Visitors to Panama City Beach have a new option for touring the Bay County area. Wednesday afternoon the St. Andrew ferry company gave its first ride to a group of tourists. The ferry travels from Bay Point Marina to St. Andrews, giving guests a look at the area from the water.

Charter services are available now and full service will begin this summer. If you have special requests the crew can provide extra opportunities like walking tours of the St. Andrews area and dolphin sightseeing.

"All too often during the summer people come down and ask where there are places to go other than the beach. And the beach is beautiful. We want to welcome people there and enjoy but there are other parts of Bay County we feel are important and that's downtown Panama City and of course historic St. Andrews, which you see behind me," said Hal Lacey, St. Andrew Bay Ferry Company.

For more information and rates for the ferry service, log onto their website.