Guided Kayak Ecotour Of Beautiful Shell Key Preserve

Our trip was fantastic, we had a lot of fun! Seeing the wildlife and getting to explore the beach was amazing. Our guide, Raven, was very knowledgeable and helpful!

Great day. Very fun. Good workout. We had wind in our face on the way to the Mangroves. One in very calm and interesting

This eco tour was a top highlight of our trip to the area. A great combo of kayaking and exploring shell key. Nick is very knowledgeable about the wildlife and you will learn a lot. Such an enjoyable time exploring shell key. We were lucky enough to see a manatee! Also, kayaking through the mangroves was a fun experience. You won’t be disappointed! 5 stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a great activity! Nick was very knowledgeable about the wildlife of St. Pete’s , was friendly, and made the kayak trip so enjoyable. We plan to take another kayak trip with him again when we return here. We saw a manatee and a horse conch, among other animals.

Taylor is the bomb-diggety! She is super friendly, hardworking, and knowledgeable. The whole trip rocked and it was because of her.

This was the highlight of our time in Florida. Nick was fantastic. We saw a lot of birds and mollusks. We even watched some dolphins hunting near the shore. The trip was not physically demanding, even for us “older” people.

The trip was not physically difficult. We saw lots of birds and mollusks on Shell Key Preserve. We even saw some dolphins hunting near the shore. Our guide was fantastic- very knowledgeable and he made it fun.

Coming from out of town this was a great experience. We saw dolphins, crabs, and starfish. Nick was very knowledgeable with great energy and communication. Would highly recommend.

Excellent - Nick is an excellent guide. Very knowledgeable on local flora and fauna. Nice easy pace for kayaking.

Very accommodating, anyone could do it. Nick was wonderFULL, very patient and knowledgeable. This tour was not only a hit for our family visiting us, but was also a hit for our 10yro. A lot of stops. I love that he emphasized the importance of taking everything back that your brought and the importance of everything in the ecosystem.

We didnt take the tour, the operador cancel the trip before we took it, he tell us that we will get a refund

Had an amazing time kayaking to Shell Key with Nick! Very knowledgeable and full of fun facts, keeping us engaged the entire time. Saw lots of wildlife including crabs, mullet, sea star, sand dollars, cormorants and dolphins! Highly recommend this fun adventure :)

This was a spectacular experience. I read reviews of all the kayak tours and this sounded best and wow, were they right, and then some. Seriously. This half-day tour had everything: kayaking with cormorants fishing underneath you, kayaking with dolphins (!!) not only off in the distance, but literally swimming around your kayak, gliding through a tunnel among the mangroves, and a beach walk and/or swim with a chance to observe all sorts of marine life, with everything identified and contextualized by a truly outstanding guide, Nick whose company this is. An example: Nick taught us how to pick up crabs without being hurt or hurting them. The only thing we failed to see were manatees- too cold for them still, but Nick shows us how to identify their scat washed up on the beach! I peppered him with questions about the ecosystem, the marine mammals, the mollusks, the mangrove interactions and he was knowledgeable and enthusiastic about sharing all he knew. There were five people on the tour, so three kayaks, making it personalized to what interested all of us. In contrast to what I have experienced on all the dolphin tours I have done, our guide did not move us along to keep to a schedule while the dolphins were interacting with us. He checked with every one of the five people on this tour and when we all said that we were happy to extend our time, he let us stay as long as the dolphins were engaging with us. An extraordinary half hour, unlike any other dolphin interaction I have had (and I do dolphin tours any chance I get) It was a mother bottlenose dolphin and child, with the mother keeping the baby tucked underneath her protectively for the first 15 minutes or so until she felt safe and then the two of them swam around and under our kayaks separately. I also try to do kayak tours when I travel as it’s such a great way to connect to a new ecosystem, and this really is the best I’ve done so far. By a lot. (NO) ALLIGATOR FOOTNOTE - I was a bit hesitant about kayaking here in southern Florida because : alligators. But this is all salt water so alligator-free!

We had so much fun. Nicholas Wise was our guide and was a wealth of knowledge. We had my three kids ten and under, myself, my husband and my 78 year old mother in law. Nicholas kept us at a calm pace and my mother in law had no trouble keeping up. He taught the kids about the wild life and gave info on other places to visit. We are already planning another excursion like this next year and hopefully he is our guide again!

Our tour guide Nick was very informative and knowledgeable. He took the time to share the nature we encountered along the way. It was an amazing way to end our trip. He went out of his way to give us a great experience while keeping us on schedule for our flight.

We had a great time and learned a lot from Nick. The kayaking was not too hard, was good exercise and we really liked exploring on the island.

The Monday tour was cancelled 10 min prior to starting because the preserve was still not open from the hurricane. Clearly, as no work would have been performed over the weekend, they should have known and cancelled earlier. A google search indicated the preserve was "open.". I incurred an extra night hotel stay and Uber charges both ways.

Beautiful trip, the guide was helpful and informative. We would highly recommend this experience for everyone. Very minimal waves making it easy for beginners too.

Shell Key is a great Kayak experience. We saw dolphins, many seabirds, a ray, blue crabs, horseshoe crabs & more. Our guide Nick was very knowledgeable about all things Shell Key, while keeping a laid-back vibe for the experience.

Fun experience! Guide was knowledgeable and a great communicator! The narration was informative! I highly recommend!

My son and I joined the group kayaking tour with Nick and it was beyond our expectations. It was just the right amount of kayaking, swimming and exploring the nature. We saw dolphins, learned a bit about the ecosystem and had a blast, definitely recommend this tour.

Great guide! Awesome seeing so much wildlife! It was a great experience. Our family had such a great time!

Everyone had a great time. It was absolutely beautiful! Cormorants followed us the whole time and we saw dolphins up close. It was awesome. Our guide did a good job taking breaks since we had 20 to 65 year olds. It was a great experience.

Tour was canceled and nobody told us. We drove up there 15 min early our time tour was 10AM. 5 min after 10 I kept calling and texting and finally got a text back saying it was canceled and all they did was recommend other tour companies. Horrible way to do business 😤

My first time on a kayak and as stated on the website, no experience was needed. Nick's expertise and knowledge about Shell Key and the ecosystem was information I thought I never needed to know. Nature is fascinating and you will not be disappointed.

I had a great day on the water with Nick. The tour was the perfect amount of time and we got to see a ton of wildlife and learn more about the areas ecosystems.

Beautiful trip! The kayaks were comfortable, water was easy to paddle and shallow so you can see underneath easily. Nick provided interesting information about the preserve and the area in general. Launching point was easy to find as well. Mangrove tunnel at the end was so cool too! Highly recommend this adventure!!

Tour guide was grate but this is a big scam. Misleading advertisement and not worth a penny. It’s a shame no one complained about this scam.

Our family thoroughly enjoyed this excursion! It was about 2.5 hours and we had an amazing tour guide. He was patient and knowledgeable and made the trip fun. Shell key was beautiful. We enjoyed getting out and walking around to watch the dolphins. On the way back, we went through the mangrove. Super cool experience-highly recommend! (Our kids are 17 and 14 for reference)

We had a great time. Nick was a great tour guide...personable and knowledgeable. Shell key preserve was a special place. We recommend!

Guide was excellent. Very knowledgeable. Tour is exactly how it is sold. Well worth the money. Beautiful & relaxing.

We recently embarked on the 3 hr kayak EcoTour of the Shelly Key Preserve with Nick as our guide, who is an amazing wealth of knowledge of the preserves habitat and wildlife. As we paddled across the water, we saw many species of birds, some diving around and under our kayaks 'fishing' for their lunch, fish, a dolphin hunting the shallow waters and lastly a great blue heron when we guided our kayaks back to the launch. When we arrived at Shell Beach, Nick took the group on an informative stroll along the beach, pointing out shellfish and small fish in the shallow water, explaining the various shells we found and what used to live in the shells, and the vegetation on the island. Following was an incredible paddle through the mangroves, where again Nick gave the group so much information. We would absolutely recommend this tour!

Fantastic tour, beautiful area, easy fun kayaking. Nick was knowledgeable and friendly. Highlight was the mangrove tunnel!

I loved the variety of locations and beautiful setting that we discovered on our great ; hour tour. Thanks you so much. Would def recommend this kayak tour!

Nick was a great guide, very friendly, knowledgeable and able to meet the varied needs of our group. This was a highlight of our trip!

Taylor was the guide for my kayaking tour. She was very friendly, thoughtful of each person, knowledgeable and fun! She even took our picture paddling through the mangroves. The day was gorgeous and we were able to go though multiple mangrove tunnels. We saw bird and lots of fish jumping but no dolphins or sharks this time. The shell beach was awesome with lots of 🐚 shells. I found two whole sand dollars and Taylor found a sharks 🦈 tooth!! Great way to spend an afternoon! 😎❤️

My wife and I had a great time on the kayaking trip . Our guide Nina was great with very personable and friendly personality as well as giving us local knowledge of marine wildlife I would recommend this trip.

Was a fun experience. Guide went at a great pace and was willing to slow if needed. Beautiful views and great information on the area.

My 14 year old son and I booked this kayak experience to the Shell Key Preserve with Nick, the guide. The equipment was in excellent shape and the tour route, especially the part to Shell Key and through the Mangroves, was excellent. There were several breaks along the 3 hour experience. Nick was incredibly knowledgeable and answered all questions with enthusiasm and excellence. Would recommend to others!

Had a great time kayaking through the Mangrove tunnels! Tour guide Kenny was super informative about the nature which was a highlight! Arms will be sore but it wasn't a hard journey, and the break at the island was perfect to cool off.

Our tour guide was excellent, the kayaks were very nice, sturdy even for two people. We took our pre-teens and we are NOT experienced kayakers, and in hindsight it was probably too long of a tour. The guide said it was just over three miles. For nature lovers it was wonderful, we got to see dolphins and lots of birds. The water is not clear at all so I would skip the see through kayaks. Definitely bring water shoes and a couple of drinks in a bag. There are no facilities or drinks/snacks, but you have room in your boat for a bag. We were very tired and hot, lots of complaining from the kiddos by the end, to be honest.

My wife and 3 children (10-17) and I all had a great time. I recommend this this excursion. Guide was great explaining the area and wild life.

Fun activity. You don’t need to know swimming. Good family activity to experience some of the water preserve life.

Beautiful but I had some difficulty as a single person in the clear kayak. The guide that day was great and explained that the company wasn’t as familiar with them because they’re newer. The issue is that the sides are higher than they are on a typical kayak. So your paddle is constantly hitting the side of the boat. Also - you’re constantly looking at the scenery around you, not so much beneath you…negating the need for a clear boat. The beach we went to was nice. There was a large family partying there so we didn’t have a ton of room to ‘dock’ or spread out. Definitely recommend brining water shoes if you want to leave the beach area.

Nick guided a great tour. He shared history of the city, as well as details about the surrounding wildlife. At the end, he recommended local places to go.

Excellent excursion for families. We rented 2 seater kayak for teens to share and 1 seater for adults. The row out to the beach island with Nick as our knowledge, experienced guide was amazing!!! Stopped for a few breaks to make the trip manageable for all and allow participants to catch up. Frequent and enjoyable talks about wildlife and ecosystem. Saw interesting birds and sea creatures. Not a lot of shell yet nonetheless super cool adventure for a reasonable price and time commitment. Must Bring Items: snacks, water, sunscreen, sunglasses/hat, bug repellent (tour thru brush and or bathroom breaks, trust me!)

We saw a harmless shark, a family of dolphins and some really cool fighting conchs. Great experience, but you'll definitely get a workout.

Tour guide was very informative and interactive! We had a party of 3 and they were able to accommodate the odd numbered group with a single seat kayak. Was roughly 3 hours long as advertised. Overall, a great experience and would highly recommend the kayak tour by liberty!

The scenery was great, leisurely activitie, & good guide who was very knowledgeable & friendly. The only disappointment was no manatees but that was our fault for not booking at the right time of the year