This is worth your money!! We saw dolphins, manatees, sharks, and even got to see smaller animals up close and touch a few (responsibly)! We were in town visiting and debated between a few boating options, this one was not only cheaper but seemed more educational, rather than being party or drinks focused. Our toddler was still too little to really understand but my husband and I learned SO much about the Sarasota Bay and wildlife. Family-owned and truly such a great, relaxing, and cool experience for the whole family. read more

Dittos on other comments. We had a group of 8 for this tour where we did a little sightseeing and a little education. The children loved seeing the actual animals they pulled up. The boat was big and stable, kids loved using the toilet on a boat. Adults loved the views and calm time (almost 2 hours). read more

Our biologist boat captain was terrific. So knowledgeable about the birds and marine life. We were able to visit the sand bar and unearth many different sea creatures. She also expertly spotted many manatees and dolphins for us. This was so much better than a party boat tour. We all had a great time read more

Had a lovely experience touring the Sarasota bay for the sunset tour. Was narrated lightly and the captain went out of his way to point out unique birds and sights. Snacks, drinks, and bathroom available on board. Seats were comfortable and stunning bay views on all sides! No frills, very casual yet a wonderful time. read more

Sarasota Bay Explorers - Sunset over Sarasota bay - Boating Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

We absolutely had a blast on our eco tour. From ages 2 to 68, all five of us learned something new and enjoyed our time. From the birds, dolphins, bay creatures, and local history, we left feeling excited and more informed about the place we were visiting. Captain Angel, Biologist Bruno, and Mote Volunteer Laura made sure to include everyone on the tour and ensured a welcoming, engaging experience. We would 100% recommend this environmentally friendly and eco-educational tour to anyone who has the opportunity to go. read more

Great opportunity to learn about the local seabirds and marine life by a knowledgeable guides - great for kids because they can see, touch marine life that they catch with nets and return them to the sea after the cruise. Very reasonable and was truly the highlight of our day. read more

Sarasota Bay Explorers - View of Sarasota on our way out - Boating Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

See all

Bruno was a fantastic guide. very knowledgeable and did a great job with inquisitive kids. the two hour your was the perfect length to see the dolphins, various birds and lizards. this is the only boat allowed to trawl and there were plenty of crabs fishes and sponges to be seen. read more

We had the most lovely sunset cruise with captain Shannen to celebrate my bachelorette party. Amazing manatees, a gorgeous sunset, entertaining and funny explanations of what we were seeing but he also let us do our thing. A total blast, worth every penny! read more

I could not be happier with my experience on the sea life encounter cruise. I was impressed with the vast knowledge of the Marine Biologist, Molly, and the way the Captain Angel went out of his way to explain what the people who got off to explore the island were experiencing while I stayed back due to mobility issues. That was above and beyond and a delightful surprise. The other boat captain made sure I was able to board and exit the boat safely. Wonderful crew and we got to see sea life I would never encounter otherwise and we had a blast learning so many new fun facts. I was impressed by how unbelievably helpful and interesting the entire crew was and how interesting it was to explore the bay and it's inhabitants. No dolphins. No problem. Didn't even notice. Puffer fish galore!!! I highly recommend this trip. read more

The weather was a bit cool for the beach so we came over to the Mote and did the combo with the Sea Life Encounter Cruise. Our trip was pretty crowded and had about 45 people on the boat. Even with that many people we had a good time. Right off the bat before we even left the dock we saw some dolphin's out in the bay. Then on the trip out, we saw a few more. The stop on the island was a nice little break to stretch your legs but there really wasn't anything special about it. You learn a bit about the islands and the trees on it but that's about it. Then its back on board and over to another small island with lots of nesting birds. If you are a bird watcher then this would be a nice extra. We saw quit a few birds and since they are used to the boats, you get pretty close and can get some really nice pictures. Then its back to the dock. Along the way you drag a net and then they talk about the things they catch. They also had some fish already on board, like a puffer fish, seahorse and other items. On our way back we saw a manatee. Then about 10 minutes later we caught a glimpse of a second one. i think the manatee sightings are a bit rare from what our guide said. I think we just got lucky with the dolphins and manatee sightings. Overall, even if we didn't see the dolphins or manatee, its a least a nice little boat ride around the bay. read more

Every time we visit a new place, we book a private boat charter for our family. We are a family of 6 and had 4 teenagers in our group. We cruised last week with Captain Sondra on the Miss Explorer. First of all, she greeted us with a huge smile at the front desk of the Mote Aquarium. I have to put a shout out to Taylor who made our reservation. I talked to her a few times to make reservations and she answered all of my questions with great knowledge! She was a jewel and made me feel comfortable with the booking process for the boat tour. Now, our trip! From the moment we met Sondra, she was all about making our trip to be what WE wanted to experience. We didn't know much about the area, what to expect to see .. but she gave us several suggestions and we custom made our 3 hour tour. We started off looking for manatees and dolphins and we were successful in both. We witnessed 2 manatees playing in the bay and while keeping our distance, we were still able to watch and take pictures of these magnificent animals in their natural habitat. Next, we saw a few different pods of dolphins. One with a young mom and her new baby. It was a rarity to get to see this tiny newborn. It was a great sight to see. Next, she docked the boat on the sandbar and we were able to all get out in the water and use nets to look for shells and sea life. She was very knowledgeable of EVERYTHING we caught in our nets. She literally had an answer to every question my boys had AND they had several! The sea grass was a sight to see and it was an unusual experience to be walking in the middle of the bay on a sand bar. We then concluded by heading back to the dock looking for more birds, dolphins, and manatees. I can't say enough about Sondra. She made our boat cruise an awesome way to spend the day while celebrating myself and husband's wedding anniversary! Things to know: There is a cooler of ice and water on board. We did bring our own, but it wasn't necessary. They do require that you wear shoes with a heel if you plan to get out of the boat in the water at the sand bar. They told us ahead of time, but just in case .. bring your water shoes! You can bring snacks, we had a snack break on the sandbar before we headed back to the dock. Sit back and relax and trust that Cpt Sondra will plan and do her very best to make your trip memorable as she did for our family! read more

See all

Wss a wonderful and excellent tour. Taylor was very knowledgeable about all the sea life and was a great tour guide. Going to take my granddaughters out wirh her. read more

Nice aquarium with plenty to keep the little ones occupied and busy. Location isnt bad and parking is simple. I'm not so sure on the ticket pricing because we got in for free with our mozy pass. The kids and adults can do everything from viewing to touch most of the animals. I believe there are three buildings two are located in the same plot of land and one is located just across the street. The main entrance and ticket sales had aquariums and the other building was bird sanctuary now i don't know if that's apart of this because we never went over to check and see. The third building had turtles, manatees and otters with a few hands on area's. The staff was very nice and very knowledgeable. Not a five attraction park but perfect for a saturday afternoon. I hate how all these places have exits thru a gift shop, it's so difficult to get a three year old thru one of these at the end without a total meltdown because they couldn't have the five foot dolphin.... Yay! I'm a fan. It was a very good experience learned allot i didn't even know. read more

While visiting Mote Aquarium we decided to pay the extra fee to take part in the explorers cruise sailing that afternoon. The cruise itself lasted a few hours and sailed in and around the bay which believe it or not is only 5 feet deep in most places. I was surprised by that being that the bay was so large and had inlets that lead out to the gulf. Anyway the cruise went passed some mansions which were owned by celeb's before heading to a more private were there was a bird rookery. "One Small stretch of land with a ton of birds"! We then sailed to a small private island where we wee educated about the eco system and the programs to keep both the bay and all the islands clean from pollution. At the end of the day we were treated to many different types of small sea life aboard the cruise were the staff even passed around the creature that could breath air. The icing at the end of the day was having 2 Dolphins swim right up and past the boat. The cruise directer explained that there was 170 Dolphins that lived in the bay year round. Overall it was a nice day. read more

This is actually a very entertaining little excursion. It doesn't cost much, (My family is members of a reciprocal zoo.) and you see more marine life in a hour and 45 minute tour than you would on those exclusive Dolphin/Manatee tours. The ride through the bay is nice and scenic. Some of the homes you go past are remarkable. A stop on an island, and a visit past a bird sanctuary was also very pleasant. The best part of the trip is the sea life capture and the touch and feel of the marine life up close. Our trip was special, as a mother and calf manatee happened to be near our boat dock, followed by many dolphin sightings. Some very close to our boat. My family enjoyed the trip. I have three teenage daughters. Our guide (Taylor) was very knowledgeable and accommodating to young kids. Captain Marc was a great boat captain, and volunteer Scott was very welcoming. I highly recommend this trip for your family or group. read more

If you are looking for a great excursion with kids, this is it! We were in town with our little ones and decided to take this educational cruise. Everything from the knowledgeable marine biologist to the volunteers on the boat offered a fantastic experience. We saw dolphins , learned about the history of the bay and saw all kinds of wild life. We didn't get a chance to go to the aquarium, heard it was excellent, so if you have time I'd recommend getting the cruise and aquarium combo ticket. read more

We had such a great experience on the eco tour. Biologist Jessica was amazing and extremely informative about marine animals and wildlife. Maggie was very informative about the ecology and plant physiology of plant species on the islands (you get to check out an inhabited island) . We saw dolphins the entire time. Jessica and Maggie even brought up fish from the bottom like puffer fish and crabs.. we got to hold and touch most of them! HIGHLY recommend!! read more

The website makes it seem like that you'll see a lot of sea life. But you don't, it is like a house tour for an hour and a half, and the last 15 minutes you get to see a little amount of sea life. When the tour guide on the boat asked if anyone had any questions, I wanted to ask what are your refund policies? read more

We did the Sea Life Encounter tour with our two boys & the grandparents while visiting the area and really enjoyed it. Our guide, Lanny, was very friendly and the Marine Biologist on Board, Brittany, was very knowledgeable and super great with our inquisitive 7yr olds questions :) ( The captain of the boat was great too, but I didn't catch his name) While the walk on the island was a nice break to stretch and see some of the trees, it was very tempting for our boys to run & play, so we didn't mind that it was just a quick walk before getting back on the boat. Was interesting to see the many birds on birds island and learn more about them. The best part for us came when they threw out the trolling net and we got to see what they were able to catch. Crabs, puffer fish, seahorse, tiny cow fish....it was really neat to see what they discovered as they went through the sea grass. Highly recommend for families with kids or bird watchers. read more

See all

We went on the Sea Life Encounter Cruise. What a great activity to do with kids. We had three adults and three children (11, 4 and 2) and it was great for all of us. The marine biologist (Keylee) was extremely nice and knowledgeable. We only saw dolphins at the end of the trip, but it was kind of like the icing on the cake. The kids got to see a puffer fish, a seahorse, crabs, a flounder, a snail and a live sand dollar that were all passed around. We learned a lot about the area that we didn't know even though we've been coming down here for a few years. I think we might do this every year - it was definitely worth the money. read more

A really nice, relaxing boat tour of the area. Lots of dolphin sitings, beautiful views, pretty smooth ride. Minimal snacks provided (cans of soda, pretzels etc). No restroom on board. Stopped at a tiny island to check out some birds and trees, then they threw a net in back, picked up local sealife. A guide went through each item and described it, allowing us to touch alot of it. So great for a kiddo! Would def. do again. read more

We booked the four o'clock eco cruise,paid for our tickets and drove an hour to the Aquarium to take our cruise. Upon arrival, we were told that our trip would be cancelled. Although the website said nothing about minimal bookings, apparently they don't go out without a certain number of passengers on board. We were surprised, as there was no mention of this on the website. So, Sarasota Bay Explorers didn't honor their commitment, and refunded our fee. So we will never know if this is a good cruise, as we aren't likely to waste another afternoon finding out if they will actually take us out or not: read more

We booked a trip with Captain Sondra, who was both a captain and a marine biologist. There were only four of us sharing the $300 cost (we could have had two more, legally), but it was worth every cent. First, Captain Sondra was remarkably well versed in the marine biology and history of the area, from early history to who was building the huge houses we saw. Incredibly well versed in the whole area, geographically as well. Second, she made every effort to find out what WE wanted to do, and made sure we got to do it. We pulled up to a sandbar and spent about 20 minutes walking around the crystal clear water, looking for shells. We saw the rookeries up close, along with wonderfully detailed stories and explanations about the various animals there. We pulled up to an area filled with sea grasses and got out; she showed us how to use the little handled nets to scoop along the bottom. (One of us scooped up a stone crab!!) She was incredibly thorough and she really, really listened to us - and when she realized we didn't really KNOW what we wanted to do, made smart suggestions like going through the marsh grass. Through it all she was easy and relaxed. The boat, along with the Captain, also felt safe - and I don't care how shallow the water is, safety is paramount in our books! She never felt snobbish, not for a second. She didn't condescend to us because we were ignorant, and she didn't make us feel like local residents were somehow better than everyone else. We loved that at the end, she suggested next time we get her mobile number from the Sarasota Bay people and call her with an idea of what we wanted to do next time, and she'd figure out the best day and time. In other words, if we wanted to shell, she'd look at the upcoming weather, tides, etc., and figure out when and where the best place would be. All in all, some of the best vacation money we've ever spent. read more

We have been going on trips for years, just recently did the Nature Safari. Cannot say enough great things about Captain Jen and biologist Taylor. They were amazing! Plan on going back for many more years to come. read more

This is such a wonderful place! The ocean is truly a great resource and it is so refreshing to find a place dedicated to conserving and teaching about it. Very cool place to visit and a worthy cause. read more