Baltimore Inner Harbor Marina Transient Boater Review

Inner Harbor Marina offers transient boaters the best view, slip availability and access to Baltimore Inner Harbor attractions


A transient slip rental at Inner Harbor Marina offers boaters
the best view of Baltimore Inner Harbor attractions.

If you boat on the Chesapeake Bay, chances are a trip to Baltimore Inner Harbor is on your itinerary at some point. This city boating destination offers transient boaters access to great restaurants, shopping and attractions like the Baltimore National Aquarium.

At the heart of it all is Baltimore Inner Harbor Marina, run by Baltimore Marine Centers (a marina management company that owns several marinas in the Baltimore area). Inner Harbor Marina caters to transient boaters and gets high marks for our recent transient boat stay in my review of the marina facility.

Transient Slip Availability at Baltimore Inner Harbor Marina

Our recent boat trip to Baltimore was planned fairly last minute. We wanted a slip for only one night’s stay at the marina so that our daughter could visit the Baltimore Aquarium for the first time. Docking our boat right inside the Baltimore Inner Harbor was our biggest priority for easy access to the Aquarium shortly after arrival.

We had no problem reserving a slip for a Saturday night when calling the day before. In fact, we later found out that Baltimore Inner Harbor Marina has about 95 transient slips available and typically has only 50 transient boats arriving on a weekend (with the exception of holidays and special event weekends). They cater to transient boats of any size and can even handle large mega-yachts up to 300 feet on their piers.

We paid $2.50/foot plus electric for our slip on a weekend, but it is $2.00/foot on weekdays. Considering we only paid a total of $120 for one night stay in Baltimore Inner Harbor it is a really great deal… a room at a hotel in the harbor would likely cost you $200-300 per night (plus you wouldn’t be directly ON the water!)

Spectacular night view of Baltimore Inner Harbor
from the docks of Inner Harbor Marina.

In addition to the ample number of transient slips, each slip has a great view of Baltimore Inner Harbor. About 5 years ago the marina had a major renovation with their docks – their floating concrete docks are now positioned so that docks run parallel to the Inner Harbor and nearly every boat has a premium view of the harbor skyline. The view gets even better at night when the aquarium and other buildings are all lit up in the harbor.

Service for Transient Boaters at Baltimore Inner Harbor Marina

As we approached the harbor and Inner Harbor Marina we hailed the marina on Channel 16 and got a prompt response with directions to our designated transient slip. It was nice to see someone waiting for us at the end of the slip to wave us into the appropriate berth. It was even nicer that the guy (wearing a nice Baltimore Inner Harbor Marina shirt) helped us with our lines, recommended where to put the spring line and even hooked up our power cord. He noted where we go to check in once we got settled.

The friendly welcome and attention to service as we docked was evidence that Inner Harbor Marina caters to transients and is used to boats coming and going all the time.

Inner Harbor Marina has a full dock with gasoline and diesel, along with a pump-out station available at each slip. Electric at the slips is dual 50 amp – so you’ll need to have a splitter (or rent one from them) if you only have 30 amp hook-ups on your boat. The larger pier slips have single phase 100 amp or three phase 100 amp service.

Transient Amenities at Baltimore Inner Harbor Marina

As I mentioned, the biggest amenity for Inner Harbor Marina is definitely the location – you really can’t beat the proximity to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor attractions. Everything in downtown Baltimore is pretty much within walking distance of the marina… including the harbor and Orioles and Ravens stadiums.

The marina is also located right alongside Rusty Scupper Restaurant – a big bonus because it is one of our favorite places to dine in town. In fact, the marina office building (with heads and showers) is in the same building below the restaurant.

The bath house located at the main office building is in need of some major renovations… although fairly clean and functional it didn’t seem like the restrooms or showers been updated in a very long time (like decades). There are also basic laundry facilities and a boater’s lounge (didn’t check that out, but I suspect it is as dated as the bath house).

The other disappointment during our stay at Inner Harbor Marina was the cable TV and WiFi access at our dock. The cable seemed to have most of the stations scrambled – barely any channels came in good. And the WiFi signal was strong at the dock but the Internet didn’t work – they must have had the WiFi running but needed to reboot the Internet. Since we were only staying for one night we didn’t bother to complain or ask them to check into either situation.

Although there is no pool located at the marina, but they do give you access to the pool and fitness center at the nearby Intercontinental Hotel. However, it is at least a 5-10 minute walk to the hotel.

Overall, our review of the Baltimore Marine Center’s Inner Harbor Marina was excellent. We had a great time and will definitely line up another transient slip for our next boat trip to Baltimore.


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Diane Seltzer

View posts by Diane Seltzer
Diane is the founder of MyBoatLife.com as well as the boating lifestyle site for kids BoaterKids.com. Active in the boating industry, Diane has also led the marketing for multiple recreational boating businesses and startups.
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