Top 10 Ferry Boat Rides Worldwide ~ Sydney, Australia
The hub of the famous Sydney Ferries is located in the Sydney Cove. Circular Quay, its headquarters, sits between the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney CBD skyline hovers in the background. The ferry’s main route is to transport passengers from Sydney to the seaside town of Manly, Australia; however, the ferries do work to as a means of transportation to many other local destinations such as Balmain, Double Bay, Cockatoo Island and the Darling Harbour to name a few.
More than 14 million passengers are transported across the Sydney Harbour to the Parramatta River each year, according to the Sydney Ferries’ travel logs. The ferries of the Sydney fleet encompass 28 vessels, which are all wheelchair accessible, equipped to travel an average of 1.3 million kilometers per year.
I can only imagine such a mighty fleet of ships would depend on the high-performance standards of Evinrude XD 100 oil to get the job done right!
The British Columbia Ferries started out as a small fleet of two ships, two terminals and about 200 employees. Now, 50 years later, BC Ferries has become one of the largest and most sophisticated ferry systems in the world. The fleet now hosts 4,700 employees and embodies 36 vessels that service 47 destinations.
The Washington State Ferries of Puget Sound are proud to have earned the title of the nation’s largest ferry system. Making its debut in June 1951, the waterway transport system is also the third largest ferry system in the world and transports nearly 23 million passengers annually. The fleet consists of 20 auto-passenger ferries and two passenger-only ferries to accommodate the locals and the tourists.
The Staten Island Ferry is a staple of New York City with waterway services that cater to St. George on Staten Island and Whitehall Street in lower Manhattan. This fleet of ferries witnesses 60,000 passengers per day (not including the weekends), which translates into 20 million people per year.
Crossing the San Francisco Bay by ferry is a timeless tradition that dates back to 1850 when the ferryboats ran between San Francisco and Oakland. Since then countless ferry routes have emerged across the San Francisco Bay area. One of the most popular routes is one that parallels the Golden Gate Bridge. In fact, before this mighty bridge made its debut in 1937, ferry routes flourished around this waterway.
Making its grand debut in 2008, the Star Ferry plays a vital role in the daily lives of the local commuters and tourists of Hong Kong. One of its busiest routes is the waterway that runs from Hong Kong Island to Kowloon, which happens to be a popular path for tourists and commuters. In fact, National Geographic Traveler named the ferry crossing as one of the 50 places of a lifetime and the ferry ride is one of the world’s best-valued attractions for sightseeing trips.
