Amazing staff that were supportive of our parties needs. Extremely helpful and friendly. I would definitely recommend them to everyone interested in taking this tour. read more

Make sure to request Captain Angel, she was the best. She let us walk around in the water and was knowledgeable about the area. read more

River Explorer Boat Tours - Bay City class of 1983. - Boat Tours Near Me - Vero Beach, Florida

My family and I loved this tour! Captain Debbie was awesome. She told us all about the history and what we were seeing on the tour. Highly recommend! read more

Went on another tour this year and this time with a private captain. Captain Dave was such a great host and was so patient and determined to make our cruise experience worth while. The weather was great and we got to see the main part of the river along with great views of John's Island, Bird Island, and wonderful sightings of Manatees, Sea Turtles, and a playful pod of Dolphins, Will definitely be booking another cruise with them. read more

Great afternoon cruise in the Indian River Labor Day weekend with Captain Debbie! She was friendly, informative, and shared a lot of local knowledge of the waterway and area. Highly recommend! read more

An Indian River Lagoon cruise with Captain Eric was fun and memorable for the entire family. We learned about the lagoon, its wildlife while enjoying the homes, boats, etc. Highly recommend cruising with River Explorer read more

The ride, and the exploration was beautiful. However, the captain started to talk about politics and shared some personal stories that all I wanted to do was watch the dolphins. I don't think he meant any harm by this, but you Gotta make sure that we're not talking politics when you're on a boat ride. read more

On the positive side, it was a nice day.. We saw some birds, dolphins, and nice homes. On the negative side, our group was seated in the last two bench rows of the boat, this is because we let all the other people get on in front of us to be polite.. Figuring the view was the same from anywhere... which it was... BUT in the back we could hear very little of what the guide was saying. The sound system was SO bad.. it was irritating to listen to... I think they knew this.. at first he tried talking without the mike, but most could not hear him then either. We took our daughters family of 3, + my husband and myself.. 5 people ages 12-65. all of who have good hearing. I paid 160$ for a guided tour,, not just a boat ride. We did not get a guided tour. I think the people up close might have been able to hear better, but we all paid the same amount for the tour.. I really think they need to invest a few $ for a better sound system.. so everyone can hear what the guide was saying. We live in Vero, and have previously done air boat tours when company is in town, and last year we did a pontoon ride in Sebastian, not knowing they had one here. I was so hoping this would be awesome, but it wasn't. read more

The Indian River ride was beautiful. Upon first leaving the dock we came to a school of dolphin frolicking in the water and a plethora of wildlife. With that being said, the boat was 22 minutes late and upon arriving the captain did not secure the boat to the dock or help us onboard. He would drive the boat as close as possible and had us help one another on. No safety briefing was had about features of the boat or equipment. We didn't even know if there were life preservers or where to attain them. There was no first mate. For the amount of money that was spent to it was quite disappointing. read more

Great tour, interesting to see and hear about the wildlife, and a nice ride on the river. Friendly staff definitely worth a visit. read more

This is my second time on the River Explorer Boat Tour. I loved it both times ! The boat has been totally refurbished and a new sound system was professionally installed , now we could hear everything clearly. The Captain and Narrator did a good job of making our trip a pleasant and fun experience. I will absolutely take my family when they come to visit it will be a great family trip. Dock location may be tricky to find it is under the East side of the Barber Bridge ,boarding dock is on the back side of the Riverside Cafe Restaurant. Date of experience: July 2019 read more

Had a GREAT time on a beautiful day!! Recommend to anyone !!! Nice and quick 2 hrs....John's Island was especially beautiful.

Excellent boat tour! The hour-long river ride was perfect for small children. The caption spotted a pod of dolphins in an area too shallow for the boat, but we slowed down and waited a few minutes and they ended up swim right up to the boat. We spent the next 15 minutes getting a spectacular dolphin show up close! The captain pointed out ospreys in trees and was very knowledgeable about the area. We were originally scheduled for the previous day but the company called us and suggested we reschedule to the next day due to inclement weather (and also offered a full refund if we preferred). Glad we went a day later because it was much nicer weather! We will definitely use this company again. read more

Fun boat trip in Vero! A bit pricey and difficult to get more info on the schedule and reservations for the trip. A website with schedule times would be so very helpful. Customer service was very nice and patient each time we called, but I would have preferred not having to call to get the schedule. It's a bit pricey $109 for two adults and three children plus a $10 tip, don't forget to tip your captain! The location is tricky to find, we had to call when we arrived as we thought maybe we were in the wrong place, the deck is situated behind a popular "happy hour" watering hole for the locals. And watch out for the sharks on the walk back through the restaurant deck during happy hour if you take the later cruise. Miserable people that don't want to be disrupted by walk by's with young children. I'm pretty sure once we got around the other side of the deck I had people shaking their head in disgust that we would be at "happy hour" with our kids. Not a thought that maybe, just maybe we were coming from the dock and riverboat cruise wth them, I found that highly annoying. We did get to see some dolphins from afar and some really neat birds, the captain was very tolerant and even let my boys drive the boat! Better website with more info, slightly lower price, and some signs to pointing to the location and it'd be five stars for sure! Worth a trip just take the earlier cruise if you have kids so you don't get evil eyes from the happy hour folks..."Grrrrrr...don't disrupts me's cheap happy hours drinks!" read more

This was great! The staff was great with my kids and so knowledgeable! We saw dolphins and a beautiful sunset! Great tour!

I was very disappointed on how this tour went. The guys who did the tour barely talked, knew very little or said very little on our tour. We will not return again it was a waste of money read more

Had a new "spokesperson" Debbie - first day back on the job - she did great even if she was still trying to find her words for the trip etc! We saw 12+ dolphins. Our family was very very happy. We will do it again for sure. read more

We found this event on google and booked online night before. We Chose the 1pm cruise. (They have am and pm options). Turned out to be The Best afternoon of the whole 2 week trip! Captain was very knowledgeable and educated us on the birds, otters, manatee and dolphins during the cruise. We chose the 2 hour tour. Worth every cent. Boat accommodates @20 - has onboard comfort station. Recommend you come @15 minutes before cruise starts. Great experience! read more

I went on this eco-boat cruise a couple of months ago and I absolutely LOVED it! I strongly recommend if you're in the area that you go check it out. GREAT price too! I was visiting my father in the Vero Beach area and we were looking for something fun to do one afternoon. We came across the River Explorer and decided we'd give it a try. We called and Cindy was very friendly and accommodated us at the last minute. We arrived at the dock and were very impressed with the pontoon boat...it was super clean and even had a bathroom!! I've been on a different eco-tour like this before and I was less than impressed. Captain Bill and Cindy greeted us and offered us refreshments....another nice bonus. We hopped aboard and set sail. The river is absolutely gorgeous and we were taking in all of the sights. Captain Bill did a nice job pointing out some wildlife that I never would have seen. He was funny and also knowledgeable about the wildlife and the Indian River area. Our first encounter was an Osprey that had just caught a fish and was flying from tree to tree with the fish in its talons. Very cool! Next up were the dolphins. We could see them in the distance and I got very excited. We were making our way towards them when Cindy spotted a manatee. We got to see the manatee up close and meanwhile, the dolphins were making their way towards us. Again...very cool! Another thing I liked was that Captain Bill was in no hurry to take us back at an exact time. The tour is 2 hours long (I think) but he wanted us to enjoy the wildlife experience. He made sure to check with everyone on the boat to make sure that no one HAD to be back on schedule for other plans. No one needed to go back, so we got extra time out on the water for free. Again...5 stars for the River Explorer. You should check it out! Next time I'm in the Vero area, I might do it again. read more

Saw several dolphins and a couple of manatees. The captain gave historical information about the Indian River which was nice. The captains first mate (also his wife) went on, and on, and on, and on about her husbands fishing charter company and how much fun they could show us if we booked with them. I did not appreciate the heavy sales job, nor did anyone else on the cruise. Then when we were about to dock, the captain also put in a sales pitch for his fishing charters. read more

I'm still basking in the joy of the river cruise we took yesterday. The cruise was relaxing, comfortable, interesting and informative. I had no idea what to expect other than a boat trip out of Vero, but the cruise was much more than that. I learned so much about the area, the history, the plants and animals and why it's important to take time off to hang out with people who enjoy and know what they are doing. I highly recommend this company and hope you'll find the time to give yourself this treat. read more

Not a bad tour, but the captain was extremely rude in front of all of us and yelled at a kayaker that was "getting close" to the boat. It was very unprofessional and awkward for all of us on board. read more

What a great little thing to do in vero beach when nothing is going on. The location is a bit hard to find but when you find it its worth it. Board on a huge pontoon boat and take a quiet tour of the Indian river lagoon as they tell you history along the way. When you are finished don't miss the great food at the restaurant you have to walk thru to get to. Riverside Cafe. Wow this place is great. There is a reason it's in the top 5 on trip advisor. Food is excellent, drinks are great, and at night the place is packed with locals. So don't miss out on a day on the water then come back and eat and drink. Perfect ending!!! read more

Great tour for all ages! We saw lots of amazing wildlife on our tour but it got a bit chilly, bring a coat!