Small Group 2 Hour Dolphin Cruise with Snorkeling to Shell Key

Overview

Available languages

English

2 hours

Mobile ticket

Hop on a cruise to Shell Key Island and see dolphins and other wildlife while snorkeling. At this pristine wildlife preserve, you'll get to snorkel and observe the wildlife, go for a relaxing swim, or just walk along the beach and collect shells. Depending on the time of year, you'll see dolphins in their natural habitat, along with manatees, rays, and wild birds.

All of our rides are semi-private, with a maximum of 6 passengers per boat, so you get to avoid the crowds when you ride with us.

Additional Info

Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller

Service animals allowed

Suitable for all physical fitness levels

You must check in 30 minutes prior to your departure time. All trips leave promptly at their departure time

A minimum of 2 people per booking is required

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

What‘s Included

Bottled water

Use of Snorkelling equipment

Parking at the marina

BYOB welcome

Cooler with ice on board

FREE parking at the Tierra Verde Marina Resort

Food, unless specified

Gratuities

What To Expect

Island Ferry's Dolphin-Snorkeling Cruise takes you snorkeling by boat to Shell Key, and to see dolphins at the same time! See dolphins in their natural habitat, along with manatees, rays, and wild birds. Go snorkeling and shelling on Shell Key Preserve, where you'll find hermit crabs, conchs, rays, horseshoe crabs, and more. Island Ferry is not a drop-off service, but rather the boat stays at Shell Key with you for the entire time. You can take a break from snorkeling and shelling, and sit on our shaded boats with a cold drink. And while you and your family are in the water, the Island Ferry crew stands watch on lifeguard duty. So we keep everyone safe! We provide the snorkel gear and the floating noodles.

Options

Mid Day Dolphin/Shell Key

Dolphin/Shell Key: See dolphins and visit Shell Key at the same time! See dolphins in their natural habitat, along with manatees, rays, and wild birds. Then go shelling on Shell Key Preserve.

9am Dolphin/Shell Key

See dolphins and visit Shell Key at the same time! See dolphins in their natural habitat, along with manatees, rays, and wild birds. Then go shelling on Shell Key Preserve.

4:15pm Dolphin/Shell Key

See dolphins and visit Shell Key at the same time! See dolphins in their natural habitat, along with manatees, rays, and wild birds. Then go shelling on Shell Key Preserve.

Reviews

4.87

1,518 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

1415

Great trip!
Robin D,
Sep 22, 2025
- Viator
5.00
It was a great trip even though we didn’t get to see any wildlife besides a rare snake near Shellley! Wish we had a little more snorkel time but captain Dave was great showing us around and being knowledgeable
Being on the small boat...
Danirl C,
Aug 20, 2025
- Viator
5.00
Being on the small boat and a small group was much more personal and received a lot of local information from the captain Dave. Seeing the lodge, dolphin boats, confirmed we made the right decision..
Beautiful boat ride- snorkeling not so much..
Cecilia B,
Aug 14, 2025
- Viator
3.00
Beautiful boat ride. Meghan our captain & guide was great. Snorkeling was a dud. I was expecting to jump in off the boat to snorkel but you had to walk in off Shell key- nothing to see. We did see a glimpse of a manatee and some dolphins while heading out and back. Again being out on the water in a comfortable boat was great.
Very enjoyable!
Ena G,
Aug 6, 2025
- Viator
5.00
We really enjoyed our 2 hour dolphin /snorkeling excursion. The boat was very spacious and even nicer than I had anticipated. There were 4 of us and had the boat to ourselves. Our boat captain Noel was very friendly and knowledgeable. We would definitely recommend this and plan on doing this again for an even longer excursion.
An amazing experience!
Ellyse E,
Aug 5, 2025
- Viator
5.00
I’m not normally someone who leaves reviews, however as I booked this based on others reviews, I wanted to leave one. The experience was incredible from start to finish, it felt very personal as a family of 5, we were the only ones on our boat. Megan was very knowledgeable about the wildlife in the area and was able to answer lots of questions that my children had. We saw a manatee before stopping at Shell Key island, where we enjoyed looking for different shells and snorkelling. Whilst there we saw a dolphin swim by so I was hopeful we would see some on our return journey and the trip did not disappoint. We were lucky enough to see 3 dolphins, one of which was a baby with its mother. They swam around the area of the boat, coming closer than I had imagined they would. It was truly an amazing experience.