2-hour Shelling Boat Tour In The 10,000 Islands

Ed is a walking encyclopedia of fish birds wildlife. He knows things and taught us a lot!! He was the best tour guide. PS. He has eagle eyes.

Really nice experience! The boat trip was great. We saw dolphins and they even swam with us! The length of time on the island could have been much longer. We really enjoyed the trip! Worth the money! Would love to do again!!!

We had a great day on the water and Captain Mike was a informative tour guide and told us a lot about the area. We also found a lot of shells

Spectacular! Glen was our guide. We were upgraded to a 3 1/2 hour tour. The other couple was a no show so we ended up with a private experience. Glen was so knowledgeable and was able to identify various wildlife. He took us to an island for shelling, giving us hints on where to find the best shells. Glen spent extra time finding dolphins since I had never seen a dolphin in the wild. We saw several! It was a once in a lifetime experience!

Really enjoyed this trip. He knew a lot about the area and nice amount of time on water and land.. Thanks to both who lead us through this amazing area.

5 stars on beautiful waterways, seeing dolphins, an excellent, informative boat driver Captain Kevin, and his assistant Jules, the sand dollar souvenir at end, An interesting sandbar island was the shelling destination.

We had such a great time on our shelling tour! We arrived early and got extra time since we were all early! Captain Ed was very knowledgeable about the area and knew exactly where to go to find the dolphins! (I would post a video of the dolphins but it only allows me to post pictures here) We found so many sand dollars and really great shells! We lucked out with a negative low tide and were able to find a wide variety of shells and ocean life like horseshoe crabs, hermit crabs, fish of various types, manatee, and live lettered olive snails! The boat ride scenery was so beautiful and we even learned about some of the local birds inhabiting the area as well! Overall 10/10 recommend and we will absolutely be booking another tour!

Absolutely loved this shelling tour. The captain was friendly, knowledgeable, and made the whole experience fun from start to finish. We found some amazing shells and had a great time exploring the island. The boat ride was smooth, the views were beautiful, and the atmosphere was relaxed and welcoming. Would definitely do it again. Five stars.

We booked what we thought was the same cruise as we did 3 years ago when my grandson was 3. That trip was perfect. A covered boat, high quality life jacket for my grandson, Dolphins on both to and from trips. And we went to an island with unbelievable shells and had a great time for an hour to go shelling. Fast forward to 2025. No cover on the boat which was not as terrible as we anticipated but some shade would have been nice. Crew was friendly and the deckhand entertained our 3 grandkids with shells and information. Issues we had were (1) When we asked for life jackets for our twin 3 yr olds, and 6 yr old grandkids, they were unprepared and told us they weren't required. When we told them that they must have life jackets they struggled to find 3 that fit and the one for my granddaughter was covered in mold/mildew. (2) We took the normal ride out to the sanctuary and saw some cool birds but no dolphins yet. For some reason (I believe the captain said it was because of the shallow water but I am not 100%) we had to take longer (40-45 minutes) to get to the island. By the time we got there we had 35-40 minutes to go shelling. (3) It turned out that it was plenty of time because the shelling was terrible. The shelling on the island we went to in 2022 and 2025 was not even comparable. I thought it might be the post hurricane effect but after talking to others that took different tour companies, they found tons of really nice shells. The highlight of the trip was the ride back we found some dolphins and had a really cool time watching them jumping and playing next to the boat. Overall, had we wanted to go for a boat ride and dolphin watching, it would have been fine. My grandkids wanted shells and the shells they found on the tour were no different than the ones we found on Sanibel where we stayed. Was not close to being worth the $700+

The trip was one of the highlights of our vacation. 100/10 recommend! The captain was super nice, the boat ride was enjoyable, the water was absolutely beautiful. Would def do again.

So fun! The captain got the dolphins to jump out of the water for our trip! We had such a blast. Saw so many species of birds too!

It was great! Captain Joe and his first mate Kim were incredible. We had 10 of us and had a blast! Collected so many shells. Kim gave a detailed shell and wildlife explanation on the way back. Captain Joe navigated the sea in the fog with ease! We felt safe and saw so many dolphins! Highly recommended with children or not!!

Kevin and Jules were awesome. They were very caring towards the whole group, explained everything nicely and gave enough time for Dolphin sighting and Shelling. We would recommend them wholeheartedly.

Captain Joe was very knowledgeable and his team made our tour absolutely amazing. They treated our kids with absolute kindness and even taught us a couple things while we were out about the eco system. Not to mention, they also made sure that our kids got to see a couple dolphins. Would definitely recommend them to anyone.

I would have to say getting to play with the dolphins was my favorite part outside of finding all the cool shells that I found. I highly recommend this company. They did an amazing job telling us about different things that pertain to that area.

Excellent tour! We were able to see dolphins, manatee, and collect beautiful seashells! I would highly recommend this tour!

My friend and I enjoyed a glorious hour of shelling on one of the uninhabited islands. The abundance of shells was amazing. I was disappointed that we did not procure some of the larger shells I had seen on the Marco Island FB page but that was not the fault of any person.

Boat ride with Dolphins ! Very nice crew and captain!! Great weather!!! Not so much shelling left on beach. But had a great time!!

Captain Joe and first mate Whitney provided a pleasant and informative experience! Really enjoyed our time! Fantastic!

Had an awesome time, captain Jon and Kate were awesome ,very informative. Would definitely do it again.

Absolutely wonderfull….. Dolphins next to the boat, playing with the waves…beautifull nature. The guide explained everyrthing we asked.

Jeff was a wonderful host on our 2 hr boat ride. Informative, fun, and safe on a windy day. Great job by a really amazing tour guide and boat captain!

We did the two hour shelling tour and had an awesome time! Would recommend to anyone. We will be back when we come again

Our captain was great! He gave us an informative tour where we saw a rookery, a dolphin, a sea turtle and a manatee! The beach for shelling was beautiful with very few people on it. An overall wonderful experience!

Was amazing and informative the crew was also amazing got to see Dolphins and manitiesand a great shelling time I would highly recommend this

Our tour was great. Dolphins swam behind the boat and the captain new how to find them and get them to play. Captain was knowledgeable of the habitat and answered all or questions. I only wish the shelling part of the tour was longer than 1/2 hour. I would have liked to do the shelling first and then spent less time finding dolphins. Important!!….wear a hat, sunblock!!! It is very hot on the bot and there is no shade anywhere!!!

We had a wondeful time! The captain was very knowledgable and took us to two nice shelling spot. The boat was covered which was nice for such a sunny day. I've taken several different tour companies and I liked this one the best!!

The operators were very knowledgeable about the waters and were able to find dolphins for viewing. Great trip!

Dolphins jumping in the wake of the boat and shelling were gifts on the perfect Mother’s Day. Make sure to ask Capt Ed questions. He’s a reservoir of information on native Florida. Thank you both Kim and Capt Ed for a wonderful day with mom.

The captain was very knowledgeable and answered everyone's questions. Plenty on shells to collect. Dolphins and Manatees an added plus.

We loved this adventure. Our guide gave us choices on how we spent our time. She was very helpful and knowledgeable. We loved the chance to see dolphins and the baby Osprey. She took us to the best beach for shelling. The kids found over 20 sand dollars. Everyone had a great time. We would definitely do this again.

Captain Joe and First Mate Kim made this incredible tour even more amazing and memorable. They both went out of their way to be sure the day was packed with amazing views, scenery, background information, shells, pictures and memories. I would highly recommend this tour! I would give 3 thumbs up if I could. It’s a Must Do!

Loved it all- dolphins, eagle, osprey, manatees, beautiful shelling beach. Fun time for all ages. Captain was very knowledgable, crew very helpful

Fantastic experience! The tour guide was amazing, knowledgeable and personable. We saw dolphin, birds, fish jumping, found beautiful shells, and had the greatest time! Highly recommend this company and experience.

Captain Ed and Kim were so informative and the trip so fun and exciting. They took us to areas where we saw so many dolphin pods playing and they even came up to our boat! Then, we went to an island that had so many shells, I could have stayed there all day! It was a fantastic 2 hours and would highly recommend this to anyone of any age!

Dolphins!! So cool! Loved hearing the history of the area. This review process is annoying, why force us to write more…

Shelling was fun and seeing the dolphins was great. Wish we would have had a little more shelling time. Captain Joyce was knowledgeable and interesting. Her mate, Maddie, was great too!

A great experience! From dolphins, to birds, to beautiful shells! Very knowledgeable and helpful captain!

This was a wonderful tour! Kim and Joe really know how to make sure everyone had a good time. The Dolphins chasing the boat was the perfect finish to our visit to the Everglades.

We saw many dolphins close up, the boat was perfect for this project, Joe told interesting details about the area, we had lots of shells to choose from.

My family and I had a fantastic trip on Christmas Day. Kim was terrific, she was so knowledgeable about the sealife, birds, shells, everything that we spotted while on our trip. I would highly recommend using Marco Island Boat tours.

We had a group of 11 (2 kids). We took the 4:00 tour and spent a relaxing time looking for shells and ended with a nice sunset. We saw starfish and a couple dolphins. Was a great way to spend our last evening in Marco Island! Kim and Joe were great!

Captain Knowledgeable and fun. Would love to go again next time we visit Florida! Very welcoming staff.

Joyce was an excellent guide! She went the extra mile to make sure we all had a wonderful experience! She was very knowledgeable and fun! The dolphins running beside the boat was amazing!! Lots of shells and sand dollars! Would highly recommend this tour can't wait to come back!

It was an amazing 2 hours!!! We had a relaxing boat ride with useful information about the area and eco system. Captain Joyce and her assistant were very knowledgeable and were able to answer all of our questions. I will definitely tour with them again.

Very fun trip that was even better than we expected. Captain and First Mate did everything to make our trip enjoyable and educational.

We did the 2-hour shelling tour with Captain Joe. He was so informative telling us all about the mangroves and how important they are to the ecosystem. Also, all the different birds and animals who live in the mangroves. We actually saw a raccoon swimming to one of the mangroves!!!! I didn’t know raccoons could swim. We were taken to an island and the shells, sand dollars, star fish were amazing!!! On the way back we had a dolphin following us. Great 2 hours! Would do it again.

We had an amazing time on our shelling excursion. Captain Joyce was incredibly accommodating and knowledgeable of the area. We saw dolphins and collected some really cool shells. Captain Joyce made the experience excellent for us.

Captain Ed was an excellent. He walked and shelled with us. He gave us a description of each shell. He is a native Floridian and has a lot of knowledge of local history. Great customer service.