Bannerman Castle

Such a great experience! Beautiful boat ride over (smooth sailing with Jen and Justin!) with some points of interest on the way over. The tour guides on the island (husband and wife-can’t remember their names though!) were very informative and made the tour a lot of fun!

Fantastic little getaway. Great guides for both the boat ride and the tour on the island, informative without being boring. Went for a 6pm booking, the main challenge being that there is very limited food on the island and if you want to catch the train back to nyc you wont have any options most of the time. Recommend proper shoes for slightly rough terrain otherwise you’ll have to skip a couple of the few trails. Happy to see the effort being made in preserving this very quirky place!

This was a fantastic Tour. John and Jess, the Ferry people, were a lot of fun and gave a very informational tour to and from the castle. Marq our tour guide at Bannerman was absolutely fantastic. Very informative of not only the castle but the history of the lower Hudson area. We really enjoyed our time on this little plot of NY.

What an incredible experience. The boat ride with Captain John and Jen was great, it was a smooth ride, and they were extremely informational. The tour of the island with Marq was also fantastic. He was able to share so much information and history of the island and the Bannerman family. Extremely informative and enjoyable. The grounds and gardens were stunning

Beautiful little island with interesting history in the Hudson River. Have always wanted to visit. Nice boat ride and Captain and tour guide provide interesting history. Time on island very short to enjoy the ambiance. Would like to go back for a movie or live music day.

What a delightful way to spend a Sunday afternoon! I’d been wanting to visit. Bannerman Castle for years and we finally did it over a chilly, windy holiday weekend. The boat ride to and from was a treat, especially with the “J Team” on board, navigating the choppy waters with ease and regaling us with stories about the area- lots of fun facts and humorous anecdotes. The tour of the island was fascinating and our guide was very professional. We learned a lot about the history and had some time to explore on our own. There was some really interesting, unusual architecture, beautiful plants and a variety of walking paths. I highly recommend this excursion!

Nice outing to an unusual place. The buildings are not fully restored so you are limited to what you can explore. There are a few trails, again, not all are open. There are several areas to sit and rest and take in the views. The ferry drops you off for a 90 minute visit and that should be plenty of time to see it all and relax on one of the patios until the boat returns.

This is a very interesting place to visit. The tour leaves from Beacon. The pier is right next to where you get of the train at the Metro North Beacon Station. You can also drive. Parking is free over the weekend at the train station. The instructions would tell you to arrive at least 30 minutes before the scheduled time, but the folks there were nice to wait a bit a make sure to get everyone. Both the boat ride to and from the island and the tour itself was nice. The captain gave a very engage history lesson -- both shores were featured in the Revolutionary War and played a big part in modern US history. On the island, you get a 45-minute guided tour and 45 minutes of free exploration. The view was very nice. The paths could be rugged but overall not hard to walk at all. Loved it!

Having attended last night's theatrical production on the island, I can safely say it was one of the worst outings I've experienced. If you are attending anything on the island, do COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF RESEARCH ON THE BOAT SCHEDULES. Despite absolutely zero published information, the tickets and entry times correlate to when you can leave at the end of the night ... they have horrible customer service (after spending $80 on tickets ... hilariously corrupt) and the audience is essentially a hostage until the second boat returns at 11 PM. There isn't a single informed person in charge with a shred of experience, because this is a logistical and safety nightmare. There are definite liabilities and the island production team needs significant overhaul and/or state supervision. What an embarrassment. What a joke.