The Dolphin Explorer

The Finest Eco-Tour in Southwest Florida

Based in Marco Island

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The Dolphin Study Eco-Tour and Cruise

Available Tour Times: 9 a.m. & 1 p.m.

Duration: 3 hours

Get up-close and personal with dolphins on every trip! Get to know these marine animals on a first name basis as we cruise the waters of Marco Island in search of wildlife on this family-friendly eco-tour. Reservations are highly recommended!

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From $45

Discovery, exploration, and adventure aboard The Dolphin Explorer!

Get to know our 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.

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 identified by their dorsal fins which act as their ‘fingerprints.’

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

Meet Our Dolphins

Rated 5 Stars on TripAdvisor

Great Time!

This was a truly awesome experience, much better than we expected! We saw a total of 13 dolphins, and for most of the time on the boat we were able to see one or more very close. Several of them played in the wake of the boat. The crew identified each by name and we learned something about each dolphin’s “story.” Great time for kids of all ages.

– Reviewed August, 2018
Loved it!

We stay every year in our timeshare in Marco, The Surf Club, and have heard great things about the Dolphin Explorer. We decided to give it a shot and were not disappointed a bit. We saw more dolphins than we were expecting to. The Captain Michael and Bob were so informative and knowledgeable. The whole experience was wonderful, they even take pictures of your group and give them to you, free of cost. Strongly recommend to all.

– Reviewed August, 2018
MUST DO!!

My wife and I are vacationing from Ohio. Friends told us this is a must do. They were right!! We loved every minute of it. Very friendly staff! Beautiful scenery! Saw quite a few dolphins and birds. It’s worth the money and it’s 3 hrs of fun and relaxing . Will do it again when we return!!

– Reviewed July, 2018
Such a great experience!

This was an amazing tour! All of our questions were answered immediately and thoroughly. The captain was very nice and the marine specialist was very informative. They were both funny too so it made for a fun trip. We got to see a lot of dolphins and then stopped for shelling. It was an amazing tour. So glad we did it and I would highly recommend it!

– Reviewed July, 2018
Well worth the time to take this tour

My husband and I enjoyed this tour on Sunday. We were so thankful we did. Captain Greg and Bob were the best tour guides and genuinely are happy to be leading these tours. Their great excitement and genuine joy at observing these beautiful creatures was contagious. To be able to see these dolphins up close and watch them in their natural habitat, being so playful was something I won’t soon forget.

– Reviewed July, 2018
5 Stars

Our family of 7 went (Mom, Dad, 3 boys and 2 Grandparents) It was great for all ages. They guides knew right where to find the dolphins which was really great getting to see them so close and for about 45 min of play time. We boated around a few islands and parked on Tiger Tail Island where we found a TON of great shells.

– Reviewed August, 2018