10,000 Islands Shelling Boat Tour: Wildlife Exploration

Discover hidden treasures and wildlife on a 10,000 Islands shelling tour. Explore remote beaches, spot dolphins, and learn from a master naturalist.

Duration: 2 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Ten Thousand Islands NWR - The 10,000 Islands Wildlife Refuge, located next to Everglades National Park, is only accessible by boat. This tour, guided by an expert sheller and certified master naturalist, is limited to six participants and will take you to a secluded barrier island within the Refuge. While popular barrier islands like Sanibel or…
What's Included
  • Playful dolphins
  • 10,000 Islands Shelling Tour
What's Not Included
  • Bottled water
  • Gratuities
  • Parking fees
Additional Information

The 10,000 Islands Wildlife Refuge, located next to Everglades National Park, can only be accessed by boat. This tour, guided by a seasoned shelling expert and certified master naturalist, will take participants to a secluded barrier island within the Refuge. Although barrier islands like Sanibel or Captiva are known for excellent shelling, these…

Location
Goodland Boat Park
Palm Point Drive
Please meet your captain under the covered picnic table pavillion. It is to the left of the Marina store as you are face the store from the parking lot.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.8
(90 Ratings)
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Petra_k
Mar 10, 2026
Shell collecting - We had a great day on the water and Captain Mike was a informative tour guide and told us a lot about the area. We also found a lot of shells
Review provided by Viator
W4593nccynthiac
Jan 21, 2026
A spectacular boat tour with a great guide! - Spectacular! Glen was our guide. We were upgraded to a 3 1/2 hour tour. The other couple was a no show so we ended up with a private experience. Glen was so knowledgeable and was able to identify various wildlife. He took us to an island for shelling, giving us hints on where to find the best shells. Glen spent extra time finding dolphins since I had never seen a dolphin in the wild. We saw several! It was a once in a lifetime experience!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jeff
Jan 6, 2026
Great captain and skippe. - Really enjoyed this trip. He knew a lot about the area and nice amount of time on water and land.. Thanks to both who lead us through this amazing area.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Luci567
Dec 29, 2025
2-hours of boating, dolphins, birds, and shells - 5 stars on beautiful waterways, seeing dolphins, an excellent, informative boat driver Captain Kevin, and his assistant Jules, the sand dollar souvenir at end, An interesting sandbar island was the shelling destination.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Cindy_d
Nov 24, 2025
Great shelling and dolphin excursions - We had such a great time on our shelling tour! We arrived early and got extra time since we were all early! Captain Ed was very knowledgeable about the area and knew exactly where to go to find the dolphins! (I would post a video of the dolphins but it only allows me to post pictures here) We found so many sand dollars and really great shells! We lucked out with a negative low tide and were able to find a wide variety of shells and ocean life like horseshoe crabs, hermit crabs, fish of various types, manatee, and live lettered olive snails! The boat ride scenery was so beautiful and we even learned about some of the local birds inhabiting the area as well! Overall 10/10 recommend and we will absolutely be booking another tour!
Review provided by Viator
Matthewrf8100ki
Jun 30, 2025
A Must-Do While in Marco Island - Absolutely loved this shelling tour. The captain was friendly, knowledgeable, and made the whole experience fun from start to finish. We found some amazing shells and had a great time exploring the island. The boat ride was smooth, the views were beautiful, and the atmosphere was relaxed and welcoming. Would definitely do it again. Five stars.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
X2490ikcherylk
Apr 26, 2025
A must do - The trip was one of the highlights of our vacation. 100/10 recommend! The captain was super nice, the boat ride was enjoyable, the water was absolutely beautiful. Would def do again.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
T9994nvkatiet
Apr 4, 2025
So fun and exciting to see the dolphins! - So fun! The captain got the dolphins to jump out of the water for our trip! We had such a blast. Saw so many species of birds too!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
780katharinef
Dec 31, 2024
Family outing! - It was great! Captain Joe and his first mate Kim were incredible. We had 10 of us and had a blast! Collected so many shells. Kim gave a detailed shell and wildlife explanation on the way back. Captain Joe navigated the sea in the fog with ease! We felt safe and saw so many dolphins! Highly recommended with children or not!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Glennk117
Jun 6, 2025
OK for a boat ride and wildlife watching but the shelling stunk - We booked what we thought was the same cruise as we did 3 years ago when my grandson was 3. That trip was perfect. A covered boat, high quality life jacket for my grandson, Dolphins on both to and from trips. And we went to an island with unbelievable shells and had a great time for an hour to go shelling. Fast forward to 2025. No cover on the boat which was not as terrible as we anticipated but some shade would have been nice. Crew was friendly and the deckhand entertained our 3 grandkids with shells and information. Issues we had were (1) When we asked for life jackets for our twin 3 yr olds, and 6 yr old grandkids, they were unprepared and told us they weren't required. When we told them that they must have life jackets they struggled to find 3 that fit and the one for my granddaughter was covered in mold/mildew. (2) We took the normal ride out to the sanctuary and saw some cool birds but no dolphins yet. For some reason (I believe the captain said it was because of the shallow water but I am not 100%) we had to take longer (40-45 minutes) to get to the island. By the time we got there we had 35-40 minutes to go shelling. (3) It turned out that it was plenty of time because the shelling was terrible. The shelling on the island we went to in 2022 and 2025 was not even comparable. I thought it might be the post hurricane effect but after talking to others that took different tour companies, they found tons of really nice shells. The highlight of the trip was the ride back we found some dolphins and had a really cool time watching them jumping and playing next to the boat. Overall, had we wanted to go for a boat ride and dolphin watching, it would have been fine. My grandkids wanted shells and the shells they found on the tour were no different than the ones we found on Sanibel where we stayed. Was not close to being worth the $700+
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $110
up to 15 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).