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(185)
Our guide was very knowledgeable of the area and the speed of the jetski's was an amazing thrill. Managed to see dolphins within about 15 mins as well.
What an amazing experience! I was apprehensive to drive the jet ski with my 8 yo son as my passenger as I had never drove a jet ski. Camden was an amazing tour guide and offered to drive my son so that I could focus on driving the jet ski without that worry. My son had a BLAST riding with him and he even was able to drive the jet ski with Camden, which was the highlight of his vacation! He talks about it nonstop! The entire family had an awesome time. Camden also did a great job of explaining how to drive the jet ski and was patient and would drive slow with me until I got the hang of driving it. After about 10 minutes or so I got the hang of driving and before the tour was over I was intentionally jumping the waves and having a great time. My 18 yo daughter took to driving it much faster than me and had a wonderful time as well. She may have been a bit too confident as she threw my mother off the jet ski, however my mom was able to get back on the jet ski without needing Camden's help. Camden drove us to several spots so that we could see some dolphins and we then spent some time at Shell Island before heading back. All in all, we had a wonderful time, Camden was an excellent tour guide who took great care of us, and the kids want to do this every time we visit!
Great time!! Great guide!!!!!!
This experience was amazing! The price was very reasonable and absolutely worth it for the two-hour tour we booked. Our tour guides, Caleb and Camden, were awesome and made sure we knew everything we needed to know before heading out. Since I had never driven a jet ski before, one of the guides took a moment to give my passenger and I a quick lesson on using the throttle, which was extremely helpful and made the rest of the tour much more enjoyable. At one point, we hit a wake and fell off, but the tour guide immediately came over to make sure we were okay and helped us get back onto the jet ski and safely back to shore. We also got to see sea turtles and several dolphins, which was such a memorable part of the experience. We even stopped and got off at Shell Island, which was absolutely beautiful! Overall, we had an incredible time and would definitely do this again if we're back in the area!
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
