Bannerman Castle

The J boat team were great! Informative and lighthearted with a safe a calm journey to and from the island. Our young tour guide gave great details and insights into the islands history. The hiking trails were manageable; we did every path from top to bottom in the time allotted. The gardens are beautiful. Was a perfect day trip.

One of the most interesting & special experiences. Truly a historic gem of the Hudson Valley! I loved how I received a 45 minute tour but then I had 45 minutes to explore on my own as well. The boat ride was so special. I loved going on Labor Day. I think it was such a great way to celebrate this holiday.

Bannerman Castle is a fun side trip that you can take from NY City. The train runs right to a station that you hop off and walk maybe 40 to 50 yards to the dock where the boat picks you up to take you over. The island is small and has a number of good views up and down river. The site has tour guides that will explain the current state of the island and how it progressed over the years. There is also the gardens and a house in the island that is a fun walk through if only to understand how much things have changed over the years. There was a light snacks and drink cart as well as small souvenirs if you like them. Overall I recommend checking it out, but know that it is a semi primitive and off the beaten path type of day trip.

great experience! enthusiastic tour guide, well informed captain who chatted with us on the ferry to the island. it’s quite warm this time of year so bring a little fan and submerse yourself in some fun history and beautiful scenery

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!

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!

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.

This your was fantastic. The boat ride over to the island was very interesting with the 2 Js: Jay & Justin the Captain. The tour was very interesting & Informative. Hard to read everything posted in the amount of time on the island. You need to be steady on your feet for this tour & be able to get up & down 72 steps. Book this tour & enjoy.

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.