10,000 Islands Excursion 3.5 hour Dolphin & Shelling Boat Tour
Recommended by 95% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Naples, USA
- 3 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
This hands-on shelling tour from Marco Island takes by boat to an uninhabited barrier island where you can go shelling in a place relatively undisturbed by visitors. Your naturalist guide will provide insights into individual shell animals and get expert instruction on how to shell, as well as tell you about the area's flora and fauna.
- Hands-on shelling tour from Marco Island: Not a typical boat tour
- Go shelling on an uninhabited barrier island
- Opportunites to spot wildlife, from birds to manatees
- Get shelling tips and tricks from your naturalist guide
What's Included
- Florida Master Naturalist Guide
- Explore an uninhabited barrier island on this exciting eco-tour
- Take advantage of great photo opportunities while on a large, stable boat
- See an amazing variety of birds and other wildlife
- Bottled water
- Gratuities
- Parking FeesThe Goodland Boat Park charges a $10 parking fee. FREE parking is available outside the gate.
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Marco Island Boat Tours750 Palm Point Dr, Goodland, FL 34140, USA
This the Goodland Boat Park. Your phone's GPS will take you there. Please meet your captain under the covered picnic table pavillion. It is to the left of the Marina office as you are face the office.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
Marco Island (Pass By)
1
Naples
3 hours • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Infants must sit on laps
- Most travelers can participate
- Please arrive 20-25 minutes before departure to park and use the bathroom facilities. The tour boards 5 minute before the departure time.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 19 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.8
based on 95 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Francois_S, Jul 2026
The captain was friendly, knowledgeable, and made for an amazing unforgettable dolphin experience! Shelling was fun and have nice souvenirs.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you for the great review!! Glad you all were able to see a dolphin show and take some shells home with you!
Savannah_C, Jun 2026
We had an amazing experience with Ryan on our shelling tour! Ryan was so laid back and extremely knowledgable about the area, shells, and animals. We saw so many dolphins and he even got a couple to play in the water behind the boat, jumping in the air and having fun. We loved each of the islands we went to and we will definitely be back to do this tour with family and friends :)
Response from Host, Jun 2026
So glad you had a great time! Come see us again!
Janna_O, Jan 2026
Even though it was cooler than we expected during our time in Florida, this excursion was great. It was a good idea to bring a light windbreaker because when we were going fast, it kicked up some wind. Shelling was lots of fun as well. We saw birds but no other wildlife. Our captain, John, was very informative and interesting.
Response from Host, Feb 2026
People forget Florida can get cold too!!! Happy to hear you all still made the best of it and had a great time!
Stacy_W, Dec 2025
Five stars hands down! What a great trip and guide. Highly recommend! Great for nature, shells and just a great overall time.
Response from Host, Jan 2026
Thank you for the great review, Stacy!! Glad you all had a wonderful time.
Charles_B, Sep 2025
Captain Joe was extremely knowledgeable of the entire area Very friendly and kept the trip fun and educational
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Thank you for the great review, Charles!!
Captain Joe loves to share his passion with knowledge everyone that comes out. Thank you for the great review!!
Christine_L, Mar 2025
Excellent fun seeing dolphins, and shelling with Captain Kevin in the Gulf of America. Highly recommend this tour.
Response from Host, Mar 2025
Thank you for the review! Captain Kevin is one of the best captains in the 10,000 Islands! Glad you had a great time and thank you for the recommendation!
Laura_O, Jul 2024
They cancelled the afternoon tour because they said of afternoon storms. But there were many couples we met that went on afternoon tours with different companies and had a blast. They were not at all timely with their communication when I tried to reschedule. I strongly advise anyone to choose a different tour. There are many to choose from.
Response from Host, Aug 2024
We are the originators of the Dolphin, Birding and Shelling Tours around Marco Island. Our captains are THE MOST experienced on the water. Above all, we put safety first. Sorry that we had to cancel your tour and that you would not reschedule, but it was the proper decision.
Christa_W, Jul 2024
Captain Joe and Kim were excellent navigators and story tellers! They explained the ecosystem and its history. We found plenty of cool shells to add to our collection. I’d highly recommend them to anyone looking for a neat family friendly adventure!
Thanks
Chief
Response from Host, Aug 2024
Thanks for taking the time to do a review
Kevin_S, Mar 2024
This is our second time going and it was great!! We saw a ton of dolphins and saw two different islands from last time. We found lots of sponges and sand dollars. We learned a lot about the dolphins and birds. Highly recommend this trip to anyone.
Response from Host, Mar 2024
We love that you enjoyed your time aboard and saw so much of the wonderful things and creatures of the area. Our guides truly love their jobs and are happy to share all their wealth of knowledge, glad you enjoyed that part as well.
Thank you so much for touring with us and leaving a review.
Kevin_S, Nov 2023
We had the best day!! Kate was extremely knowledgeable and so nice! I got the best shells EVER!! We had the perfect weather. I think I smiled the entire time! We will definitely be back!!! Highly recommend to all!
Response from Host, Nov 2023
We're so delighted you had a great time with Kate and found some great shells to go with the memories you made. Thank you for touring with us and leaving this wonderful review!
Tayler_G, Oct 2023
This was by far the best tour we took while in Florida. The guy that took us on the tour was very nice and made sure we had a great time. We first went to the secluded beach that had the most gorgeous shells that we could take with us. He helped us find rare shells and knew a lot about them. Next he took us out to where he saw a dolphin the day before and we saw a Manatee and 3 dolphins. He got 2 of the dolphins to be very playful and they dived out of the water multiple times and we got great pictures. He was very informative about all the islands and answered all our questions. I definitely suggest everyone take this tour you won't regret it. We had the best time.
Response from Host, Nov 2023
Hi Tayler,
We're absolutely delighted you had such a good time learning about the area and seeing the wildlife. Shelling is always a neat activity with some nifty finds. Love that your guide was helpful, we do love to share our knowledge of the area, as it truly is a beautiful place.
If you have any pictures you might like to share, we'd love to see them. Please email us at marcoislandboattours@gmail.com. If you don't mind, and we get the chance, we may like to show them off on our social media. If not, no worries.
Thank you so much for touring with us, it was nice have you aboard!
Katie_S, Mar 2023
Our guide was awesome!!! He was so knowledgeable- we learned so much about the amazing ecosystem that surrounded us. Shelling was great and we were able to see dolphins jumping in the wake of the boat as we cruised through the islands !
Response from Host, Mar 2023
Thanks Katie
Michelle_A, Nov 2022
Boat became inoperable, captain did not interact professionally, owner argued about safety issues and when I requested a partial refund he was rude and obnoxious DO NOT USE THIS BOAT TOUR COMPANY
Response from Host, Nov 2022
Michelle, we have not spoken to each other. We communicated only via email and you did request a refund with the threat to post a negative review unless you received it. However, the boat was never "inoperable". There was never a safety issue. Yes, there was a minor mechanical issue that your captain addressed and then continued your tour in its entirety and even extended it a bit .... it is very hard to leave a pod of playful dolphins! Hopefully, you enjoy them as much as we do. Your captain did say that he appreciated the $40 gratuity.
Kayla_M, Oct 2022
The shelling was wonderful and our tour guide was very knowledgeable. We had a great time on the water.
Response from Host, Oct 2022
Thank you so glad you enjoyed your tour with us
Barbara_W, Jul 2022
The trip was AMAZING! Great Captain very knowledgeable and helpful. We found so many shells and even a sand dollar! The dolphin sightings were an added bonus and one of them even played in our wake!
Response from Host, Jul 2022
Thank you so glad you enjoyed your tour with us
Roberta_A, Jun 2022
We really enjoyed our 3,5h boat trip with Captain Joyce, who showed us beautiful Nature, dolphins playing along our boat, sting rays, all kind of birds. She took us also on a barrier island to shelling, giving us useful bags and descriptions to find and recognize the shells. We also stopped at Cape Romano to see the ruins of the Dome House in the sea! Beautiful time with our family and the best Captain for your trip!!
Response from Host, Jun 2022
Thank you so glad you had a great tour with us
rosa_y, Jun 2022
Captain Joe, was amazing, very knowledgeable and made trip exciting. After reading some negative reviews that trip was too long I was concerned since I was taking my 6 years old boy but time went by quick and he was happy to see dolphins and go shelling!
Response from Host, Jun 2022
Thank you so very much
Bruno_G, Mar 2022
The highlights of the tour were good but it felt like there was not enough content for the 3.5 hours timeline. at times we just set at a point without any aim. should add more sites to see or shorten the tour.
Response from Host, Mar 2022
Can you please contact me direcly? I would like to discuss the with you. It is not clear to me what you mean by "set at a point without aim". Please know that we have a two-hour tour, as well. In general, however, the longer that you are in the 10,000 Islands, the more opportunities you have to encounter wildlife.
seabreezejewels, Mar 2022
The boat trip was very interesting and we loved seeing the dolphins. There was one stop to a beach for shell collecting for one hour. We felt that two and a half hours looking at the mangroves was a little long. It would have been nice to have had a second shell collecting stop. We learned a lot about the area and the birds but nothing about shelling. A little disappointed by this trip.
Response from Host, Jun 2022
Thank you
Richard_M, Dec 2021
Kim and Joyce were the best guys I’ve ever been with ever ever ever. We learned so much and had fun got wet looked for shells had free time very very good trip educational and fun saw dolphins everywhere. And do you know how shells are formed?? We do. One more thing don’t forget bring your cooler bring your beer bring your beverages they’re very flexible here and lots of fun wear a hat. Bring a towel. Honestly there are many tours this one is worth every penny and it wasn’t that expensive these ladies are professionals.
Response from Host, Dec 2021
Thank You, we are so happy you enjoyed yourselves, having fun while learning is what we want to give each an every person that comes on one of our trips.
Peter_C, Nov 2021
The Dolphins were up close and personal. You have to bring your own water, drinks, and snacks. The captain and first mate were great. I would recommend this activity.
Response from Host, Nov 2021
Thanks Peter!
Tara_W, Sep 2021
Captain Joe was great. He made the trip fun and informative. We enjoyed swimming in the gulf, shelling and experiencing many of the natural wildlife.
Response from Host, Sep 2021
Thanks for doing a review. Capt Joe is great!
greg_b, May 2021
Captain Ed and first mate Kim gave our tour an informative and enjoyable ride. We saw everything they said we might. Beautiful birds, dolphins and even a couple manatees. Very enjoyable!
Response from Host, May 2021
Thank you for your review
Angela_B, Oct 2020
Captain Seth was a great tour guide! We were extremely happy with his knowledge of the area, foliage, and wildlife! He did all he could to steer us out of a storm and got us back safely with an amazing adventure! We will do this again and highly recommend taking this tour
Response from Host, Oct 2020
Thanks for taking the time for doing this review. We are especially grateful that you did not end up like Gilligan! We hope that we can host you again soon...
DoveM, Jun 2020
Wonderful shelling tour with Cap’t Chris, highly recommend. Spent time on two different islands and spotted Manatees, dolphins, many different birds and even sharks(!)
Response from Host, Aug 2020
Thanks. Capt Chris is excellent
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