Captain Ed was very knowledgeable! Great day, didn’t feel rushed! Went out with only two other people and they didn’t cancel.

Captain Thomas Schmidt was fun and knowledgeable. We saw four dolphins hanging out with the baby girl swimming close to the boat to check us out. Also had time for a bit of shelling as well. Highly recommend this private, personal experience

Captain Ed and his first mate were great and made sure that we saw dolphins and beautiful birds. He shared interesting facts. They also provided bags for collecting seashells on the island. Highly recommend!

Kate was a great captain - she was very knowledgeable about the dolphins and the area. We had a wonderful time!! Definitely recommend.

Very nice Captain he was very informative. Went out of his way to make sure we got to see as many dolfins as possible.

I had a nice time but based on the title of the tour expected to spend more time birding and learning about the area from the naturalist. Execept for spotting a few birds on the way to the shelling location and a spotting a few dolphins on the way back the rest of the time on the boat was spent at cruising speed to get to and from the shelling location, with one hour of the two hour tour allocated to looking for shells.

The boat ride was fine but we would not do it again on an uncovered boat. If there was a “certified naturalist” on board, we were unaware of it. The captain who was driving the boat made a good effort to engage the dolphins following the boat, and everyone enjoyed that and we got some good pictures. As far as the shelling - we basically went to a barren sand bar. If anyone was hoping to find a good selection of shells, they were disappointed. For me, I found what I wanted but the shells were very common. From the description, I envisioned an island with palm trees and a nice beach. We felt it was overpriced and disappointing.

Captain Kate was great. She explained a lot about the environment and habitat. We saw some birds but the highlight was watching dolphins. She knew where to find them. Then she stirred up a big wake and three dolphins were right in the wake, sometimes jumping out of the water. About five minutes of great fun. Definitely a great time.

Such a fun trip with the family! Captain Ed was very knowledgeable and personable. He worked hard to find dolphins and even spotted some sharks and a bald eagle on our trip. The shelling was fantastic and both my kiddos age 7 & 9 were engaged the entire experience. Highly recommend!

Our Captain was knowledgeable and friendly. We saw so many dolphins!!! He even found us some beautiful shells!!

The main focus of this tour was the shelling. The dolphin and birding is only if they happen to be around, but I would say it is very secondary. If you are looking to see dolphins following your boat or jumping out of the water, this is not the tour for you. Our guide was great, and the boat ride was fun. Found lots of cool shells as well.

We went on the small group boat trip and saw dolphins and local birds that inhabit the mangrove forests. Part 2 of the trip included shelling on a barrier island. Great fun! The captain and crew were friendly and very knowledgeable about the ecosystem.

What a great excursion. Our tour guide was was knowledgeable and very personable. Would definitely recommend!

Joe was a font of information and an excellent boat guide.We saw many dolphins and found some beautiful sea shells.

Five stars from first minute of the tour until the last. Our guide/captain Joe was exceptional on our 2 hour dolphin shelling tour. From an exhilarating boat ride to a pristine white sandy beach for shelling. We saw dozens of dolphins so close and docile that we could almost touch them. It was my wife’s birthday and she had a wonderful present. A perfect day.

Kevin got a dolphin he knew, "Slice", to surf behind the boat. Very cool. Really enjoyed the casual low key fun atmosphere of the ride.

My boys (age 10,8, &3) loved this trip as did my husband and mom! The boat captain was very informative on teaching us about the mangrove forest and the wildlife in the area. We saw several dolphins on our excursion! The shelling on the island was great! We found some great shells and, even some sand dollars. My husband didn't realize how fragile they were and two got broken in the provided shelling bag. I'd advise holding on to your sand dollars while collecting. The boat ride was relaxing and my 3 year old even took a nap.

Cannot recommend this tour. Took my daughter and grand-daughter to this private tour described as a dolphin, birding and shelling excursion. We saw no dolphins. We did see a raccoon and an egret (both of which are common to see in MN where we are from.) The boat was old - a screw actually popped off the base of one of the seats as we were cruising. The boat captain drove straight to what he described as a remote island (I could have swam to all of the luxury homes facing us just across the water. He told us to take about 45 min to find shells there. (My grand daughter did enjoy that.) Then we boarded again and the captain said he would do his best to find some dolphins, but headed straight back to the marina. He did detour for a couple minutes to follow another boat (I assume he was hoping a dolphin might be in the wake.) I’ve been on other excursions and the operators usually have ways to make the the trip entertaining - talking about the local flora and fauna or maybe some history. This one told us about a couple of pro football players who had houses and boats in the bay. Altogether disappointing and definitely not worth the cost.

Second time around, love the experience. We saw dolphin pods all around us. I would reckon mend this tour highly. The captain and the boat needed upgrading however

The good: our Captain Joe was knowledgeable and interesting. The disappointing: Saw a small handful of languid dolphins who barely broke the water, a few cool birds, and miles and miles and miles of mangroves. The shelling was OK, but pretty picked over. Did this tour previously, and it was great fun as the boat picked up dolphins to swim with us on two occasions. Joe commented that there had been a lot of boats out on the weekend, and maybe the dolphins were busy with “dolphin things” on Monday, so maybe avoid taking a Monday tour during peak season? Granddaughter did not seem to mind missing out on the dolphins swimming with us, although she had been enticed onto the tour with video of the dolphins on the last trip.