The Best Anna Maria Island Dolphin Tour – Bradenton Beach Marina
If you are looking for the best Anna Maria Island dolphin tour, look no further than the Bradenton Beach Marina. Their dolphin eco tour allowed us the opportunity to get up close to dolphins while still enjoying them in their natural habitat.
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❤️A special thank you to Bradenton Beach Marina for hosting our family on their Eco Dolphin Tour in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. All opinions are my own.❤️
The Best Anna Maria Island Dolphin Tour
When you’re in Florida, and have children that LOVE anything ocean related, you need to get out on the water! We decided to book the Dolphin Eco Tour through the Bradenton Beach Marina.
The tour started at 2:00 p.m., and they request that you arrive 20 minutes early so everyone can get checked-in and seated on the boat for a timely departure.
We all boarded the Anna Maria Explorer, a custom built 40 ft. catamaran that can seat up to 49 people. Upon taking our seats, we were greeted by our guide, Roxanne, and our captain, Jeb.
As we made our way out into Sarasota Bay, Roxanne started the tour by sharing a little bit of history about Anna Maria Island and the historic Cortez fishing village. Both were settled in the late 1800’s, and the Cortez fishing village is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is one of the last remaining fishing villages in Florida and even has its own museum.
As we approached the dolphin nursery, Roxanne continued with some interesting facts about dolphins. The dolphins that we would be seeing were Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins. They are non-migratory, which means that they call Florida home year round, for their entire lives. I was happy to find out that this wasn’t just a “get on a boat and drive to see some dolphins” kind of thing. It was also educational.
Is this your first time to Anna Maria Island? If so, check out our Anna Maria Island Guide For Families.
Be On the Lookout
During the ride, our kids loved standing at the bow of the boat to keep an eye out for dolphins. To be honest, it also brought out my inner love of Titanic…
“I’m flying!” ~ Rose, Titanic
… All while the instrumental version of “My Heart Will Go On” was playing in my head (Sorry if you’re singing it now!).
I was awoken from flying at the bow of the Titanic when one of my kids yelled “There they are!” We were greeted by a pod of dolphins, including a baby. Yes, the baby was as cute as it sounds. Adult dolphins are very protective of the babies in their pods. It was hard to get a picture because the baby was usually swimming between two adults.
Check out our list of Over 30 Incredible Ocean Themed Books, Games and Resources
The dolphins swam around our boat, not bothered by the fact that we were there, and even swam closer as to get a look at us, too. Captain Jeb decided to try and see if they would ride the wake behind our boat. Sure enough, they did!
As the dolphins jumped in and out of the wake, it was hard to tell if they were just having fun or if they were putting on a show because they knew we were watching. Roxanne had nicknamed one dolphin Einstein because it liked to swim on its side, as if it were keeping an eye on us also. It was an amazing experience to see them in their natural habitat.
Land Ho!
After a couple trips with the dolphins in our wake, we had to start heading back to the marina. Roxanne continued to answer questions that anyone might of had. Captain Jeb even took us out into Longboat Pass, where we passed by Beer Can Island, the same island that we kayaked to the day before.
We were sad that our experience had to end but we were also grateful for the opportunity to see dolphins in the wild, with Bradenton Beach Marina. It was an amazing adventure… one I’m sure our children will never forget.
Know Before You Go
- Website: https://www.go2dolphins.com/
- Address: 402 Church Avenue, Bradenton Beach (Centrally located near Cortez Road and Gulf Drive.)
- Email: info@go2dolphins.com
- Hours: They offer the Dolphin Eco Tour at 10am and 2pm
- Pricing: $35 for adults, $30 for seniors/military, and $25 for children under 10. (Check their website for up to date pricing.)
Besides the dolphin eco tour, they also have a sunset cruise, or a cruise aboard the 80 foot paddle boat, the Anna Maria Princess, which also departs two times a day.
Bradenton Beach Marina also offers rentals for boats, jet skis, Segways, golf carts, and kayaks. Plus, they even have their own floating Marina Cottage. Although it sleeps two (a little small for our family of five), we think it would be awesome to book a vacation on a boat.
PERHAPS next time you are on Anna Maria Island, a dolphin tour with Bradenton Beach Marina would be the perfect way for you to experience Florida’s wildlife.
Don’t forget to read about our other Florida adventures:
- Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium (Sarasota)
- Step Back In Time At The South Florida Museum (Bradenton)
- The Ultimate Guide to ZooTampa at Lowry Park (Tampa)
- Top 10 Toddler Friendly Rides at LEGOLAND Florida (Winter Haven)
- Sand & Sea Vacation Rental – Anna Maria Island (Family-friendly!)
- Happy Paddler Coastal Island Kayak Eco Tour (Anna Maria Island)
- EVOS Restaurant (South Tampa)
- How Our Family Of 5 Flew Roundtrip To Florida For Less Than $325
Be sure to check out our Top 30 Gift Ideas for Travelers. It is full of unique ideas to give to those in your life who love to travel… or to add to your own personal carry-on. We’ve even included the one item we won’t go to Disney without, it might surprise you!
36 Comments
Tammie
How exciting that you got to see a baby!
Trisha
He/She was so adorable!! It was only about 2-3 feet in length, but they sure kept it guarded.
Shirley
I love the barrel roll pictures! It looks like you all had a fantastic time and I will keep the Bradenton Beach Marina in mind the next time I travel in the area.
Trisha
They were so much fun to watch as they jumped in and out of the water. Then again, if that was me, I would be having a blast too! 😉
Pam
My kids (and me too) would love a dolphin tour – I’ll have to check this one out if we get to that area of Florida.
Trisha
I think the adults on the boat had just as much fun as the kids!
Missy
We love dolphins. I love getting suggestions for good tours is what we like. So that we can plan ahead.
Trisha
We completely agree. It’s nice to read about someone else’s experience.
Kristin
Looks like a fun trip checking out the dolphins! I love finding out about new areas to explore in Florida, too. Great post!
Trisha
Thank you! We love exploring new places too. What better way to do that then by water!
Lara
What a great way to get the kids out on a boat. Great idea!
Trisha
Thank you! They had such a great time being out on the water.
Aisazia
Sounds like an awesome adventure! Seeing dolphins are always fun to see!
Trisha
It was a great experience for the whole family!
jen
I love dolphins! They are like the puppy dogs of the seas!
Trisha
That is exactly what they remind me of! So sociable and they always seem to be having a good time!
Lisa
Sounds really fun!
Trisha
We had a blast!
Tracey Skafidas
We’ve done a similar tour through Mote and it’s so beautiful. We also saw a baby dolphin (maybe they’re paying them to show up 😉 and the kids loved learning about all of the sealife. It’s a great way to spend the day!
Trisha
We looked at the one through the Mote too. I can imagine that it would be hard to not to pick a good one.
There’s so much to see and do in a new place, but never seems to be enough time. 😉 Might have to extend our vacation next time.
Tricia Snow
Dolphins are my favorite! Great trip! I will have to put this on my list!
Trisha
Thank you! You should absolutely add it!
Susan
This looks epic! I love dolphins! What a great experience!
Trisha
Thank you! It will for sure be one of our favorite Florida memories!
Hera
I loved living in Florida and doing these dolphin tours on jet skis. This brings back fond memories, thank you!
Trisha
You’re very welcome! I can only imagine how awesome it would be on a jetski!
Sarah
What a fun experience!! I love dolphins, but have yet to see them in the wild – will definitely keep this in mind – thanks for sharing!
Trisha
You’re welcome! We are so used to seeing them in rehab aquariums, that it was nice to see them in the wild, just having fun.
Kristi
This would be so much fun to do with the family. Looks like you really enjoyed yourselves and got to see a baby. So awesome! I’ll have to put this on my list of things to see when in Florida.
Trisha
Our kids really enjoyed it! Their favorite part was getting to see the dolphins ride the wake.
You will have a blast!
Michele
We have done a dolphin tour before but not in this area! Definitely saving this for future reference! Thanks!
Trisha
If you do eventually go, we hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
Gail
This area is on my Florida bucket list and I love dolphins!!
Trisha
You will absolutely love the area!! The dolphins are a nice bonus! 😉
kmf
So much to do! Everything sounds like fun!
Trisha
That’s one of the reasons we love the Anna Maria Island area. It is so family friendly!