South Padre Island

Eco and Dolphin Watch Tour of South Padre Island

Badge of ExcellenceSouth Padre Island, USA
Dolphin Watch Eco Tour
  • 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Offered in: English

Overview

Watch for the Atlantic bottlenose dolphins that thrive along the coast of South Padre Island on a 1.5-hour wildlife boat tour from Sea Ranch Marina. Cruise past the U.S. Coast Guard Station and Boca Chica Beach, with a comfortable seat on a wildlife-watching boat that’s equipped with a wildlife-safe viewing net so you can see South Padre sea life up close.
  • 1.5-hour dolphin cruise and wildlife tour
  • See native wildlife in a natural environment
  • Spot Atlantic bottlenose dolphins
  • Bring your own snacks and drinks
  • Family friendly

What's Included

  • Local guide
  • Live commentary on board
  • Gratuities
  • Bottled water

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

  • 33256 State Park Rd 100, South Padre Island, TX 78597, USA

    Turn right off Queen Isabella Causeway, travel 1/2 mile, turn right into Sea Ranch Marina, keep right of Sea Ranch Restaurant, Isla Tours directly behind restaurant on left at Murphy's Law.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Make your way to Sea Ranch Marina for a 10:30am or 1pm departure time (please arrive 15 minutes prior to departure), and find a comfortable bench seat on board the wildlife watching vessel. You’re welcoming to bring food and drink to enjoy during the trip, or simply sit back and take in the view: this 1.5-hour dolphin cruise passes some of South Padre Island’s most scenic stretches of shoreline.

The crew will cast a wildlife-safe net throughout the trip, bringing up sea life so you can see it up close, and they frequently catch sea horses, starfish, and sea slugs. Atlantic bottlenose dolphins live in groups, so if you spot one in the water, keep your eyes peeled for its “pod”, which usually consists of 10 to 30 members. After 1.5-hour on the water, the dolphin boat will return to shore, where this tour concludes.

Additional Info

  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
  • Children must be accompanied by an adult
  • Wheelchair accessible
  • Availability for shows cannot be checked without making a booking. Credit cards will only be charged upon confirmation of show availability
  • Stroller accessible
  • Service animals allowed
  • Near public transportation
  • Transportation is wheelchair accessible
  • Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
  • Most travelers can participate
  • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 40 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

  • For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
  • If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
  • Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
  • Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
  • This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
  • This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

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Featured review
Carol_V
Great tour guide and amazing helpers! The whole trip was very pleasant and interesting and interesting! Would 100% recommend to anyone who wants to see the beautiful dolphins and enjoy the views of South Padre Island❤️

Reviews

5.0
857 reviews
Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews
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Reviews by Viator travelers.
Showing 1-10 of 857 reviews
Great tour!
Nicole_c, Apr 2024
Great tour for the price!!! Saw dolphins and learned a lot about the area. The captain and crew were funny and helpful.
Totally worth the trip!
Dan_O, Apr 2024
Very knowledgeable and funny crew. We have done this several times and it never disappoints. Highly recommend!
Best boat trip Ever!!
Melissa_L, Apr 2024
Was completely mesmerized we saw so many dolphin's!! Definitely best part of our short vaca !! The whole crew was very entertaining kept us smiling the entire ride!! Thank you again 😬
Excelente crew, saw sea creatures and petted them
Michelle_D, Apr 2024
It was fun the crew was nice and friendly had an I counter with the black pirate. Ship so much fun. Saw dolphins it was a great trip
Wonderful!
Keith_K, Apr 2024
Saw lots of dolphins up close, crew and captain were outstanding, lots of effort to get us with dolphins, very informative and personable
Cloudy and windy day! Didnt see as many dolphins as we would have liked
Joy_A, Apr 2024
The crew were great with keeping us informed and comfortable. Always working around the crowd of ppl asking us questions or giving us tidbits of history of the land and water! I really enjoyed all of it and was glad to see the few dolphins that we did. Esp the baby with its mother. My first time on a ship that sz and most definitely will do it again and tell my friends and family about the great experience! Keep up the great work guys! Joy
Lovely 90 minute cruise with the dolphins and sightseeIng
Katherine_A, Apr 2024
Knowledgeable captain, with good narration, and a very helpful crew. we enjoyed seeing the shore from a distance and SpaceX.
Family time
Paul_S, Apr 2024
Seeing a baby dolphin . Captain was very knowledgeable and made sure we had a good experience. Would go again .
Definitely worth it!
Nicole_C, Apr 2024
Tour was wonderful! We saw dolphins within 10 minutes of being on the boat. The captain was very informative, and Angie provided so much knowledge on the sea life. She took her time explaining the features of the creatures pulled up, and we all enjoyed holding them. Everything was great!
Smooth ride!!
Patricia_G, Apr 2024
So much fun, ride was smooth. Captain was fun and the assistant gave a fun 😁 interactive eco class. Really recommend it!!!
Best Dolphin Experience Ever!
Charlotte_B, Apr 2024
Dolphins! The crew was very informative and friendly. There were Dolphins near us the entire trip. The BEST was when the captain encouraged them to follow in our wake. There were at least 10 riding the waves leaping out of the water & racing each other thru the top of the water so you could see them all. AMAZING!! They dragged a net on the ocean floor, then did a show & tell with their catch of baby rays, fish & star fish. Then the captain noticed a man wrangling a fish in his own boat. We stayed near them to see him finally pull up a huge Jack Fish at least a 25 lb over 3 ft long. Wow!
Windy watching
Robert_S, Apr 2024
Captain Murphy was great and deckhand Easton was the best!. We enjoyed the time would recommend it to anyone visiting South Padre Island. Estonia wa s great explaining the fish to the children.
Dolphins!!
Jen_A, Mar 2024
This was so much fun and incredibly educational with history of the bay and animals. Loved seeing the dolphins!
Dolphin viewing
Steven_H, Mar 2024
It was an amazing experience!! We saw lots of dolphins, swimming together!! Our boat dropped a net for about 20 minutes as it drove, then the explained all the fish & rays they caught!! Wonderful experience, highly recommend going!!
Better than expected!
Brooke_G, Mar 2024
We saw way more dolphin than I could’ve ever imagined! The captain was funny & the crew members were great too. The educational part of the marine life was really neat. Our captain even stayed back a little when there was a lot of dolphin activity which put us behind on getting back, we thought it was amazing they cared & tried hard to have us see the dolphins. Very great trip!
Great Experience!!
Donald_H, Mar 2024
Very Fair Price. The captain and deckhand keep it entertaining, and they were very knowledgeable! I would definitely recommend this to family and friends!!
Response from Host, Mar 2024
THANK YOU!!! We appreciate your review!
GREAT TIME!
Jeanette_S, Mar 2024
Had a great time on this trip out! Noah was an awesome deck hand getting boat ready so we all could have a safe fun trip!
Response from Host, Mar 2024
We appreciate your review!
First Dolphin Tour.
Orlanda_P, Mar 2024
Sam and the crew were great. Our daughter enjoyed the interaction with the different sea life animals. The boat ride was really fun. We got to see several dolphins, they got pretty close to the boat to get great shots or video of them.
Response from Host, Mar 2024
Thank you for the review.
I loved the ride, the...
Johana_M, Mar 2024
I loved the ride, the fish presentation and the views! The staff were all attentive and I would definitely come back here.
Response from Host, Mar 2024
Thank you for the feedback. See you back soon!
Very enjoyable!
Kelli_H, Mar 2024
The dolphins were awesome and I enjoyed the eco presentation! The staff is very friendly and knowledgeable!
Response from Host, Mar 2024
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review!
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From $19.48

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)