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
(84 Ratings)
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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
Ujjwal_s
Dec 27, 2024
The best shelling tour! - Kevin and Jules were awesome. They were very caring towards the whole group, explained everything nicely and gave enough time for Dolphin sighting and Shelling. We would recommend them wholeheartedly.
Review provided by Viator
F9922honicolev
Dec 18, 2024
Wonderful trip & very knowledgeable captain - Captain Joe was very knowledgeable and his team made our tour absolutely amazing. They treated our kids with absolute kindness and even taught us a couple things while we were out about the eco system. Not to mention, they also made sure that our kids got to see a couple dolphins. Would definitely recommend them to anyone.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rachel_s
Oct 20, 2023
Fun time - I would have to say getting to play with the dolphins was my favorite part outside of finding all the cool shells that I found. I highly recommend this company. They did an amazing job telling us about different things that pertain to that area.
Review provided by Viator
Felecia
May 27, 2023
Wonderful! - Excellent tour! We were able to see dolphins, manatee, and collect beautiful seashells! I would highly recommend this tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
948marilynb
Mar 9, 2023
Shelling in SW Florida - My friend and I enjoyed a glorious hour of shelling on one of the uninhabited islands. The abundance of shells was amazing. I was disappointed that we did not procure some of the larger shells I had seen on the Marco Island FB page but that was not the fault of any person.
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).