Barrier Island Shelling Tour

From $99.00 per person Lowest Price Guarantee

Select Date and Travelers

You can select up to 6 travelers in total.

Adult (7-120) Minimum: 1, Maximum: 6

Child (0-6) Minimum: 0, Maximum: 6

Book online or call: +1 437 970 2890

Free Cancellation For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Inclusions / Exclusions

Mobile ticket
Offered in: English
Shelling tools including buckets, baskets, and shelling scoopers
Cooler with Ice
Complementary shelling bags

Restroom on board
Parking fee $10

Overview

Our three-hour Barrier island shelling tour is the perfect tour if you want to spend a little more time looking for a really special shell. Captains are always US Coast accredited master captains with decades of experience to ensure safe passage even in rough weather. Your guide is a certified Florida Master Naturalist with a wealth of knowledge to help you understand not only what you'll find but also where to look to locate the most sought-after and rare shells like the infamous Junonia. A truly memorable shelling experience as all of our tours are small groups and very intimate. Tour destinations may include Caxambas sandbars, Kice Island, Morgan Island, Cape Romano, and Second Chance Shell Bar (aka Shell Island). Shelling locations are dependent on the time of the year, weather, tide, and wind. Shelling locations are at the captain's discretion.

Meeting points

PARKING is $10 at the Boat Park, receipt is required on your dashboard. ARRIVE EARLY, and plan for there NOT BEING ANY AVAILABLE PARKING. Uber, Lyft recommended - average rate $10-20 from Marco Island. Nearest offsite parking is across the street from Stan's Idle Hour (0.3 miles 7-10 minutes walk)

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Itinerary

N/A

Kice Island is regarded as the "shellers" island near Marco. The barrier island has fantastic shells on the gulf shore but is a notoriously difficult anchorage with a shallow mangrove shoreline, and is open to wind and waves. Our expert captains know where to go, and our certified Florida Master Nauturalist guides know where to find the rarest and most exotic shells.

1 hour
Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge

Boat tours explore barrier islands of the 10,000 Islands.

1 hour
Marco Island

Tour the barrier islands surrounding Marco Island Florida. Marco Island is a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico off Southwest Florida, linked to the mainland by bridges south of the city of Naples. It’s home to resort hotels, beaches, marinas and golf courses, as well as a network of inland waterways. A long, sandy beach covers most of the west coast, with resort hotels in the south. Tigertail Beach Park has a tidal lagoon, popular for kayaking and paddleboarding.
Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve

Experience the mangrove estuary of the Rookery Bay Preserve. Rookery Bay is a National Estuarine Research Reserve in Naples, Florida supported by the Friends of Rookery Bay.
Southwest Gulf Coast

Our tour includes Gulf waters weather permitting. Florida's Southwest Gulf Coast contains a constellation of enticing coastal gems. Stunning beaches, including Ft. Myers Beach, Tigertail Beach and Pensacola Beach, fringe the Gulf, down the I-75 from Tampa to Naples.
Cape Romano

The boat tour will cruise by Cape Romano to see the famous Dome House. The Cape Romano Dome House is an abandoned house consisting of six dome-shaped modules on stilts, located approximately 300 feet offshore from Cape Romano Island, south of Marco Island, in the Ten Thousand Islands of Collier County, Florida.

15 minutes
Goodland

See the quaint fishing village of Goodland. Goodland is a census-designated place in Collier County, Florida, United States. The population was 267 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Naples–Marco Island Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Additional Info

Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Children 6 and under are required to wear life vests (provided).
Beaches can require walking long distances on uneven terrain, walking through water, and navigating areas around mangrove trees and stumps.

Free Cancellation

February 05100% refund

February 06No refund

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.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

5.0

21 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

5 stars

20
4 stars

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We had a great experience touring New York City with Jonathan. He's a great tour guide and he made it very memorable and enjoyable. The tour was also super informative and I'm glad to have had a great tour guide during my visit in NYC. Would definitely recommend this tour to anyone looking for a tour her We had a great experience touring New York City with Jonathan. He's a great tour guide and he made it very memorable and enjoyable. The tour was also super informative and I'm glad to have had a great tour guide during my visit in NYC. Would definitely recommend this tour to anyone looking for a tour her We had a great experience touring New York City with Jonathan. He's a great tour guide and he made it very memorable and enjoyable. The tour was also super informative and I'm glad to have had a great tour guide during my visit in NYC. Would definitely recommend this tour to anyone looking for a tour her We had a great experience touring New York City with Jonathan. He's a great tour guide and he made it very memorable and enjoyable. The tour was also super informative and I'm glad to have had a great tour guide during my visit in NYC. Would definitely recommend this tour to anyone looking for a tour her We had a great experience touring New York City with Jonathan. He's a great tour guide and he made it very memorable and enjoyable. The tour was also super informative and I'm glad to have had a great tour guide during my visit in NYC. Would definitely recommend this tour to anyone looking for a tour her We had a great experience touring New York City with Jonathan. He's a great tour guide and he made it very memorable and enjoyable. The tour was also super informative and I'm glad to have had a great tour guide during my visit in NYC. Would definitely recommend this tour to anyone looking for a tour her

Reviews by TravelOne travelers

Showing 1-5 of 20 reviews with 5 stars

Fun Day

Published on Jan, 2025

We had a wonderful day with Captain Thomas! Sun, Shell Hunting (found a bunch), etc. We leaned about the area and what shells we found. Thomas was upbeat, knowledgeable, funny and even found us a few Sand Dollars.

Shells, dolphins, and egrets. Oh my! Fun tour around the islands.

Published on Dec, 2024

Great trip. Captain Thomas was friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. He answered all our questions about the environment and the amazing animals we spotted along the way. Our science loving son gave the adventure a 10/10.

Top notch

Published on Dec, 2024

Very nice way to spend the morning. Our guide was very knowledgeable and we were able to a lot of dolphins and water fowl on way and back from shelling.

Fun afternoon on the water

Published on Nov, 2024

We had a great trip with Thomas! He is very knowledgeable and shared a lot of interesting information with our group, which ranged in age from 8-53. He took us to a great island for shelling and we found some treasures! Thanks for a great afternoon—we loved it.

Best shelling tour on Marco Island!

Published on Jul, 2024

We absolutely loved our shelling tour with Captain Nate on Florida Island Tours! It was truly a highlight of our trip, and a memory we will cherish for a long time. Captain Nate was fantastic, and taught us about the area around the 10,000 islands, the shells, and what makes Marco such a great shelling destination. If your looking for the right tour to take, look no further than Florida Island Tours!

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