Our swim with wild dolphins tour was fantastic! Captain Glen was great at getting ahead of the dolphins then dropping us into the water at the perfect time. The dolphins swam right up to us and frolicked all around us. Best day of our vacation! read more

Water Planet - Wild Dolphin looked right at me! - Boat Tours Near Me - Panama City Beach, Florida

Captain Jean was great. He took us to dolphins. We only got to swim in the water with them about 3 times, then the lady on the boat wanted to go somewhere else to more protected waters. So the rest of the day we went to shallow waters and I can't even call it snorkeling because we weren't given a snorkel! So we just had a snorkel mask, no snorkel, and spent the rest of the day in either a cove with a ton of other boats or at a shallow estuary. If you get unlucky and someone in the boat doesn't want to swim with dolphins then you will be doing something else the rest of the trip. They said the snorkel gets in the way and too many people fiddle with it while swimming with the dolphins. I get it. But don't call it a snorkel trip and then don't give us a snorkel, and take us to places where we needed a snorkel. We would have been happier with a pair of goggles if that was the case. read more

Captain Gary did an amazing job steering us to swim with the dolphins!! This experience exceeded my expectations and Gary was able to drop us into a pod of 15 or more dolphins...incredible!! We ended the 4 hour experience with Gary finding a pod of baby and young dolphins that swam right next to us!! Thank you so much for this tremendous adventure!! Sandy, George and Deb (from Ohio)!! read more

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This was such an awesome experience! We took our two kiddos (teenager and second grader) out for the 4 hour tour with Captain Mike. He found multiple pods of dolphins out in the bay for us to observe both from the boat and the waters. When the kiddos starting getting tired, he recommended a run to Shell Island, which was another awesome adventure. The kiddos had a blast, the wife and I enjoyed the heck out of the afternoon and everything was so dang easy! Captain Mike is full of great stories and history of the area! read more

I cannot in good faith give this business a 5 star rating. However, I will give the captain & mate (Grace) a 5 star rating. Don't get the review of the business confused with the review of outstanding customer service, which was excellent! If you are looking for an experience to ride a boat, learn some local history, learn about, & SEE dolphins--this is just the place for you! If you are not physically active--or at least marginally active--this MAY NOT be a good fit for you & you might want to rethink paying for this excursion. Here's the scoop from the time you step foot on the boat: 1. All gear needed for swimming in the sea--goggles, sunscreen, etc--need to be on your body & adjusted to fit beforehand. 2. All items you want to keep dry will go into a dry box. 3. Safety lecture will be given by the captain with meticulous commands for getting in & out of the water. For those with shorter attention spans or difficulties with following instructions, this may be a challenge for you, because the list is wordy. 4. You will be taken to the area known as Shell Island, a gorgeous secluded beach area, where you will likely see lots of dolphins and beautiful water. This is likely where you can "swim" with other people who came on the boat with you. 5. Now to the "swimming with the dolphins" part, which leaves ALOT to be desired--all customers must wear life jackets & enter the water only at the command of the captain. If you choose to swim, much of your time will be spent plopping in & out of the water from the front of the boat in a seated position. You will hurriedly plunge into the water on command, swim for a few minutes (3-5 min maybe). Then, immediately, climb up a ladder thrown from the side of the boat & the process repeats for a couple hours. You are physically getting into & out of the water so fast, I'd hardly call it "swimming". To be honest, I don't know the appropriate aquatic term for this chaos. 6. Since dolphins are in motion all the time, this is NOT a leisure swim. It is very active & hurried. Therefore, if you have any type of mobility issues, lung issues (esp Asthma), coordination issues, or any medical issues that can interfere with being in a hurry, I WOULD NOT recommend this "swimming" experience. You will likely be disappointed if you think you're going to be able to stay submerged under water, "swimming" with a pod of dolphins--this is impossible with a life vest on. All things considered, I would do this excursion again for the boat ride & dolphin sighting but NOT for swimming. read more

We had the BEST day chasing dolphins! Captain Josh is a stud at dropping us in right where they were. Thanks for a perfect day!

Excellent excursion. Highly recommend this. Dale was our captain. He was excellent Will do this again read more

Water Planet - Boat Tours Near Me - Panama City Beach, Florida

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Water planet made my dream come true! We had captain glen as our boat captain for the day and he was fantastic. I'd like to think he's the dolphin whisperer of the world we were able to swim with many dolphins all around us. Captain Glen made us feel comfortable/ safe and went thru all the rules/legal stuff before swimming with wild dolphins. I don't know why anyone would ever pay to see a captive dolphin when there are companies like this out there. We also had some time to stop at shell island and grab a few shells to bring home. I would recommend everyone to go thru water planet to have their wild dolphin swim adventures! read more

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We went on a tour today with Captain Joey and what an amazing trip. He went above and beyond to make sure my kids and I had a wonderful time! He helped us find dolphins, sea urchins, and sand dollars. He was so kind and fun. The boat was nice. The staff that greeted us over the phone and in person were also delightful. It was my kids' favorite experience in the Destin area. Well worth the drive. We will definitely return if we come back to visit. Thank you Captain Joey! read more

If you want to have a wonderful family excursion, check out Water Planet in Panama City Beach. We had such a good time! We were greeted by Eric, our tour guide. He was polite, patient and really made the trip that much better. One of the nicest people we met during our whole trip in Florida, by far. He took us out in a pontoon boat and immediately led us to the dolphins who swam right up to my children. Really neat and I was able to get it on film. We were guided around the dolphins for 2 hours and then went to a beautiful beach to relax and swim. After that, Eric took us shelling on the sand bar, where we were able to collect sand dollars and observe the various aquatic wildlife swimming. We rounded out the trip by going back out in the channel and swimming with the dolphins again. This was a wonderful trip we will never forget. read more

This was one of my favorite experiences that I have ever had! Jay was phenomenal with showing us the best way to find the dolphins and how to act around them. He cares so much for the wildlife and really cared for our experience as well. It was so much fun, and we got to swim with multiple pods of dolphins. This was the experience of a lifetime!!! Thank you to Water Planet and Jay!!!!!! read more

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First off, I want to say how skeptical we were about this company, but I'm so glad we gave it a try. Definitely worth the money. This was my family first time ever going to experience swimming with the dolphins. We actually called an hour before and booked. Our caption was Dale, he was very nice and kind. He kept us on our toes for sure looking at the beautiful, gorgeous view & all the dolphins. It was amazing swimming with the dolphins and my family enjoyed every bit. Towards the end we snorkeled at shell island and we also enjoyed that. I would definitely recommend and will be booking again in the near future. Thanks Dale for such an amazing experience for my family. read more

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Our captain was so knowledgeable and let us jump in the water multiple times. Saw the dolphins so much, but don't expect to touch them or anything! They are wild animals! read more

Fantastic experience!! Ages 10 to 74 years old and everyone loved the day!!!! Joey and Glenn were amazing- two boats. We learned a lot about the environment- it was not just a dolphin swim fest(but it was!!!). We felt safe!! We went to look for shells. Joey was in my boat and he was easy on the eyes:) treat for me and mom. Best day! We will be back!! Highly recommend- professional and safe! Top notch! read more

LVED every minute of it!! We saw/swam by SO many dolphins. Craziest thing I've ever done. The experience is well worth the price!

Captain Amelia was fantastic ! This is worth every dollar spent . I have done other dolphin tours and this is by far the best ! Numerous dolphin sightings , up close encounters and very educational . The day flew by and Captain Amelia made our day perfect in every way ! The company took the time to ensure a teen with medical issues also had an excellent time and assisted us with our reservations so it was a day of fun for the entire family . This company and crew deserve 10 stars ! read more

Amazing experience,worth the value and great staff with knowledge of the local wildlife.

This was an awesome experience for both me and my significant other. The water was a little chilly but we rented wetsuits and it helped so much! I recommend going across the street to "Divers Den" and renting one, they are 10 dollars each! You won't regret it! Our guide, Eddie was awesome and was helpful as can be! He was an expert at spotting dolphins and seems very knowledgeable about dolphins, sea creatures and the gulf. He is very reassuring and makes sure you get to see dolphins! I recommend this trip to a family! It is well worth the money! read more

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Terrible experience and poor customer service and owner (Denis). Paid over 3k for the Therapy Program which is not even worth half of that price. We had our expectations really high, but oh gosh what surprise we got! Website of course is a bunch of lies, and owner very rude and unprofessional. Please don't waste your time or money, not worth it! read more

Pretty amazing experience. The captain was nice and very friendly. Me and my girlfriend were out in vacation in Panama City and decided to go for an adventure, it was so worth it. read more

We had a great day out on the water and our captain was excellent. Very educational and fun trip, well worth the $. We snorkeled a ship wreck and saw a young sea turtle and swam with several dolphins. read more

Simply an amazing company. They are so knowledgeable and friendly. It was an experience of a lifetime and even though I was slightly apprehensive at first they made me feel totally comfortable. I think everyone should try this. read more

This place allows you to get in the ocean and swim with the wild dolphins; however you can't touch them or feed them. I find this a better alternative than swimming with the dolphins in a cage for triple the money. The parking situation was fine, however once we got on the dock, there's about 8 different business/boats that you can go on and of course...there's no sign. So you wander around and ask people (that work on the dock daily!) and eventually stumble upon someone that knows what they're doing. At $100 each person for four hours, I found it a good price. I paid upfront with no issues. The only reason I took it down a star was that we waited for another family to show up and waited for over an hour for them. After 20 minutes they called and said they were 10 minutes away. At the 45 min. mark, we should have left because if you can't tell time, then the other customers shouldn't be inconvenienced for your stupidity. The ocean was pretty rough that day so we actually didn't get in and swim with the dolphins, however we did see about 12 dolphins swimming around and we followed them. As I said before, it was rough and I was getting pretty seasick. The captain said I looked green and decided we should go over to shell island. We were on shell island for about 20 minutes and back on the boat and everything was great. We saw pods of dolphins everywhere as well as a few sea turtles that day. We did eventually get in the water in a shallow area and snorkeled around a little. It was a great time and I would totally do it again; and hope to not be sick! read more

This outfit exceeded all of our expectations. Such a friendly and knowledgeable crew. My family had an absolutely fantastic time out on their boats that it's all they could talk about even now that we are back home. If you are vacationing near PCB, then definitely check them out. Very reasonable for several hours out on the water and run very well. read more