Shell Key Tour with Capt Yak
Recommended by 100% of travelers
St Petersburg, USA
- 3 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Far from your typical kayaking trip, this immersive tour is led by Captain Yak: an animal and ecology researcher. He’ll guide you through Shell Key Preserve which acts as a vital ecosystem for the area. After paddling through mangrove tunnels and over sandbars, you’ll have time to explore Shell Key. Captain Yak will share facts and stories with you on the return trip as you keep an eye out for local wildlife.
- Explore Shell Key Preserve with a local guide
- Choose between single or tandem sit-on-top kayaks
- Learn about the local ecosystem and wildlife
- Enjoy a personal experience on a small-group tour
What's Included
- Single or Tandem Kayaks, Paddles and Life Vests.
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Butler Hole, Tierra Verde, FL 33715, USA
Location: 2800 Pinellas Bayway South, Tierra Verde 33715 You will see my Red truck and equipment 2-1/2 miles on the right once you cross over the Tierra Verde bridge and go through the round-about. Drive over the sidewalk and Park on the grass lot. "NO" restroom on site
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
1
Tierra Verde
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 8 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Nancy_R
Fun and relaxing kayaking with a super knowledgable, friendly guide, he is a true expert on all kinds of marine life! Loved the mangrove trails and learned so much! Kayak seats were more comfortable than expected! Shell island was a little crowded and not really worth the stop except for a quick break from the kayaks. Also good idea to stop at the nearest restroom before you arrive at meet point!
Reviews
5.0
based on 68 reviews
Nancy_R, Mar 2026
Fun and relaxing kayaking with a super knowledgable, friendly guide, he is a true expert on all kinds of marine life! Loved the mangrove trails and learned so much! Kayak seats were more comfortable than expected! Shell island was a little crowded and not really worth the stop except for a quick break from the kayaks. Also good idea to stop at the nearest restroom before you arrive at meet point!
Response from Host, Mar 2026
Thank you for the great review and happy you found the kayaks comfortable. Weekends can be busy and some areas of Shell Key more than others. Wind determines we land on the Island to make the paddle as easy as possible.
Greg Capt Yak
Michelle_R, Mar 2026
Greg was our tour guide and owner…Captain Yak himself. We were the only participants today so we had a personal tour guide. He knew every bird, fish and seashell. He is very versed in the habitat of this area. He truly loves what he does. Very kind and friendly and helpful. We saw a sting ray, osprey, shore birds, pelicans, jumping mullet fish, live lightning Whelk, sea cucumber and a dolphin. The mangrove tunnels were so interesting. I loved looking for shells at Shell Key. We paddled quite a distance which we loved. The water is very shallow so we were very comfortable. It was a very enjoyable day.
Side note: Bring sunscreen and water. He has dry bags for your belongings or just bring a pouch for your phone.
Response from Host, Mar 2026
Great day filled with wildlife and I enjoyed having you on the tour. Thank you for the awesome review and hope to have you visit again.
Greg Capt Yak
Deborah_R, Dec 2025
Great tour , relaxed , no experience needed, capt Yak was amazing, learn also about history of the area, went throughout mangroves ending on shell island , pretty safe we saw wildlife and dolphins included we were lucky, great day.
Response from Host, Dec 2025
Thank you for the great Review and Booking! I enjoyed taking you out to enjoy the Preserve!
Greg Capt Yak
Kathy_I, Oct 2025
Absolutely fabulous. Captain Yak was so informative and knowledgeable! We can’t wait to do it again.
Response from Host, Dec 2025
Thank you for booking and the review!
Look forward to the next time!
Greg Capt Yak
cecile_m, Jan 2025
A kayaking expédition longer than most of the others offered, which felt like exploring the mangroves and involved a lot of wildlife sightings and paddling. A very friendly and passionnate guide. Shell key was a lot of fun to walk around.
Response from Host, Feb 2025
Thank you for booking and the review!
Great wildlife to see and encounter!
Angela_A, May 2024
Such a great Kayak tour! Capt Yak is very laid back but knowledgeable in local wildlife and habitat which made the trip very fascinating.I am handicap but able to walk some and paddle alone, he was very patient and helpful. The water was so clear and the kayaks were comfortable as well, if you've ever used cheap kayaks you will appreciate his! Our excursion was to Shell Key, which has a sand bar and tons of shells, lliteral paradise, where we spent free time on the island. Afterwards we headed back across pretty calm waters back into the mangrove tunnels at the perfect time with light cascaded through the branches creating a picturesque environment. Capt Yak's knowledge and years of experience set his trips worlds apart from the rest!
Emily_B, May 2024
Capt Yak was amazing! We all had a great time and it was an amazing experience. Something we will definitely do again!
Chris_F, Jan 2023
The entire experience was awesome. Capt Yak is very personable and provided alot of information about the local birds, sea life etc. one of the groups overturned their kayak and he was right there to help them get back in!
Response from Host, Jul 2023
Thank you for booking and the review! I love sharing my knowledge and glad you enjoyed the information!
Greg
Capt Yak
Marcie_M, Dec 2022
We had a great time and Greg was an expert host! We saw dolphins and enjoyed shell searching on Shell Key.
Response from Host, Jan 2023
I am always excited when we get to see dolphins in the preserve! Hope you found some good shell!
Thank you for booking and the review!
Greg Capt Yak
Wayne_B, Sep 2022
Very informative and enjoyable. Captain Yak knows the history of the land and peoples and knows the waters around the keys and islands. A very worthwhile excursion for a single, couple or group.
Response from Host, Jan 2023
Thank you for booking and the review! Glad you enjoyed the tour and my banter!
Greg Capt Yak
Christy_L, Aug 2022
So much fun!! Manatee right under our kayaks, comical birds, and Capt Yak took great care of us. Shell Island was beautiful. Highly recommend for a fun adventure!!
Response from Host, Jan 2023
I am glad you had fun on the tour! Always great to see manatees and especially when the are so close!
Thank you for booking and the review!
Greg Capt Yak
loreto_S, Aug 2022
Great experience with alot of information. Saw a manatee and dolphin, enjoyed the swimming on the island
Response from Host, Jan 2023
Double bonus when we see Dolphins and Manatees! Thank you for booking and the review!
Greg Capt Yak
Jenna_M, Jun 2022
I had never been kayaking before, Capt Yak was a great teacher and patient with me on how to use the paddles. He was also very knowledgeable of the wildlife and history of the area. He also took pictures of my friends and I. I’m so glad I did this tour and will definitely schedule another one soon! I truly recommend this tour and Capt Yak, he made our experience great! :)
Response from Host, Jul 2022
Thank you for booking and the review! I am glad you had fun and love it when people new to kayaking want to do it again! Hope to see you on a future tour!
Greg/Capt Yak
Jacob_P, May 2022
Such a great experience!! Highly recommended!!!
Capt Yak had a lot of knowledge to share with everyone.
We seen birds that swam in the water beside us!
The man-coves were so cool to go through as well.
Shell Key is beautiful experience as well! Swam and looked for shells.
Response from Host, May 2022
Thank you for booing and the review! The tunnels are great to paddle through and glad you enjoyed them!
Greg/Capt Yak
Mandy_J, May 2022
Capt Yak was funny, informative, and fun to be around. We learned so many things about the area and it's wildlife. Going through the Mangrove tunnels and exploring at Shell Key was my favorite! It was a very peaceful and beautiful trip. We were able to spend more time exploring and really getting close to nature than we would have on a charter boat.
Response from Host, May 2022
Thank you for booking and the great review! The preserve is more suited for kayaks than charter boats and glad you were able to come on my tour and enjoy the Preserve!
Greg/Capt Yak
Stephanie_F, May 2022
Such an awesome experience! We had so much fun and would definitely do this again. Capt. Yak was great! Would give the excursion more than 5 stars if we could.
Response from Host, May 2022
Thank you for booking and the review!
Hope to see you back!
Greg/Capt Yak
Dakota_T, May 2022
We had a blast! We kayaked with a group of 5 (2 adults, 2 teens and an 8&9 year old) it was perfect for our whole family! Greg lead a great, informational and hands on tour which we appreciated! Will definitely be back on our next trip to the sunshine state!
Response from Host, May 2022
I enjoyed sharing the Preserve with your group and can't wait for you to return again!
Greg/ Capt Yak
Jenny_H, Apr 2022
This was an amazing experience and our guide was amazing! We git to go through mangroves tunnels. He told us some of the history of the area. Very friendly!
Response from Host, May 2022
Thank you for the great review! It was fun having you out!
Greg/Capt Yak
Taylor_G, Apr 2022
It was such a good day! So glad we decided to do this! We saw so much marine life. Capt. Jason was so knowledgeable of the ocean and marine life. We saw some dolphins and much more. This experience will never be forgotten. Will come back someday and do again! Highly recommend for all ages!
Response from Host, Apr 2022
Thank you for booking and the review. I will let Jason know you had a great time on the water! Happy for the memories for you and do hope to see you back!
Greg/Capt Yak
Christine_C, Mar 2022
Pros: Comfortable kayak, great scenery, good amount of wildlife: saw cormorants diving under our kayaks because our rowing stirs up fish, saw some ibises, Capt Yak was knowledgeable and showed us several sea creatures that he found in the water: jellyfish, conches, etc. Kayaking through mangrove forests was awesome!
Cons: started and finished 20min late due to people arriving late, including one staff member. We had arrived early as instructed so we had to wait quite a bit. Only had about 20min on the island, would’ve appreciated around 30-40min. No bathrooms just lots of trees. Our athletic friends did fine, non-athletic friends were struggling a bit to keep up with the rowing.
Response from Host, Mar 2022
Thank you for booking, the review and your feedback. I am glad you enjoyed the tour, the wildlife and comfortable kayaks. We do only spend about 20 minutes on the Island on the tour. If you ever come back contact me and you can rent kayaks and make you way out to Shell Key and spend more time there. Private Tours can also be booked and customized.
It is rare that we leave late and I do apologize for that.
Hope to see you again.
Greg
Capt Yak
Jacqueline_L, Mar 2022
Our tour with Captain Yak was so memorable! He was very patient and knowledgeable about sea life and Florida history. The mangroves were so unique. We’re definitely coming back again and next time we’ll take the sunset tour!
Response from Host, Mar 2022
Thank you and can not wait to see you back! You will love the Sunset Tour!
Greg
Capt Yak
Melissa_G, Mar 2022
Wonderful day on the water with fantastic guides!! We had such a good time leaning about the mangroves, and the mix of sun and shade was perfect!
Response from Host, Mar 2022
Thank you for the review and booking with Capt Yak! Always great when the weather cooperates!
Greg
Capt Yak
Dusan_F, Feb 2022
Good Staff, nice kayaks. Cpt. Explained many interesting things. Can recommend for everyone who love nature ans paddling.
Response from Host, Feb 2022
Thank for booking and the review!
I have a great time sharing the preserve.
Greg
Capt Yak
Whitney_M, Feb 2022
This was so much fun and very much so of a workout. This is not the weak! The Mangroves were okay but a little tight to get through. The depth of water was not bad either (about waist level at the highest) only thing is that I wish we were provided with a light snack. Make sure you bring water shoes and some snacks for energy source! YOU WILL NEED IT. Would do with a older child but I’m not sure if a little kid would be up for the challenge. (Maybe in double kayak but not a single). My husband and I were happy we did it but very much sore the next day. Thanks again captain yak!!
Response from Host, Feb 2022
Thank you for booking and the review! I am sorry you felt it to be a workout. Some days can be harder because of the wind and yes this time of the year with the lower tide levels some of the tunnels can be narrow. Hope you come and try it again.
Greg
Capt Yak
Jamie_P, Feb 2022
This was such a fun experience. Captain Yak was very knowledgeable about the wildlife. We saw dolphins, welks, conchs, and crabs. Captain Yak was very patient with two 10 year old rambunctious boys who had lots of questions and wanted to see EVERYTHING!
Response from Host, Feb 2022
Thank you for booking! I everyone was great and love seeing the younger ones interested in the environment! Dolphins always an added bonus.
Hope to see you all again.
Greg
Capt Yak
Steven_H, Dec 2021
Capt. Yak was incredibly friendly and knowledgeable. The kids were so excited about all of the discoveries they made. We had an amazing experience!!
Response from Host, Jan 2022
Thank you for the review and it was great to share the discoveries with the family. I especially enjoy it when kids enjoy the preserve!
Greg
Capt Yak
Arkadiy_G, Nov 2021
Great kayaking experience around Shell Keys. Well equipped kayaks, great guide, amazing scenery and plenty of wild life to see.
Response from Host, Nov 2021
Thank you! Glad to share the Preserve with you and your wife!
Greg/Capt Yak
Megan_H, Nov 2021
The trip was very educational and the experience was awesome! Was able to see dolphins, manatees, birds, conchs, and kore! Capt Yak was very personable and was able to answer all our questions while explaining all of our encounters. Highly recommend!
Response from Host, Nov 2021
Thank you for the review! It was a special day being able to encounter everything we saw ! Glad you enjoyed the tour and appreciate the recommendation as well!
Greg/Capt Yak
Erika_B, Oct 2021
Our family had a great time with Capt. Yak tours, he was very friendly and provided local wildlife information. Would definitely recommended to others.
Response from Host, Oct 2021
Thank you for the review and deeply appreciate referrals! Happy your family enjoyed the tour!
Greg/Capt Yak
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