2 Hour Shell Island Jet Ski Dolphin Tour
Description
Your Shell Island Dolphin Tour is Panama City Beach’s only partially guided jet ski tour. After check-in and a quick safety briefing, you’ll head out for a fast-paced ride across the emerald waters of St. Andrews Bay. Weather permitting, we’ll enter the Gulf in search of dolphins and other wildlife like sea turtles, rays, and more. Next, we’ll stop on the bay side of Shell Island for a short break. Then, enjoy around 1 hour of free ride time to explore—whether cruising, swimming, or relaxing on the beach. With 15 minutes remaining, the group follows the guide back across the bay. Must understand English safety instructions without translation Must be able to swim Operators born in or after 1988 must have a Florida Boater Safety Card (before arrival. Link provided) Arrive 30 minutes early Late arrivals will not ride or receive a refund $250 refundable deposit required to be paid on site 350 lb. max combined weight 1 jet ski for up to 2 riders Drivers must have a valid driver's license
Tour Options
Itinerary
After some safety and ride instruction, we will embark on a high-paced adventure exploring St. Andrews Bay. Weather permitting, we will enter the Gulf of Mexico on a hunt for wild animals. Dolphins are the main attraction, but sea turtles, manatees, rays, fish, crabs, and more can often be seen on tour. Circling back into the bay, we typically take a break on Shell Island. This pristine barrier island is the perfect resting place for a few minutes to catch your breath and then take off on your own adventure. If you prefer a slower pace, you are welcome to spend this time walking the sugary white sands or swimming in the emerald waters. We will gather the group once more as the tour winds to an end, take one more ride across the bay, and end up back at the meeting point in Panama City.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Participants must be able to fully understand and follow safety instructions in English without the aid of translation tools
- All drivers must possess a valid drivers license. An ID is not sufficient
- Kids Must be at least 6 years old to participate
- 18+ to operate Jet Ski
- Each rider must complete a liability waiver. Please do this prior to arrival.
- All riders MUST be able to swim
- All Operators born after January 1st of 1988 must possess a Florida Boaters Safety Card. This test can be found on the website policies page. Please complete this prior to arrival.
- All participants must arrive 30 minutes prior to tour time
- Riders who arrive late and cannot complete check in process and pre ride instructions before tour time will not ride and will not be refunded.
- A $250 refundable deposit will be taken upon arrival on a debit or credit card to be paid on site
- The combined weight of passengers must be less than 350 lb.
- This excursion is for ONE jet ski for up to 2 people. A second jet ski can be booked in a separate reservation.
Reviews(181)
Please, learn from me, make sure you do the boaters test, waivers and arrive at least 30 mins early. I did not and learned the hard way (my fault 100%) Be aware, this is not for beginners. I have ridden jet skis my entire life and I could barely handle the water in St Andrews. The guides do come back to check if you're ok but the entire tour is running full speed through rough water to Shell Island. They ask that you don't bottle neck but that's asking a bear not to scratch their back on a tree... when you are being whipped back and fourth, up and down for 20 straight minutes the last thing you are worried about is the staying steady on the throttle. Do not get on if you have carpal tunnel, my hands went numb after 5 minutes of steady pressure on that throttle. It was fun to ride the jet ski and (of course) Shell Island was cool, but just understand it is not easy to stay steady. The guides were very nice and were experienced with the jet skis.
The crew between checking us in to the men who lead the tour were great and accommodating. My tour leader was Nick and his fellow crew member were accommodating and attentive for me having my son on my jet ski.
Great experience! We jet skied quite a distance and the leaders made an effort to make it fun when getting from point A to point B
My family had a great time and we were able to actually see a pod of dolphins! The stop at Shell Island was a great break in the middle.
Kaleb was a great guide. Extremely personable, knowledgeable, and safe. I thought the island was a little disappointing with the name " Shell Isalnd". Our party of 4 had a blast.
This trip was amazing. Very thrilling! And a great experience overall. The instructor did an amazing job! Very fun guy
Our experience was great! The crew led us around an exhilarating trip to the bay to see dolphins and additional beach time at Shell Island. Caleb and Cameron were great! Will definitely be back next time.
We had so much fun on this tour and got to see so many dolphins! The tour guides really helped make this a 10/10 experience!
Place instructs you to arrive 30 minutes before booking (which we did) but unbeknownst to us you have to take a test for a license before you can hit the water. We were charged $10 for the license and also charged $250 for a safety deposit incase of damages. Because we didn’t complete the license exam in that 20 some minute time frame they told us we could not participate in the activity we paid for. This was AFTER we were charged $159 for the event, $10 for the license, and $250 for the safety deposit. A TOTAL SCAM. They did give us the $250 back but nothing else and we were not allowed to do the activity. Check in instructions are very unclear and was written no where in the listing that you must take an exam before hitting the water.
We’re sorry you were disappointed. The Florida Boater Safety Test requirement is state law—not our policy—and is clearly included in the listing, confirmation email, and text message reminders. We also offered to move you to a later tour so you could complete the test, but you declined.
This was awesome. I had never been on a jetski. The your guide was very clear on what to do and it turned out to be the best thing we did on this trip
