Animal Crossing Kapp'n's Boat Tours - New Horizons Island Tours Explained

Of all the special characters in Animal Crossing, Kapp'n is one of the most beloved. Yet, with all the hubbub around Brewster, we hardly saw anyone clamouring for the return of the sea captain chanteur! Well, we're happy to have you back, Kapp'n — not least because you can take us to new places.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons' update 2.0 has added Kapp'n's boat tours, which bring a wealth of new and interesting content to the game. Here's how to get the most out of them!

Animal Crossing Kapp'n's Boat Tours Guide

How to Find Kapp'n

Kapp'n will be docked at your pier (check your map if you don't remember where it is!). Make sure that there isn't any furniture blocking the way to his boat, and you'll be able to chat to him to go on a tour.

What are Kapp'n's boat tours?

Much like in Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Kapp'n is a weird old sailor who'll take you to new islands on his boat, while singing you a little ditty about his life and his weird family.

The islands he takes you to are similar to the mystery islands you can visit in the game, but you don't have to buy Nook Miles tickets to go — you just pay Kapp'n 1,000 Miles directly.

When you've deforested and desecrated the entire island, just speak to Kapp'n again and he'll drive you home!

Just be aware that, unlike the mystery Nook Miles islands, you can only go on one Kapp'n boat tour a day — so make the most of it!

What's different between Kapp'n's islands and the mystery islands?

Kapp'n's islands are a lot like mystery islands... but they still have a few extra surprises.

They can be any weather and any season, making it easier to catch fish, sea creatures, and bugs you missed out on, and they're also the only place you can find gyroids, the singing and dancing statues.

They'll also have seasonal plant life, like bushes and shrubs, that you can take home with you, as well as new plant life, like vines and glowing moss. You'll also sometimes have the chance to get seasonal materials like snowflakes and pine cones, and the messages in the bottles can also contain seasonal recipes!

From our early visits, it seems like Kapp'n's islands have different layouts to the mystery islands. Make of that what you will. Also, note that there appear to be no trees that drop furniture, like the mystery islands. And Kapp'n will sell you Flimsy Tools for 100 Miles each, which you can upgrade with the DIY table that's on every island.

Most excitingly, though, you can find Star Islands, where it's night time, it's summer, there's a meteor shower, the rocks contain star fragments, and the message in a bottle contains a Celeste DIY recipe. There are Money Islands, too!

Types of Island

You can find a few interesting island variants, only on Kapp'n's boat tours. Here's a look at the variants we've found so far:

Note: If you're new to the game or restarted your island, you may have to wait a while for various Kapp'n island types to unlock.

Autumn Maple Leaf Island

Need more maple leaves for a DIY? This island has them all over the place. You'll know it's this island because all the trees are red, and leaves are falling — you'll even get a little preview as the boat approaches the island.

Summer Island

As the title implies, this island is set in summer, and has all the summer bugs, fish, and sea creatures, as well as summer shells on the beach. Channel your New Leaf character and chop down all but a couple of palm trees to get the maximum high-dollar bug-farming rewards!

Money Island

The trees are money trees, but that's about it — and each one only has three bags of 1,000 Bells, so sadly, Money Island won't make you rich. With the money rock (there's only one) this island made us about 35,000 Bells in total.

Bamboo Island

It's an island with a lot of bamboo, and no other trees. Great for all your Spring DIYs!

Coconut Island

This one is where you're likely to find the new plant life — vines and glowing moss. Also, all the trees are coconut trees, and weirdly, they grow on grass, which the game doesn't normally let you do!

Star Island

You may have heard rumours of star islands — and we can finally confirm that they're true! Star islands are set at night, with two rocks that you can hit for star fragments and even random constellation fragments, too (although breaking the rock will just give you a single stone). Check the beaches for even more star fragments, and a DIY that you can usually only get from Celeste.

There will also be a star shower the whole time, and the stars you wish on will wash up on your beach the next day — but the fragments will be the star sign your town is currently in, and there's a max limit of 20.

Also, is you stick around for long enough, it'll turn to daytime!

In our tests, the star island was set some time between June and July, and others mentioned the possibility of catching finned fish, too!

What to bring with you on a boat tour

Similar to mystery islands (which you can find our guide for here), it's a good idea to follow this checklist:

• Empty your pockets
• Take tools, specifically fishing rod, axe, shovel, bug net, and ladder (you don't need watering can or slingshot)
• Remember your wetsuit

How to get the most out of the island

If you've followed the above checklist, you're almost ready to go — but because Kapp'n's islands can be different seasons and weathers, you should make sure you're aware which critters you're missing!

Luckily, we've got a full fish guide, bug guide, and sea creature guide for you. Cross-reference that against your Critterpedia app to make sure you get all the right ones!

You can also dig up the seasonal shrubs, cut down (or dig up!) all the trees and bamboo, and hit all the rocks, then break them to get the most bang for your Nook Miles buck. Make sure to pick up all the fruits, too! And don't forget to check the beaches for a message in a bottle — there's always one, and they have DIY recipes inside.

Finally, in our tests, we've found only one or two dig spots on each island. This is your only way to get gyroids, so be diligent in checking — chopping down all the trees will help!

Does Kapp'n have something to do with Brewster?

Oh yes — you'll need to find Brewster on one of Kapp'n's boat tours. Be warned: if you go on your first boat tour before speaking to Blathers about adding The Roost to the Museum, you'll have to wait until the day after to find Brewster. Sorry!

How do I know what season it is?

You can easily tell what season the island is by looking at the weeds. Here's a quick guide for you, courtesy of the Animal Crossing Wiki:

Spring
Summer
Early Autumn
Autumn
Late Autumn
Winter (Snow)
Winter

We'll be keeping this guide up-to-date as we visit more islands, find more gyroids, and learn more about Kapp'n and his weird songs.

This article is part of our Animal Crossing: New Horizons walkthrough, which includes a Complete Fish List, Complete Bug List and Complete Sea Creatures List. If you're looking for specific fish or bugs, we can tell you how to catch the elusive Coelacanth, Mahi-Mahi, Giant Trevally, Stringfish, Golden Trout and all the Sharks and Beetles, along with a full list of critters leaving at the end of the month (unless you visit Kapp'n's Boat Tour islands, of course!).

We can also help with How to Spot Redd's Fake Paintings and Statues, How to Make Bells Fast, How to Breed Flowers, How to Get more DIY Recipes, How to Upgrade Nook's Cranny, where and when to find special characters like Gulliver, Sable, Label, Wisp, Celeste, Pirate Gulliver and Jack, plus tips on using the Star Wand, Tool Ring, Rock Trick, Cutting Down and Moving Trees, using amiibo on Harv's Island, How to Back Up Your Island Data, How to Time Travel, How to Get a 5-Star Island Rating and a whole lot more.

If it's new content you're looking for help with, we can help you find gyroids, unlock Brewster's café, use the new Pro Camera App for selfies, enact new ordinances, get the beloved Froggy Chair, and even learn How to Cook.

And finally, Where to Buy Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Nintendo Switch, if for some reason you haven't yet picked up the game, and How To Buy The Happy Home Paradise DLC, too!