Feature photo: Tiki Tours Captain Dylan Pasco pilots the new 12-passenger tiki boat.
Visitors to Lake George may have spotted what appears to be floating tiki bars among the bowriders, wave runners, pontoons, parasailing platforms and large tour boats that traverse the lake’s Southern Basin. They are not illusions; these tropical anomalies floating on an Adirondack lake are real.
June 2016, Tiki Tours launched its first thatch-roofed boat onto Lake George and for the past two summers has been offering leisurely tours on two octagonal vessels, each designed to carry up to eight passengers. For summer 2019, Tiki Tours retired the smaller boats and brought out a 12-passenger boat. The Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon-cutting Friday to officially launch the new vessel.
“I liked the smaller boats,” says Tiki Tours Manager and Captain Kolleen Cormie, “but the larger groups are more fun.” Cormie says that her passengers have included family groups and bachelorette parties. Tiki Tours will combine two smaller parties on a tour, and Cormie says everyone has a good time noting that generally the type of people that would step onto a tiki boat are up for making new friends on a cruise.
The tiki boat is not designed for speed, which is the point. Relaxation, enjoying a cool breeze, cold drink and Lake George scenery, is the idea. It’s a Jimmy Buffett Caribbean vibe. The hour-long tours meander up the shoreline to Tea Island and then return to dock at the bottom of Montcalm Street in front of The Lake George Beach Club.
Tiki Tours Captain Dylan Pasco says that a tiki tour cruise is ideal for those who want to get on the lake without having the responsibility that comes with piloting a boat. Tiki Tours does not sell food or drinks; however, passengers are free to bring their own beverages, hard and soft, along with snacks.
Cruises run seven days a week, June through mid-September, 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. Later tours are available on Lake George fireworks nights. Pricing is per passenger with discounts offered to veterans. Tours may be booked online. Call (800)691-0770 to book a cruise outside of normal operating hours.
