Take a Glass Bottom Boat Tour
On the Captain Anderson III

Ride the Captain Anderson III glass bottom boat located at Captain Anderson's Marina. Choose from a variety of sightseeing tours and cruises. You may wish to make reservations or purchase your tickets in the morning to ensure you get on the excursion of your choice. No matter which tour you choose, you'll enjoy the sights in air conditioned comfort.

The Captain Anderson III has a glass section on the lower deck for your viewing pleasure. The glass on the lower deck is smaller than we expected, but we spent most of our time on the upper deck. Underwater views are best during daylight hours with calm waters.

Shell Island Cruises

Shell Island cruises are offered twice daily in season. The three hour trip includes historical narration by the captain. You can enjoy completely different views depending on whether you go to the upper or lower deck of the glass bottom boat. Once you arrive at Shell Island, you'll have an hour to explore the island, wade through the waters and go shell collecting. On the way back enjoy more views of the bay and maybe even spot some playful dolphins.

There are rest rooms available on the boat, but not on Shell Island. The island is completely undeveloped. While snorkel and beach gear, cameras, food in small bags and beach towels are encouraged, coolers are not permitted.

Dolphin Encounter Tour

We chose to try the shorter Dolphin Encounter tour. We really enjoyed the trip and felt it was very affordable. In addition to searching out dolphins, we were entertained by the captain's narration. The crew handed out Cheetos which we were able to use to hand feed seagulls. Feeding the seagulls was a fun diversion as we headed out to deeper waters in the Grand Lagoon.

The top deck is best for dolphin watching. While there is plenty of seating on the boat, you'll likely find yourself walking from one side to the other to get the best view of the dolphins. Sometimes you'll see the dorsal fins of several as they jump and play in the water. If you're lucky you may also see some closer up.

If this tour doesn't get you as close to the dolphins as you'd like, you might want to consider a wave runner dolphin tour. It is much more costly, but you won't get closer without actually getting in the water.

Sunset Dolphin Encounter

The Dolphin Encounter tour is sometimes listed as a sunset cruise. While sunset times vary, we noticed that the times for the dolphin tours do not. Use your own judgment as to whether you'll see the sunset during your cruise.

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