Three things you can book near Fort McHenry, and what none of them includes
The useful part first, because it saves people a wasted booking: not one of the three activities below includes admission to Fort McHenry. The Inner Harbor cruise names the fort as a sight and passes it from the water, with no stop and no landing. The helicopter tour flies over it. The Fells Point food tour is a walk round a different Baltimore neighbourhood and never goes near Locust Point. Entry to the star fort is a National Park Service ticket, bought at the gate from the Park Service and from nobody else.
Why there is no Fort McHenry tour
GetYourGuide’s own Fort McHenry page lists two products. Both of them pass the fort: one by boat, one by helicopter. That is the entire market. No operator sells a guided walk of the star fort, because the star fort is a national monument and its ticket is sold at a register inside the gate. I would rather write that plainly than pad this page with a fourth listing that has nothing to do with Locust Point. The inventory is thin because there is nothing to sell.
What you can buy is a view of the outside, and two of these three give you a good one. Here they are, closest to the fort first.
Sees the fort from the waterBaltimore: Inner Harbor Sightseeing Cruise
Flies over the fortBaltimore: Helicopter Tour Over Downtown & Landmarks
Baltimore — not the fortDiscover Baltimore: Fells Point Culinary Food Tour
Inner Harbor sightseeing cruise, from $34
Forty-five minutes on the water, with Fort McHenry as one of the named sights along the way. The boat passes the fort; it does not dock and nobody gets off. Of everything sold on the platform this is the closest thing to a Fort McHenry tour that exists, and it is also the one with a proper sample behind its rating: 4.8 across 251 reviews, against 25 for the helicopter and 44 for the food tour.
The reviews are consistent about what it is, which is a narrated harbour trip rather than a history tour of the fort.
“Very pleasant and educational boat cruise. The staff were superb!!! I will do it again.”
Donna · Inner Harbor sightseeing cruise
“The cruise was exactly as advertised. It was a beautiful day and it was a great taste of Baltimore history. The crew was very friendly and helpful.”
Sherri · Inner Harbor sightseeing cruise
“Jim was a fantastic captain! I also learned a lot about the history of Baltimore on this cruise!”
Eric · Inner Harbor sightseeing cruise
Helicopter tour over downtown, from $78
It flies over the fort, and from the air is the one place the star shape makes immediate sense. Its rating is 4.9 from 25 reviews, the highest of the three, and that second number has to travel with the first every time. Twenty-five is a thin base. One bad flight would move it noticeably, and the cruise’s 4.8 from 251 reviews is the sturdier figure of the two. Read the 4.9 as encouraging rather than settled.
The reviews are short, and there are not many of them. Both of those are worth knowing before you spend $78.
“Great energy staff was helpful wish it was longer but still a great experience”
Oleo · Helicopter tour over downtown & landmarks
“Awesome. Will do it again.”
Nequia · Helicopter tour over downtown & landmarks
Fells Point culinary food tour, from $109 — Baltimore, not the fort
This one has nothing to do with Fort McHenry and I am not going to pretend otherwise. Fells Point is a different neighbourhood; the tour is a food-and-history walk through it, and the fort does not come into it at any point. It is on this site because people planning a fort day ask what else there is to do in Baltimore, and this is the answer most of them end up happy with. Rated 5.0 from 44 reviews.
“We not only had great food but learned interesting history. Not only was our guide excellent but each server at every place we went was fantastic.”
Deborah · Fells Point culinary food tour
“Really enjoyed this tour with our guide, Tommy. We learned A LOT about the city of Baltimore and the Fells Point neighborhood”
Andrew · Fells Point culinary food tour
The three side by side
Same three activities, same three ratings, each with the number of reviews it is built on. The row that matters most is the fourth one.
| Closest to the fortBaltimore: Inner Harbor Sightseeing Cruise | Baltimore: Helicopter Tour Over Downtown & Landmarks | Discover Baltimore: Fells Point Culinary Food Tour | |
|---|---|---|---|
| From | $34 | $78 | $109 |
| Rating | 4.8 from 251 reviews | 4.9 from only 25 reviews | 5.0 from 44 reviews |
| Relation to the fort | Passes it on the water | Flies over it | A different neighbourhood |
| Fort admission included | No | No | No |
| Stated length | 45 minutes | Not stated | Not stated |
| Suits | Seeing the fort from outside | One look at Baltimore from the air | An evening out, not a fort day |
| Book this → | View → | View → |
If the fort is the point of your day, the cruise is the one to book and the park is the one to walk. The grounds open at 7:00 a.m. and the registers that sell star fort entry do not open until 9:00 a.m., so an early morning on the seawall costs nothing at all. What is free at Fort McHenry.
Read the write-ups before you book
I have gone through each one properly — what it shows you, what the reviewers actually said, and who it suits. Start with the Inner Harbor cruise review, then the helicopter tour review and the Fells Point food tour review, or see all three reviews together.
Can’t make these dates?
Browse more available Baltimore boat trips and sightseeing tours and find one that fits your schedule — all with instant confirmation and free cancellation.
Whatever that search returns, the same thing holds: none of it includes admission to the star fort. That is a $15 ticket bought at the gate, explained on tickets and prices, and skippable entirely if the free majority of the park is enough for you. The whole visit is written up in the complete guide.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a tour that includes entry to Fort McHenry?
No. Nothing sold on GetYourGuide includes admission to the star fort. Entry is a National Park Service ticket bought at the gate — $15 per adult aged 16 and over, valid 7 days, free for under-16s. The three activities on this page pass the fort, fly over it, or take place in another neighbourhood.
Which of the three actually shows you Fort McHenry?
Two of them. The Inner Harbor sightseeing cruise, from $34, names the fort as a sight and passes it from the water in 45 minutes. The helicopter tour, from $78, flies over it. The Fells Point food tour, from $109, is a walk round a different Baltimore neighbourhood and does not go near the fort.
Is the helicopter tour the best rated?
It has the highest rating of the three, 4.9, but that figure rests on 25 reviews. The Inner Harbor cruise is rated 4.8 from 251 reviews and the Fells Point food tour 5.0 from 44. Twenty-five reviews is a small sample, so the 4.9 should always be quoted with its review count.
Can I book a Fort McHenry tour on the day?
There is no Fort McHenry tour to book. For the cruise and the helicopter tour, availability moves with the season and the weather, so the widget above is the honest answer for any given date. For the fort itself, the registers open at 9:00 a.m. and you simply pay at the gate.