St Petersburg: Private Island Cruise & Dolphin Watching

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Free cancellationExcellent quality

1/33

Duration2h

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN

Mobile ticketAccepted

Cut the engine and float in Tampa Bay while dolphins pass nearby

You board a private boat with Captain Tyler and spend 2 to 5 hours exploring Tampa Bay's islands and waterways. The core trip includes Coffee Pot Bayou's bird sanctuary and dolphin-spotting along the neighborhoods; longer upgrades add Shell Key's beaches, Bunces Pass's Gulf-edge sandbar, or Egmont Key's historic ruins and gopher tortoises. Tubing and snorkeling gear are included, and you can bring your own food and drinks. The boat has a full bathroom and swim ladder, and you choose whether to cruise, tube, or anchor and float.

Step-by-step itinerary

Private boat cruise and wildlife viewing

Board private boat in St Petersburg
Cruise to Coffee Pot Bayou
Visit bird sanctuary and spot birds
Pass luxury homes and look for dolphins
Stop in Bay, turn off engine
Relax, swim, or have a drink

The Experience

The boat slows, then stops. Water goes quiet. You're somewhere between the neighborhoods and the open bay, feet trailing in the water if you want, a drink in your hand, watching the light change. That's the moment Captain Tyler builds toward on this private boat cruise in St Petersburg—but it doesn't start there. The 2-hour trip leaves from the dock and heads straight into Coffee Pot Bayou, where the bird sanctuary sits thick with roseate spoonbills, herons, ibis, pelicans and cormorants. You're looking for them, but you're also looking for dolphins, which means the boat moves past some of the largest homes in St Petersburg while Captain Tyler watches the water and points things out.

He's been running these trips for over a decade, and it shows in how he reads the bay. The boat has a full bathroom, a swim ladder, and Bluetooth speakers if you want music playing while you're anchored. You can bring as much food and drink as you want—nobody's selling you anything once you're out there. Tubing is an option instead of the cruise-and-look approach, and if you want to snorkel, the equipment's on board. Two hours gets you the core experience, but the upgrades change what the day is: three hours adds Shell Key, a sandbar between Pass-a-Grille and Fort Desoto known for shells and beach time; four hours takes you to Bunces Pass on the edge of the Gulf, where the water is clearer and the sandbar is packed with locals on weekends; five hours means Egmont Key, which has the ruins of a town from the 1800s and gopher tortoises living in the sand.

The timing matters because the longer trips aren't just more of the same—they're different water, different wildlife, different reasons people come back. Egmont is the one people talk about afterward, the one that feels like you've left the city entirely, but it's also the one that eats the whole day. The 2-hour trip is tight enough that you can do it between other plans, which is why a lot of people book it as the thing they do while visiting family in the area. Either way, the boat leaves from St Petersburg, and you don't have to arrange transport to a marina or figure out where to park—you just show up.

What’s included

Use of tube and snorkeling equipment, full bathroom on board, swim ladder, Bluetooth music system, and the option to bring your own food and drinks.
The 2-hour trip includes Coffee Pot Bayou and bird sanctuary stops plus dolphin-spotting.
Longer trips add Shell Key (3 hours), Bunces Pass (4 hours), or Egmont Key (5 hours).

Good to know

Easy physical levelStroller friendlyInfant seats availablePublic transport nearby

Operated by Captain de Jong Charters

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to explore Tampa Bay's islands and sandbars without arranging your own boat or worrying about navigation—Captain Tyler handles the route and knows where to find dolphins and birds, which is what makes the whole day feel less like sightseeing and more like being shown around.