helpful and we hope you do as well.  This is not intended to be your primary source for planning your trip, but will give you some thoughts to consider.

 

  • The biggest resource to planning a vacation on Madeline Island or in the area is the Madeline Island Chamber of Commerce
  • In order to get to Madeline Island, you walk or take your car on the Madeline Island Ferry Line.
  • Once on Madeline, there are two campgrounds or lodging accommodations that span from standard motel rooms to deluxe, luxurious houses/mansions on the water.  Links for all these resources are found on the chamber website.
  • The most important part of planning a Madeline Island vacation is to book your trip far in advance! During the summer months, lodging fills up fast- up to a year in advance.  So plan ahead and book your lodging right away!
  • If you are trying, last minute, to make your reservation, give us a call – you never know!
  • Once you book your lodging, if you are interested in one of our tours – it is a good idea to register for the tour then.  Several of our summer days do completely book for all the tours, but, we also occasionally have bad weather days and sometimes have to cancel tours due to wind or inclement weather.  When we have to cancel a tour due to weather, we try to work with your vacation schedule to put you on the water another day.  We prioritize re-scheduling based upon the earlier made reservations and this can be a huge advantage to getting on the water! Book early!
  • On Madeline Island there are two grocery stores, which have all the food or beverage items you may need on vacation.  The Island Market is right around the corner from our Beach Shop.  There is a coffee shop, bakery, excellent art galleries, candle shop, gift shops and moped rentals.  
  • There is an excellent night life on Madeline Island with several bars, dining establishment and home of the well-known, boasted to be one of the best beach bars in the US – the acclaimed Tom’s Burned Down Cafe.
  • The other 21 islands in the archipelago are the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore (APIS), operated by the National Park Service.  They are all preserved wild-land with jewels of mother nature scattered through them (featured on our various boat tours).  Many of the islands offer remote island camping if you have adequate wilderness camping experience.  See the APIS website for more information on island camping.