Give the Gift of Adventure!

With just a few weeks away from Christmas give the gift of an unforgettable experience!

Purchase a gift certificate for any of our cruises, whether it’s to watch the dolphins play on the Sunset Dolphin Cruise, or having the kids explore Picnic Island and net for seahorses, starfish and pufferfish on the Sealife Encounter Cruise. A gift certificate can also allow your friends or family to board the “Dolphin Waters” and embark on an all day Shelling and Lunch Cruise. If fishing is more their speed, then have them join our professional fishing crew and catch something spectacular on the all inclusive Backwater Fishing Trip!

Not sure about a specific trip? Thats okay too! You can purchase a gift certificate in the amount of your choosing. It's the perfect gift! 

Call 239-472-8443 or email us at info@adventuresinparadise.com to order your gift certificate today.

 

Family Fun Fishing!

Family owned and operated we try our best to make our excursions a great experience for everyone! We've recently received an email from a family that went out on the Backwater Fishing trip last week and we thought we'd share it with you! :)

"Hi--We recently enjoyed a fishing trip with you guys last Sunday and I wanted to share a few photos that we took. It was the boys first trip out on a boat and they really enjoyed themselves!!

Owen got to hold a Puffer fish and he was so excited to hold this fish and play with the shrimp while on the boat!

Blaine caught a trout and learned how to bait his own hook with the shrimp. 

We look forward to our next visit to Sanibel and our next trip with you guys!"

Sincerely-

Eric and Michele Waltimyer

To help us better serve you, we appreciate any comments and feedback. Photos are great too! If you would like to share your experience with us please email us at info@adventuresinparadise.com. 

What about them dolphins?

When do you see them the most? Is there a specific time of day more than another that you see dolphins?

In answer to one of the questions I hear most often, no. I see plenty of dolphins in the morning, afternoon, and in the evening! :)



 This photo was taken by Naturalist Matt on the Morning Dolphin & Wildlife Cruise.

                

Fun Fact: The dolphins seen on our excursions are called Bottlenose Dolphins. They can weigh up to 1,100 pounds. The average length though is 6 ½ feet to 12 feet and the average weight is from 330 pounds to 440 pounds.

This photo was taken by Naturalist Maxx on the  Afternoon Dolphin & Wildlife Cruise.

Fun Fact: You may hear dolphins referred to by various names. The young are called calves and the female adults are cows. The male adults are bulls and a group of them is often called a pod or a school.

This photo was taken by Illesore, a guest on the Sunset Dolphin & Wildlife Cruise.

Until next time. Naturalist Joshman here. 

Sunny+Dolphins=Perfect trip!

Among the sea life found on yesterday's Sealife Encounter: dozens of Pigmy Seahorses, Pipefish, and Spider Crabs.

 

We saw quite a few dolphins on the way to Picnic Island where we were able to catch several different kinds of sea creatures in the shallow grass beds.  While at the island we also saw a few more dolphins and collected many other types of sea life in our nets. Back at the boat, we dragged the miniature otter trawl through slightly deeper grass beds and found a few Striped Burr Fish, a Southern Puffer, and about a dozen Filefish as well as several Pinfish and Grass Grunts. There was one fish that we scooped up which I was unable to identify, but after some research I determined the mystery fish to be a Srawled Broom Filefish.

 

Just a quick glimpse into our paradise. Until next time. Naturalist Andrew here.

The Sealife Excursion rocks!

On today’s trip we started off with a very impressive dolphin show. We got to see a pod (group of dolphins) up close and from about a hundred yards out we were able to catch another group of dolphins performing a long series of acrobatics. 10 feet out of the air! Half a dozen times! Not kidding. 

Before the trip the weather was looking a little intimidating, but as soon as we took off, the wind died down some and the clouds parted, making for a beautiful afternoon.  Good thing the AIP Outfitters store made the order for sunshine this afternoon. ;-)  When we made it to picnic island, we waded into the water and were able to find a large assortment a little sea critters. We all found shrimps, pin fish, pipe fish, hermit crabs and fish egg sacks (they look like gobs of slim with specs inside them). One gentleman caught not one but two baby seahorses! 

We had a great time with Capatin Bob2 and to the rest of the folks on the trip we hope you all had a great time and good job on finding such a diverse group of sea life!

-Naturalist & First Mate Josh

Fun-Filled Weekend Adventures!

This weekend was a lot of fun! All of our cruises went out and Dolphins were seen on all of them, even on the Backwater Fishing! Among the other wildlife seen? Manatees! Osprey! Roseate Spoonbills! Bald Eagle! And even a Bonnethead Shark sw...imming around the boat! How cool. This week we also welcomed back two of our best naturalists, Andrew & Max, for the summer! Another great weekend in paradise.

Enjoy the following pictures that were taken by our naturalists this past weekend.  



All cruises depart from "G" dock at Port Sanibel Marina



Fun-Filled Weekend Adventures!

This weekend was a lot of fun! All of our cruises went out and Dolphins were seen on all of them, even on the Backwater Fishing! Among the other wildlife seen? Manatees! Osprey! Roseate Spoonbills! Bald Eagle! And even a Bonnethead Shark sw...imming around the boat! How cool. This week we also welcomed back two of our best naturalists, Andrew & Max, for the summer! Another great weekend in paradise.

Enjoy the following pictures that were taken by our naturalists this past weekend.  

All cruises depart from Port Sanibel Marina at "G" dock

The weather was perfect for the Shelling & Lunch Cruise on Saturday.

 The tide brought with them a beach full of Florida Fighting Conchs. Every day brings a new surprise!

The Backwater Fishing Cruise is a great trip for all ages!

On board, Adventures in Paradise provides: 
-All Fishing Equipment
-Bait
-Tackle
-License
-A Fun Loving Captain & Mate That Will Assist You
http://www.adventureinparadiseinc.com/fishing/backwater-fishing-cruise/

A Sunset Dolphin Cruise is the perfect way to end the weekend!

For more pictures visit our Facebook Page! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Adventures-In-Paradise-Inc/182253125393

 

Fish! Dolphins! Manatee!

Between the perfect weather, the fishing, and the visits from our native marine mammals the Backwater Fishing trip was another successful outing!

This morning Captain Bob II and I took eleven guests fishing in the shallow grass-flats around St. James City. The day started off a little windy with slight gusts coming out of the North West as some small morning thunderstorms rolled by, but luckily we were able to avoid the rain. As the clouds moved off and the wind died down the air and the fishing started to really heat up. Using live shrimp as bait we quickly began catching spotted sea trout, sugar trout, and a few mangrove snapper. Everyone on the trip was able to catch at least one fish including two large keeper sized Spotted Sea Trout and a handful of Spanish Mackerel that were just a hair under the limit. 

While the fish continued to bite throughout the day, the trip was full of much more than just fishing as large pods of Atlantic Bottlenose dolphins and a few Manatees continually surfaced just yards from the boat.

Awesome day today! Until next time.
- Naturalist & First Mate Andrew

Fishin' the Pine Island Sound!

The weather was beautiful for today's fishing trip on "Miss Paradise". We traveled on the shimmering smooth back bay to a secret fishing spot known only by "Adventures In Paradise" captains, where we caught quite a few spotted trout, ( two... really big ones ), some sugar trout, mangrove snapper and nearly a Cormorant.

 

A great time was had by all, and nobody fell overboard. Yesterday, one lady was fishing and somehow lost her bobber; as a result she had to fish the bottom. She landed a 12 or 13 inch Flounder. We always catch fish! And that's no fish story!"

- Captain Bob W. & First Mate Taylor

 

A seaworthy crew today!

Aboard the Miss Paradise on our Sealife Encounter! We caught a ton of stuff in the scoop nets on picnic island. We caught baby seahorses, pipefish, grass shrimp, lots of hermit crabs, mollusks, flounder, pufferfish, blowfish (striped burr fish), and one feisty cat fish! We also learned about the areas habitat forming mangroves, the importance of healthy clean water quality, and the under water prairies, the seagrass beds.

Many thanks from Capt Bob and first mate Josh, and a great job to everyone on today's catch. Also, a special note to young tie-die wearing naturalist in training, Noah keep up the good work and keep taking those Nature classes !

Starfish! Pufferfish! Seahorse!

And Dolphins too! Made for a wonderful day on the Sealife Encounter!

Let me start off by saying that the weather was beyond gorgeous today! Warm, but with a slight breeze that was quite nice as it cooled us off. Cruising out to Picnic Island we passed several Anhingas and Osprey. Captain Bob's fun-fact on Anhingas: They are related to Cormorants but are differentiated by a straight dagger like bill, their swimming posture and their preference for fresh water.

Once on Picnic Island we all had so much fun wading into the water with nets scooping up finds like Pipefish, Hermit Crabs, a Tongue Fish, Starfish and lightning welks. The coolest part about being in the water came minutes later as we saw a large pod of dolphins jumping and playing a mere 30ft in front of us! At that point all interest was lost in scooping up any other sea life. The dolphins put on a good show! (Unfortunately the dolphins would not cooperate for a photo. :) )

Back on the boat Captain Bob explained to us what we found and gave us a chance to hold some of the sea life ourselves! Pretty cool. It was my first time holding a Puffer fish. The Puffer has these spikes but they didn't hurt like I thought they would. Bob says in lieu of escape, Puffer fish use their highly elastic stomachs and the ability to quickly ingest huge amounts of water (and even air when necessary) to turn themselves into a virtually inedible ball several times their normal size.

On the way back to the marina we saw more birds and dolphins. It was a very pleasant day and I look forward to coming out with my family next year! Thank you for an awesome time!

Guest Writer: Courtney from Naples, FL

Perfect weather! Perfect night for a Sunset Dolphin Cruise!

As we boarded, the Schaub family from Minnesota caught sight of a manatee alongside the docks, (thanks to the good eye of local grandson, Austin)! With just a slight coolness in the air we cruised out of Port Sanibel Marina, along Connie Mack channel where guests enjoyed seeing the magnificent homes of exclusive Jonathon Harbour to the starboard side of the channel and mangrove forest port side! Quite a dichotomy that will charm your soul!

Cruising out to the entrance of San Carlos Bay we can see Sanibel Island and many smaller islands in front of the vessel. Looking to our right we can see a long white beach…but what is that which makes the sand so white? Wow…it is literally hundreds of white pelicans that visit our waters every year this time! Such a beautiful sight!

Everyone is excited to see dolphins playing in the distant waters… (with cooler temps we weren’t sure how active the dolphins would be tonight), and the dolphins played not letting us down!
Guests visited with each other, while Captain Bill and first mate Angela pointed out areas of interest relaying Florida Cracker stories to everyone.

Gently cruising to the West, everyone became quiet, almost holding their breath as the sun began to sink from the heavens. The sky became a brilliant reddish orange! We sat quietly wishing this moment would last forever, but the sun began settling down beyond the horizon, softening the colors to a pinkish gray.
The boat did a gentle 360 turn to experience a huge, white, full moon rising! How perfect is this! So many oohs and aahs! This definitely is the perfect sun set to a perfect day!

Thanks you to all our guests that cruised with Adventures in Paradise tonight! We hope your 2012 will be as wonderful as this night has been!