Wow! What an experience! We took a 9am tour to Shell Key on Cap'n Dalton's boat. There were only six passengers on board, which meant there was plenty of room to spread out and enjoy the sunshine. Dalton provided expert commentary about the area, even pointing out a few celebrity homes and yachts along the way. It was a gorgeous ride over to Shell Key, and we even saw a few dolphins along the way. Once on the island, we had about 45-50 minutes to explore the beaches and do a little snorkeling and shell-hunting. The island is aptly named, with rows and piles of shells along its white, sandy beaches. The water was warm and perfect for swimming. Soon enough we were back on board and heading back to the harbor. And that's when the magic happened: dolphins! Following along in our wake, and no doubt attracted to the enthusiastic squeals of one of our dolphin-loving fellow passengers, the dolphins put on quite a show. Even Dalton, who I assume sees a LOT of dolphins, was impressed by how long they followed in our wake and performed jumps and flips for us. It was truly one of the most remarkable experiences of my life! Thank you Dalton and Island Ferry for an amazing and memorable tour and one of the true highlights of our vacation! read more

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Lovely tour! Our guide was very nice and chill, she definitely wanted to make sure we had a good time. Obviously its never a guarantee, but we saw dolphins and a manatee on our tour. Groups are small and the boats are very comfortable. They use pontoon boats so you have shade, which I definitely appreciated. The beach they took us to to snorkeling was gorgeous. read more

Island Ferry St Pete Beach - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Tierra Verde, Florida

We had a fantastic time on our trip to Shell Key. Captain Meg was professional and friendly. We had dolphins swimming in our wake and jumping out of the water. We will be back with friends. Highly recommended! 5 stars read more

Island Ferry St Pete Beach - Dolphins - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Tierra Verde, Florida

We saw sharks, dolphin, sea birds, collected countless shells! The knowledge Capitan Meg had was priceless! Highly recommend! read more

Meg, Chris and Ashely were absolutely amazing. I am so happy we booked initially to do our ash spreading. Ashely and Chris were so kind and so informative and gave us an amazing time even during a sad moment. We loved them so much we booked a snorkeling tour for later in the day with Meg and she was such a VIBE in the best possible way! She was so fun and so sweet. All three are just so phenomenal. I absolutely will make this a yearly tradition with the family read more

Island Ferry St Pete Beach - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Tierra Verde, Florida

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The sunset cruise is a must do when in the St Pete area! We had such a wonderful evening led by Captain Noel. We saw a bunch of dolphins and the most magical sunset. Will absolutely do this again next time we are in town! We even lucked out that the other couple didn't show up so it ended up just being our family which was amazing! read more

Island Ferry St Pete Beach - Sunset - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Tierra Verde, Florida

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Super chill, super fun adventure to Shell Key for our family. Captain Meg was very nice and also very knowledgeable about the flora and fauna. Definitely recommend! read more

Had a great experience today with Island Ferry! Great crew, great boat ride, and saw some dolphins! We really had a great time and appreciated their attention to the weather patterns. It ended up that we had to come back in and they provided a full refund, despite our objections! Great business, highly recommend!! read more

Island Ferry St Pete Beach - Dolphins (2) - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Tierra Verde, Florida

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Meg was great! It was our first trip (Shell Key Tour) and not our last - we'll be bringing visitors from out of state next time. Will be recommending this tour company to friends, too. read more

A total must return. Our captain was Kurt, he was very informative and prioritized safety. Not to mention fun. We chased after dolphins and they created waves that they enjoyed riding and following. The small island we went to, we collected sand dollars and stalked big fish hidden among schools of little white fish. read more

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Took a tour this morning with Curt who did very well as our captain. He gave us a grand tour (we're from IL, landlocked state) and took us to the shell key island where we were able to snorkel for awhile. 9 am water was chilly in places but we adapted quickly. It was a tour with no more than 6 which I liked. We had 5. We ended up seeing a dolphin, maybe 2. Also saw two "potatoes" aka manatees down here. Made our trip complete. If I'd had cash I'd have tipped him, but he did an outstanding job. read more

Went on an enjoyable sunset dolphin cruise last night and loved that each boat only takes 6 passengers at a time. The disappointing part was that Capt. Dalton talked wayyyy too much and wish he would have played some relaxing music so we could just enjoy being on the water and the view. Will definitely recommend this cruise to family and friends. Hoping for less talking next time... read more

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Captain Dalton gave us a wonderful tour of the area, then provided us a great recommendation for dinner as well. He got us on some dolphins almost immediately, even though that wasn't really what our trip was about. This trip really exceeded our expectations! read more

Island Ferry St Pete Beach - Taken from our boat the evening of our sunset cruise! - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Tierra Verde, Florida

This was my 4th or 5th trip with Island ferry! They do an excellent job and love that each trip has no more than 6 people. Monday night I went on Captain Tony's sunset cruise with 4 friends who had never. We had a great time and Tony was super knowledgeable and his detailed knowledge added to our wonderful evening read more

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Great little cruise on a pontoon boat around Tierra Verde and out into the Gulf near Paas-a-Grille. The Captain even let my daughter jump off the boat and swim around in the Gulf for a bit! Capt. Tony was great! read more

Our 4 hour private charter with captain justice, and Daniel was amazing! We saw at least 15 dolphins, a manatee, walked beautiful beaches, and collected amazing shells. Justice and Daniel also told us information about the environment, and all the nature that we saw on our private charter. I highly recommend them. read more

This was amazing! Would recommend it to anyone that enjoys wild life. Are caption Dalton was great new all the best spot to see dolphins, we even got to see a baby dolphin he wasn't more than six weeks old. He was very knowledgeable about the wildlife in that area. We even got to see three spotted eagle rays they were huge. We saw horseshoe crabs & lots of fish when snorkeling. All in all we would do this again or even book the longer tour. Great job guys know really know what your doing. read more

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Loved our sunset cruise. Relaxing and breathtaking views. Captain Dalton really loves his job and the ocean he was enthusiastic and knowledgeable of sea life, fishing and boating. I would recommend this for anyone looking for a unique experience. read more

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This was the best boat charter I've ever taken!!! We had Captain Roger as our host. He made it a point to find a dolphin for us to spot. Roger was not only knowledgeable, but seemed to really care about the environment. We had such a fun time and can't wait to do this again!!! I'd highly recommend taking a tour. read more

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Very disappointed. We ran into heavy traffic, spoke with Cindy and Captain Dalton to let them know we would be 2 minutes late. They said no problem. We arrived at 4:17 and watched the pontoon boats leave without us. We tried calling back, no answer until 15 minutes later, when they couldn't turn around. In this day and age customer service and communication is key and they could have called back before departure to know we were running up the ramp. read more

Great sunset cruise! Captain Dalton was very knowledgeable and friendly. We saw lots of dolphins & birds. There were only 4 of us on the tour so it felt very private & safe. Highly recommend! read more

Island Ferry St Pete Beach - Sunset - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Tierra Verde, Florida

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Amazing 2 hour pontoon boat ride to shell key island. The boat driver was fantastic, knew how to get us up and close with the dolphins, and gave us enough time to explore the beach. Very good value for the cost! read more

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Captain Dalton & his crew were awesome. They really went the extra mile for my wife and I to see manatees, dolphins & even sharks! The snorkelling was fun as well. The bay islands and channels are absolutely stunning & the crew did a great job of giving us some great history into the Tampa Bay Area. Very personable, laid back and relaxing trip & I would definitely charter with them again! read more

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Island Ferry is such a great company. The tour was fun and informative, the captain found a great spot to watch the sunset, and the company was very accommodating. When I had to change the date of my trip, they did so no questions asked. 100% would do it again read more

What a fun trip! Our friends came to visit with their 7 year old granddaughter and we took her on the dolphin / snorkeling / shelling trip. It ended up only being three of us on our boat so we felt (and it was) a private trip ! Our captain, Barry-cuda was excellent. Right from the beginning he found dolphins and manatees. How exciting for a 7 year old (and us too!) We had a leisurely stay on Shell Key and then a fun trip back to the dock once again spotting more dolphins - of course along the way lots of sea birds to admire too. A very worthwhile trip ! read more

Captain Brittany was a talented tour guide on our sunset cruise! Her background in marine biology made the trip super fun--Request her if you want any and all questions about the marine life you see (dolphins!) answered! The sunset at the end was gorgeous and the views throughout were awesome. We booked this sunset cruise over others because the capacity for the boat was 6 people and we wanted to relax on a quiet cruise, the pontoon boats are so comfortable to cruise around in, we were able to bring our own cooler with beer and wine, we were really happy with the price. Would book again! read more

We spent the morning and early afternoon with Joe and our Captain (my wife and I couldn't recall his name, we all just referred to him as Captain!). Sebastian helped us with the booking and made special accommodations to leave early so we could be back in time for an event we had planned in the evening. I knew we were in good hands based on how this adventure started out! Once we arrived, Joe helped us load up. They had two coolers packed with ice waiting for us. We boarded and headed to Egmont Key to explore. Joe had plenty of information about the former military base that kept us interested. He was great with our 3 kids and even had stories that kept them intrigued. We saw plenty of Dolphins. Since it was springtime, they were a little frisky, so we gave them their privacy and headed to find more! Afterwards, we jumped back on the boat to head to the snorkeling spot. The waves were a little rough for my munchkins, so we headed to another spot where they could jump into the water and play. Once there we realized it was Shell Key and the kids got plenty of shells for their collection. We headed back and the Captain even let my 4 year old drive the boat!!! What a memory made!!! read more

Island Ferry St Pete Beach - One of our kids, enjoying the boat ride to Shell Island. - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Tierra Verde, Florida

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We had the BEST experience today with Captain Dalton. We took the 0900 tour and it was the perfect time for our family. They will send you an email with everything you need to know regarding arriving, what to bring and where to park. Once we got there we were promptly greet by our captain and since we were early we got to head out a little early. The boat was very clean and all the rules were gone over. The boat takes out a max of 6 people, however my family of 4 had our own private tour! As soon as we hit the water we got to see a TON of dolphins. Our captain was extremely knowledgeable about all the wild life and even could tell us the name of one of the dolphins we got to see and her calf. He was also fantastic with our boys and even let them "drive" the boat. We stopped at shell island and the outback and found a few sand dollars and a few cool shells. We arrived back and were directed that we could go rinse off and then if we would like we could eat lunch and use the pool near by. The restaurant on site was fantastic! We would definitely recommend this experience! read more

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My only complaint is I wish the tour was longer! The captain, Tony was very cool and informational! He knew a lot about the region and wildlife in the area. He also gave us a great Restraunt recommendation for the area. Would totally do it again! read more

My cousin and I were lucky enough to get a private tour with Taylor. We had an address mixup but it was quickly remedied and we still arrived and launched on time. It was my cousins first time kayaking and after a few helpful tips we were cruising. There are things out of tour guides control such as wildlife and weather but the universe was on our side and it was all perfect. Be advised, it is your responsibility to apply sunscreen. We saw a variety of birds, a snake, dolphins, jellyfish and found beautiful shells. Keep in mind we as humans have no control over nature and luck was on our side these things are not guaranteed. We paddled through mangrove tunnels and taylor narrated with knowledge of the area and wildlife. If you are in moderate shape and down for adventure take this tour. We made a great memory and taylor exceeded my expectations. We had a great time as inexperienced paddlers. read more

Awesome tour and great price point. Our Captain was VJ (I believe, it was an initial name, lol). He was informative and friendly. He found us several small pods of dolphins to watch. The cruise is great as they only take up to 6 people so you can stretch out and sun. Shell Key was beautiful. We'll definitely do this again as a family when we come to town. read more

Captian Tim and crew were amazing!! The boat only holds 6 passengers so it feels like a private charter!! The Captain was knowledgeable about the area, the marine and wildlife and shared some very interesting facts with us. The crew was very motivated to find dolphins and we did! They also found a beach spot to dock at that wasn't packed, which I thought would be nearly impossible considering it was a holiday weekend, but once again they were successful! We explored the small island we docked at, did some shelling, and snorkeling. They even flagged down the hot dog boat so everyone who wanted to could purchase snacks. On the way back to the marina we were lucky enough that our Captain spotted a manatee that we watched swim around and surface for air a few times, it was the perfect ending to an amazing trip. We are local and have a lot of visitors, we have used other boating services before but none compare to this company for a nice afternoon boating trip. We will definitely be using Island Ferry again in the future and we will always request Captain Tim!!! Thanks for an amazing afternoon on the water! Read more about Shared 2 Hours Dolphin Watch Cruise with Snorkeling to Shell Key - https://www.viator.com/tours/St-Petersburg/Dolphin-Cruise-to-Shell-Key/d5403-30627P2?m=65553&nid=VR.ec7543e6-2dc3-4bbb-b134-efa35465afd0.VT_EMAIL_TRV?mcid=56757 read more

Overall a good experience. The gui d e was great (Craig), he watch his flock, and took us to beautiful places. The only issue we had was this lady who answered the phone, poor people skills, they needs help on that end. read more

We had great time with Island Ferry. Our captain was Tony, he was very knowledgeable and attentive. We got to see dolphins up close, my daughter recorded nice video. We also spotted manatee. Definitely recommend. read more

My daughter and I had a great time on Island Ferry's Saint Pete dolphin watching excursion. Dalton was our captain. He was knowledgeable and worked hard to find dolphin watching opportunities! The boat was very clean. It was great to be with just four other people. I would definitely recommend this excursion and we'll go again when I return to Florida! read more

We went yesterday, it was amazing. We spent a really good time. We enjoyed it and we recommend it

We had an amazing experience on our dolphin and shelling tour yesterday! Sebastian was an awesome guide, and went out of his way to make sure we had a great time and that we got to see dolphins and manatees! My only suggestion would be to add an FAQ to the website so people know what to bring and what to expect. We didn't realize we would have time to swim and snorkel while on shell island, so we didn't dress/pack accordingly. Regardless, we made it work and collected a ton of amazing shells! read more

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Took the sunset tour with Island Ferry. The tour was very informative and relaxing after a busy 4th of July weekend beach day. The captain was very nice and accommodating. We saw lots of dolphins, and even a large sea turtle! The view of the sunset was spectacular. The tour of the waterway and large homes was also enjoyable. I loved how intimate the tour was! There were only two other people aboard! The ferry offers free bottled water which was a very nice gesture. Check them out! read more

Island Ferry St Pete Beach - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Tierra Verde, Florida

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Lots of fun, our guide, Cassara, was really great. The mangrove tunnels were beautiful, and we saw some wildlife, including a dolphin that came up really close. We thoroughly enjoyed the clear kayaks! read more

Perfect family dolphin-watching/shelling/snorkeling trip! Captain Sebastian was excellent and made sure our girls (6 and 4) got to see dolphins. It was a lot of fun. Captain took us to a very calm, shallow area to allow the girls and grandpa to enjoy snorkeling for a little while. Shell Key was the highlight for our younger one who had never seen so many shells in her life. She loaded up a bagful of shells, many of which were surprisingly large and fully intact. The boat itself was awesome. Pontoon-style with leather seats. The six of us fit very comfortably with room to spare. Plenty of shaded and sunny area depending on your preference, and it even had cup holders. Definitely would do it again. We did a two-hour, which was good with a 4-yr-old, but next time I think we'll do a four-hour charter. All in all, a memorable, relaxing trip that was totally worth every penny. read more