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What is Bird's Eye

Bird’s Eye Maine is a travel and tour company based in Portland, Maine, specializing in boat tours of Casco Bay and camper van rentals for exploring the state.

By Sea

With boat tours departing from Portland Harbor, Bird’s Eye can bring you out into the heart of Casco Bay, exploring the many coves, lighthouses, beaches, and military forts that sprinkle the coastline. Every tour is personalized to your interests, whether it be sea glass hunting or wildlife viewing, we’ve got you covered. When you charter with Bird’s Eye, you get your own private boat, your own local guide and your own captain.

By Land

Renting a camper van with Bird’s Eye allows you to explore Maine and its inland waters freely – drive your home everywhere from the North Maine Woods to a seaside town on Maine’s historic s Rt. 1. With a full-sized bed, your own cook stove, and the option of a canoe, you can truly travel everywhere in the state. With Bird’s Eye, Maine’s beautiful and hard to reach wild places really do become accessible.

Meet the Founder

Captain Matt spent his entire life either on the water or dreaming of it. As a kid, his father had a 13ft Zodiac raft that could be deflated, rolled up, and put in the trunk of the car. His family took that boat everywhere - from the Bay of Fundy in Canada to the waters around Portland, nothing was off limits. It was the mid-coast waters of Penobscot Bay where they spent the most time, specifically near the island of Vinalhaven. There he took his first swimming lessons, learned to sail, and came to appreciate the frigid Maine waters.

As he grew older, he became a sailing instructor, which gave way to the more demanding life of working on lobster boats. Lobstering gave him a new window on the world – he holds the feeling of steaming out to haul at dawn, before the rest of our country is even awake, close to his heart. You frequently hear him say, ‘there truly is nothing like sunrise on the water’. After adventuring through South America and finishing college with a degree in eco-justice education. He worked as a teacher and soccer coach in San Francisco, Swaziland, and Seattle before moving back to Maine and the coast he loves so much. Now that he has returned to this special place, he has made it his mission to share its wonder with anyone and everyone. Maybe one day soon he will be able to pass on some of that passion to you through Bird’s Eye Maine.

Origin Story

It wasn’t until Captain Matt moved back to Maine in 2017, that he was confronted with the question everyone eventually asks themselves: ‘what do you want to do for the rest of your life?’. Being back on the coast, he realized that the happiest moments in his life had been on a boat; whether it was lobstering at sunrise or exploring the many islands that sprinkle our coastline. The moment he was able to answer that all-important question, he was working inside, on the coast, as a carpenter, breathing in sawdust on a hot summer day. In that instant, he had his eureka moment; his profession in life was not anywhere on land, but at sea. Since then, he has been working toward a goal of sharing this wonderful coast.

It is his goal to make Casco Bay and all that it has to offer accessible to people who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to explore it. Bird’s Eye has started expanding this dream onto land with the company providing camper van rentals to explore the landside of Maine’s many wonders. First and foremost, Bird’s Eye Maine is here to help you explore what makes this state so special. We’ve recognized that Maine is not the easiest place to get around, so we have made it our mission to help you get out into the wonderous outdoors and explore to your heart’s content.