Clear Kayak Tour Of Shell Key From St Pete

Whole trip was a paddling in shallow water. We started the tour at 9:30 am. I booked a clear kayak. We ended in a normal kayak, because the clear kayak can scratch on shallow waters, that’s what we were told. Paid for clear kayak. Have not seen dolphins or manatee, only Kevins, cormorant bird. We stopped first around mangroves for pictures. The Shell Key Island is beautiful. The guide was nice and pacient. The paddling back to start point felt very long.

My group of four had an awesome time on the clear kayak tour of Shell Key! The pre-arrival instructions made it easy to find the meet-up spot, which is a busy launch point for a few different tour groups. Once we arrived, the staff was incredibly friendly and got us set up right away. We took the 9:30 AM tour, which lasted a few hours and was the perfect length. Our guide, Ashley, led us through beautiful mangrove islands and over to a beach where local boats anchor. She was knowledgeable about the preserve's ecosystem and pointed out various birds and shellfish, and we even got a brief dolphin sighting! I highly recommend this tour for anyone looking to explore a gorgeous nature preserve while paddling through calm, shallow waters.

Claire was great with her knowledge of kayaking and the ocean. Traveling through the mangroves was amazing. The inky drawback was we didn’t get the glass bottom boats that we booked.

Troy was excellent! Very kind and knowledgeable!

Great afternoon, good exercise, went with regular kayaks for low tide- the right move- the mangrove islands and shell key were fun to explore, learned a lot, and had time to wander the beach too. Our guide, Claire, is very knowledgeable and patient, great guide- ask for Claire!

Guide was very helpful and knowledgeable. It’s a safe and very enjoyable trip! Being a n a small group made a more personal experience.

This was a great kayak experience! 4 miles round trip, and through mangrove tunnels with a stop at Shell Island Preserve. Then some time on the beach for some great shelling! Our guide Hunter was fantastic - he really made the trip fun, informative and educational. 10 out of 10!

Our guide was fantastic and so kind and friendly. She was very knowledgeable about the area, marine life and wildlife. She was patient and i really appreciate that she took some photos of us so we could just be in the moment.

Alessia was the best tour guide. I didn’t expect to learn as much as we did, but she was so knowledgeable. She was also very personable

We had the best time kayaking through the mangroves!! Tracy was our guide and she was great, very knowledgeable about plant and wildlife. We would absolutely do it again….and ask for Tracy!

The Kayak tour through the Mangrove Tunnels was amazing and quite majestic. Tracie was a great guide and very knowledgeable of the area and sea life.

We had a great time, Tracy was a wonderful guide and made the experience so fun. We were able to see a ton of dolphins and even had one swim right up to our kayak. We were a little bummed because the tides were too low for the clear kayaks but that was out of the companies control.

This tour was amazing! It well exceeded our expectations. We saw dolphins, cormorants and mating horseshoe crabs. The mangrove tunnels were picturesque and super cool. Our guide Kristy was very informative and a lot of fun. We would highly recommend this tour to anyone!!

Captain Dave was great, but the experience felt over priced. We didn’t see any dolphins or any marine life, besides birds. Also, aside from gathering cool shells, there was not much else going on with this tour. I have experienced better tours for half the price.

The kayak trip to Shell Key was so much fun! The mangroves were cool to see, and the beach at Shell Key was beautiful. We were able to see dolphins, the largest conch snail I had ever seen, crabs, and starfish (spotted everywhere all along the top of the seagrass). Raina, our guide, was very so informative and made sure we didn't miss anything!

My family really enjoyed this tour. We would definitely do it again. The beach was beautiful as well as going through the mangrove tunnels.

This tour was fantastic! The weather was perfect and the mangroves were beautiful. Kristi was a terrific guide-she was very knowledgeable, so sociable and lots of fun. We got to kayak with dolphins and saw a wide variety of wild life. Our time on the gulf was relaxing and refreshing on a hot day. Found great sand dollars and shells and had a great swim. I would take this tour every day if I could-so relaxing and so much fun. A must do if you are in the area!!

My husband and I had an amazing time on the guided kayaking tour in Shell Key Preserve! The breathtaking scenery made for an unforgettable adventure, and our knowledgeable and friendly guides, Tracey and Kristy, enriched the experience with educational facts. While the clear kayaks were harder to maneuver and keep on course in windy conditions, the overall adventure was still thoroughly enjoyable. Highly recommend!

We did the clear kayak tour with Raina. We had so much fun and Raina was awesome. Going through the mangrove trees was my favorite part.

We liked the mangrove tunnels they were beautiful but there was some trouble with the weather not their fault though. And the staff were very nice and helpful to a beginner!

Tracy took us out for the kayak tour through the mangroves and then onto shell island preserve. She was very informative and super friendly. We had such a great time and will definitely be recommending this trip to everyone!

Our clear kayak cruise was phenomenal! Our tour guide, Tracy was so wonderful! She had so much knowledge & fun facts to share about the area making our tour so memorable! Our favorite part was exploring the mangroves & the mullet birds who swam alongside us. We even spotted a dolphin with her 2 babies in the distance. Highly recommend!

Overall very nice tour & our guide was knowledgeable & super nice. Going through the mangroves was a neat experience. The clear kayaks are a bit hard to maneuver compared to normal kayaks. The website stated possible sightings of dolphins and/or manatees but the area of the tour is way too shallow for that to happen so that was misleading.

Alivia and Justice were fantastic guides who knew the area very well and shared several historical factoids, making this kayak trip so interesting! Seeing a dolphin, several fish, crabs and cormorants swimming by - and under - us was wonderful fun. Highly recommend this to anyone who loves water and wildlife.

This was a great adventure. Saw dolphins and lots of conches. Tracy was an exceptional tour guide with lots of knowledge to share with us!! Would do the tour again for sure!!! Great for all levels of ability and ages!

Olivia was an excellent tour guide! She had so many fun facts about the area, and was extremely personable. The pit stop at the island was a special treat and the mangrove tunnels were freaking awesome! We had a group of ducks follow up the whole way and even saw a group of dolphins. Would 100% do this over again!!

We had such a fun time! Got to see some wildlife & beautiful Mangrove tunnels. Taylor was a great guide, very personable and knowledgeable. Definitely recommend taking this tour.

This tour is great! The length/duration of the tour really allows you to enjoy the experience. The weather and the timing of our tour was also great, sunny but not too hot. Our guide Taylor was really informative and pleasant during the whole ride, she really knew her facts and was able to give us all kinds of information on the environment and it's wild life inhabitants. Taylor made sure we were all safe and was very accommodating so everyone had the best experience possible. From beginning to end, everything was really organized and all ran smoothly and on a timely manner. I highly recommend this tour and look forward to doing it again some time.

This tour was beautiful and well worth it! Great for a big or small group. Taylor was a wonderful guide and very knowledgeable.

The youngest being 73, and we had a great experience. Don't be put off by the meeting place Google Maps brings you to, because there's no building there, they just set up on the beach. The staff is really great - friendly, funny and informative. The guide was very patient as some people in our group of 10 were slower than others. But, there was still plenty of time to explore and have a great time. I do recommend that you try to stay up with the guide as their voice may not carry well when the wind is blowing. They have great info to give on the geography and the wildlife.

It was peaceful and fun! I would highly recommend it! I had a kayak with my teenage son, it was a perfect balance of workout and relaxation.

I had researched a few different kayak tours in the area and this one had the best location and experiences. Our tour guides were Raina and Tracy. Super helpful and communicated the entire time. Our group had some interesting characters that had difficulty listening/following directions but they made it super easy to stay together and pass through all the water ways and tunnels. Definitely physically demanding, I would not recommend if you are looking for a leisurely activity with your family but definitely worth it!

We had a wonderful time with our guide Dalton. He had lots of fun facts about the surrounding nature and wildlife and did a great job keeping the group together throughout the long journey. We were lucky enough to see a few dolphins. 10/10 would recommend!

I had a thoroughly enjoyable time kayaking through the mangroves. Our tour guide Taylor was very knowledgeable about the ecosystems and attentive to questions that were asked. Another highlight was being surrounded by the cormorants and watching them dive under our glass bottom kayak!

We booked clear bottom kayaks but the wind was strong and they’re to wide that because of the strong wind it would have been hard to paddle, so we used regular kayaks and had a blast! Our guide, Reina was very knowledgeable and patient. We had so many laughs with the group we were with and still got to see some of the preservation marine life. When we arrived at the beach the sands were so clean and so many shells! The ride back was easier with the winds pushing us. I highly recommend!!

Taylor was our guide and it was an awesome trip! We are local but I wanted to do the clear kayaks to surprise my boyfriend for his birthday. It didn’t disappoint and we had a blast! Thank you so much!

Great, energetic team that genuinely seemed to enjoy taking people out on tours. They worked to give us an unforgettable show of dolphins riding the waves. Highly recommend!

Had a great time. Craig was awesome and recommended a great beach to go to afterward. Would highly recommend this to anyone.

This trip was so fun! Dalton was a great guide and we saw dolphins, sea birds, and stopped at a lovely island to find sea shells.

My family had an enjoyable time. Our guide had a biology background. I also have a biology background. That aspect was perfect for me as well as other members. I loved the information that was offered on our tour. I did feel a disconnect or communication concern. We were told to go threw the mangroves easily and then rushed at times. I think this was due to the series of events of different tour guides trying to use the same space at the same time. I saw attempts for another tour guide to cooperate with ours and tried to combine the tours. I felt her attempts were dismissed. I also felt there was down times at random moments, but not in most effective times. When we spotted dolphins, they were right next to our kayaks and that time should have been allowed and enjoyed, the time of the event was nearing an end and close to closure. Another tour guide spoke over about other information not related to the dolphins, but about logistics of the tour and directed their member to the shore. Perhaps our tour guide felt pressured to do the same rather than allow the significant experience to be enjoyed. I think that experience was natural and not forced and would really help to support the draw for such opportunity.

Taylor was an amazing guide, full of information about the waterways and history of the area. We took our 10 and 12 year old children and they loved every minute. Saw horseshoe crabs, tree crabs and dolphins. The time flew by and the trip into the mangrove tunnels was magical. I would thoroughly recommend this trip to anyone visiting the area. There’s plenty of room in the kayaks for water, sunscreen etc and Taylor even emailed us pictures she’d taken from our trip and a map of the course we’d travelled.

As avid kayakers, my family of four decided to try the clear kayak tour in Shell Key during our trip to the Tampa/St. Pete area. Based on the novelty, we were excited to explore the Gulf waters inside clear boats so we could see the water life below. We do admit the clear kayaks were nice but more difficult to row and maneuver given they are wider than a normal kayak (particularly for single riders). Our guide, Taylor, was awesome and had tremendous enthusiasm for the experience. She took us through mangrove tunnels, showed us wildlife, and was very informative about each step of the way. Highly recommend.

My sister and I love to kayak and take kayaking tours in most places we visit. This kayaking tour did not disappoint. Taylor our guide was amazing and knowledgeable about the area, and wildlife . We went about 3.5 miles through many mangroves and open water to a beach. Since we booked the small group tour Taylor made sure to ask what kind of beach we were looking for. Since we are kayaking I wanted a beach that I am not going to experience by walking out of my hotel room. She knew the exact beach. We booked the clear kayak for this trip just because I had never been in a clear kayak. While a great experience for those that kayak often you will find that the clear kayak is wider and sits lower. I highly recommend this trip and ask for Taylor if you can she is amazing!

It was a beautiful morning. We loved it. Emily was amazing!!!! We saw dolphins and a manatee close up! There were cormorants swimming beside us the whole tour.

What an amazing trip with Emily our guide! I booked our morning easily from the UK for my husband and I. A great decision! We saw so much wildlife close up including a wild manatee, dolphins, birds, fish and got wrapped up in Emily's enthusiasm and her knowledge. Moderate fitness required for a 4 mile paddle, but so worth it. Highly recommended.

This is a great experience! My two teenage boys joined me. Tour lasted about 3 hours. When we arrived, it was a bit windy so they suggested we use regular kayaks (rather than the clear bottom). We didn’t mind and didn’t feel like we missed out on anything! You do have to be physically fit to do this. The time we spent on the beach was a nice rest. We even saw dolphins! The less you bring, the better. Apply sunscreen, bring water and wear a hat. They had dry bags you could borrow if needed. Taylor was the sweetest guide and taught us so much about the mangroves, the sea life and the area in general! She took pics for us and emailed us after. What a nice gesture. We highly recommend this!

This was a great tour of the preserve. We went through 3 mangrove tunnels, learning about the ecosystem and saw wildlife. It was fun to watch the cormorants feeding all around us. Shell Key was a great island to take a break and swim at. Rayna was very Knowledgeable and a fun tour guide. We highly recommend this tour and plan on taking friends in the future.

Wonderful trip! Just long enough for beginner/intermediate kayakers like us. Our guide Daniel was extremely knowledgeable and GREAT at his job! Highly recommend.

I’m a local and took a friend in town from Iowa. It was interesting to hear information about the wild life and nature, I learned a few new things. I’d recommend doing this in the morning during the summer. The mangrove tunnels provide shade and a break from the sun. The length was just right. Our guide was very sweet and did an excellent job!