Duffy Boat Rental in Long Beach
A Duffy is a small electric boat you drive yourself. All 22 of ours are the same 21-foot, fully enclosed model, each carrying up to 12 guests on Alamitos Bay, from $125 an hour. This guide covers the price, the boats, the route, the tide, the rules and how to book.
What is a Duffy boat?
A Duffy is an electric boat built for calm harbor water. It runs on batteries, so it is quiet and there are no engine fumes in the cabin. You steer with a wheel, and it tops out at 5 mph.
Ours are 21-foot Duffys with a roof and windows all the way around. On a warm afternoon the windows go up and the breeze comes through. On a cool evening they stay down and the cabin holds the warmth. Every one of our 22 boats is the same model, so the boat in the photos is the boat you get, and a group split across three boats has three identical boats. Our fleet page has the full specs and what is on board.
How much does a Duffy rental cost in Long Beach?
One hour is $125. Two hours is $250. That is the price of the whole boat, not a price per person: one guest or 12, the boat costs the same.
Split across a full boat, one hour works out to about $10.42 a person and two hours to about $20.83. Ice is $7 a bag if you would rather not bring your own. Parking is free. The full price list and group planner show what larger groups pay and what is included.
How does a rental work, start to finish?
- Book online. Pick a date, a start time, one or two hours, and the number of boats. Booking runs through Peek, and you can book at any hour.
- Arrive 30 minutes early with your whole party. That covers parking, check-in at the office and a bag of the free popcorn. Children under 12 get their life vests at the front office.
- Meet the Dock Master. The Dock Master takes your boat out to the end of the dock, then hands you the keys. You get a quick tutorial on driving and a map of the sights.
- Cruise. For the next one or two hours, you are the captain. The Naples Canals and the rest of Alamitos Bay are yours to explore at your own pace.
- Come back to the dock by the end time on your booking.
Nobody needs boating experience. Driving a Duffy is very similar to driving a golf cart, and at 5 mph there is time to think about every turn.
Where can you go on a Duffy?
Everything happens inside Alamitos Bay, the bay on the line between Long Beach and Seal Beach. Jetties separate it from the San Gabriel River, and the water inside is calm, which is exactly what a Duffy is built for.
The Naples Canals are the headline. Naples is three islands inside the bay, developed from the early 1900s and ringed by canals lined with homes and private docks. The Naples Canal and the Rivo Alto Canal run between the islands. Whether you can go in depends on the tide.
When the tide is too high for the canals, you can still cruise around Naples Island, into Jellyfish Cove, Spinnaker Bay, Marina Pacifica and Mother’s Beach. The Alamitos Bay page describes that wider route, and Belmont Shore is the beach neighborhood on the bay’s west side.
The local sea lions are regulars. Keep an eye on the docks and buoys: they make appearances throughout the day.
How does the tide change your trip?
Low bridges cross the Naples canals, so the height of the water decides whether a boat fits underneath. At high water there is less room, and the canals can be off-limits for part of the day. The rest of the bay stays open.
The tides page shows the next seven days of high and low water from NOAA's Long Beach Fire Boat Pier station (9410678), the nearest prediction station in the same water as the bay. If the canals are the reason for your trip, look at the tide before you choose a start time. Our guide to reading the tide for the Naples bridges explains the numbers in plain English. If you are unsure, call (562) 598-2628 and ask.
Who can drive, and who can come along?
The person who rents the boat and the person who drives it must both be 21 or older. Passengers can be any age: kids, grandparents, babies. Everyone counts toward the limit of 12 per boat, babies included.
Children under 12 wear a life vest for the whole trip, and our front office provides children’s and infant vests. Adult life jackets are on every boat.
Dogs are welcome aboard. Bring your dog’s own life vest, since we do not provide pet vests. Bringing your dog covers the rest.
What can you bring on board?
Food, snacks, a cake, a cooler. You can bring your own beer and wine. Ice is sold in the boat shop for $7 a bag, and you are welcome to bring your own ice instead. In winter, blankets are welcome.
Local vendors deliver food and décor for rentals; call us and we will point you to them. The rules and packing list has everything in one place, from the vest rules to what to leave in the car.
What is it like on board?
Quiet, mostly. With no engine noise, you can talk at a normal volume from the wheel to the back of the boat. The cabin is covered, so a bright day does not mean two hours of direct sun, and a cool evening does not mean shivering.
One person drives; everyone else settles in around the cabin with the food and drinks within reach. At 5 mph the ride is gentle, which helps if you are carrying a cake, a baby or a nervous dog.
What do people book a Duffy for?
A Duffy turns an hour on the water into an occasion. These guides walk through each one, with timing, group size and what to bring:
- Birthday boat parties, for up to 12 guests a boat
- Bachelorette parties on the bay
- Proposals on the water
- Sunset cruises, with sunset times for every month
- Date nights on a Duffy
- Team outings and corporate groups across several boats
- The Naples holiday lights in December
- The Fourth of July on the bay
- Dog-friendly cruises
The occasions page has all of them side by side.
What should a first-timer know?
A few things make the first trip smoother:
- Choose your driver before you arrive. The driver must be 21 or older, and that person gets the tutorial from the Dock Master.
- Decide whether the canals are the point. If they are, check the tide when you book, not on the morning of the trip.
- Split your time. At 5 mph, the far side of the bay is a while away. Plan to spend about half your rental heading out and half heading back.
- Go slow near docks and other boats. There is no rush, and a Duffy rewards a light touch on the wheel.
- Pack for the season. Sunglasses in summer, a blanket in winter, and a cooler whatever the month.
Is a Duffy the right boat for your group?
A Duffy suits a group that wants to sit together, eat, talk and look around, and that wants one of its own to drive. It does not suit a group that wants speed, open ocean or fishing. If you are weighing a Duffy against a pontoon or a captained charter, our comparison of Duffy, pontoon and captained boats sets the three side by side, and how we compare lists the facts about our own fleet.
Where exactly are you?
Our dock is at Alamitos Bay Landing, 186 N Marina Dr #4601, Long Beach, CA 90803, on Alamitos Bay next to Naples, close to Belmont Shore and the Seal Beach line. Parking is free and on site, a few steps from the boats. The contact page has the map, the hours and directions.
How many boats does your group need?
Divide your head count by 12 and round up. Twelve people fit on one boat. Thirteen need two. Thirty-six need three. The group planner on the pricing page does the math and the price together, and our guide to what twelve people on a Duffy looks like helps you decide whether to fill a boat or split across two.
For a large team, team outings explains how to spread a group over several boats that leave together.
When should you go?
Daytime trips are bright and easy with kids. Late afternoon brings low, warm light; the sunset cruise guide lists sunset times for every month so you can time your start. In December, the Naples holiday lights are the reason to go after dark. Our guide to the time of day that suits the Naples Canals weighs light, tide and crowds.
Whatever the hour, check the tides if the canals matter to you.
What if the weather turns?
The boats are enclosed, so a gray sky is no reason to stay home. All sales are final. If weather closes the bay, we move your rental to another day.
How do you book?
Online, at any hour, through Peek: choose your date, your start time, one or two hours and the number of boats, and Peek confirms the booking. Coming from farther away? Our guide to the closest Duffy rental to LA and Orange County covers the drive.
Prefer to talk it through? Call (562) 598-2628. To give a day on the bay as a present, buy a London Boat Rentals gift card. Before you book, you can read what guests say about us on Google and Yelp, and our planning guides go deeper on tides, timing and group size.
