St. Pete Dolphin Watching and Shelling Adventure
Overview
Available languages
3 hours
Mobile ticket
Escape the mainland and join Coastal Cruises for a perfect day of Dolphin Watching and Shelling in St. Pete! Our three-hour tour starts with a slow 45-minute dolphin-watching cruise along the intercoastal waterways in St. Pete amidst the multi-million dollar waterfront homes en route to one of our favorite local shelling islands in Florida.
Once stopped at either Shell Island, guests will have up to an hour and a half to go ashore and enjoy the day the locals’ way swimming and exploring at one of these pristine shelling destinations!
Our boat has plenty of shade for those who aren’t quite as adventurous, so feel free to stay aboard, pick the crew’s brain on the local St. Pete area, take in the coastal views, or enjoy the satellite TV featuring your favorite game!
Upon departing the St. Pete shelling islands, we will have an opportunity to once again search for dolphins along the 45-minute intercoastal route back to the marina.
Additional Info
Service animals allowed
Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
What To Expect
Our journey will begin and/or end passing by multi-million dollar waterfront homes. Our guests love taking in these massive estates owned by St. Pete's local millionaires!
Gulfport
En Route to Sand Dollar or Shell Island, we will pass by St. Petersburg's historic Gulfport community where many sailboats can be seen mooring off the coast of this waterfront town.
What‘s Included
Bar On Board
Restroom On Board
Outside Alcohol Not Permitted
Guests are welcome to pack a snack or lunch to enjoy while stopped at the island
Options
St. Pete Dolphin Watching and Shelling Adventure
Dolphin - Gulfport Location
Starting point:
4630 29th Ave S, Gulfport, FL 33711, USA
Dolphin - SkyBeach Location
Starting point:
6800 Sunshine Skyway Ln S, St. Petersburg, FL 33711, USA
Dolphin - MarineMax Location
Starting point:
MarineMax St. Petersburg, 6810 Gulfport Blvd S, St. Petersburg, FL 33707, USA
Reviews
182 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Definitely worth the time! So great!
329GraceFu,,Dec 1, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Very awesome view and the beach is very special! Full of shells and sand make those layer. The sand is so clean and easy to walk! I saw a few bird there as well. Very great experience! Thanks Paul for driving the boat!
Relaxing way to get a feel of the Tampa Bay
832venkatr,,Nov 28, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Had a great experience exploring the Tampa Bay and Shell Key island on this cruise, as part of a college reunion with friends! It was a relaxing way to experience this area. The staff were friendly, flexible and helped us have a good time, while balancing our safety too. We had a fantastic 3 hours with the boat to ourselves!
A wonderful birthday experience!
mikeandkims2020,,Nov 23, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00So much fun!! Our morning cruise was cancelled so we were upgraded to the sunset cruise. It was beautiful and tons of fun for my husbands 70th birthday. We got tons of pictures and the crew was so helpful and so much fun! Would definitely do this again!!
Great time - bachelorette trip
V6218CRbrittanys,,Nov 22, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Noah and Dylan were a delight! It was a great time and we saw a couple dolphins! Loved the photo op too. Great boat experience!
Chase and Paul made the trip.
Justin E,,Nov 15, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00Chase and Paul were amazing guides they encouraged us to go on another trip which we did that being the sunset trip.
Gavin and Dylan were great guides
jasonvS4214TB,,Nov 8, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Gavin and Dylan were great guides. Brought my 5 and 7 year old sons, they loved the dolphins and shell island Would highly recommend
Dolphin/shell key tour 💯 recommend
shannon b,,Nov 3, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00The whole experience was awesome! We saw plenty of dolphins and had the most beautiful, relaxing few hours out at shell key. They had free bottled water and all kinds of alcohol drinks for purchase. What a beautiful way to spend a day.
We saw so many dolphins...
Justine F,,Nov 2, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00We saw so many dolphins and the Shell Key island was so nice to walk around and collect some seashells to bring home.
Great dolphin/shelling cruise
Mary B,,Oct 22, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00Had an awesome time on our dolphin/shelling cruise. Paul and Gavin made it so much fun. They made sure we saw some dolphins (as well as a shark and manatee)! The cruise was the perfect amount of time to allow for dolphin spotting and shelling. Definitely recommend!
This was a great trip for us, and our visitors to St. Pete!
debbiemX7626LY,,Oct 20, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Our group of 4 were on the 3 hr Dolphin Watching and Island Shelling Cruise on 10/18/25 and had a great time! Our captains Justis and Dylan were fun, friendly, informative, and helpful. The boat is very comfortable, with cushioned seats, cold drinks available, a bathroom, and canopy for shade. Found some beautiful shells on Shell Key and saw dolphins in the water along the way. Before the trip, we were provided with all the pertinent information as to parking, what to bring on board, what would be provided, and what time to arrive. I would highly recommend this boat trip, and we will bring visitors on this trip again.
From US$42.80
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Operated by Coastal Cruises