Total scam. Been waiting for our reservation since 3, when people with noon reservations had yet to go out on the boat. The woman who happily took our money has been missing in action for the last hour, so no explanations or ability to reschedule (since refunds aren't an option, evidently). Hope they enjoy the call from BBB after I speak with them. read more

Dolphin Paradise Tours - Been there since 4:00...now 5:15... - Tours Near Me - Merritt Island, Florida

Manatee Revolt! Wildlife does not always cooperate with your agenda! Checking out the wildlife with Dolphin Paradise Tours. As with anything, your experience is based on your expectations and attitude. This tour is a wildlife experience, meaning the tour brings you as close as possible to observe both manatees and dolphins. Boats are in good condition and if you can't swim near the manatees (which you could!) you will be taught how to spot them and brought to a man made island where they often congregate. Your experience and understanding of the manatees is greatly enhanced if you are first able to visit the Homosassa Wildlife Park. A great ride on a boat with friendly staff that pointed out natural features of the area as well as bird and marine life. We did, on our visit, see a plethora of dolphins and got within 5 feet of several manatee. The tour originates at a marina, so of course you must pay for parking (nominal fee). Additionally, if you purchased a Groupon, tax will be collected upon your check in. read more

Dolphin Paradise Tours - Tours Near Me - Merritt Island, Florida

Employees are all licensed, very polite and funny. However, We bought a groupon and nowhere in the description said that you might not see any dolphins and/or manatees. We saw a few dolphins from afar and while in the boat... but when we arrived at the location, their employee actually pointed us to the place where we might see dolphins and/or manatees and left us to do the searching for ourselves. Kind of disappointing. So no swimming with the dolphins or manatees for us. read more

My family & I had a wonderful time today. Our guide was Captain Alex. He was hilarious & full of fun stories. We went to our own private island a to swim and find cool shells & whatnot. We found horseshoe crabs & lots of konch shells. Water didn't get too deep so it was great for my 7 year old. We saw 5 dolphins swimming & followed them on our way back to dock. read more

Dolphin Paradise Tours - On our way to the private lil island!!! Saw 5 dolphins!!! - Tours Near Me - Merritt Island, Florida

NOT WORTH IT AT ALL The island is not very remote you're right next to the cruise ships, we saw the tail of two dolphins far away. And no manatees on the sand bar. The whole advertisement is false. DON'T GO read more

Edited July 2015 in response to Jeff's review: The link he provides states the following: "...interacting with wild marine mammals should not be attempted, and viewing marine mammals must be conducted in a manner that does not harass the animals. * NOAA Fisheries Service does not support, condone, approve, or authorize activities that involve closely approaching, interacting, or attempting to interact with whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals, or sea lions in the wild. This includes attempting to swim with, pet, touch, or elicit a reaction from the animals. " Please note: CLOSELY APPROACHING, INTERACTING or ATTEMPTING TO INTERACT WITH. This includes, get this, TOUCHING. So long as people continue to report that they have been petting animals on these tours I will continue to monitor and report. You do not run out into the wild and pet the animals. It is unethical and ends in accidents such as this one: http://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/wildlife/dolphin-with-deep-propeller-cuts-improving/2238246 If you want to get close to a marine mammal, please do so in a controlled setting with animals who are cared for by humans. That way you get your interaction and you are not disturbing feeding, nursing or mating behaviors nor are you desensitizing these animals to humans and boats which can lead to disaster. Best of both worlds. Or, go take a tour that plays by the rules and does not allow you to touch. I am updating my review to add - people are saying they got to PET animals while they were on these tours. This is EXTREMELY illegal and if your tour operator encourages you to pet a marine mammal you need to report them to FWC immediately. Especially with manatees, it is both a violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act AND the Endangered Species Act. These laws are in place for a reason - interacting with wild animals can encourage them to approach these boats in the future, which puts them at greater risk for boat strike injuries or even death. Shame on this company and shame on the selfish people participating in it. read more

Wow - I really don't understand the bad reviews for this place at all. I purchased a 2-hour dolphin and manatee swim/boat trip for $34 and we had a really good time. I booked it for 10am to avoid the late afternoon heat. It was hot enough at 10, but we expected that. We started out on a decent boat and our guide was extremely knowledgable and friendly. He pointed out lots of indigenous animals, including an osprey named Rukah. We saw lots of dolphins on the way out to the island. Once we arrived on the island, we were encouraged to trek out into the Banana River and get into the channel where manatees and dolphins travel. Toward the end of the two hour trip, a curious manatee visited our group. The dolphins were plentiful, but kept their distance. The river never was too deep since there were plenty of sand bars to walk/paddle around on. There were lots of different shells to collect if that's your thing, and tons of different fish to look at. We even saw a horseshoe crab! I would wear or bring lake shoes if you decide to visit. The sand isn't really rough, but for several children in the party, they had a difficult time in the coarse sand. I'm glad I wore lake shoes. The staff was friendly, and for the price, I was pleasantly surprised. The fuel cost alone was worth the $34. Don't come in expecting million dollar yachts or fancy shmancy stuff. Do come expecting local, knowledgable guides that make the trip a lot of fun! read more

DONT DO IT. false advertisement. No swim with dolphins, not even taking you to the remote island. The parking should be free at the parking lot. They issued a fake $3 parking permit. It's basically just a boat trip waste of time. read more

I normally would not leave a negative review, but I kinda hope the company will take notice. The day started with the extremely rude attitude of the woman in the tour center. She asked us to wait outside while she got things together. Then she came out and said that they had been open since 9:30 like we were idiots. We did see some manatee and wildlife are wild, so that really was not my issue. This is not a swim at all. It begins with a river boat ride, to an island and then a wade out on a sand bar. Our island guide was nice but he pointed us toward the locks and then stayed in the middle. Only plus was the attitude of Captain Garren, he was very pleasant and customer oriented. First impressions will go a long way for customer satisfaction. read more

Despite the other review, I actually had a good experience. The captain was very nice. None of the other customers who had reserved a spot showed up so he took us and his own wife and son to a small island. The island was beautiful and there were dolphins swimming around it. I didn't see any manatees but then again we stayed pretty shallow on the sandbar connected to the island. The family pointed out the things we'd like to see and even turned the boat around so we could get closer to an alligator! I wouldn't pay full price but if you're buying off groupon I'd say go for it! read more

Dolphin Paradise Tours - Tours Near Me - Merritt Island, Florida

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Waste of time ... Nothing real about it. Island is a sandbar, no restroom, no dolphins whatsoever ..... No beach either. How can day possibly sell this tour as it is advertised ? Steer clear out of it .!!!!!! read more

Dolphin Paradise Tours - Tours Near Me - Merritt Island, Florida

This is one of the best examples of false website advertising that I have encountered in quite a while! Why? The experiences this business leads you to believe will be your experience are miles apart! What did I experience? A misleading address. Extra Hidden Fees ... like PARKING on their little piece of grass lot -- LOL -- pathetic to charge $40- for a "Dolphin-Manatee Swim" that is really a hour ride & 45 minutes in the water??? A pretty high rate!! One "Port-O-Let" - No Modern Plumbing - not even showers after a swim in the Banana River. Maybe OK for those of us who want to blow our $$$ and like getting fleeced. read more

Extremely disappointed to report the poor customer service we (my friend and myself) received from this company. We purchased a Living Social voucher and scheduled an appointment to go Stand-Up Paddleboarding (SUP). Unfortunately, we were driving from Orlando to Merritt Island and the weather would not cooperate. We were faced with torrential rain, lightning and wind gusts on top of the fairly long drive. When I expressed my concern to the company, they said they would call/email if the 4:00 tour was going to be cancelled. I informed her that we needed to leave in the next 30 minutes, if we were going to be on time. The weather rapidly deteriorated and it was unsafe for us to drive to Merritt Island. I called and cancelled the 4pm tour. At no time did the woman on the phone mention we would be facing the forfeiture of the voucher nor did she mention we would be charged an additional $20 (half of the purchase price of the voucher) to reschedule. The company notified us that they would allow us to still use the voucher but we would face a rescheduling fee. I explained to that we shouldn't be penalized because of the poor driving conditions and that our cancellation was out of concern for our safety. The company insisted on charging us the rescheduling fee even though it clearly stated "weather permitting" in the fine print - guess, the customer doesn't have the right to use "weather permitting" as a reason for canceling...it was too dangerous weather to make the hour-long drive. Fortunately, Living Social made us whole and offered to compensate us for the voucher. I would not suggest using this company due to the poor customer service. read more

We purchased two Groupon deals and got there to find out that there was an additional charge for the boats fuel, we then boarded two boats that we only prayed would get us out to "the majestic island", on the way out to our destination, we say 3 dolphins, when we arrived at their "island", we entered the warm water and were offered one pair of goggles among 12 people, however when you used the goggles, the water was so dirty that sight was not visible. There were a few manatees in the area and occasionally you would see their noses pop out of the murky water. When we got back into the boats, the drivers would continuously say how they work for gracious tips, after giving them an additional $20, one boat driver replied "you can just keep it", indicating that he was not satisfied with a $20 tip. In my opinion--save the money, go in the water on your own and your experience will be much better. read more

My experience was not good nor worth it. I was charged so much unnecessary money it was insane. I had to pay a $3 parking fee to park by some little shack. Then when we got inside they told me I had to pay full price for my one year old, which was close to 50 bucks. I said really because even disney doesn't charge me for her!? The girl said nope she had to charge me full price for her. My other two children were so excited that we paid it. The Groupon I bought said the full amount was paid but it was not, they also told me I owed almost 20 bucks on top of the Groupon I paid for. I ended up paying and extra $80 bucks on top of the Groupon I bought by the end of it. Which was really sad it was not even close to worth it. I could've sat o the beach and seen what I saw here. The two guys who took us on the boat were nice. They guided us down a little sand bar which had some little non stinging jelly fish the kids got to hold, but there were not dolphins or manatees to touch. We literally say some dolphins on the way there on the boat and the way back. It was not worth the money, the office staff was rude, little blonde girl. The two tour guides were nice but it was not what was promised. Do not waste your money, I could've just saved and gone on another tour or gone to discovery cove, plus the place is hard to find the address our GPS took us to only had a parking lot and the people working there directed us down the street to the 1700 block. Not worth the hassle. read more

I purchased tickets for 5 through Groupon. Great price and as instructed throughout the reservation process i recieved an email confirmation within 12 hours of reserving. I was told by the desk staff that they were running 20 minutes behind in advance and at that point everything was very timely and not rushed. Our tour guide taking us to the island was informative and coureous to my 57 yesr old mother. While our at the island we spotted a dozen or so dolphins but the manatees stole the show.. We have several around us and my entire family got a chance to pet them. The manatees are very friendly and like to be petted like puppies. Definetly would to the dolphin and manatee swim my next time out to Florida. read more

I purchased through groupon a trip for 4. Nowhere on the groupon or their website was there any indication of an additional surcharge required. I called the manager and he "bullied" me into paying it, stating my trip would be cancelled and they money I had already paid was non refundable. So the day of our trip there were dolphins around the boat as we were traveling but non near the area they take you to swim. It states 2 hour swim but you only get to be in the water for about 45 minutes before they start to tell you to come back to land. All in all extremely disappointing. read more

Claudia and Jessica were AWESOME! Way better than anticipated. Spotted multiple dolphins and was a very educational tour. You can tell that they genuinely love what they're doing. Will be visiting again! read more

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My friends and I had a dolphin tour planned for 4:00 PM. The weather at the time was not great, and we told the ticket office we would like a refund but they would not give it to us, and they did not offer to reschedule. The tour itself did not even leave til about 4:30, which was terrible because the sun now sets at 5:30 and left us with very little day light to do anything in. It took about 30 mins to get to the "island" we were left at, putting us at the location at 5:00, 30 mins left of sunlight. The boat dropped us off, and the second it did it started pouring. We asked if we could get back on the boat seeing as though it was very cold and was now raining, and the fire they had to keep us warm was going out. The boat driver said no and drove away, coming back about an hour later to get us. The "tour guide" on the island did not do a single thing for us. He only poured gasoline on the fire and never once offered to take us in to the water for our dolphin/manatee swim. We literally stood on a patch of land in the middle of the ocean and never once saw any sea life. He did not offer anything to make us comfortable and didn't tell us anything about the island. Basically, we paid to stand on the middle of a patch of sand with a fire going out. It was awful, do not go here. read more

So I purchased a Living Social Deal for a Two-hour Manatee and Dolphin Swim through Dolphin Paradise Tours to use when I went on vacation to Central Florida. From the scheduling of the reservation to the end of my dealings with this business, my experience has been completely negative. It took several days to get through and actually be able to make a reservation to use the Living Social Voucher. The business' phone line was always busy. When we finally got through, we scheduled a reservation for 2pm on a Monday. Come 2pm on that Monday, no one showed up to pick us up for the tour at the dock we were told to wait. We were not the only party waiting for the tour. Neither our party nor the other party ever received a call canceling the reservation. When someone in the other party attempted to get through to the company, she received a recorded message that the company was closed for the day. She got a call a few minutes later from a man stating that the company had to cancel all tours for the day because of some issue with their boat. A few minutes later I received a call from the same man, stating the same facts he told the other party. He stated he would refund me my money. The man stated that he had called me and left a message, which he never did. A week later and I am now calling the business again and Living Social to attempt to get my refund. When I called the company, a woman by the name of Amanda stated I had to deal with Living Social for a refund for a voucher with their company. I know that the companies who issue Living Social Vouchers process the refunds themselves through Living Social but they must initiate it; that of course was never done by Dolphin Paradise Tours. Finally got a refund from Living Social, but only after wasting more time in making calls. This company is completely unreliable. read more

I can't explain those bad reviews (save for one part - see below). Our experience was very good. My biggest complaint was when I purchased a voucher through Groupon, there were only options for two or four people. We had three. So I got two at a discount and one at full price. This is my BIGGEST complaint (and barely qualifies as that). The ride out was uneventful, plenty of time to chat with our captain. There were a dozen of us, six each to two boats. Saw some gators, and lots of birds. The Island is small, man-made, but feels natural and is plenty big enough for their purposes. it has a VERY long sand bar, almost to the shore. Easy walking, though bring some sort of water shoes (not flip flops). We saw dolphins, we saw manatees, and we swam. Unfortunately the dolphins and manatees did not cooperate and come close enough to truly say "hi", but 15 feet away at one point is exciting enough. These are wild animals, and there really isn't anything you can do to guarantee a "personal" encounter. To Amanda E's review saying this was illegal - I don't know what she saw on her trip, but I would say that DPT did everything they could to comply with the law. http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/dolphinsmart/pdfs/protect_faq.pdf. We did not take food for them, did not try to circle them. We were told specifically not to approach them, but to allow them to approach or not approach as they would. They played shy, and we allowed them to play shy. Now, if you're not willing to allow them to play shy so that you only get to see them (or maybe not even see them), then go to a zoo. Otherwise this was a fantastic experience. Oh yeah, and the captain gave us great recommendations on places to eat as well. Always a bonus. read more

I was skeptical because the not so good reviews that I read, however had a great time. The captain and island tour guide were both super great! The boat left on time and returned on schedule. We did see dolphins up close, although for a few brief moments. I paid $35 for 2 through groupon. Worth every $$! Can't beat a day out in nature. My ONLY complaint is the weather was not cooperative. It was cold and windy making it impossible to swim. Other than that I would do it again. read more

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What a wonderful tour! Everyone was friendly and informative... saw plenty of Dolphins and Manatees. I was a bit sceptical about this tour after reading the reviews, but was pleasantly surprised. The "Captain" was great and knew the answer to all of my questions in regards to the environment and the wildlife. They must have done some revamping after reading the bad reviews. Definitely would go again! read more

I purchased a Groupon for a dolphin/manatee tour in July 2014. My Groupon ended up being about $40.00 for 2 people. I was a little thrown off by the additional charge of $3.00 to park on their grassy patch upon arrival, but at that point I didn't have a choice. The tour was 2 hours long, but in reality, it took about 20 minutes to get to the island and back, so you had just over an hour on the island. As well, they throw in an additional surcharge of $7.20 for gas. Nice. And no water is provided on the boat for guests, so be prepared to bring your own. The web-site indicates that the island is 'remote'; however, the island sits right next to highway 528, so for the more adventurous, you could park your own car on the side of the road and paddle over with a canoe or kayak. The island is also situated next to a bridge, so boats are frequent passerbys. We were fortunate however, to see a couple of manatees in the distance and 1 dolphin. The island itself is small and nice, but it dismisses the rural field as you are near boat and street traffic. In fact, in the distance you see all of the Disney cruise ships, which may be nice for some folks to see. What bothered me most though, is that it was expected that you tip the captains. I used to be a tour guide, so I understand and respect the idea of tipping and always do that. On the confirmation email by the company, they expect you to tip on the 'full' amount of the tour, not the groupon amount. For me, I was expected to tip $18.00. I almost choked. It was expected that I pay a captain $18.00 for driving me 20 minutes to the 'island', leaving me there with a tour guide on the island, and then they pick us up later and drive us back. Granted, the captains provide us with a bit of information, but they certainly did not earn an additional $18.00, on top of the costs snuck in by the company. In fact, if anyone deserved a tip it was the tour guide on the island who actually spent time with us and gave us information on the manatees and their habitat. Overall, I felt that I was mid-led and the company demanded more money from their custumers than they were upfront about. I would not recommend this company to anyone. read more

I had a great time here with my family! The people were friendly, the tour started on time, and it was a fun day! Although we didn't get as much of an "up close and personal" experience with the dolphins and manatee, we still saw them from the island and the boat. We knew going in that you can't control the moods of these beautiful creatures, and that is in part, what makes this type of experience better than in a Seaworld type place... They are in their own environment, and we are not controlling them - so you are always taking a chance. It was a great day, saw lots of cool things, Captain Rich was fun, and I would totally recommend it! read more

Calling for weeks after unsuccessfully trying to book online. No one responds to calls or emails! Zero stars, will definitely NOT recommend! Their website is also useless! read more

I purchased a 2 hour dolphin swim / tour for 4 people to take 2 adults and 2 children...the children were visiting from Pennsylvania. I got the voucher from groupon and had no problems scheduling the tour, but did have some troubles locating the boat dock location...poor signage and a mobile check-in trailer seamed odd. We left on time and the boat captain...Eric I think...was knowledgeable about the area and pointed out the manatee swirls, but that is about where the good parts ended. According to Dolphin Paradise's website we should have gotten a tour to a remote island paradise. What we got was a tiny boat that has seen better days. The "remote island" was anything but remote. It was a sand bar located near the locks hat separates the inter-coastal from the ocean. We were sent out, unguided, to shuffle around an "tap on the top of the water" to get the dolphins and manatees attention. Meanwhile the "guide/captain" relaxed on the boat. We found, and went off the edge, of sand bar which could have been dangerous if we weren't good swimmers. As we shuffled about we saw 2 dolphin dorsal fins and that's about it. I understand wild animals, but had higher hopes. After about 30 mins in the water attempting to locate dolphins and manatees on our own, boat after boat started dropping anchor on our "remote" island paradise. Within 15 mins a floating Tiki Bar showed up, blasting music and serving drinks on our "remote" island paradise. As we made our way back to the boat we now had to be aware of about 7 boat anchors and fishing lines and hooks that had been cast out into the sand bar we were searching for shells. If there were any dolphins or manatees, they were ultimately scared away by the boaters, fishers and floating Tiki Bar. The "captain" actually made a comment that the sand bar we were at was a known local hangout. I checked in with the "captain" and it was time to go. In order to get back on the boat we had to crawl back onto the bow from the sand bar which was pretty difficult for me and was almost impossible for the 2 children and my disabled fiancee. She actually hurt herself three times getting on and off the boat which had no steps or ladder. Once we got back I felt obligated to put a tip in the jar and then I came to my senses and didn't. I felt even better about that once we got back to the car and realized that our 2 hour tour was only an hour and a half. Hopefully this helps others to stay away from Dolphin Paradise Tours...I can't imagine paying full price for that...good thing we had a groupon. read more

what an awful waste of money! Don't do it. Unreliable, didn't see anything, our whole group couldn't even go with us, even though we had a "reservation." read more

STOP, DONT WASTE YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY HERE. TERRIBLE STAFF!!! We got to the place, mind you the voucher was already redeemed way before the day that we took the tour. They charge 7.20$ for taxes aside of the voucher and 3.00$ for you to park in the mud/grass also had to pay 20$ to reschedule the time eventhough their was only 2 other people there for the trip . Should of been the first red flags. Ok, we got on the boat were the conversation was not educational about the wildlife on the way to the small island, it was more about how the staff spends their day. Not interesting. Its a man made lake and its not very clean I guess because of the high traffic of boats and the near by factories and businesses, I feel sorry for the wildlife there.Some manatees have cuts and I even saw one with half of his tail, they say its because of other boats, probably also them, If the animals don't get close they will chase them for you to consider it an encounter. ITS NOTHING LIKE THE PICTURE THAT THEY USE TO ATTRACT BUSINESS. We got to the small island where their was a group of manatees near by and that part of the trip was amazing, their very docile and also curious. That was the highlight of the trip because of the animals. On our way back the two tour guides were making racist comments like telling the people in the boat don't go south to Miami if you don't know Spanish, just don't keep going south to Miami. Mind you we are very friendly people and don't bother anyone, we were just looking to spend a fun day. Very prejudice and small minded people. They were aware that we were hispanic and visited Miami. In my opinion is being ignorant about the outside world. FYI, Miami is a bilingual city English and Spanish and its beautiful, great vacation spot. If you want a real vacation that's the place to go and take a real wildlife tour not in a dirty man made lake. Its funny considering tourism pays these people's bills. However its not fair for tourist to spend their hard earned money in this place and then get discriminated, this kind of attitude has no place in that type business if they ever plan on being successful. I recommend anyone to take a tour to see these wonderful animals just not with this company that has this kind of staff. TERRIBLE STAFF!!!! Thank God for the power of the review. read more

Not worth it. This place is some guys with boats who will take you from the shed that is their main building to a public island where you can wade with dolphins. It's the kind of place that made my friend and me ask each other, "Is this the right place?" And later "...is this safe?" I wouldn't bother. The Groupon I purchased for $40 said "Two-hour swim with dolphins and manatees for two." They also say you'll use underwater microphones to hear the animals communicate with each other. That was not part of the picture. When there's a tour that supposed to lead people to swim with manatees, I imagined an organized, informative outing with equipment such as wetsuits. This would be a fun activity if you know someone who owns a boat. Just go together to this island (since it's public) and walk out onto the sandbar to watch the dolphins. You're by no means swimming with them. The water is pretty choppy in that area and it's too murky to see anything unless they surface. The guys on the boat and the island were really laid back and nice. Seeing dolphins was great. But you can google videos of dolphins and save your money. read more

Never in my life of 55 years has a tour company been completely rude with terrible management and customer service. Do not buy this Groupon with this company unless you want to have a very frustrating time. You will immediately be hit for more money in cash only so they can pocket it and not report it to the government. Now I know why there ratings were so low. Here are the specifics if you care to read more: We drove to Cocoa Beach and met another couple. I arranged an suggested the idea so I was completely embarrassed. We were immediately hit with a surcharge and parking charge even though it was just a big open field. So all charges are not included in the Groupon. The 3 young girls in the office were rude, insistent and gave us wrong information to meet the boat. We were told to sit at the picnic tables. There was no specifics on what picnic table to sit at so we sat by the dock. Our departure time was 11:00. At 11:07 we walked back to the office and were told the boat already left. They would not even call the captain on his radio, cell phone etc. We couldn't believe it. Then the rudeness began when we asked for our surplus charges back the girls refused. No refunds, they called the owner and he came and would not even think about it. The surplus was not cheap. We were there the 30 minutes before our 11:00 departure. I have been on many cruises, dive boats and fishing boats and NEVER been left. I am a very positive person in life but Groupon should not even let them be a merchant. read more

I agree with Amanda E., its disgusting that these "professionals" are not only allowing guests to touch the manatees, but are encouraging it! I have been in Florida my whole life and a nature tour guide for many years and neither myself or my colleagues would ever act so ignorantly! I am ashamed what they are doing for a dollar and doing it so recklessly at the expense of these protected animals!! They need to be stopped! read more

We've done 2 fishing trips and a nature tour with Scott and we'd happily do it again. He was super patient with our young kids and helped them catch many, many fish. At one point he actually reached in the water to show the kids some horseshoe crabs. We did a private trip which I recommend... There's more freedom that way. He took us to great spots...we outran a nice downpour and fished through one too. What a great experience. He pointed out the wildlife which included sting rays, pelicans and many other assorted birds, Dolphins, manatee and on one trip our grandson hooked a stray manta ray which must have come thru the locks... Now Scott couldn't have arranged THAT but he is a great captain. read more

We had a great time out on the kayaking tour today. We got to see and pet manatees! I would recommend this for the kayaking or paddle boarding! read more

After purchasing a groupon for a swim with dolphins/manatees I've been trying to book a tour for months and either no one calls back or I get stuck with their reservation system. I wanted to book July 31 at 4pm. Their system says I can't reserve more than 30 days ahead. I've been checking almost daily because its not clear when they count 30 days from - technically it would be July 1, right? I checked this morning, June 30, and that day/time, which had 6 spots yesterday, is now sold out. That's crap. I'm requesting a full credit from Groupon. read more

Purchased tickets from Living Social. After talking with the Caption it seems that they only sell tickets this way so the "$75 value" (now $80) is just to make it look like you are getting a deal. We got on the boat and drove to a PUBLIC island. we waded out in the murky water and saw nothing. It was the biggest waste of time and money. It would have been much more fun to throw the money out the window because we could have at least watched it fly around and also thought of the happy person that would have found it. All of the pictures of people swimming with dolphins are stock photos and are not from this location. TL;DR Throw your money out the window, it is more entertaining than this. read more

Save your money. Drive to Merritt island, park your car, view the dolphins from shore. Wade out if you want to get close, you'll be closer than My family of seven was and you'll save the money you would've spent with Dolphin Paradise Tours. Anyway,' how did they get the water to look so blue on their website? Please don't spend your money, My daughter was crying most of the ride back home. If you have children save them the heartache and letdown. read more

I do not recommend. Captain was great and the only knowledgable and polite person I encountered. Explanation of tour provided no details to help plan for it. Terribly overpriced as you spend 10 minutes riding out to a man-made 1000 sqft island, then walk along a sandbar in knee deep water hoping to see a dolphin or manatee. I saw 2 dolphins in the enclosed bay area and then sat on the island waiting to leave. More dolphins and a better view came on the 15 min ride back. A disappointment. I recommend renting a boat, going to the island on your own and packing a lunch. Good view of Kennedy Space Center launch pad. Personnel at little hut were condescending and rude. There are better tours to see dolphins and a day at the beach would be better than this experience and much cheaper read more

I bought the living social coupon to "Swim with the dolphins and manatees". I thought that we would actually swim with them in an area maintain by this outfit to ensure the event. kind of like sea world. Barely saw the manatees. I walked into one. we mainly saw their noses when they come up for air. no dolphins to be seen during our "swim". one the way back we saw three dolphins who were not interested in playing. the crew was extremely nice, engaging, and very knowledgeable which is why I give two stars in reference to their efforts. as for the company, it's really false advertising and misleading. read more

Their pics are fake. They write their own positive reviews, Once they get Groupon payment-NO REFUND and no trip! read more