We recommend makinge your reservations early in the year, especially if your stay involves a weekend. Most guests book 3-12 months in advance. Lodging is limited on the Island and booking early will help insure you get the dates you want. You can book online by visiting our accommodations page and submitting a little home rental request information.
Guests have a choice of driving their boat across the water, flying their own private airplane, or take one of the passenger ferries. Over 95% opt for riding a ferry. There are two ferryboat operators that service the Island and allow passengers. The Jet Express (passenger only) and the Miller Ferry (passenger and cars) links may be found in our transportation section.
In general, we recommend that you do NOT bring cars to the Island. Aside from the expense associated with transporting your vehicle, parking is very limited on the Island. A Place at the Bay has a small driveway which can accommodate up to two normal size vehicles. Waits to get a car on the Island can run as long as three to four hours on a busy Friday afternoon, and getting off on a Sunday can be even longer. With that being said, because our rentals accommodate so many people, one large vehicle (SUV, truck, van) is encouraged for groups to transport all their luggage, coolers, bachelorette supplies, etc and split the cost. Houses and Condos located on the lodging page of this site are located just about a mile or less from most attractions. Golf Carts, Bicycles, Mopeds, and Taxis may be reserved on our island transportation page and are readily available.
The weather in and around the Lake Erie Islands is very similar to most of northern Ohio's coastal communities. In Spring and Fall, a light jacket or sweatshirt is recommend for evenings when the temperature dips. Island dress in general is resort casual. You won't get a second look if you show up at any restaurant here in flip flops and shorts! Current weather and a 10-day forecast may be found on Put-in-Bay Ohio's weather section. Just remember, it NEVER rains in our great restaurants and bars!
All of our vacation rentals and condos require a two-night minimum. On off-season weekends (April, May, September, October) there is often only a one-night minimum for Saturday night to accommodate quick trips.
Yes, all of the rental homes and condos featured on our websites permit you to bring your own beverages to the island and to the privacy of your own condo and rental home. However, being in the State of Ohio, there is an open-container law so you can NOT bring any alcoholic beverages into any of our licensed bars (including pool bars and nightclubs) as they are considered part of the liquor permit premises. There is no need to bring beer and wine from the mainland if you don't want to. There are a couple carryout stores on the Island with state-minimum pricing, so it is comparable with stores on the mainland. Please note: there is no state liquor store on the Island, so BYO if you need that.
As a general rule, most downtown bars give last call around 1:30 AM and escort their last guests out around 2-2:30 AM. The best late night bars on the Island are debatably Mr. Ed's, Put-in-Bay Brewery, Green Room, and Reel Bar.
Yes! Golf Carts are licensed motor vehicles on the Island with license plates and everything. All traffic laws apply including seat belts and open container laws as well as no drinking and driving. Island Club Golf Carts rents to licensed drivers at over the age of 18. For those under 18 but holding a valid license, a parent or guardian may rent a golf cart for teen use as long as they are supervised.
That is a big NO-NO at Put-in-Bay! As elsewhere in the State of Ohio, there is an open container law. No open alcoholic beverages may leave a liquor permit establishment for any reason. This law is strictly enforced.
There are a variety of different docking options in downtown Put-in-Bay Ohio. The Boardwalk has buoys in the bay for tie-up. The city offers A & C docks, which are on a first come first serve basis for raft-off boat dockage. DeRivera Park runs the famous "B Dock" (call 1-419-285-2076 for info). There are private docks over around the Yacht Club and Crews Nest. And finally there are some new semi-private docks at Park Place Boat Club at the Keys.
If you are asking this question, you may be headed for a whole lot of trouble! At Put-in-Bay, trying to find a last minute house or condo is extremely difficult. Trying to find one late in the evening can be near impossible. Plan ahead and book your lodging!
No reservations are needed! Our ferryboat services can transport as many as 300 people per trip and each one has numerous boats available for when it gets busy. Arrive early for your trip to Put-in-Bay and beat the big crowds!
Check our Official Put-in-Bay Ohio Entertainment page for your favorite entertainer! They are listed both by location, by date, and by band name.
Yes it does! Put-in-Bay has a single K-12 school that is located in the downtown area. Kids come from all the surrounding islands, and even a few from the mainland, to part of the excellent education system. Graduating classes fluctuate from 4 to 10 students.
Yes, we have both! There is a full service general store on the Island on Catawba Avenue with all of the basics. You won't find everything you may need, but you will find necessity items (milk, eggs, meat, cereal, frozen pizzas, etc.). Right next door is a beer and wine store that is open later in the evening on weekends. And there is a drive thru with beer and wine located next to the Boathouse Bar and Grill on Hartford Avenue.
The main tourist season for Put-in-Bay starts about April 1st for fishermen and the last big weekend event before lodging closes is the Halloween weekend at the end of October. When Lake Erie and Put-in-Bay ice over in the winter, off-season activities include walleye and perch ice fishing.
The season may end on Halloween, but there are still a few hundred residents that call Put-in-Bay home year-round. As such, the Miller Ferry continues to run until ice makes the voyage impassable. When the ferry boats stop running, there are several charter airlines that fly in and out of Put-in-Bay during the daylight hours. When there is a cold winter, a few brave soles drive their vehicles, snowmobiles and 4 wheelers across the ice to the mainland and surrounding islands. There are also some classic black and white pictures in Tippers Bar of cars being pulled out of the lake that did not quite make it across!
You must be 18 years of age to rent or operate a moped.
As the crow flies, we are only about 18 miles away, but remember... Put-in-Bay is on an island! So plan for a wait in line to get on the ferry, a half hour ride across the lake on the ferry, and then about another half to hour drive around the curve of the lake and up into Sandusky into Cedar Point. All in all, plan on about an hour and a half to get from your rental home or condo on Put-in-Bay to the parking lots of Cedar Point. Both ferry lines can be directly reached from Cedar Point in about 20-30 minutes, although the Jet Express sometimes runs boats directly out of Sandusky right next to Cedar Point.
That is a difficult question! There is a good variety of dining choices on the Island that serve an even wider variety of food and beverages. While golf carting around the Island, you might want to stop in and look over the various menus to determine your lunch and dinner choices ahead of time!
There were a reported 608 full time residents on South Bass Island according to the 2010 census.