If you're trying to decide whether this dolphin tour is worth booking, the answer is absolutely…read moreyes. Captain Jim and First Mate Brandon made this one of the highlights of our trip. They were knowledgeable, engaging, funny, and genuinely invested in making sure everyone had a great experience. From the moment we boarded, they checked in with guests throughout the tour to make sure everyone was comfortable and had everything they needed. The tour includes complimentary beverages, including water, beer, and wine, which made the ride even more relaxing. The boat was comfortable, the pace was enjoyable, and there was plenty of time to take in the scenery. The best part, of course, was seeing the dolphins. Captain Jim knew exactly where to take us and shared fascinating information about dolphin behavior, their habits, and the local ecosystem while we watched them in their natural habitat. It felt like much more than a sightseeing tour--it was educational without ever feeling like a lecture. If you're wondering whether you'll actually see dolphins, we saw several during our trip, and the crew did an excellent job positioning the boat so everyone had a chance to enjoy the experience and take photos. Whether you're visiting as a couple, with family, or with friends, I highly recommend this tour. It's relaxing, informative, well-organized, and worth every penny. I would absolutely book it again.

Captain Derek and first mate CJ did a great job! They found some dolphins for us, then took us out…read moreto the ocean for sunset. Water, beer and wine are offered complimentary on the boat. A wonderful night!

Last night we took a Sunset Cruise with Captain Thomas. He navigated us around Sarasota Bay and was…read moreprofessional and personable. The boat was tidy and he offered us waters. We had our own spread so we were taken care of there. The sights and sunset with so delightful. Seeing the bay at night was a real treat, whole different perspective. Highly recommend.

What an excellent adventure, especially with Captain Charles (Charlie) Alexander! I met my friends…read morein Sarasota as the family was there on Spring Break and booked this 4-hour catamaran excursion. The harbor area was easy to locate based on the directions given, and a parking pass is provided (as the lot posts a free 3-hour limit). We set sail a little after 1pm. It was a little windy starting out, but Captain Charlie maneuvered the catamaran expertly. He also provided local commentary on the area and made us laugh with his jokes and statements. Sandwiches were provided at the halfway point, and we were allowed to bring drinks and snacks on the catamaran. There were 12 of us in our group and we easily moved around the boat and had plenty of room to stretch out. Captain Charlie even directed us to a small cove area where dolphins played along the seawalls. We got to see a mother, father and baby dolphin frolic in the water as well as one dolphin (probably the dad) swim along and under the catamaran. We all enjoyed that experience! I highly recommend Kathleen D Sailing Catamarans for a fun family day and a great excursion! Hi

We booked a morning charter hoping to do some snorkeling but the weather turned against us. High…read morewinds made snorkeling impossible. So we cruised along the nearby islands observing wildlife. John has a very good sense of wildlife in the area and provided a solid tour. Also, John is very safety conscious. Would recommend him for families because he's a family man who has raised kids and wants everyone to have a fun but safe time on his boat.

Had a blast! A must do when in Bradenton! Took a sunset cruise with some high school girlfriends…read more Captain John is super friendly and knowledgeable. We got to see many native birds and dolphins. We also learned some of the area history. Captain John is pretty hilarious and kept us laughing. He also made sure we saw a stunning sunset. Made some great memories! Don't miss this!

Took my son and his wife on the sunset cruise for his birthday. It was an amazing cruise and would…read morerecommend it to anyone. Great live music, great crew, great service and gorgeous sunset!

We really enjoyed it. It was a 2 hour cruise around Sarasota with a bar for cocktails!read more

Great way to spend a day boating! My family enjoyed seeing mansions, yachts, dolphins and a…read moremanatee. Captain Chris also took us out to an island for swimming and chillin on the beach. His boat is like brand new and he knows the area well. I'll definitely book with his boat tours again!

Octavio is one of a kind! We all had the best time despite…read morethe rainy, gray weather. Octavio humored us and took us on a trip of the Bay instead of the Gulf due to storms. He has offered up another evening so that we can experience the Sunset on the Gulf that we missed out on. Truly a great evening- highlighted by double rainbows and dolphins! If you are looking for an uptight-sophisticated, peaceful -romantic evening- look somewhere else, please. We brought drinks and snacks and had a fabulous adventure. As Octavio puts it- you can bring anything on-board so long as it's legal....He is hilarious- rich with stories and looking to make sure you have a great time!

We went out with Captain Octavio on this 34ft sailboat. We had a blast…read more He was very accomadating and his prices were amazing. Next time we are visiting this area we will go out on his Sunset Cruise.

Ben and Captain Chris were top notch for the entire experience! First, Ben let us know up front,…read morewhen we called, that the snorkeling might not be perfect on the day we wanted to go. But he listened to our experience, expectations & priorities then suggested the best tour for us. Then, Captain Chris was awesome on our trip!! He was constantly looking for wildlife and telling us about the area. Once we got to Egmont, he kept asking what we wanted and adjusted the tour accordingly. We had a great day and would book with them again & again. Thanks for a perfect day on the water!

My family was vacationing in Anna Maria Island, and we wanted to do some sort of boat trip while we…read morewere there. We've done tours on other trips to other places, but I really didn't want to be on a big boat with lots of strangers. When I saw this tour, and all the great reviews, I knew this was what we needed to do. Susan was great handling the booking (I booked a month or so in advance, which was good so that we could get the time/day we wanted!) They did an excellent job of following up on the booking, then confirming the day before and making sure they knew what we wanted and answered our last minute questions. Parking at their storefront was easy, and the boat itself is just across the street. We showed up a few minutes early to be outfitted for snorkel gear which was quick and easy. It was a bright and sunny day, and Mike had us head out to Egmont Key so that we could explore the island. What was really awesome was that they didn't expect you to jump off the front of the boat (unless you wanted to of course!), they had steps that you could use that were quick and easy (and with a bad back, very necessary). It was a super hot day, so he gave us bottles of water, explained the layout of the island and off we went to explore. We saw some turtles, the lighthouse, and the fort ruins, and then had a nice walk on the beach before re-boarding the boat. He then took us just a little ways off shore to some rocky ruins in the water and got us out snorkeling. They have pool noodles if you just want to float, and they also had a big floating mat that you could lay on if you wanted! When we had our fill we climbed back on board and we were off to Passage Key. The water around Passage Key is amazingly clear - even waist deep you could pretty well see the all the way down. This area was very sandy, but the bottom was covered with hundreds and hundreds of sand dollars. You could feel them just under the sand when you walked, and you could then dig them out with your toes or just go under water and grab them. The key is that you cannot take any live ones - so if they are brown and fuzzy you have to put them back. We trolled around digging up sand dollars for quite some time - we must have dug up hundreds, but that day we only managed to come across one white, dead sand dollar that we could keep (but we did find several gorgeous "sunset" shells that were cool!) At this point we climbed back into the boat and saw that a thunderstorm was approaching in the distance, so we headed back for the marina. We were disappointed that we didn't get to see any manatee that day, but we knew that you can't always plan for that. We arrived at the marina just as a few drops were falling so the timing was perfect!! We booked the 4 hour tour so that we would not be hurried, and we used every minute of it - I wouldn't have changed a thing. You absolutely need to book this tour - why share an experience with a bunch of strangers when you can have the boat all to yourselves! You won't regret it, it was certainly one of the highlights from this trip!!

This is our second year with Captain Kim's tours and we toured with the Captain, herself…read more It was very windy and choppy, but we saw a ton of dolphins and she scooped up plenty of critters for us to examine. We went to a sand bar and scooped up live sand dollars (carefully) and a huge whelk and whelk eggs. It was a very different tour than last year, but she was so adaptable and obviously knows the area/ is incredibly knowledgeable about the bay, the homes along the water, and all the animals within. We'll be back with her next year!!!

We had SO much fun on our combination tour with Connie! She was great! We found so many cool shells…read moreand creatures! We caught crabs and starfish and did get to see some dolphins. It was a wonderful day! We went at 930 so it wasn't hot and we were able to have the whole afternoon for other activities. Definitely check this out. Our kids, 10 and 3 loved it!