#4 of 21 Boat Tours & Water Sports in Bradenton Beach

Boat Tours • Boat Rentals

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Bradenton Beach Marina

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(42 reviews)

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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.

Popular mentions

4.5

247 reviews

Excellent

198

Very good

20

Average

6

Poor

6

Terrible

17

Sarah

Saint Louis, MO1 contribution

BEST CREW IN FLORIDA

Jul 2020

BEST CREW EVER! We have been on several sunset cruises throughout florida and this is hands down our favourite. We even went twice in our 10 day trip. Roxanne the mate on our first trip gave us so many cool facts about the dolphins. and on our second trip we even learned things from Bridgette we didnt hear before! They allow you to bring your own cooler which we did along with our takeout dinner from the Anna Maria Oyster Bar, and then we ended up buying some wine aboard. It was perfect and I 100% recommend to anyone in the area!

Written August 3, 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Court Z

Thank you for joining us on our sunset cruise. I'm glad you enjoyed your trip. Thank you for your business.

Written June 30, 2021

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Tom_M_Hillen

Grand Rapids, MI30 contributions

Friendly Staff Fun Times

Mar 2021

We rented a pontoon boat for the day and the customer service was excellent. We called the day of our reservation because it was a windy and wanted to make sure we could still go out. They politely told us yes we could but if we were uncomfortable then we could reschedule. We went out and had a blast. They were very informative of how the boat worked (we had someone with us that owns their own pontoon). It got a little chilly so we brought the boat back early and we called them and they were right there to help us bring it in. Maps are provided of the area about where you can and can not take the boat.

Written March 9, 2021

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Court Z

Thank you for renting a boat from us, I'm very pleased you enjoyed your trip. Thank you!

Written June 30, 2021

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

dhoch49

Blandon, PA12 contributions

Best Sunset Cruise on Anna Maria Islands

Sep 2021

Tour guide Larry and Captain Jim were awesome on our Sunset Cruise last night. Larry has such an outgoing warm personality. He got so excited when we sighted a dolphins and cheerful and skilled in taking our group pictures. What a great way to learn more about Anna Maria Island and it’s history from the water! I would highly recommend this tour. A must for a vacation on this spectacular island!

Written September 29, 2021

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jaime M

2 contributions

Don’t waste your money! Complete ripoff

Jul 2020 • Family

My family of 6 spent Fourth of July week on Anna Maria Island. We booked two excursions with Bradenton Beach Marina. Our first experience was a 2 hour Release and Catch Family Fishing excursion. We had 10 people in our party and only 4 fishing poles on the boat. The captain spent more time answering his phone to schedule future bookings then assisting us with our bait and lines. We paid over $600 for two hours and feel completely ripped off. Our second excursion was a jet ski rental. Our tour guide was extremely rude and yelled at me multiple times for not going fast enough. We had called the marina prior to booking and I was assured that the guide would adjust to my experience level. He did not and overall was just completely annoyed to be out on the water with us. I am so disappointed in my experience with this marina and will not be using them again for any water excursions/experiences.

Written July 10, 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Court Z

I’m sorry you had a bad experience. However, to be clear, the trip you booked with with Island Pear Excursions, not Bradenton Beach Marina. Island Pearl Excursions is a tenant who rents space at Bradenton Beach Marina, it is not the marina. Again, I’m sorry you had a bad experience with Island Pearl Excursions, I will speak to the owner of that company about your experience.

Written June 26, 2021

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Sabrina P

1 contribution

Terrible experience

Sep 2020 • Family

They wanted to charge $450 for a boat that was all open and totally unsafe for kids, we had 4 little ones and NO WAY we were going to put them on that boat! We were told “if you don’t like the boat get the F*** out” by one of the employees. They were very rude and incompetent! We just left to go to another marina with a much better service and a great boat for only $50 more. We did not get a full refund even though we should’ve! Stay away people

Written September 6, 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Court Z

I'm sorry that you were not happy with the boat that you reserved for a boat rental. All of our boats are safety inspected, and customer safety is our top priority. I apologize for any inconvenience.

Written June 30, 2021

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

jason J

4 contributions

Worst Sunset Cruise Ever

Jul 2020 • Family

We did a sunset tour for a group of 11. They do not allow you to bring your own drinks....Must purchase from them, which is fine IF they had enough drinks for everyone! Cooler was 90% empty. Then one of the motors stopped working and we could not get around the Island to even see the sunset! They did not offer for any type of refund whatsoever. Offering a partial refund would be the right thing to do 🤷‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️.

Written July 31, 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Court Z

I’m sorry you were disappointed on the sunset cruise. We do sell drinks on board our tour boat and if we ran out, that is not acceptable and I apologize. Thank you for letting me know, I will look into this.

Written June 26, 2021

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Ken C

9 contributions

Use another Dolphin tour Company this one is a waste of time.

Jun 2022

I live on Anna Maria Island and frequently have guests that want to see Dolphins. I have in the past used the Marina for Dolphin and Sunset tours in the past with great results. But that is no longer the case. The equipment is run down and beat up. Kind of tired and fed up attitude by the staff. You cannot hear the tour guide as she talks (which is not very often) since she parks herself in the back next to music playing with no amplified sound (which they used to have). The tour guide was actually a big waste of space and not worthy of a tip.

Ohhh ... and don't try to get a beer or a wine on the boat ... the tour guide forgot the register (sounds like an excuse). Two hours on the boat with no water etc!!

There are several other tour companies on the island running sunset and Dolphin tours use them!!

Written June 20, 2022

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Philip G

Longboat Key, FL4 contributions

Stay away! Arrogant and incompetent!

Oct 2020

Have used Bradenton Beach Marina for years to dry store my 21 foot center console for the summer and do annual maintenance. Have spent over $10,000 last few years and considered myself a good customer. The boat was stored improperly this year and the engine power tilt/trim was destroyed, a fact we discovered when we were unable to lower the engine on the trip home from storage. The head of service, John, told us to get the boat towed and be prepared to pay. We asked that he send a mechanic out (we are 10 minutes by car) and manually lower the engine, which he refused. Another marine facility sent someone out the next day and lowered the engine manually and drove it and replaced the power tilt/trim.

Would never ever use this facility again. They are arrogant, overpriced and are completely unaware of what being in a service profession means.

Written December 1, 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Court Z

Sir, that’s not exactly what happened. You are a good customer and you have stored your boat with us for the summer months for several years. You typically drop the boat off in late spring and pick it up in early fall. We store the boat inside our dry storage building over the summers while you travel to your home up north. In 2020, you stored your boat with us for several months and picked it up just before Labor Day. You took it home. A few days later you called us on Labor Day weekend to say you had a problem with the engine. Now, we have not worked on your engine. All we did was store your boat on a rack over the summer while you were out of town. When you called us on Labor Day weekend and said do had a problem, we asked you to bring the boat in and we would take a look at it to try to help you. You said you could not. We asked you if you could have it towed over to us so we could look at it and try to help you. You said you could not. We told you we could not send a person to your house on Labor Day weekend to try to solve your problem. You contacted another repair facility and they came out on that to fix your boat. I’m glad they were able to take care of the problem. However, we did not cause the problem. All we did was store your boat for several months as we have done every summer, year after year. I’m sorry we were not able to drop everything on a holiday weekend and come to your house to fix your boat, I know this upset you and we discussed it on the telephone afterward. Again, I apologize we were not able to service your need on a holiday weekend at your house.

Written June 26, 2021

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Leila Harpisoon

Oakville, CA1 contribution

Awesome Staff!

Mar 2021

Let me tell you one thing. If you don't go to this marina you are missing out! The experience starts in the front office with Lexi & Bill- what a hoot he is. He made us laugh with every word. and Lexi is so sweet and informative, she got us set up for a dolphin tour and talked us into the comedy cruise! Both of those cruises were fantastic. We saw tons of dolphins and learned a lot about them it was a beautiful sunset. The comedy cruise was HILARIOUS! We laughed nonstop and Lexi was the bartender! Super great drinks. Try the Malibu Mermaid my husband loved it!

Written March 7, 2021

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Court Z

Thanks for choosing Bradenton Beach Marina, and thank you for mentioning Lexi and Bill. I'm glad we were able to play a small role in your vacation. Please come see us again next time!

Written June 30, 2021

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Lucy K

11 contributions

Sunset dolphin tour

Feb 2020

Don't miss this tour! Entertaining and educational. We had a full boat with ages 2 to probably 70 and everyone had a great time learning about dolphins and blue heron. The catamaram was covered and very clean. This is at the top of the list when we return next year.

Written February 21, 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Court Z

Thank you for joining us on our award winning sunset dolphin tour. I'm so pleased you enjoyed yourself. And thank you for leaving us a review.

Written February 22, 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

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