dolphins in Key West

[jubileegirl]

I know this is a long shot but here goes anyway....has anyone been to Key West and gone on a boat trip to see dolphins in the wild? We'll be there in August after Disney, had thought about treating our daughter to a dolphin swim at the Dolphin Research place on Grassy Key, but wonder if this would be a better option as we all get to experience it. I know you don't get to swim with the dolphins and may not even see them but has anyone any firsthand experiences with specific companies? Thanks!

[jjcollins]

Found these using the Dibb search :light:

http://www.floridadolphinwatch.com/

http://www.dolphinscove.com/index.htm


jj........ :light:

[dismum]

Instead of going all the way to the keys you can swim with dolphins at the maimi seaquarium you do need to book when we were there last month there was a three week waiting time .Take a look at thier site
http://www.miamiseaquarium.com/index.htm

[jubileegirl]

...thanks for these posts, it's the pre-booking that's a bit of a problem as we want some flexibility, so would rather find somewhere we can book at the last minute. Perhaps it's such a special thing that we won't be able to be flexible. Thanks for the info, both of you, it's given us more options to consider!

[Totally_Angelic]

My kids did the dolphin encounter at the dolphin research centre and it was brilliant. We found the place to be really educational, and less "entertainment" based than the likes of Seaworld. The best dolphin experience we have had though was a completely natural one, when we were kayaking near Lovers Key on the Gulf Coast, and about 3 dolphins just swam along side us. The dolphin trips might be worth investigating, but then again you are not guarantteed to encounter any.
By the way, if you are in Key West during the evening, go for a sunset trip on the Western Union, a schooner tall ship, which is really an experience. You also get unlimited free drinks and delicious key lime ice cream when on board.

[jubileegirl]

Thanks for the tip about the Western Union - we were wondering about a sunset trip so will copy that into my Word document of handy bits of info...unlimited free drinks, delicious ice cream - sounds like our kind of evening!

[Totally_Angelic]

if you are there overnight they also do a stargazer cruise which is great and really romantic...mind you we were on our honeymoon. Also there is a great Hard Rock Cafe in Key West, you can sit outside and people watch on Duval Street. Where are you staying by the way? Oh......here's a wee taster......

www.schoonerwesternunion.com

Sarah

[jubileegirl]

Wow! The Western Union looks fantastic. The stargazer cruise does sound romantic - however, we'll have our 'youngest' who's 15 and the grossest thing in the whole wide world is being in the same room if Mum/Dad get at all smoochy. Don't know how she thinks she got here !
We're staying for 4 nights at the Angelina in Bahama Village. It sounds just what we want, homely rather than sophisticated, friendly owners, hammocks, pool, cats, cinnabon buns for breakfast....can't wait. Where did you stay and what restaurants do you recommend (bearing in mind we'll have a teenager with us)?

[Totally_Angelic]

We stayed in the Southernmost...at the beach end of Duval Street.....nice hotel at the moderate end of the price scale. If you have a 15 year old then I think the Hard Rock cafe is a must..there is also a bar called Schooner Wharf which is right on the quay side at the harbour nearby the Western Union dock, and it is really atmospheric in a salty sea dog sort of way!

[uklad23]

Key West is great, lots of places sell dolphin swimming boat trips. We stayed at Best Western next to Southern most hotel. It was nice hotel.