maiden voyage mississippi river boat tours

I was part of a Road Scholar Program last month that was touring the Upper Mississippi River area and a cruise on this boat was one of our activities. The boat was chartered just for our group and was 90 minutes long. We left from the town of McGregor, a beautiful area and cruised the channels of the Mississippi River while Captain Vavra provided a wealth of river information including his past experience as a diver for mussels on the river bottom; uses for the mussel shells with samples of buttons from the shells; and showed us a variety of fish that could be found in the river which he brought from a local fish shop. Many of these fish I had never heard of. The fall colors were quite pretty in this area in early October and the weather was perfect with sun and clear skies. Captain Vavra was courteous and the boat roomy and comfortable. It was a great way to get to know the Mississippi River better. I would recommend this tour if you are ever in the area. I would also recommend a visit to the town of McGregor which is a charming river town, definitely worth a look.

We where kind of un-organized, what with european phone not working reliable in the states. We really wanted to do a boat trip on the Mississippi before leaving the area, so we where really happy that they took us on a trip even though no other customers where here on this day who wanted to take the regular trip at 2 pm. (Note to self: Try to find ways to phone ahead and check if somebody is around).The captain was very friendly, he told us a lot about the history of the Upper Mississippi and the industry here. We also had interesting discussions about all kind of matters, really profited from a "personal" tour. We did not see an enourmous number of wildlife, as the high season for waterfowl is spring and then later in autumn, but seeing the river from a boat and sailing between all those small islands was a great experience we will remember.

An awesome way to see the wonders of the Mississippi River! We have been on this same tour several times now and it never gets old. This year the captain got a new boat, and we were very excited to see it. We booked a private charter with Captain Vavra and went out yesterday. It was just a small group (2 adults and one infant) and he was more than happy to take us out, regardless of the fact that it was a rainy morning. What a wonderful way to get some great pictures of life on the river. Bald Eagles, migrating birds, lotus flowers, vegetation and lots of cool scenery. Thank you Captain Robert for an awesome experience as usual! You never disappoint! See you again soon!

Capt. Vavra is guiding a National Geographic film crew, on the Mississippi River, from Genoa WI to St. Louis Mo. An experience of a life time!dalej

Our trip was something I'd rather forget. There weren't many people aboard and the captain wasn't very friendly and we did not feel welcome. I don't know if it was just a bad day or he wasn't happy there weren't more people or what, but that is NOT how paying customers should be treated!I love the rest of the McGregor area, but this is definitely not something I would do again!

Again, we traveled to McGregor to board the Maiden Voyage Tour boat in Mc Gregor, IA (2.5 hrs from Minneapolis, 3 hrs. from Milwaukee, 3.5 hrs. from Chicago). We have traveled the Great River Road along the Mississippi River many times, but there is no exact words I can put together to describe the UNSEEN world of the Mississippi River, until Captain Robert Vavra revealed them to me and my family. We fell in love with the history, river and people thereof. This 2hr. tour for $15.00 per adult was the bargain of the year. The eagles, vegetation, towns, boaters and views from the river gives one a perspective that you would never never feel from the road. Captain Vavra has made a living on the River from Clamming, tour boat to Log Cabin Rentals called Andy Mountain Cabins, we stayed in a complete real solid log cabin. Like new, clean and inexpensive. I can not help, but give you guys the phone # 563-586-2123 Not miss this experience.

We traveled to La Crosse and Prairie du Chien WI this summer. We have done tours on the Mississippi River before, but this was the best. What is different was that is was present by Captain Vavra with history of the river and beautiful views. Open boat made us feel like we were there with the eagles and other nature.Dale & WendyMilwaukee,Wi