Island Ferry St. Pete Beach

Island Ferry St. Pete Beach

Island Ferry St. Pete Beach
5
Scuba & SnorkellingBoat ToursDolphin & Whale WatchingNature & Wildlife ToursKayaking & Canoeing
8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Monday
8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Saturday
8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Sunday
8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
About
Island Ferry offers ecotours on our Crystal Clear kayaks, and our low-emission pontoon boats. We do it with a personal level of service. Avoid the crowds with us! If you want to see dolphins and sunsets, or visit Shell Key, Egmont Key, Anna Maria Island, or downtown St Pete, please give us a call. We also do private VIP charters, perfect for birthdays and bachelorette parties. We also offer Burials at Sea, which we conduct in a sensitive and thoughtful way. Tours 7 days a week, year round. Major credit cards accepted. Free Parking. Coolers and BYOB WELCOME. Reservations required. All departures are from the Tierra Verde Marina at 198 Madonna Blvd, right next to The Island Grille Restaurant.
St. Pete Beach, Florida
Meets animal welfare guidelines

Awards
Travelers' Choice
2024

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Tours and Tickets by Island Ferry St. Pete Beach
Travelers talk about

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
5.0 of 5 bubbles2,776 reviews
Excellent
2,605
Very good
107
Average
37
Poor
9
Terrible
18

Avi V
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2023 • Family
Captain Dalton did an excellent job of finding wildlife, touring the area, and filling us in who owned those beautiful homes. We went to Shell Key where Island Ferry provided us with snorkels and masks. The kids had a great time exploring the island and finding Sand Dollars. I definitely recommend using Island Ferry.
Written January 20, 2023
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.

Dustin S
8 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2023 • Family
It was awesome. We got to see manatees and dolphins. The guide used the boat to make waves for the dolphins to swim in. Highly recommend this. Capt Dalton was so knowledgeable and had an eye for finding the animals
Written October 28, 2023
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.

Shujana D
Flushing, NY4 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2023 • Family
Fun excursion for the family. We happened to come across a pod of dolphins (15-20) feeding and what a show! Our Captain, Barry, and the other boats from Ferry Island, created waves together so we could see the dolphins surf! We did some snorkeling at Egmont ruins but it was crowded with boats and other tourists and the water was murky. Sand dollar island was amazing. We had plenty of time to explore. Only issues were checking in with the crew- a bit confusing and we waited a while. And we had 3 teens and were assured there were life jackets. But when we asked for them during snorkeling they only had one on board. They provided noodles, but for safety reasons, I would expect life jackets to be available. Otherwise, fun trip!
Written July 7, 2023
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.
Thank you for writing Sunjida. When you asked about life jackets we assumed you were asking about emergency life jackets. We did not imagine that your adolescent teens were not able to swim. We do provide swim noodles to facilitate snorkeling, but our expectation is that snorkelers have some ability to swim. Otherwise this tour is not suitable for you. As for the crowds, yes it was 4th of July weekend. It gets crowded.
Written July 8, 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

tomchrisjones6
1 contribution
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2024
Paid for a snorkeling and shell key adventure. From pics and websites It appeared that we would be going to a location that often had wildlife and snorkeling off the boat. Instead we were dropped off at shell key and handed snorkels and give an hour to look for shells and snorkel off the beach. Save yourself $30 or more, buy your own mast and snorkel and just take a ferry that drops you off on shell key...however, Justice, our captain, was awesome!!
Written January 29, 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.
Christina we are sorry you were disappointed with your tour. But on the phone we made it very clear that the snorkeling trip to the Egmont ruins was the more expensive 4-1/2 hour tour, and you insisted on the cheaper 2hour tour. There is nothing misleading about our pics and website and all photos and video are taken from our boats while on actual tours. Even the media on TripAdvisor is taken and posted strictly by our customers. We are AAA rated by the BBB, and we take a real exception to your insinuation that our marketing is misleading. That being said, those larger ferries you mention are overcrowded (forget social distance) and drop you off into the crowded areas of the island, and good luck snorkeling at those locations. Our tours are fully narrated, and our vessels take you into the more remote and secluded areas of Shell Key where there are more shells and more wildlife. And less people. I suppose you're looking for a bargain-basement tour, and that is not the kind of product we offer.
Written January 30, 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Female Traveler
Salt Lake City, UT3 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2022 • Solo
This company requires a 2 person minimum for kayak adventure. It was only myself and my daughter on vacation to St Pete Beach and I have had back and shoulder surgery and could not participate. But, I needed to prepay for two people in order for one person to be able to kayak. I wanted to give her the opportunity to kayak so I prepaid for two people. She was sick the morning of her scheduled adventure and could not go. So, I lost the money for both reservations. I appreciate that these tours sell out and empty kayaks need to be paid for, but the two person minimum is a bad policy.
Written July 6, 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.
Kathy you failed to mention that when your daughter fell ill, you never made an attempt to reach out and inform us, and we held up the tour waiting on you and after repeated attempts to contact you we finally got an answer and you told us she wasn't coming. We call that a no-show. Kathy, the 2-person minimum applies when you are the very first booking that a particular time slot. It is a very common practice employed by tour operators because the economics of running a tour with a single person on it just doesn't work. Surely you can understand that. Most people who pay the additional fee to make the minimum will inform us that they paid extra, and we ALWAYS refund that unused additional fee on the spot. But again, you were a no-show so that point is moot. What is most disappointing Kathy is that despite all of this, we have already offered you a 50% refund on your tickets. I guess you it was more important to you to clobber us with 1-star review. Disappointing.
Written July 7, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Chris B
4 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2023 • Couples
Dalton (our Captain) was great, extremely knowledgeable. We were able to see everything we wanted to (dolphins, manatees, stingrays, flamingos, fish while snorkeling, and we were able to collect some shells)! I would highly recommend it. The only reason that I gave it 4/5 was that finding the meeting spot was not easy. Multiple people in our group and the group after us could not find it right away. Other than that, it was an amazing experience.
Written October 1, 2023
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.

CBiscuit10
Vinton, IA1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2021 • Family
This was probably the coolest experience of our trip. Our guide was Tony, and he was absolutely amazing. He is a fantastic captain, maneuvering us very close to both manatees and dolphins (including a baby one) while not disturbing the peace of the animals. He took us to the best spot to find massive shells, and had loads of stories and opinions to share with us about the history and preservation of the florida ecosystem. It was a fantastic experience and I’d highly recommend it to anyone looking to go on a more laid back, peaceful trip out to an area that isn’t chalked with tourism. Thank you!
Written July 24, 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.

itslfs
Huntington, NY219 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2023 • Couples
The sunset cruise was the highlight of our trip to St Pete Beach. We were three couples so we had the boat to ourselves which was wonderful. The boat itself was lovely, comfortable and clean. The ride was smooth - no motion sickness issues.

Captain Justice was terrific. He was so personable, professional, patient and knowledgeable.

We were so excited to see dolphins! Justice was great at tracking them for us. We saw many pelicans and egrets. Others on our boat saw a manatee but personally all I saw was it’s shadow.

Justice timed the sunset viewing for us perfectly and it was spectacular. He maneuvered us to see the start of the sunset through the columns of the bridge for a unique and fabulous photo op.

We all loved everything about this excursion!
Written November 13, 2023
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.

Seneca J
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2023
OMG! Where do I begin? My husband and I have experienced a plethora of sunset cruises and this by far is THE BEST EVER! The captain was so nice and welcoming, it’s almost felt like he was family, like uncle, cousin captain lol! We were really out in the water just hanging out talking and riding the waves. The best part is they only take 6 ppl at a time so you do not have to worry about a large crowd! It was so good. We will be back and when our family come visit, this is where we will go!!!! Loved it so much.
Written October 24, 2023
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.

donnamarkus
Pleasant Prairie, WI1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2024 • Family
My family and I had a wonderful time on a 4 hour private charter. Roger and Dalton were amazing to my family. Even though we couldn’t snorkel because of the murky water, they improvised and gave us a private tour of Egmont Island. We had such a good time seeing dolphins, shelling and touring the islands.
Written January 26, 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.

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*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.

Island Ferry St. Pete Beach - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2025)

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