Native Guides Sanibel-Captiva Charter services
Native Guides Sanibel-Captiva Charter services
Native Guides Sanibel-Captiva Charter services
5
Boat ToursEco ToursFishing Charters & ToursSightseeing ToursPrivate Tours
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Full view
About
Come and explore the beauty of Southwest Florida on one of our Fishing / Eco-Charters through the Pine Island Sound and its surrounding areas with a local native at the helm. Owned and operated by Captain John Houston, a Sanibel native, we provide guests the opportunity to create everlasting memories while strolling the waters on the Gulf of Mexico and Old Florida. Captain John is a self-taught naturalist who is passionate about sharing his knowledge of the local ecosystem. He is a fourth-generation Floridian whose unique upbringing has provided him the platform to share his knowledge of the area’s rugged history and events the shaped our area into what it has become today. We offer a variety of charter services including private fishing trips, snorkeling adventures, eco-charters for sightseeing, birding, and shelling. Private lunch tours to waterfront restaurants in the surrounding areas and water-taxi services are also available. Open year-round!
Captiva Island, Florida
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
5.0
83 reviews
Excellent
82
Very good
1
Average
0
Poor
0
Terrible
0
djtwink
Sarasota, FL49 contributions
Aug 2020 • Couples
My husband and I had a 4 hour eco tour charter with Captain Colin and he was AMAZING! Found a pod of dolphins and he knew just how to get them to follow us and play in our wake for a good 4-5 minutes. He also knew exactly where to find manatees and we caught a quick glimpse of a sea turtle popping its head up. He took us to Cayo Costa, found us an empty spot with no one else around us and helped me on my search for sanddollars (they were EVERYWHERE). His knowledge of the area and the history was impressive and he was just a great guy to hang out with for the afternoon. I highly recommend booking a charter with him, I’d like to bring our kids back and go fishing with Captain Colin next time! Thank you for an amazing day!
Written August 8, 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.
dnk54321
The Villages, FL4 contributions
Nov 2020
We have gone on day trips before with Captain Colin and each trip has been great. However, this trip on 11/20/2020 will never be exceeded. The tide was low and there had been recent storms. The photos need no description except, success after 4 hrs of shelling. We even stumped Captain Colin where one shell he could not identify. Obviously Captain Colin cannot control the storms to deposit the beautiful shells but he does very well with providing options where to shell and is patient for those in their their 60's, with my wife and I. On the trip back Captain Colin spotted a baby dolphin with its family. Thus we had the precious, once in a lifetime experience seeing the baby dolphin swimming and jumping. We shall return for more adventures. Dr. Klein and Ms. Taskett
Written November 22, 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.
Therese C
Minneapolis, MN3 contributions
Mar 2020
Whether you go fishing, do an ECO tour or just spend a day on the water, we recommend you do it with Native Guides.
We have been fishing with Native Guides for 10 years (last 2 with Capt. Collin, 1st 8 with Capt. John). The days we spend on the water are the highlights of our trip and Native Guides ALWAYS delivers. This year was no exception. Both Captains are very knowledgeable about the area, the eco-system and if you want to catch fish, laser focused on finding them. Add in that they are both super fun and you have a recipe for a great day on the water. This year....biggest shark and longest fight. Thanks for the assist reeling in Captain Collin! AND proving to me that Manatees are more than just 'that shadow in the water over there'. Already thinking about next year.
We HIGHLY RECOMMEND Native Guides.
We have been fishing with Native Guides for 10 years (last 2 with Capt. Collin, 1st 8 with Capt. John). The days we spend on the water are the highlights of our trip and Native Guides ALWAYS delivers. This year was no exception. Both Captains are very knowledgeable about the area, the eco-system and if you want to catch fish, laser focused on finding them. Add in that they are both super fun and you have a recipe for a great day on the water. This year....biggest shark and longest fight. Thanks for the assist reeling in Captain Collin! AND proving to me that Manatees are more than just 'that shadow in the water over there'. Already thinking about next year.
We HIGHLY RECOMMEND Native Guides.
Written March 29, 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.
Sue P
Philadelphia, PA13 contributions
Feb 2021
Captain Colin Carpenter was our captain and he was experienced, engaging and knowledgeable! Captain Colin took us out for 1/2 day to find shells but it was so much more. He had somethings we had forgotten. He was flexible and very interesting. As we would find a dolphin he would slow down and see if the dolphin would engage. Finally he found a pair that wanted to play and they swam behind us in the waves. In our group of 6, our age spread from 10 to 70 and the whole group was kept interested and everyone had fun. If we had more time we would have tried to go out again!
Written February 25, 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.
Travel R
Rochester, MN2,028 contributions
Nov 2021 • Family
They know where to go depending on you want to do. I am a planner and sort of wish our itinerary was more planned out in advance, but it’s hard to do when things are weather dependent. We went shelling wildlife watching and ate lunch at cabbage key. 6 hours made the time comfortable, wouldn’t recommend less. They brought cleaner snorkel gear in case we needed it. They had bags for shells. Not a ton of shade on the boat, we didn’t need it, but would t have had it.
Written November 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.
Anne S
Albany, NY17 contributions
Feb 2022
Captain Colin Carpenter is the best! We spent the afternoon fishing with him in the Pine Island Sound. Weather was perfect, water was sparkling and the fish were biting. Our group of 3 caught approximately 25 fish and one small shark. Colin is lots of fun, the boat is comfortable and clean. Colin helps the novice fisher people bait, cast and retrieve their catches. He also cleans your fish and sends you home with the fish on ice.
Written February 11, 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.
I75alltheway
Acworth, GA2 contributions
Jul 2020
Captain Colin was great! He has the perfect personality to make an excursion fun for any experience level, and he certainly did for us. My wife, 14-year-old son and I did a half-day fishing charter, looking for a combo of fun fishing, bringing home some to eat, and maybe seeing some of the unique Pine Island Sound wildlife. He exceeded on all points! We fished 5 different spots, caught 6 different kinds of fish, and brought home plenty delicious snapper for dinner (which Captain Colin filleted for us). We had a dolphin hanging around the boat at one point while we fished, we saw a manatee family up close, saw a sea turtle, and even caught a couple sharks! Captain Colin was always ready to rebait our hooks or answer our questions, and he was very knowledgeable about the history and nature of the area. We highly recommend Native Guides for any type of excursion and would definitely book again.
Written July 12, 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.
D.902927
60 contributions
Nov 2021
Had a nice day fishing with Captain John. It wasn't a super productive day in terms of catching fish to eat. Caught lots of variety but only one (a bluefish) was a keeper. John kept moving around and trying different things to give us better chances to find fish. We used a combo of live bait and lures. We were able to completely customize our day. We did a half day trip.
We took our fish to the Lazy Flamingo for them to cook it for us that night. My little guy who was super excited to go fishing is the one who caught the bluefish and was thrilled to try it for dinner! A successful day!
John is very entertaining also.
We took our fish to the Lazy Flamingo for them to cook it for us that night. My little guy who was super excited to go fishing is the one who caught the bluefish and was thrilled to try it for dinner! A successful day!
John is very entertaining also.
Written December 4, 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.
Jeff
Carmel, IN10 contributions
Apr 2024 • Family
We booked a 2 week stay at Sanibel Siesta in Sanibel. One of our day activities included a 1/2 day fishing trip. We worked with Native Guides in Captiva. The communication with Native Guides in booking the date was seamless. We reserved our date about 6 weeks ahead. Our party consisted of 4 adults and 2 teens, Captain Jesse was outstanding. He was patient, he put you at ease and explained things very well. Natives Guides supplies the equipment and bait. We brought out our own snacks and drinks. They provide the ice chest. If needed the Captain will cut and prep your catch. MudBugs in Sanibel will cook your catch. Very professional outfit, the day was spectacular.
Written April 5, 2024
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.
Anne S
Albany, NY17 contributions
Oct 2020 • Friends
This was our 5th trip with Captain Colin Carpenter and won't be our last! Colin is fun, knowledgeable, and knows where to find fish. His boat is clean and comfortable. We highly recommend taking a fishing trip with Captain Colin.
Written October 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.
I have a different question regarding charters & Dolphin cruise and watching. I love Trip Advisor and reading these great reviews which are a lot of charter fishing trips. My question is we are staying at South Seas Captivia with our family of 5 in a month and my youngest has a Dolphin friend at the Research center that was B-day gift sponsor a Dolphin. She is really upset we can not go visit her and I thought it would be an awesome surprise to book a 4 hour Dolphin/ wildlife trip. Does this charter cater to more searching and viewing up close dolphins and wildlife?
Written March 9, 2015
Looks like you've already made the trek to South Seas. How did it go?
We went on a fishing charter last year with Capt. John Houston and while travelling to a fishing spot, we had dolphins racing us and jumping in our wake. It was amazing to see!
Written July 6, 2015
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