USA ·DOLPHIN WATCHING
The 15 dolphin watching tours below are priced, timed and sorted so you can pick one in a couple of minutes. The first is first for a reason.
Review of Clearwater’s Little Toot dolphin tour, with practical advice on sightings, boat comfort, price, parking, timing, and who should book.
“Nice experience with good service and personnel. Orderly boarding and timely. Parking fees are additional at the marina”
Review of Island Time’s Shell Island catamaran cruise from Panama City Beach, with wild dolphins, snorkeling, paddleboards, and a waterslide.
“Had such an amazing time. Crew member were amazing . The ride was so nice ! Shell island is beautiful and on the way back , we saw several dolphins!! Great excursion and we will definitely do it again ! Such a beautiful time !”
Review of Maui’s small raft whale and dolphin tour, with eye-level wildlife views, whale songs, practical tips, pricing, and booking advice.
“This was one of my favorite days in hawaii. We saw 27 breaches, including one well that breached at least 10 times. The staff really knows how to find the whales and stick with them. Captain Jack and Meredith were incredibly knowledgeable. I highly recommend this tour especially because you're on a smaller boat at eye level with the water for the best views.”
Paddle calm Daytona waterways beneath seven bridges while watching for dolphins and manatees on a friendly, beginner-ready SUP tour.
“I selected the 8:30 am slot and was the only participant, which was fine with me! Walker was my instructor/tour guide. He was very patient while I got the hang of paddle boarding and very reassuring of our safety. He is knowledgeable of the area. It was a great experience and I would do it again!”
Spot bottlenose dolphins, sea turtles, birds, and more on a shaded 90-minute cruise through Jekyll Island’s scenic waters.
“This was our second time to take a trip and it was so much fun. We saw many dolphins, birds and learned a lot about the island. We booked the 4:00 cruise and the sunset was spectacular!”
Review of Clearwater’s dolphin boat tour, with wildlife sightings, a Compass Island stop, practical tips, pricing, and honest drawbacks.
“This was a nice relaxing boat cruise to see dolphins. Unfortunately there were no dolphins to be seen, but the company offers free cruises until you experience a dolphon sighting.”
Paddle Fort Myers waterways in search of dolphins and manatees, learn local history, explore mangroves, and hunt for shells for $65.
“The tour was well paced and planned, as we needed some guidance leading to use the board, Eric and his partner provided necessary training for me and my 9 year old daughter. We had great time, guides were friendly and knowledgeable. Highly recommend.”
Review of Panama City Beach’s 2-hour sunset dolphin catamaran cruise, with route details, prices, tips, value, and what to expect onboard.
“My daughter and I went and had so much fun watching the dolphins! I’ve been on a lot of tours with different companies and Christo was the best at getting us wonderful views of dolphins jumping out of the water. It was absolutely incredible! The girls working were so attentive making sure everyone on the boat was well taken care of. Thank you Sara and Audra for taking pics and getting our drinks! And yes, even “fishing” something out of the water that a guest dropped. We will book with them again!”
Baywatch Dolphin Tours from Pier 21 offers a 45-minute Galveston harbor cruise, close dolphin sightings, history, and strong family value.
“Great fun! On a cooler day be sure to bring a jacket. So awesome to see the dolphins! Great cruise through the Galveston harbor.”
Review of Oahu’s dolphin and snorkel cruise with Waikiki pickup, turtles, lunch, hula, a water slide, and practical planning tips.
“Great tour, great staff! Lots of fun! The staff was friendly, funny and professional. The boat has an inflatable slide off the side, so it's great for all ages.”
Review of South Padre Island’s $19.48 sunset dolphin cruise, with practical tips on dolphins, views, guides, timing, value, and booking.
“The dolphin tour was amazing. We loved watching the dolphins jumping out of the water and Patrick was entertaining.”
Review of Monterey Bay’s 3-hour whale and dolphin cruise, with wildlife highlights, boat comfort, parking advice, value, and booking tips.
“We had a great experience from beginning to end. luckily we had a chance to see quite a few whales.”
San Diego whale watching cruise review covering wildlife, views, price, crew, parking, weather, what to bring, and who should book.
“Disappointing, we did not see any whales, the background and story telling was also not very engaging.”
Review of St. Pete’s 2-hour dolphin cruise to Shell Key, with snorkeling, wildlife, small groups, pricing, tips, and honest drawbacks.
“We took this tour at the end of June. There was limited amount of sea life. …2 dolphins and 2 sea manatees. The sea life and shelling wasn’t as great as on our Hilton Head trip during the same month last year. The captain was very nice and we had the pontoon completely to ourselves… the reason for the 3 stars. But 2 members had to miss the tour at the last minute due to our granddaughter contracting a virus with a high grade fever. The tour company refused to accommodate us and change the tour to a later date. We did book the tour through Viator who also refused…”
See Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, Gulf views, sunsets, and family-friendly fun on a two-hour cruise from Orange Beach, Alabama.
“We did an evening trip which is rough to see activity due to them preparing to hunt food. But we got to see them jumping. They worked with another boat to do "dolphin surfing" which is creating a large wave between the boats and the dolphins will jump and play in it. Great job, Friendly ppl. Would go again.”
Start on a coastline and work inland.
