Share your photos with us!

We would love to hear from you.

To help us better serve you and our other guests, 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. 

Check out a few photos that were recently submitted to us. 

"Sunset Dolphin Cruise. Thanks so much, again!" 
- Norbert & Carla Froese

"I took this picture today from the boat during the trip to North Captiva Island.  We had a wonderful time.  Thank you!" 

- Lilia Lopez (Shelling & Lunch Cruise)

"Here are a few pictures from my sunset dolphin cruise. Thank you for such an amazing experience." - Ms. Maya 

We thank you for choosing Adventures In Paradise.com!

July 4th Must Do's Around Sanibel!

What will you be doing? Here is our "Top 5 Things To Do"! 

• Sanibel's Independence Day parade is a great family-fun event! I remember visiting Sanibel & Captiva as a child and always starting our July 4th waking up early to drop by Baileys Grocery to pick up some watermelon, and then head out to Periwinkle Way, setting up camp near what is now the Island Cow. We watched the local businesses show their 4th of July spirit as they threw out candy and other goodies. (Keep in mind you may get wet, they sure love their water guns.) The parade begins at Bailey's General Store and ends at Jerry's Foods along Periwinkle Way. The parade starts at 9:30 a.m. but the road will close about 8:45 a.m.

• Bailey's General Store & Jerry's Foods offer food, drinks, live music, prizes, water slides and activities for children and adults! (Donations are accepted and fund various non-profits around the island. ) Stop by and join in on the fun! 

On this holiday getting out on the water is a blast!

• The Sealife Encounter Excursion is a trip for all ages and offers a unique, hands-on learning adventure! Cruise out to Picnic Island and wade into the water with scoop nets and our Marine Biologist as we get an up-close encounter with seahorses, starfish, and pufferfish! Departs at 12:30 p.m. 

• The Afternoon Dolphin & Wildlife Cruise is a laid back 1 1/2hr boat cruise through the waters of Sanibel and Pine Island. See dolphins, birds and possibly even a manatee or two; good simple fun! Departs at 3:30 p.m. 

• Watch the Sanibel Island Fireworks from the water on our Fireworks Cruise! Each year, Sanibel Island puts on an awe-inspiring fireworks performance. The dazzling explosions shine on the Sanibel waters as hundreds of hypnotized Islanders stare upward at the red white and blue. A great way to see the sunset, dolphins, AND the Sanibel fireworks! Departs at 7:30 p.m. 

For cruise reservations call 239-472-8443.

No matter what you decide to do on 4th of July we are sure you'll have a wonderful time! 

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.

 

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



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

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 !

Lots of Brown Pelicans seen on the Sunset Cruise!

Considering the cold it was a pretty good trip tonight..always beautiful here.

31 hardy passengers from various states including Indiana, North Carolina, and as far North as Minnesota. But it was chilly for all. A 15MPH wind out of the NW. We went up the Caloosahatchee (river), to help keep the wind to our backs.

Beaching the boat at Big Shell Island, we sat and watched the sunset along with about a dozen brown pelicans sitting nearby on the sandy point of the island Continuing up river, we soon spotted two dolphins and spent some time with them. They would appear, then dissappear many times, but never went very far from the boat. The water here is relatively deep and the air is cold, perhaps they kept warmer staying down a little longer. We turned around at Little Shell Island, which is a subject of interest by itself.
Capt. Bob

Wonderful day of cruising!

We had a very good fishing trip with a large family of 11 from Illinos and a family of 4 from Virginia. The weather has changed, we are now getting 10mph out of the NW and the water temp has dropped from 74 to 71. Air Temp in the upper 70,s. Trying to hide from the wind, we still did ok, catching some Sugar Trout, and small Sea Trout at the first stop. Then we moved not more than quarter mile and there we caught several Spanish Mackerel, a few Spotted Trout and a Flounder..and a few unmentionables such as Lizardfish and Catfish (and a pretty little Squirrelfish)

On the SeaLife Encounter: Almost routine, Dolphins several times, great fun for folks at Picnic Island catching all the small creatures that we usualy catch,fish shrimp,etc.. Then in the Big net drag, we caught several fish, pinfish, sugar trout, and a cute little Southern Puffer.

The Sunset Dolphin cruise got a little chilly (about 65 degrees and dropping fast), but 36 brave folks went with us to see the Sunset and find some Dolphins. Because the wind was coming out of the NW, decided to go up the River with the wind to our backs. Checked on our active Osprey nest..still can't see the chicks. Spotted a Bald Eagle on BigShell Island then on up to Little Shell Island (very Interesting) we found a Dolphin and we got to look at him for awhile, even though it appeared he was having dinner. We had a beautiful Sunset from Big Shell Island. A good day..but make it warmer..Please!

Capt. Bob

Fishing, Fishing & More Fishing!!

This is what we started out in this morning.

But it wasn't as bad as it looked, we could see well enough to find some pretty good fishing spots. We had a great time, the Ladyfish were everywhere and trout and a few other fish put in appearances. Young man with first Ladyfish.

A Lady very happy about catching her Ladyfish.
We had the "Lizardfish Lady" on board catching several Lizard fish until she decided to become "Ladyfish Lady" and caught several Ladyfish.

Then near the end of the trip a Spanish Mackerel showed up and the Lady who caught it invited it to dinner. :)

The Fog had lifted just in time for the Sealife Encounter uncovering a beautiful blue sky with a few clouds and with the 83 degree temp, a very nice day. Water temp was 73 degrees and just a slight breeze out of the South. We did have a chance of rain today..6% up from 4% yesterday and 2% the day before..needless to say, we didn't worry about rain. No photos as camera on the blink. We had a great time with Dolphins swimming along side the boat so that they could get a good look at us. Everyone had fun dip net fishing at Picnic Island and pretty much caught the usual, crabs, lots of shrimp, pipe fish, hermit crabs and jellycombs. The deepwater net drag revealed may pinfish, file fish and striped burrfish (puffer). A nice afternoon boat trip with a great bunch of folks on board..we had fun..

Capt. Bob

Fishing. Wow! This turned out to be an athletic event with all the fish being caugh almost non-stop!

Everybody caught fish Mostly Ladyfish and Spotted Sea Trout.. We had a great time.

Sealife Encounter. The weather cannot be better. Working our way toward Picnic Island, we spent some time with several pods of Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin. The dip net catch at Picnic was a lot of fun with shrimp and baby pin fish and jelly combs and a some hermit crabs. Our deep water net drag caught a prize seahorse and a huge Blue Crab held by Mike Cohn the Naturalist. Another great trip!

Sunset. Went up the river for a change and immediately spotted a Bald Eagle. In the river, below the Eagle, were several doplhins swimming around. We spent most of our time watching the dolphins who became quite frisky. Hard to take our eyes off the dolphins to watch the beautiful Sunset over Pine Island, but it was a beauty! It's really been a great day here!

Capt. Bob

Great Time on the Valentine's Sunset Cruise!

We had a beautiful day here in the low 70s with the wind 5 to 10 out of the NNW. The boat was stocked with beautiful roses, colorful cupcakes and lots of Valentine candy, including some chocolate covered cherries.

As we left the Port Sanibel Channel and entered San Carlos Bay, Dave Lamon the Host/Mate began passing around the goodies.

We soon encountered a lone Dolphin as we turned onto the Intra-Coastal, but it was not very interested in us and moved on. As we continued West on the ICW we found 5 to 6 Dolphins right in line with the Sunset. We got a little better look at them while taking in the beautiful Sunset over Pine Island. After the Sunset, with the after glow on the horizon, the air got quite chilly, but it didn't bother the folks on board as they had their Love to keep them warm! At the end of the cruise, each Lady passenger was presented a beautiful red rose.

Capt. Bob

Comb Jelly's, Pipefish, King Crowns & More found on the Sealife Encounter!

Before the Sea Life encounter, I kayaked out to the end of the Port Sanibel channel. At the end of the channel I found a flock of the "true Snow Birds" resting on a sand bar.

White Pelicans from way up North here for the Winter. Also, along the way, I noticed this brown Pelican being very idle on an Idle sign.

We had a great Sea Life Encounter. The Temp was about 75 degrees and water warmed up to 68 degrees. A bit breezy about 15 out of the SouthEast. A nice group of folks on board from Minnesota, Michigan, and Illinois. Entering San Carlos Bay we stopped to look at our Osprey Nest.

Mom is sitting on the eggs now.. but it won't be long and we will get to see some fuzzy heads sticking up looking around to see what is going on. Continuing our journey we encountered a pod of very active Dolphins near Kitchel Key.

Our adventurers posed for a picture before setting out on the mission to collect creatures in the shallow grass bed at Picnic Island. They found lots of shrimp, and crabs, comb jellys, pipefish, kings crowns, and more. Our deep net drag turned up a beautiful Cowfish, a couple of female Blue Crabs, a File Fish and lots of Pinfish.

Capt. Bob