Shell Island

Shell Island is wonderful. But bring water.

Better yet, rent a boat and have the luxury of setting your own pace. You can rent a pontoon and head over to Shell Island. The dolphins will come right up to the boat, You will also be able to access more interesting spots.

Regardless of whether you do the tour or the boat rental, you'll have a great time!

Your gonna enjoy Watersound so much....you will not want to go anyplace else. ;-)

I'm with Punzey, if you know how to operate it, rent your own.

Better yet, rent a boat and have the luxury of setting your own pace. You can rent a pontoon and head over to Shell Island. The dolphins will come right up to the boat, You will also be able to access more interesting spots.

Regardless of whether you do the tour or the boat rental, you'll have a great time!

Now I like this idea. Where do you rent the pontoon boat? How long does it take to get to SI? Jfunn, this could be a plan.

Like OL said, an hour is not enough, but 3 hours would have been enough for me. There are no facilities on Shell Island, so bear that in mind. In the same vicinity, the younger children may enjoy the Pirate Cruise. That was about 3 hours. The children all play pirate games with the crew on the lower level, and adults can sit up top, enjoy the music, and sip some frosties. They circle near Shell Island and we saw plenty of dolphins too. It's possible you may be able to coordinate both at the same time and split the younger and older children.

We enjoy going to Shell Island on the 4th of July and enjoying a day at the beach! Dolphins may not be the only thing you'll see, however! This was taken at St. Andrews State Park.

Wow...are those hammerheads? Our entire 3rd grade class took a cruise to Shell Island just before school got out. The kids had a blast! We saw plenty of Dolphin coming and going, and the kids enjoyed feeding the seagulls Cheetos from their hands. Once we got to the island, the kids were originally supposed to look for shells without getting their clothes wet (ha). Well, after seeing that there were very few shells to be found, and it was hot, the kids took it upon themselves to "fall in" and that was that. Nobody seemed to care....they were having fun and we were watching. We did the Pirate Cruise the year before and I totally recommend it. As Mango said, the kids play pirate games and buy trinkets while the parents sit on top and watch while sipping frosties. Both cruises have plenty of snacks and drinks on board. The pirate cruise has the "frosty" variety.

Just got to keep a close eye out! The shells are over towards Apalachicola. There's a lot on the beaches over there. The down side is you can't go barefoot!

where can I get information about Shell Island?

Here's something I found.

http://www.shellislandtours.com/

Shell Island was within the original 1824 border of Walton County. So, it is part of "Old SoWal" as noted by a SoWal historian.

Now I like this idea. Where do you rent the pontoon boat? How long does it take to get to SI? Jfunn, this could be a plan.

It takes maybe a half hour to get to Shell Island. There are several boat rental places, but i think we used http://www.shellislandtours.com/index.htm.

You guys would have a blast.

It takes maybe a half hour to get to Shell Island. There are several boat rental places, but i think we used http://www.shellislandtours.com/index.htm.

You guys would have a blast.

We usually rent a pontoon and go to Crab Island, but I'd like to do something different this time. Thanks, Punzy!

We usually rent a pontoon and go to Crab Island, but I'd like to do something different this time. Thanks, Punzy!

I think this would be a little more "low key".

We've rented a pontoon in years' past and we've also taken our own boat out, putting in at the St. Andrews State Park ramp. Either way, being your own captain permits a more personalized pace and provides for plenty of room for snacks and drinks. And don't be intimidated - boating on the bay is not difficult in good weather. A half-day rental may be long enough, but a full day is only about $80 more. Scotty's has good rates (but no web site). As others have said, be prepared for no potties on the island.

Plan your trip early in your stay and make a reservation if your renting a boat. This year we reserved a pontoon for Friday afternoon. Turned out we had to cancel because of thunderstorms. Wish we had booked for Tuesday or Wednesday instead!

Rent the pontoon boat. We had our son probably 3 yrs at the time and mother-in-law in tow. It was a great day! We had a dolphin swim right up beside us on the way out. We also are returning to Watersound this year, we love that place.

If you rent a boat be sure and check in early. They over book the boats when busy and if you get there after too late, there will be no boat. Happened to me I was furious to say the least. The rental place acted like they had never heard of us.

we went to another place that had a boat and they said that a lot of rental places overbook.

If you rent a pontoon boat, be careful.

1.) If moving never just shut off the motor suddenly, water stops a boat pretty quickly. If you do this the front of the boat will generally go under, not sink, just go under. Ask jdarg.

2.) Anchor the boat out a little way from the beach and walk to the beach, if you park it on the beach you may have a beached boat when the tide goes out. Seatow charges a small fortune for to pull the boat back in the water. If you choose to wait the rental place will call the coast guard if you're not back within about 20-30 minutes of the agreed upon time.

3.) It's tempting, but it's also illegal, to feed the dolphins. Unfortunately they have been trained to congregate for free food at the mouth of the pass. You can enjoy the show, but do not feed or touch them. If you want to swim with dolphins you need to go over to Gulf World and pay for that, you get a cute picture too.

If you rent a pontoon boat, be careful.

1.) If moving never just shut off the motor suddenly, water stops a boat pretty quickly. If you do this the front of the boat will generally go under, not sink, just go under. Ask jdarg.

2.) Anchor the boat out a little way from the beach and walk to the beach, if you park it on the beach you may have a beached boat when the tide goes out. Seatow charges a small fortune for to pull the boat back in the water. If you choose to wait the rental place will call the coast guard if you're not back within about 20-30 minutes of the agreed upon time.

3.) It's tempting, but it's also illegal, to feed the dolphins. Unfortunately they have been trained to congregate for free food at the mouth of the pass. You can enjoy the show, but do not feed or touch them. If you want to swim with dolphins you need to go over to Gulf World and pay for that, you get a cute picture too.

Good info, I was sunbathing at the front of the boat when my dad decided to cut the motor for some reason...not funn!!!!

It takes maybe a half hour to get to Shell Island. There are several boat rental places, but i think we used http://www.shellislandtours.com/index.htm.

You guys would have a blast.

We've never done this, but it looks like a lot of fun!!! Will have to put it on the list!!!

Did that once, years ago, and I recall that it was one of the most miserable days of my life.
If you want to find some great shells, go down to Indian Pass and spend a day on the beach. It is one of the most beautiful, uncommercialized places that you can find in the area. Huge, beautiful shells everywhere. Then, head over to the Indian Pass Raw Bar for some of the best oysters you've ever had in your life.

We've rented from SI tours the past four years, and it is by far the best day of our two week trip every year. The beaches are aMAzing on Shell Island, and we've never seen more than one or two other people on it when we go (in August.) We take a whole day, but honestly 1/2 would be fine for me. I am amazed at how pretty the shells are that we collect each year. I edged my garden with them.

It is a "tradition" now that we bring a picnic lunch for the beach. I make fried chicken, potato salad, iced tea, etc. When you park the boat, there is a little less than a 1/4 mile walk across the sand to get to the beaches, but it is sooooo worth it. Bring the bare minimum because it's a hike to get to the ocean side.......

Last year we got stuck in a bad thunderstorm coming back to the docks. It was raining so hard that within eye distance to the docks, we accidently went outside the designated rope area, causing the boat to get stuck. My husband jumped out, without shoes, mainly out of embarassment, to push the boat back to the proper path. He cut his feet very very badly. We really should have taken him to the emergency room immediately for stitches, but he insisted he was fine. I should have insisted, he could have really ended up with a nasty infection. It put a real damper on the second half of the trip for him, but he was a real sport.


This year we're thinking of taking this ferry over from the park. http://www.shellislandshuttle.com/
We love renting the pontoon boat, but we're doing the vacation on a shoestring, and trying to really cut costs. Does this let you off at a quiet spot? I've never noticed anyone else, or a shuttle boat for that matter.

Did that once, years ago, and I recall that it was one of the most miserable days of my life.
If you want to find some great shells, go down to Indian Pass and spend a day on the beach. It is one of the most beautiful, uncommercialized places that you can find in the area. Huge, beautiful shells everywhere. Then, head over to the Indian Pass Raw Bar for some of the best oysters you've ever had in your life.

I second that!

What's not to like about SI? Is there another spot that is over crowded that I've been luck enough to miss? We go to the spot that the guy at the rental booth tells us and there's never anyone else there....


Can you tell me a little more about Indian Pass? We drove out to Appalachicola a few years ago and ate dinner at a little place on the water that had tons off flying biting bugs. I ended up having to leave and sit in the car while my husband and the kids ate, I got bit so bad. We didn't really find too much to do there. Did we miss something, maybe?