Wonderful experience! The marine biologist was so knowledgeable and passionate about the dolphins, the dolphins each have names and can be identified by their dorsal fins (learned this on the boat ride)! We had a perfect day on May 2, 2026, saw 33 dolphins! I highly recommend this tour, price is reasonable, and then you get to dock at Tigertail Beach to collect seashells! Perfect day, would do it every week if I didn't live so far away (Nevada)! Thanks guys for a wonderful and memorable day!! read more

Wow! What a tour with amazing marine biologists. At first we didn't see many dolphins but it didn't matter because we saw osprey and eagles and many birds. But then the dolphins emerged and it was so much fun and so cool to be that close to moms and babies and teenagers. Then there was a stop at Tiger Beach to collect shells. And it was an easy climb down the ladder onto the sand from the boat. Best boat tour ever. Can't wait to do it again! read more

The Dolphin Explorer - Osprey building a nest! - Boating Near Me - Marco Island, Florida

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Perfect Day, and this is the Marina to Rent your Boat from --for the Day or two. Everything from easy parking to informed and helpful staff. Our 21 foot Hurricane was brand new and perfect for getting around Marco Island. read more

Great experience. Super knowledgeable guides and the dolphins seemed to want to hangout around their specific boat. And it all supports a good cause? Worth it read more

Don't forget the sunscreen!! Cooked 25 Dolphins identified and very educational for my family and I.

Booked the dolphin tour for our family of four. It was amazing!! My dolphin obsessed daughter loved it! They did a great job educating us on the dolphins while keeping the kids engaged! We had a marine biologist on the boat as well. Awesome day- would definitely recommend. Can't wait to do it again in the future! read more

I wish I could give them 100 stars!!! this was an awesome boat tour. James was great and very informative. we saw so many dolphins what a great experience. I can't recommend this dolphin experience enough. the best! read more

As regular visitors to Marco it can be a challenge to find things to do on the small quiet island. My brother-in-law heard a speech by one of the Explorer naturalists last year which put this on our radar screen. They've got a bright and shiny deck-style boat that's pretty large and can hold up to 49. As we were taking the morning 3-hour tour (9 am) on a Friday in November, there were only 14 of us booked including our group of six and only two little kids. (Note: while the boat is nice and big with bench seating around the perimeter, I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it as much with a big crowd). The boat is mostly shaded with a large awning over 90% of the structure. Right away we started seeing dolphins and what was even more interesting was how close the dolphins come to the boat. They seem to like looking at us as much as we do them. They also followed the boat for quite a while, playing in our wake. An added bonus is that the company has chronicled the births of dolphins around Marco for 13 years so they can pretty much identify the dolphins (they all have names) by their dorsal fins. They have books for passengers to use in the identification process. Free bottled water is provided (as much as you want) and they have a small marine toilet on board as well for comfort. After watching the dolphins in a couple of different spots, they set you ashore on one of the island's remote beaches where you can go shelling - they even give you a bag to keep. They even take your group's photo on the beach and print out pictures for you for free as well which is a nice souvenir of your day. This was a nice activity and I'd definitely recommend it to people visiting the area. read more

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What a great day! Excellent tour, eco tour guide (Bob), captain, and value. We saw 23 different dolphins, several in family groups, and got tons of close up shots of dolphins playing in the wake of the boat. Tour guide was experienced, upbeat, and super friendly. Tour included a fun side activity/workbook for kids 12 and under. Also included 30 minutes of shelling on the north end of Tiger Tail beach. Tour guides knew the dolphins by name and handed out catalogs to aid the rest of us in identification by fin markings. Boat is newer, clean, has lots of cover/shade and a bathroom. Highly recommend this excursion and company. Note: arrive 20 min early as they recommend as they load the boat as soon as everyone is there. read more

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I can even begin to explain how amazing this excursion was! You definitely get your money's worth. After you board, they gave the kids a small clipboard and paper. It gives them the opportunity to count how many different dolphins they see throughout the tour along with other activities. Water bottles were provided as well as bags to carry the shells in. As a bonus, they printed off a picture they took of our family and one of a dolphin that liked to show off. At the end, the kids earned a fabric badge. There is a bathroom on board but I would recommend doing any "major business" elsewhere. 5/5 definitely worth it! read more

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I went recently for the second time in two years and it didn't disappoint. The naturalist on board, as well as the captain, are extremely friendly and knowledgeable. Our trip this year saw 15 dolphins in 3 hours, and ended with a walk on the beach to collect sea shells. As a wildlife photographer, being able to come within feet of a pair of nesting ospreys was an incredible experience, as was seeing dolphins jumping fully out of the water in the wake of the boat. This is a great excursion for the entire family. They even have activities for children to do. What an awesome experience. It never disappoints. read more

The Dolphin Explorer - Ospreys - Boating Near Me - Marco Island, Florida

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if there was higher than 5 stars, put me down. Great three hour day on the water. Great knowledge of the dolphins; their habits, locations, etc. These guys have an almost "ownership" of these dolphins. Recognition of them by name, uniqueness of the markings that identify them, just amazing! Great shelling on Tigertail are, an easy pick of 12 whole sand dollars. Cost more than fair, included at no cost individual photo of the guests and dolphin in boat wake. Boat roomy and comfortable, with head. Many returning guests. will do again in 2024. Addition, there are specific educational materials for children of all ages. Highly recommende. read more

Really great price for 3 hours on the boat. We loved the way the tour guide Bob interacted with the kids and kept them engaged with activities. The boat is very big and lot of shade. There's even a potty on board. We saw so many dolphins and they were following the boat to play in the wake. Such a fun day! Bottled water and family photo included read more

We had a great time on the 2 hour jet ski tour. Saw some dolphins, stingray and tons of wildlife.

This was the favorite activity that our family of adults and children did during our stay on Marco Island. Scheduling was done easily online, checkin at the marina was simple and straightforward, the boat was clean and in great working order. The crew was extremely knowledgeable about the area dolphins and guided us to viewing no less than 14 different dolphins. We even found a bunch of cool shells on the barrier island we stopped at. I highly recommend this excursion. read more

This is a MUST do in Marco Island. The crew is amazing and they keep kids engaged with their many Dolphin facts. We saw a ton of dolphins, and they even played behind the wake of the boat. Our family(young and old) had a great time!! read more

Great tour! Captain Eddie and Naturalist Bob were very knowledgeable and entertaining. Great for all ages. Previously my 12 year granddaughter, her father and mother took the tour. Today my 21 year old granddaughter and her boyfriend and I took the tour. We will all be taking this tour again! By the way, with Covid going on, they are only taking 1/2 the amount of people so that you can distance. I greatly appreciated that. Support this wonderful business!1 read more

So much fun. A definite must for anyone spending time in Marco. Very friendly and knowledgeable staff. And of course -- the dolphins are amazing! read more

We had the best time on our dolphin study excursion! Got up close and personal with so many dolphins and the crew was so entertaining! Kid friendly too! One of the more reasonably priced tours on the island and well worth every penny! read more

Such a fun experience! It's a must do on the island. Captain Eddie and Bob were such awesome hosts. We saw tons of the dolphins and the shells we collected were bountiful and beautiful! read more

Avoid! Ruined my Dad's birthday by "overbooking" and calling us 10 minutes before. Any company that doesn't have their act together until 10 minutes before isn't worth spending $50+ per person on. Got all packed and a ride up there only to be turned away! GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER! Its 2012, make sure your website doesn't take reservations anymore if you are SOLD OUT! People are on vacation!!!!!! I was told by our driver up there that this happens all the time. Their fake "We are sincerely sorry's" didn't make me feel any better. Save your money, rent a charter or do a private tour for a few more dollars. Go to a company where your business is actually appreciated! read more

Th premier dolphin cruise and cruise on island. We enjoyed this the most of any cruise. You will see plenty of dolphins. Guide is knowledgeable. You stop for 30 minutes at a beach to gather seashells. Very kid friendly read more

Just returned from an excellent morning spent on The Dolphin Explorer with my 5 yr old granddaughter. Naturalist Bob and Captain Eddie were knowledgeable, entertaining and interested in giving each and every person an incredible experience. Their knowledge of areas where many dolphins romp, play and feed as well as recognizing them by name is extraordinary. You won't regret taking this trip! read more

What a fantastic experience. The crew did a great job and were really friendly. The dolphins were showing off for us. It's. Ice to feel like they aren't exploiting the dolphins. They are tracking them a paying close attention to their patterns and documenting their lives. I wish I could go every day! read more

Had a wonderful excursion on the Dolphin Explorer. Guides were knowledgeable about the area, as well as the habits and behaviors of the dolphins and the birds. We stopped to collect shells and take a dip in the water, we were able to bring snacks on board and were provided with plenty of cold drinks (water bottles). They also took a group photo of my family, printed it out and gave each of us a copy with a couple of pictures of the dolphins. read more

This was our families 5th time on the tour.We love the dolphins when they follow the boat. Unfortunately, there are a lot of dead fish all over the waters and shores of Marco Island. I hope it will be remedied soon! read more

The whole family had an incredible time. The Dolphins were awesome, great photos as they swam next to us. Recommend and will be doing this again when we return to Marco Island. read more

The Dolphin Explorer - Had a great time!!! - Boating Near Me - Marco Island, Florida

We are from Ohio and have been coming to Marco for 20+ years, but have never tried The Dolphin Explorer experience. What a mistake that was! This past weekend we had family visiting and decided to go on this adventure. It was fantastic! The crew was very friendly and knowledgeable and we saw dozens of dolphins. They give you lots of time to watch them play (some came right up to the boat). We stopped at an island for about 45 minutes of shelling on the beach (gave everyone a shelling bag) and we found many beautiful shells. We highly recommend The Dolphin Explorer!! read more

Very friendly and knowledgeable team who knew the dolphins by names and shared much info about their habits, relations, and biology. We saw about 10 dolphins having much fun playing in our boat's wake; plenty of time to watch them play; also collected shells and sand dollars on an island stop; had about 20 people on our pontoon boat. read more

Excellent! We loved every minute and saw many dolphins. The crew were very friendly and helpful. They knew a lot about the dolphins and eager to answer questions. The educational talks were very good. We enjoyed the smooth waters and the short break at a beautiful beach. The research conducted included photo Id and we got to breafly listen underwater on a hydrophone. read more

Great family activity!! Took out 3 and 6 year old and had a blast. Saw about 12 dolphins and went to Keewaydin to a gorgeous beach with next to nobody on it!!!! read more

This is an excellent boat tour- one of the highlights to our trip to Marco Island. Very accommodating for little kids (our son is 22 months old and LOVED it). The tour guides were extremely friendly and knowledgeable and we saw so many dolphins it was incredible. They also took fantastic pictures of our day (both of the dolphins, birds, and each family on the beach) and gave them to us as keepsakes. I was so impressed that they did not try to commercialize everything- the trip was truly about learning about the native wildlife and of course seeing the beautiful dolphins. Highly recommend this tour in particular- money well spent and memories to last forever! read more

Amazing time. Words cannot describe how much fun this was. We literally saw so many dolphins we could not believe it. Also everyone from the guy Bob at the desk to the crew on board were amazing. Free drinks and free photos. They knew so much about Dolphins it was in amazing. We will definitely be back again for sure. read more

This was an A+ trip. I highly recommend it for all ages. Captain Bob and naturalist Bob were exceptional.

Best dolphin tour you will go on! And one that does more than a typical tourist tour. The tour is manned by naturalists, who study these dolphins daily. They can keep track of them without invasive tagging. Not only are your supporting their research you also get an amazing up close and personal experience with wild dolphins. This is my second time on the tour and saw even more dolphins and we had 4-5 dolphins playing in the wake. Also they really make it kid friendly!! Well worth every penny! read more

This is a DO NOT MISS experience. The guys were so much fun and knowledgeable about wildlife. They provided water, bags for shells, and pictures from the day. The kids on the trip were even given special patches for helping count and identify the dolphins. It was a wonderful experience. Thanks, Dolphin Explorer. read more

The dolphin explorer is amazing . Well worth the money . Very educational for prople who don't know allot about the resident dolphins in southwest Florida . We went to key waden for about 40 miunets to go shelling and they let it's keep the shelling bag . Along with about seven pictures of the dolphins we saw that day . We saw about 11 dolphins in three hours a fantastic experience sand well worth the money . read more

Easily the best thing we did on Marco. Saw tons of dolphins and they even got some to play in the wake of our boat. We took our 5 year old with us and she can't stop talking about it. Drinks, photos, and shelling bags are included. The only reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5 is because we didn't go to Keywadin Island for shelling. The place they took us instead had a huge area roped off for some sort of bird preservation/nesting and the shells we got smelled so bad we had to throw them away. read more

A great way to spend a few hours in Marco Island, and to see the sights and learn a thing or two. The dolphin tour captain and crew were great and engaged everyone on the boat - kids and adults alike. They know their local dolphins and additions to the community, as well as the local bird population, and are happy to share all the information they know. They encourage everyone to participate and to ask questions. They also stop for about 30-45 minutes of shelling and are happy to explain shore findings to the group and to take photos of the families and groups on the tour. At the end of the cruise, they give everyone a few of the best photos from the day and also any personal photos they've taken for families. A really nice way to spend some time outdoors! read more

Terrific time. We saw dolphins a few different times. The stop for shell collecting on the beach included some beautiful views of the gulf waters. Well worth the time and cost. read more