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The Dolphin Explorer

MULTI-AWARD WINNING DOLPHIN STUDY / ECOTOUR!

2024'S FIRST BABY DOLPHIN SEEN MARCH 4TH! MOM SAMANTHA B SHOWED UP WITH A NEW CALF AND IT WAS NAMED JEWEL BY OUR GUESTS! WELCOME, JEWEL TO OUR DOLPHIN COMMUNITY! 2023 ANNUAL OVERVIEW...OUR TEAM DOCUMENTED 4,763 INDIVIDUAL DOLPHIN SIGHTINGS OF 128 DIFFERENT LOCAL, IDENTIFIED DOLPHINS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. 9 NEW BABIES WERE RECORDED FROM 9/12 THRU 12/11.

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"Passion, Integrity, Education" is our motto. Our beliefs are reflected in our passion to educate!

Join our dolphin research team and get to know the local dolphins on our Marco Island dolphin cruise – both fun and educational! Launched February 1, 2006, the 10,000 Islands Dolphin Project is a long-term study of the abundance, distribution, movement, association patterns, and behavior of bottlenose dolphins of Southwest Florida. Located on Marco Island with close proximity to Naples and the Everglades, we offer a one of a kind tour!

The Project is the only on-going study of wild dolphins in SW Florida and the only one in the United States that engages and is supported by the general public.

Using ‘photo-identification,’ our dolphins are recognized by their dorsal fins which act as their ‘fingerprints.’

You have the opportunity to participate in locating, counting, and confirming of individual dolphin sightings on our exciting Marco Island eco-tour. For more about the study, visit our dolphin survey results.

Rated 5 Stars on TripAdvisor

Loved it!

Mar 2024 The tour was amazing. Bob, our guide, was extremely knowledgeable as to not only the local ecosystem, but the names and family histories of each individual dolphin we spotted. We saw many throughout the trip, the highlight being when the boat takes off and the dolphins follow, riding the waves created in our wake. To see them jump out of the water trailing directly behind gave us a fantastic opportunity to make very up-close observations. We were with kids and the crew made it an adventure for them especially when we disembarked at Tigertail to do some shelling. Overall a very family friendly experience that we would love to do again and again. A must if you're looking for nature excursions or just want to spend an enjoyable few hours on the waters of Marco Island meeting some of the locals!

– Trip Advisor
Best ecotour in Florida

Mar. 2024 The Dolphin explorer is unlike any eco tour in Florida!! Spotting the dolphins and getting to know them is so much fun! The respect, love, and admiration the crew has for the local wildlife is remarkable and it shows! Tigertail beach is beautiful and the shells are amazing! This is such a family friendly tour. The boat is very big with lots of shade and cover and a very nice bathroom on board. The kids loved becoming official Dolphin Explorers!! No matter how many times you take the tour it's a different experience every time! The wildlife in Marco Island is incredible and the crew on the Dolphin Explorer are all so knowledgeable and experienced!! You won't regret booking a tour with them!!

– Trip Advisor
Recommend it highly

Mar 2024 This was the best tour I've been on. Bob is a wonderful source of information about the dolphins. You can tell he really cares about them and the environment. Jennifer was amazing! It was fun, informative and you can tell the crew were passionate about their jobs.

– Trip Advisor
A splashing good time!

Feb. 2024 We had an amazing time on the Dolphin Explorer! The weather was picture perfect, not a cloud in the sky and even a bit chilly. Captain Eddie and Captain James were very kind and knowledgeable. Captain James spoke about all the Dolphin facts, the research that they do for them and pointed out all the dolphins by name. The kids had an opportunity to become Jr. Dolphin Explorers and answered questionnaires along the way. We were so happy to see so many dolphin families swimming beside the boat and the best part was watching them "surf" the wake our boat made whenever we took off. So fun! A special highlight was stopping at Tigertail Beach for shelling and the complimentary photo they took of our group. We had friends visiting from Switzerland who were absolutely in awe of the whole excursion!! 10/10 recommend!! PS They provide water but bring your own snacks

– Trip Advisor
Phenomenal Experience A must!

Feb. 2024 This was an absolutely amazing experience!! Not only were the crew members SO friendly and knowledgeable (made up of a marine biologists and two naturalists), they also made it so interesting and interactive for our kids. Each child was given a pamphlet on dolphins to fill out as well as a binder full of pictures identifying each dolphin by their unique dorsal fin. Our kids loved being “naturalists” and identifying the dolphins! We had over 18 sightings, many of them calves that came right next to the boat. The icing on the cake were the dolphins playing and jumping in our boat’s wake!

– Trip Advisor
Perfect start to exploring Marco Island

Jan 2024 What a fantastic and informative tour about dolphins around Marco Island! We saw 17 different dolphins and learned many new things about this species and their environment. Bob’s passion and peaceful delivery allowed all guest to ask questions. The breadth of his knowledge made us feel like “citizen scientists”. Captain James expertly navigated the waters. He was great a spotting dolphins and was very humble when sharing his insights on the dolphins. This is a must tour when coming to Marco Island.

– Trip Advisor
Fun for all

Dec 2023 Such a great time for our family visiting from California. We loved hearing about all of the dolphin stories and learning about each one’s history . It’s a beautiful day fun for all ages!

– Trip Advisor
Pull the trigger... This ecotour is fantastic!

Jan. 2024 I cannot say enough about the wonderful experience we had with the folks at the Dolphin Explorer. I majored in Zoology and one of my true loves is field biology. That being said, James was a plethora of knowledge not just on marine mammals but all marine life and I was fascinated by how much I learned on this 3 hour excursion. The entire crew was great! You will not be disappointed.

– Trip Advisor
Absolutely amazing experience!

Jan 2024 What a great concept and a great trip! The people who organize and accompany the trip are researchers, and they analyze and document the behavior of the dolphins around Marco Island on every tour they take. They know where to go, they know the dolphins that are sighted and can often even give a history for that dolphin. They explain very well and really also get the children involved to help understand what they do and why they do it and why it is also important for them (the children) to be interested in dolphins. We absolutely loved the trip. We saw many dolphins, even saw them jump, and learned a lot more about their behavior. We'll be back again!

– Trip Advisor