Island Ferry of St Pete — Local services in Gulfport

My husband and I are life-long residents of Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties, but the only thing that would have made our tour with Captain Dave and Island Ferry better would be if the moment had never ended! I LOVED LOVED LOVED the pontoon boat experience, with the added bonus of being two of only six riders. (Note, you will experience some bumps from other boats' wakes, but in general, the pontoons make for a smooth and quiet ride.) Captain Dave took us to a spot under the Tierra Verde bridge where we almost immediately encountered a large pod of dolphins obviously living their best lives. I have seen dolphins before, but the semi-private nature of the excursion meant that we were practically close enough to touch them. The smaller boat also meant that there was no need for our guide to use one of those obnoxious and poorly performing sound systems; we just had a conversation. Dave was knowledgeable of the overall area as well as of all the local beaches and provided interesting details of the homes we passed and life on the water. We rounded the end of Pass-a-grille at the perfect moment to see a great sunset before we sadly had to return to the dock. Dave was very considerate to then let us off at a lower dock to accommodate us "mature" citizens with off boarding. This would HAVE to be the most chill and relaxing experience you could have on a someone else's boat, and we 12/10...

There are so, so many things I want to say - but my writing is limited, so I am going to try and get to the point here.

When looking at this tour online, we thought the pricing seemed a little steep. I cannot even begin to tell you how wrong we were and how worth it this trip was.

From the start of the ride, our guide was so kind, fun-hearted, and welcoming and there were SO many dolphins. Time was actually taken to look and welcome them rather than brush them off because they’re shy animals.

This is a return trip for me in honor of a friend I went with (on this exact tour) 6 years ago who has since passed, so I brought 5 other people with me to share the beauty to honor her (her and I - first two pics, and me now returning for this honorary trip - 3rd and 4th pic).

Our guide took that information and made this experience absolutely unforgettable. I could not have imagined a better way to finally return to the vacation spot we came to over half -a-decade ago together from 1500-miles away.

Please fill this company’s schedule. Family-owned and operated is everything, and their service and the heart they give their work shows it. ❤️

Shell Key Island is incredible, relatively quiet and private and you have a decent amount of time there to do some shelling, swimming or snorkeling.

Thank you so much for such a wonderful experience for myself...

I do not remember the name of my captain. He stated many times he is the #1 Captain of their ferry business, that captain was my captain. I'd ask a question, he'd turn to talk to only male on the boat to answer my question. I did not know this other guy. He had his family on the boat.

I've been snorkeling many of times. This was my first trip to St. Pete. Any other time I have gone with a ferry, the ferry instructed everyone on how to snorkel. Educates everyone what to look for. And most of the time we snorkel around the boat. ... this is not what happened. We got 35ish minutes on the beach. Only directions given "walk around the corner and there will be all sorts of shells"

The captain was able to answer all of my questions. No matter the physical direction of the answer. It was a gorgeous day.

We did see the two dolphins, mom and pup. We saw some huge fish. The captain knew the names and good facts.

What I believe would be better is leaving out the "snorkeling" part from the package.

With the two hour tour (which is still worth the money) you get 35 minutes of free-roaming shores of an island. You can swim if you want. Don't get in the grass. Lots of...