Encounter With Dolphins

Nice relaxing cruise with the family. You do get up close with the dolphins.
Shelling and snorkeling at the island are a little anti-​climactic, but a nice little break.
Reasonable price + Dolphins + friendly crew + Pics on Facebook = nice way to spend the afternoon.

We searched Unilocal for a calm boat ride in Clearwater with decent reviews and this operator was our choice. We visited the marina the day before to make the reservation for an afternoon tour the following day, but we were recommended to go on the 11 am tour as the chance of dolphin sightings was better. The following day we arrived at the marina and could board the boat in groups, each group was photographed; photos and photo keyrings were on sale when we returned (one for $ 6, two for $ 10) and there was no force to buy, maybe that’s why we ended up buying one…
The captain made a short briefing of the tour and headed off into the harbour, he had radio contact with a colleague during the cruise so he was up to date on where to see dolphins. He found them and by coordinating the wake waves with the colleague’s boat they managed to have the dolphins perform a great show.
After the dolphin show we headed off to Compass Island, a very small island, to find shells. Though the island is small you can find some nice big shells. As a bonus the captain gave us four fake coins we could hide in the sand for our daughter to find.
Onboard they sell sodas and chips for $ 1 each.
The highlight is definitely the dolphins and they do offer a dolphin sighting guarantee; you are entitled to a new boat trip if dolphins are not sighted; therefore make sure you plan hour ride in the start of your stay.

We had so much fun. We spotted Dolphins about 5 minutes in. The captain synced up with another boat to get the most of the dolphins and to play in the wake of the boats. We brought a small cooler of beers. Bathroom on board. Friendly staff. A stop on a tiny island. Celebrity homes. All around a great day!

The tour is nice and the snorkeling is definitely an added bonus. At basically $ 20 a person for 1.5 hours, its definitely not a bad deal and a good way to kill some time. Allowed to bring «adult» beverages with you on the cruise is definitely a plus.

The positives: we did see Dolphins — very close to the boat! The captain made sure that my young children (12, 14, & 10) were able to see them by putting them right at the rail. That was awesome. Plenty of time on the island and lots of good info about the animals /​environment.
A star is missing because this wasn’t designed for young kids this ride. I can’t speak for other trips, but our boat was full of 15 or so young adults that brought plentiful amounts of alcohol on board. They took shots and drank out of bottles I didn’t recognize. It didn’t take long in the heat /​sun for them to become very loud, and boisterous enough that we couldn’t even hear the captain over the loudspeaker. They turned our cruise into a party boat. It was not an environment we wanted our children in, but there was nothing we could do when we are in the middle of the ocean. The captain did apologize to us when we docked, which I appreciated. But it’s hard to erase what my kids saw. We never would’ve booked this cruise had we known that party boat behavior and drunk young adults would ruin the experience. Maybe request a cruise where the hard liquor isn’t allowed? Not sure what the solution would be.

Took a 90 min tour to do some snorkeling and see some dolphins. As promised, they found two dolphins in a boat harbor and brought us in for a close up to take pictures. One of the dolphins was young… maybe 3 – 4 weeks old. After a quick guided tour by some expensive mansions we stopped at a small island to snorkel and collect shells. Not much to see in the cloudy water but it was refreshing. Captain and mate were easy to talk to and knowledgable of the area. Overall a good quick little tour to get you out on the water. Decent price at $ 20 per person plus tip.

We were looking for a comfortable and easy boat tour on Clearwater. Encounters with dolphins had a great tour. We spotted several dolphins and they let us stop to take photos for a little while. Gorgeous day, easy ride and a great way to see the area. Well worth the $ 16.

The staff was extremely courteous & friendly therefore, making this experience extremely memorable. The captain of the boat had an amazing sense of humor & kept myself & the other passengers laughing & interested. Luckily, we did end up getting a few dolphin encounters, in fact, we saw three swimming together. Overall, this experience was pleasurable and I would recommend it for those visiting this area. For an amazing rate of $ 17, you can’t go wrong!!!:)

Look for the Tiki Hut on the marina. Super, large pontoon boat ride for just $ 16.95 per adult. 90 to 100 min tour includes stop at small island to collect shells. BYOB is ok. Great music selection, nice time. DOG FRIENDLY!