The Dolphin Explorer
MULTI-AWARD WINNING DOLPHIN STUDY / ECOTOUR!
2024 BIRTHING SEASON IS IN FULL SWING! AS OF OCTOBER 3RD OUR TEAM HAS DOCUMENTED 7 NEW BABY DOLPHINS IN 2024! MOST OF THEM ARE BORN TO EXPERIENCED MOMS, AND GUESS WHAT?!?! WE'RE NOT DONE! SEVERAL MORE FEMALES ARE EXPECTING CALVES VERY SOON! COME JOIN US SOON! BOOK NOW!
Available Tour Times: 9 a.m. & 1 p.m.
Duration: 3 hours
Get to know some of our area dolphins on every trip! Learn their names and who their relatives are as we cruise the waters of Marco Island in search of wildlife on this family-friendly eco-tour. Reservations are highly recommended!
"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
Sept 2024 This was a once in a lifetime experience. Lots to learn from the crew and from the natural environment. Definitely plan to return once in the area. Highly recommend for all ages.T
– Trip AdvisorAug 2024 A wonderful experience for all ages. This exploration is not only fun and relaxing, but educational too. We saw many dolphins which were identified by name by the excellent crew. We also saw Manatees in their natural environment. The trip to the beach for shelling or just walking was the Icing on the Cake. A beautiful day exploring the natural wonders offshore on Marco Island! We will do it again!!
– Trip AdvisorSept 2024 We rented the dolphin explorer in July to celebrate my parents with a burial at sea. During the entire process leading up to the day Capt Bob helped answer any questions and allay my concerns. On the day, 28 family members enjoyed the celebration for my parents along with dolphin sitings and sea shelling on an island. It was a beautiful day filled with happy memories and love. I cannot thank Dolphin Explorers enough for an experience we will always cherish.
– Trip AdvisorAug. 2024 We had a great morning with the knowledgeable crew of the Dolphin Explorer. We loved that this excursion was presented by actual scientists, and that this eco tour was so respectful of the natural wildlife. The boat was lovely for this type of adventure, and the views alone while traveling the waters were worth the visit. Our dolphin viewing was slow initially, but when they started appearing near the end of the tour our crew even delayed our return to enable everyone to have time with these amazing creatures. The tour also provided shell bags during our shelling stop at the beach (some of the most beautiful shells ever). Loved this and will do this again any time we are back on Marco Island
– Trip AdvisorAugust 2024 We can warmly recommend the tour. It was simply great! We saw a lot of dolphins, got a great insight into the research of the dolphins living here and the mussel hunt was another highlight for all of us! It was just great!
– Trip AdvisorAugust 2024 My family had so much fun on this trip. Not only did we see dolphins, but we learned about them as well. It was really neat learning how they identify them and know them by name. We saw dolphins feeding, playing, dating, and we even were lucky enough to have a few jump the waves from the boat. It was a truly incredible experience that my family will remember forever. Shelling on Keywadin Island was such a neat and beautiful experience that I am glad we included in our trip. A must do! Captain James and Bob are a great team and provided us with an amazing experience. Highly recommend!
– Trip AdvisorAugust 2024 Once again, the Dolphin Explorer Gave us a great outing. The boat itself is very nice aon d comfortable. Our Captain Eddie and Naturalist Bob ran a great trip. They know the areas and its dolphins extremely well and were able to get a mother baby to surf our wake and give us a great show. Long term tracking and observation gives the team tremendous insights into the dolphins, and their social structures. Bob and Eddie even know the habits the dolphins have by individual. I highly recommend this trip.
– Trip AdvisorJuly 2024 We could not have been more thrilled with our trip. The crew was so friendly and knowledgeable and made sure we all had fun and learned some things at the same time. We could not recommend this trip anymore highly than we already are definite five star experience.
– Trip AdvisorJuly 2024 Always our favorite when we're in Marco and so excited to be moving down here so we can do it more often. It is so exciting to see and learn about the dolphins and I feel like we need to keep visiting Razz who my granddaughter helped name :)
– Trip AdvisorJuly 2024 This was the best dolphin tour experience I’ve ever been a part of. I took my family on this tour and it was an unforgettable experience. We were fortunate enough to see several dolphins from young to old, male and females, as well as a young manatee on the trip. The highlight was when the dolphins started surfing behind the wake of our boat and were jumping out of the water. We were all in awe of their playful and graceful nature. It was 1000x better than any trip to Sea World as we got to witness their uniqueness in a natural environment.
– Trip Advisor