Isla Tours — Attraction in South Padre Island

Me and my family of 12 all bought tickets to captain murphy Isla Tours eco tour and dolphin watch 3pm departure time on 6/17/25. We had a great time for the almost the entire duration of the ride. When we were pulling back into the dock me and my mother were hugging looking out into the gulf backs faced to the captain. He was speaking aloud but not over the mic. I heard it faintly in the background of me and my mothers conversation but didnt pay it much mind. He kept repeating the same phrase as if he wasnt being heard which prompted me to look around to see if he was speaking to me. He kept speaking but didnt look at me when i attempted to make eye contact so i carried on as if he was speaking to someone else. He kept speaking so i looked at him again and said sorry sir were you talking to me? He said YES! move to the right some im trying to reverse. I moved and said sorry i didnt know you were speaking to me i was facing away from you and when i looked around to see if you were talking to me you werent even looking at me when you spoke. He said so? I was looking around trying to reverse. I said i understand that, im just letting you know the reason i didnt move initially because i didnt even know u were speaking to me because you didnt even look at me. He said who else would i be talking to. I said sir, i didnt know you were talking to me and this was the reason. Now i know. Its over. Then he proceeded to keep chirping and attempted to escalate things and proceeded to have me escorted off and said he’d meet me outside. This man was well spoken and informative over the mic the entire trip but for some reason had weird energy towards me when i was just trying to enjoy the ride on my vacation with my whole family witnessing. When i walked to my car he kept waving and smiling as if to taunt me. Im not calling for his firing but he should be advised to treat people with decency...

I went on this cruise today with my almost 2 year old daughter. We had a great time! Tickets

Captain Guacamole (haha!) and his crew were amazing. They were friendly and engaged with everyone on the boat. They have snacks and drinks for sale on the boat, but they encourage you to bring your own too.

My daughter took a liking to Jennifer and begged her to carry her - and of course Jennifer obliged!

Easton was very sweet as well. He was informative and gave us a little show and tell about some fish toward the end of the trip. He let the kids (and us big kids) see and touch a starfish, a puffer fish, some snails, and a crab. His talks were fun and engaging for both adults and kids.

Some things to know:

There's a good chance you will get wet! We got SOAKED. You have a much better chance of staying dry if you stay on the upper deck with the captain, but it's fun to move around.

Our trip ran over the 1.5 hour schedule. Which was fine with all of us, but if you have something scheduled afterward, I suggest you let the captain know so you aren't late.

I wouldn't suggest bringing a stroller if you can avoid it. There's not a ton of extra space on the boat, and there's lots of narrow spaces, which made it hard to maneuver. I just held my daughter the whole time. My stroller stayed in one spot, but it took up precious space for people to move around. As you can see by the photos, it also got soaked in the splashes. The crew was so nice and sweet helping me dry everything, and we all had a good laugh.

This was a great experience. I highly recommend it to everyone. Bring cash for a tip...

I don't usually do reviews, but I felt it necessary this time. We were hesitant to do this dolphin tour because it was the first time with this company and we weren't sure if it would be as good as others we had done in the past. The place right next door (where you buy tickets) was sold out for the same timeframe and yet this company had plenty of spots (made us wonder right?). Hands down this was our best experience with a dolphin watch! We booked the later time (6pm) because it worked best with our schedule, but didn't realize until after we bought tickets that it was NOT an Eco tour. When we asked he saw we had kids and the guy told us he would keep what he pulled up from the previous Eco tour just so we could still have that experience! We didn't ask for that - he just offered! The captain was excellent at finding dolphins - we saw many many dolphins and right away! He got them to jump alongside the boat too which was SO amazing AND a first for us. The captain was also quite knowledgeable about the area and gave us a lot of information on the tour. Also - FUNNY! Lastly, the captain kept us out a little bit longer than the time we paid for JUST so we could all watch and get photos of the setting sun. Totally worth every penny we paid and we will not hesitate to go with Isla Tours the next time we visit South Padre Island. I...