We had a fantastic morning on the water with Captain Kieran and Dreamlander tours! Kieran was…read moreprofessional, knowledgeable, friendly, and made the entire excursion so enjoyable. We saw so much wildlife, including beautiful Roseate Spoonbills and dolphins that played alongside us and in our wake -- such a memorable experience! We also had the chance to collect shells on a gorgeous white-sand island and take a refreshing dip in the Gulf before heading back to our meeting point. Thank you, Kieran and Dreamlander tours for a wonderful morning and an experience we won't forget! We highly recommend this excursion!

Went on a 4 hour charter with Kieran. We couldn't have asked for a better experience. The captain…read moreknew what he was doing and he made it a super fun day. We got put on fish immediately, guy can site cast a jack like nobody's business. We caught snapper, jacks, lemon sharks, a red, and a few other species. 10/10 would recommend. We'll be back for another day on the water.

This was our first experience doing a shelling tour and chose Sand Dollar Shelling because of…read morefamily members who have taken tours with them. We are so happy that we went with this company because they deliver above and beyond the expectations. Our tour guides were Joey and Taylor Nadotti who were very knowledgeable about the area and what to expect and look for while we were on the boat. I really enjoyed both of them and we will definitely be back to tour again and will definitely be requesting them for our tours. Taylor walked the islands with us and found us all kinds of unique shells, sand dollars, and conch's. Joey turned the boat around so that the dolphins would play in the wake. He also kept us all informed about any weather conditions that might have affected our trip and diverted us to another location while the storm passed by and then finished our excursion. We got to watch the sunset over the Gulf and then a beautiful ride back to the dock. If you're looking for something that is very exciting and informative, then you have to book with them. Our granddaughters fell in love with them both.

I chose this particular boat tour due to the rave reviews…read more First of all there was no stand or building where they are located, so we walked around the parking lot and shopping center until we could get in touch with the driver. Turns out you just have to look for their truck in the parking lot. That wasn't made clear at the time of booking. It was a fine boat ride, but felt more like a water taxi than a tour. We saw dolphins on the way to go shelling which was neat... but so did every other boat in the vicinity. We only had about 1.5 hours to go shelling which wasn't nearly enough time. Keewaydin Island was beautiful but we didn't have time to enjoy it. After our boat taxi ride was over we tipped the driver $30. Mind you this ride didn't include food, drinks (other than water) or snacks. A day later we got an automated email asking us for a tip (if we hadn't already). Mind you we did NOT take a private tour- it was two groups of 3 people. The email said: "If you have not tipped * Boat captains often rely on tips as a significant part of their income, particularly in the tourism industry where tipping is customary. A 20% gratuity or Minimum of $100 per Captain on Private tours is customary for this type of tour. If the captain was amazing feel free to tip more." Excuse me? We paid $370 for 2 adults and 1 child for a less than 3 hour excursion to Keewaydin Island. They were expecting an additional $50-$75 in tips? This was by far the most expensive boat "tour" we've been on, and we've done many- Italy, Mexico, Zimbabwe, Hawaii, California, Maine, and three others in Florida. I wrote the company an email bc they send out 2-3 emails afterwards asking you to leave a review... and if it's not 5 stars to email them directly. They never responded. Two sets of my in-laws were wanting to go on a tour in the coming weeks and we told them both not to waste their money on Sand Dollar Shelling. So now I'm telling you too.

We didn't know what to expect when we booked this excursion, other than that we were going to go…read moreshelling. At about $600 for our group of 6, we thought it was expensive, but you only live once, right? Well, now that our vacation is over and done with, I can say that that was the best $600 ever spent! First off, we had a private tour. After doing research, other excusion companies were charging the same or more, and you were on a boat with a bunch of other people you didn't know. It was just our little group of 6 and our captain on this boat. Second, we saw dolphins. Dolphins doing it. I didn't know that was on my bingo card, but here we are! It's pink. That's all I'm sayin'. Third, and the most exciting, we saw a manatee! Sure it was only one, but after Captain Jeff explained that we might not see any, and also why that might be, we were ecstatic and thankful. Lastly, the shelling. We didn't find anything spectacular, like a sand dollar, but we all found nice, intact, beautiful shells of different kinds that will forever remind us of this awesome trip. Captain Jeff was not only friendly, he was extremely knowledgeable about the area and the animals. We learned a lot and had fun at the same time. Highly recommend!!!! 124/2025

What a fabulous day! We did a private dolphin and shelling excursion with Captain Matt. We…read moreabsolutely LOVED everything about this experience. The little island that we visited was completely made out of seashells - so beautiful! Then, we were able to search for dolphins and definitely saw several. It was such a good day! Perfect way to celebrate my daughter's 18th birthday!! Thanks Captain Matt!!

We did the tour yesterday afternoon with Brandon. Had a blast.!! Cool machines. Hold on to your…read morehats. Brandon was really a great guide and I love the walkie talkies in each boat Thanks !!

Jason was a knowledgeable and excellent tour guide that crafted our adventure just for our group!…read moreThe boats were sturdy and comfortable but still speedy for sense of adventure!!! We saw so many dolphin- many swam inches from the boat! We even saw a crocodile- close but not too close! Thanks for a perfect day!

We had an amazing experience with Captain Nate. We booked a private tour, and in our booking we…read moreindicated that our priority was to see manatees and then dolphins. When we arrived Captain Nate told us he would try, but that January is not the best time to see manatees around Marco Island. About 5 minutes later, he found one. The manatee was friendly and curious, so we got to spend a long time watching him as he swam near the boat. We were all ecstatic. We then went out and eventually found a pod of dolphins, including a baby, who had fun swimming in the wake of the boat. Captain Nate was incredibly nice, helpful, and knowledgeable. We had a really great experience that we will remember for the rest of our lives. I highly recommend this company and tour!

Booked our second trip with Captain John - great tour of Marco and shelling on the outer island…read more Thanks!!!

We found Captain Marc thru the Marriott. Contacted him by phone and arranged for a private boat…read moretour for my granddaughters and 4 adults. It was the best decision we could have made. Marc was a great guy who educated us on the wildlife and took us to 2 shelling islands and the Dome Houses. The highlight for the girls was Marc was able to get Dolphins to ride the wake of his boat for 30 minutes. The granddaughters were so excited. On the shelling island he took time to show us the rare shells and even helped us to collect a lot of rare sand dollars. We highly recommend Captain Marc's tour.

From the owner: Relax and enjoy this 3-hour tour with Saltwater Magic Boat Tours on our brand new 2020 Robalo 25…read moreft. vessel, cruising through The Ten Thousand Islands with comfortable seating and T-Top for shade. Tours have a 6 passenger maximum. Let our Captain show you the beauty of the Gulf of Mexico. Enjoy dolphins, shelling, wildlife, nature, barrier islands, Kice Island, beaches, Dome Houses at Cape Romano...

We were spending a week in Bonita Springs, and pretty much intended to spend our days at either the…read morebeach or the pool. We always like to do one new thing each time we visit, and this tour caught our eye. I went with my boyfriend and my two young adult children. They warn you that there are no restrooms at the launch site, so they tell you to go to the nearby boat yard to use restrooms before arriving. I used my GPS to get to the boat yard, then when I tried to use it to find the launch site, NOTHING. No GPS signal at all. I was freaking out, and without cell service, I couldn't even look up their phone number to call for directions. We just started driving down the street from the boat yard (you can only go in one direction) and then we saw some people walking and drove down to ask them for help when we realized they were in the parking lot of the launch site (big sign indicated where we were). So we got really lucky - but definitely plan for this if you go. Learning to steer the boat was a little tricky for my BF, but my son picked it up pretty easily. We were sunburned already from some overexposure earlier in the week, so we immediately put the shade screen into place before leaving which was really appreciated! You are still fairly exposed, so bring sunscreen, but it definitely helped keep your head and shoulders pretty covered. You start out slow in a no-wake zone, then you start picking up speed. That wasn't a problem until we started zig-zagging through mangroves - that made us pretty nervous and we definitely were lagging behind the others as we weren't brave enough to go full speed. Out in the open water, we came across a pod of dolphins that were playing and jumping which was so cool to watch. Then we headed to the small island where we could get off our boats. We were given about 20 minutes to check out the beach (got a few awesome shells!), saw a ton of tiny little crabs, and managed to go into the water to cool off before getting back on our boats. Then the drive back to the launch area was pretty straightforward, but due to other boat traffic, we were bouncing around on others' wakes which added a little thrill to the experience! We loved every minute - it was fun to be on the water, you did get to see some things (but this is not a nature tour, so don't plan on it), and it was fun speeding along. Definitely plan to wear things that can get wet (those wakes sprayed us good), plus you might want to dip into the water to cool off the way we did on the island. Leave the towels in the car - they aren't really useful on the boat unless you are using them as a sun shield. There is a dry box for your phone if you need it, and I brought a small Ziploc bag to carry shells in. They give a small cooler with bottled water and ice to every boat, so you don't need to bring drinks. We really enjoyed it - you will too!

This was an absolute incredible experience. The lead that navigated us through all the turns and…read morekeys was Devon. He was totally professional, his instruction was easy to understand, he educated in many areas (boat operations, on Bismal Key, on White Horse Island, about dolphins, etc.). My wife and I had one of the most memorable vacation experiences ever, thanks to Devon with Backwater Adventure. I am now so excited to share my experience with others!!!!

What an EXCELLENT charter fishing and ecotour we had with Captain Brig and Captain Christina of…read moreEverglades Discovery Tours. These guys know their stuff. Fish caught on every cast, then a little shelling and going through the mangrove tunnels of the 10,000 Islands. This was the best fishing and boat tour we've ever had. Best pricing too, by the way. These guys are great big fun (and really knowledgeable). We will be doing this again real soon! Thanks Brig and Christina!

These guys were great. Friendly, professional and had lots of information to share. Unfortunately…read morethe weather wasn't great and we didn't really see any dolphins, but it wasn't for a lack of trying. He tried to find them everywhere and we just weren't lucky. Saying that, Captain Glen still gave us a great morning and I would highly recommend them. If we return, I'd definitely use Eco Endeavors again!

All that it was advertised to be Lots of fun dolphin time we saw a bald eagle osprey blue heron…read more The shelling beach was perfect The captains were informative and friendly and great with kids