About Us

Portland Discovery Land and Sea Tours has been offering tours of Portland and Casco Bay for over eighteen years. As a locally owned and operated company we take pride in showing visitors all that Maine’s largest city has to offer. Our friendly, attentive staff is committed to providing our guests with a fun, entertaining, and informative tour of the area. We’ll take you from city streets to rocky coast and show you the best of Portland and Casco Bay!

Meet Our Trolley Drivers and Guides

Scott

Scott was born and raised in Greater Portland and has been a trolley driver and guide with Portland Discovery for over 2 years. He’s a retired firefighter, a Maine history buff, and most recently a proud grandfather. When he’s not making people laugh, he can be found baking, building something in the backyard, or metal detecting.

Steve

Steve has been a tour guide and trolley jockey for Portland Discovery for over 10 years. Also born and raised in Maine, he just completed his 36th year as a school teacher in South Portland, where he and his wife raised their 3 children. When he’s not teaching in the classroom or on the trolley, he’s traveling, hiking or reading. He likes being with Portland Discovery because of the people he works with and the people he meets on tour.

Marie

Marie grew up in the mid-coast section of Maine and has been living in the Portland area since 1980. 2011 will be Marie’s 6th season as a guide and trolley driver and she loves showing this beautiful area we live in to people from all over the world. When she’s not being a tour guide, she’s spending time with family and friends, cross stitching, traveling or riding her motorcycle.

Doug

Doug is going into his 8th season as a trolley driver and guide for Portland Discovery. He lives in Richmond, Maine and when the weather’s nice he is often riding his motorcycle to work. He has a degree in History and enjoys the research and performance that goes into each and every tour and the people he meets on tour. He spends free time reading and painting.

Meet Our Captains

Captain Pat

Pat has lived and worked in Maine for over 30 years and has been a captain at Portland Discovery for over 3 years. He’s passionate about boats and history and loves talking to people and showing them around Portland’s harbor and islands. When he’s not working at Portland Discovery, he’s a full time police officer. His time off is spent fishing, flying, sailing and playing the guitar.

Captain Jon

Jon has been a captain for Portland Discovery for 3 years, but has spent the past 20 working the waters of Casco Bay, sailing, operating a water taxi and running a marine towing and salvage firm. Originally from Boston, Jon came to Maine to go to college 25 years ago and never left. When not on the water, Jon, his wife Lynne and their two daughters live in Portland and Jon teaches high school history. He likes being able to share his passion for being on the water, the history of Portland and the excitement on kids faces when we see seals, or on those really special occasions – porpoises.

Meet Our Deckhands

Dave Spilsbury

Dave came to Portland from Utah, fell in love with the city and all the water, and never left. This winter he’s been helping to raise a puppy and doing seasonal work at L.L. Bean. This summer he’ll be entering his 3rd season as a deckhand for Portland Discovery and would tell you he finds it endlessly fascinating to see Portland Harbor and Casco Bay through the eyes of folks that come here from literally all over the world. “Everybody feels better after a boat ride.”

Meet Our Management Team

Kathy-General Manager/Owner

Kathy has spent over 27 years working in the tourism industry. Throughout college she worked for Old Town Trolley Tours in Boston as a ticket seller and tour guide. By the time she left Old Town Trolley in 1994 she had been promoted to General Manager of Retail, overseeing six ticket/retail stores in Boston and Washington D.C. In 1995, with 10 years of experience under her belt, Kathy moved to Portland and started her own tour company “Mainely Tours” offering trolley tours of Portland as well as chartering her vehicles for transportation, weddings, etc. In the spring of 2009 Kathy and her husband Bill, who owned Eagle Island Tours, in an effort to streamline their operation and better serve the tour and charter market, began operating their trolley tours and harbor cruises under one new name, Portland Discovery Land & Sea Tours. Although Kathy spends much of her time behind the scenes working on marketing and bookkeeping for the company, she still prefers spending summer days at the Long Wharf ticket booth, meeting and greeting our customers! In her spare time Kathy enjoys travelling with Bill and their 2 kids, Nicolas & Juliana.

Bill-General Manager/Owner

Captain Bill has lived in Maine all his life and has called the Greater Portland area home for the past 15 years. Bill’s interest in the water and boats began at a very young age as the son of a Merchant Marine Officer and an avid Steamboat enthusiast. “Growing up with a mariner as a father, I don’t remember ever being on a boat and not being in the wheel house. It was clear early on that one day I would be a Captain.” Bill has a passion and close connection to Casco Bay as some of his descendents lived and worked on the islands in the bay. Bill genuinely enjoys working at Portland Discovery because of all the wonderfully dedicated people he has the opportunity to work with and considers it an honor to be able to expose people from around the world to the incredible sights and diverse history of Portland and Casco Bay. When Captain Bill is not working, he enjoys spending time with his beautiful wife Kathy and their two children Nicolas and Juliana.

Jake – Office Manager

Jake was raised in Windham, Maine, and though having lived in other states, was drawn back to Portland’s charm. He has been with Portland Discovery for 5 years, originally as ticket sales staff and now as Office Manager. He represents our company in all office operations, whether it’s a question about a Land and Sea Tour or details of a private charter. He likes working with Portland Discovery because of the great cast of employees that return to us every season, talking to our visitors and clients from all over the world and being able to show off the wonderful city of Portland to first time visitors. His spare time is spent playing frisbee golf, riding his bike, or listening to music and reading. Call or email today and you’ll probably talk to Jake!