If you’re like me, you’re trying to squeeze the most fun you can out of these few hot months. How about a mini vacation close to home? Consider a day trip to Smith or Tangier islands! I’ve lived on the Eastern Shore for 30 years, have explored in all directions, but there were a couple of places I have never visited. Of course, I heard of both islands, and have eaten plenty of Smith Island cake, yet I didn’t know anything about actually going to either place. I thought it was a lot more complicated that it is.

Getting to either island means driving to Crisfield and taking a boat; for a day trip, you’ll have time enough for lunch on the island and taking in the unique local surroundings, visiting museums and gift shops, then meeting at the dock on time for your ride back. Ticket prices for a one-day trip are around $30 per person, or you could pay $200 and up for a truly memorable excursion to soak up island culture. 

I’ve now been to both islands in the last few weeks because I’m participating in a local running event called The Tour de Salisbury – The Islands Tour edition. Runners are given 12 routes of varying distances to run on Eastern Shore islands anytime between June and September. Smith Island has a 3.3-mile route and Tangier Island has a 5-mile route. The tour is about adventuring as much as running.

Traveling to Smith Island is easy. My husband and I took an afternoon tour to the island, purchasing tickets from Smith Island Cruises in Crisfield, with free parking at Somers Cove Marina. The two-level boat, the Chelsea Lane Tyler, left the dock at 12:30 p.m., arriving in Smith Island about an hour later. We sat on the upper deck, though on the return at 4 p.m., we enjoyed both the air-conditioned cabin and the deck as we bid goodbye to the quaint watermen’s town. During our three hours on the island, we ran a short route, enjoyed a crabcake lunch at Bayside Inn Restaurant at the dock, and visited Smith Island Cultural Center, a small museum with educational displays and a 15-minute film on the history and life on the island. The film gave me a new appreciation for the life of a waterman. A $3 admission fee is a bargain, too.

Smith Island, Maryland’s only inhabited offshore island, is 9 miles from Crisfield, and is actually three villages – Ewell, Rhodes Point and Tylerton. Our cruise took us to Ewell. Explore the websites I've linked to see where you’d like to spend your time and plan your activities. Aside from Smith Island being the birthplace of our state dessert, it is of course more importantly known as the hub of the soft shell crab industry. It was first settled by English colonists to graze livestock, according to Visit Smith Island, and was then charted by Capt. John Smith, the island’s namesake.

Besides strolling the village, bicycles are available for rent. There are a number of bed and breakfasts, too, so you can really take your time and turn the trip into a longer vacation. 

Ferries to Smith Island are also offered by Smith Island This Week. You might be traveling with mail delivery on the way there and crabs on the way back. Note the difference villages here and call ahead to confirm trips.

For a six-hour tour to visit all three villages, check out Experience Smith Island.  After a relaxing boat ride with Capt. Everett Landon on his boat, Circuit Rider, you’ll enjoy a crab cake lunch, visit a crab shanty, explore the museum, and see a Smith Island cake-making demonstration. He offers other

tours from sunset cruises in Crisfield to a Smith Island Pelican Rookery Tour, to name a couple.

The other island to visit, Tangier Island, is in Virginia, 12 miles into the Chesapeake Bay. I traveled here with a big group of runners recently, running five miles from the town to the narrow beach and back. We went on a special evening tour, so the museum was closed, but I plan to return with my family for the full Tangier Island experience. I felt like I stepped back in time, enjoying a simple way of life as we walked along the narrow streets with marshes and canoes dotting the landscape.

Tangier was also visited by John Smith in the 1600s. Prior to the Europeans’ arrival, the island was a summer retreat for the Pocomoke Indians, according to history on the cruise website. The evening that I ran along the beach, other tourists had been out looking for arrowheads that can still be found. Now that would be a cool souvenir!

A can’t miss stop is the Tangier Museum, $3, where you will learn that British forces used the island as a base during the War of 1812. Peruse the gift shops and enjoy eating at Lorraine’s Seafood Restaurant or Four Brothers Seafood and Ice Cream Deck. A perfect summer night was eating ice cream on the island as the sun began to set.

There are two options to visit Tangier. Take a ferry from Crisfield, the Steven Thomas, a 300-passenger boat with an upper deck, snack bar, bathrooms. See all the information on Tangier Island Cruises. Take a one-day cruise, or spend an overnight or longer on the island. The other option is to drive to Onancock, Va., for a ferry ride to the island via the Tangier-Onancock Ferry. This trip is a little longer, with a 10 a.m. departure and a 3:30 p.m. return trip to Onancock.

Sometimes in planning vacations, our first thought is to travel far away. But there are so many adventures right here on the Eastern Shore. Definitely put Smith Island and Tangier Island on your list for the summer. One caveat as your plan, pack your bug spray! They are waterfront communities, after all, ideal for exploring nature, bird-watching, bike riding, but a little planning ahead will help your time be the most enjoyable.