Swimming with Dolphins in Florida

[Sunny]

I have always wanted to swim with dolphins, and my daughter shares that dream as well. (She wants to be a dolphin trainer when she grows up.) With my 50th birthday coming up in July, I think this would be the perfect time to realize that wish, so I did a search for such places in Florida. There were about 6 - 8 websites that I bookmarked and will go back and check out, but I wondered if any of you have done this before, especially in Florida. I'd really appreciate your comments or stories or suggestions.

Thanks!

 

[Marty]

Of course. Deep sea divers here. Swimming with dolphins, manatees, sharks.....you name it.

Do not fool yourselves by the smiling look of the dolphin. They will bite you. Most people do not believe it because of their adorable facial expression, but they will bite, but not like a full fledged attack. The problem is that they are being hand fed by boaters and tourist day ships, so just like a horse, they assume that every human has food and so, over the years, they have become very brave and will approach you and go after your arms and hands and you can very well be bitten.

If you find a location, and there are several, they will be sure that you are swimming in a controlled atmosphere with dophins that are not aggressive. Try Seaworld and also Disneyworld sets up special times for dolphin swimming and their dolphins do not bite people and you are well protected.

Personally, I prefer to just float around with a manattee in brackash water anyday. They have a very calming effect on me.

 

[Miniv]

AAAAAAWWWWWOOOOWWWWW!!!! GOSH DARN IT MARTY!

Why did you have to ruin it???? Brianna and I have been dreaming about swimming with dolphins for years!

(Well.........she's 9, so at LEAST since she was FOUR!)

I'm NOT going to have you blow this for us! Someday we WILL swim with dolphins! HUMPH!

:

MA

 

[Marty]

You can still do it!

You can go to many of the places that are set up for swimming with dolphins in a safe controlled atmosphere.

Just don't go jumping off a boat in the middle of the ocean to do it, cause that is where you will get bit!

I think swimming with sharks is fun. But then again, I love playing with gators even more..........

 

[Sunny]

MA, I had to laugh at your post a little. A couple of months ago, Alexis and I watched a VERY interesting program about the things that can happen when swimming with these amazing animals. And it was just as Marty said. They become accustomed to being hand fed, etc., and "MAY" become aggressive. There was a piece about some tourists who were teasing the dolphins by enticing them to their boat and then slapping them instead of rewarding them!! No wonder they might bite or become aggressive sometimes!! Then there was also the part about the kids annoying the dolphins who eventually became agitated and "attacked". It's so much like being around the horses.... respect them, and they'll respect you. I admit I never even considered the possibility that something could possibly go wrong. With those FACES, how could you not trust them?!

: Marty had some very wise advice, that's for sure!! Thanks Marty!

Still, I want to have the experience, so I'll keep looking for the best possible place.

 

[Devon]

Well thatd be Neat!! Want to take me in your suitcase?! haha. :lol:

 

[SWA]

We were taking my husband's mom to swim with the Dolphins, but she passed away before we were able to this past October. Hubby still wants go in her memory...just needs to build a little more "cope" for it, then we'll go.

Marty, that's one of the things I love most here in Florida. We live just a mile and a half from the St. Johns River and I go there often and just "watch the water".

: Some amazing things happen in those floating currents. Of course there's still those massive herds of "giant lizzards" too.

: One of those "take the good, take the bad" facts of life though, LOL. They're allright I guess...long as they don't mess with me, I won't mess with them, LOL.

:

 

[wcr]

Several years ago I swam with dolphins at the Dolphin Research Center in the Florida Keys. My brothers girlfriend worked there and we were the last swim of the day. They had had a make a wish kid swim as an extra swim for that day and the dolphins were tired and didn't interact with us as usual. There was a trainer with his personal dolphins there and we went back and swam with his dolphins. It was the most incredible experience. One took a liking for me and every time I turned around it wanted to kiss me. The feeling of being in the water by yourself and then patting the water and immediately have a dolphin put it's fin in your hand is beyond words.

It was a really great experience that I would recommend. We even got to help freeze brand a dolphin that was going to be released into the wild that was filmed for National Geographic.

Marty-how much deep sea diving is done in Tennessee?

 

[Ashley]

Nope have never done, would love to as I think it would be neat but have a fear of water to some extent.

My aunt and uncle looked into it when they were in florida. Its very expensive and is only for a very short period.

 

[Marty]

Marty-how much deep sea diving is done in Tennessee?

You kidding? I'm landlocked! I'd be lucky to find a muddy pond here! But I'm from Florida. We (brother & I) learned to dive as children early on in the waters of Long Island Sound in Connecticut, and also we summered at Cape Cod; but no chance of dolphins in those places but shark infested!

Did I mention I am dreadfully scared of snakes, worms, and frogs?

 

[rabbitsfizz]

OK this is something I feel VERY strongly about.

Dolphins are WILD animals , sentient beings with brain capacity larger than a human and we keep them in the equivalent of BATH TUBS!!

Cetaceans should NOT be kept as playthings in captivity- they have the OCEAN as their playground- they should be free to do so.

I do not CARE how "good" the facilities they are kept in appear to be, I don't care how much their "trainers" love them, they should be in the ocean, not in the tubs that are provided for them.

If you really want to swim with them, no training is necessary- go and find a wild dolphin facility and pay the full price- there are a number around the world but they are not cheap.

OK, getting down off my soapbox now.

 

[Warpony]

Personally, I prefer to just float around with a manattee in brackash water anyday. They have a very calming effect on me.

Oh my goodness... I've always wanted to do that. My husband teases me about the stuffed manatee I have on the bed. I just adore the things.

I used to talk to someone online that worked at a facility that had people swim with wild dolphins... the dolphins were very well socialized and gentle but were free to come and go as they wished. This led to some disappointed swimmers if the dolphins weren't in the mood to socialize but they had cabins right there and when the dolphins showed up they could just call the cabins and tell the people to come out. I would love to do that some time, but honestly just seeing them is enough to make me happy even if I never actually get to swim with them...

The only thing he said you had to watch out for was if the animals seemed to be getting agitated in any way, either negatively or positively. If they started acting excitable at all they would have the people get out of the water ASAP. Not only can dolphins sometimes get aggressive, but sometimes (according to him) they can get frisky.

 

[Marylou]

Marty,hate to tell you this but it is now against the law to approach or touch a wild manattee. Fine is steep. Our son and his family came down and while in the water a manattee kept approaching him. Thank God we were there and stopped him from touching it. Fines are over $500.

 

[Miniv]

The only thing he said you had to watch out for was if the animals seemed to be getting agitated in any way, either negatively or positively. If they started acting excitable at all they would have the people get out of the water ASAP. Not only can dolphins sometimes get aggressive, but sometimes (according to him) they can get frisky.

Makes perfect sense! What people forget is that Dolphins are wild animals and need to be treated with caution and respect.

This is all bringing back memories of five years ago........When we had some extra money and no sense (excuse the pun). Instead of puting the money toward a stock fund or something we went on a wonderful Caribbean Cruise, the first "mini horse group cruise" arranged by Sami Shearing. One of the side-trips with the cruise was a tour where we got to swim with Sting Rays! At the time it was an awesome experience. The Sting Rays were very tame, and at the same time we were all advised how to approach them and stay away from their barbed tails....... Now, my happy memory is tinged with sadness because of how Steve Irwin died.

Brianna was 4 at the time and came with us on the cruise......and her all time favorite TV personality was Steve Irwin. Marty is right, in that you should always respect the wildness in animals.......

BUT -- I STILL want to swim with dolphins SOME day.

MA

 

[Sun Runner Stables]

There is a place down in the keys, I believe it's called Dolphins Plus? That I went too a few times when I was little. I remember it being Very expensive but OMG fun!

It was great as I was the only kid, and they Love kids. (The trainer put it great..., I remember him saying what would You rather play with? A adult dog or a puppy?)

The dolphins were allowed to come and go when ever they wanted, but they seemed to be happy and hang out. (Thanks For all the Fish!)

(It was like a shut in Lagoon with a big hole underwater for the dolphins that they had turned into a teaching center.) It was an Amazing experience, one I think my SO and I are going to try and repeat shortly ourselves as he's never gone.

:

 

[Marty]

I have to aggree with Fizzy on part of this. I know the dophins are used in researching for many things. I also know that the Navy used them to transfer bombs on their backs to blow up enemy subs.

I do also know that besides putting on a side show, many are in the facilities that they are in, because they were sick, hurt, or injured. But yes, they belong in the ocean.

As far as the Manatees, there was a river, actually it is called the Manattee River that flowed through many back yards in my former neighborhood where they would come to vegetate from time to time. The boys and I loved to go sit on the bank, or in the water with them, or in the canoe. We'd often stop there to see if any were around. Sometimes yes, other times there wouldn't be any there for months and we'd keep checking. One time, during the winter, a lot of them came to this little outlet where we used to sit and picnic, and we were lucky enough to watch one being born. It was a priceless moment that the boys and I would never forget. I sure with there were digital cameras back then.

 

[Lauren]

Last year we did Discovery Cove in Orlando for the day. It was beautiful. Truly, I'd waited my lifetime to do this. The ONLY disappointment was that it did not last longer. You are in a group of 6-8 people per dolphin. You each get to give the dolphin a hand signal, and he or she will do a trick. Then everyone gets to have their ride.

We got the video as part of our package. We love to replay those memories!!

DiscoveryCove has it's own website. You can check it all out there. It's a full day experience and the price is inclusive for the day. It also includes a ticket to either Sea World right down the street or Busch Gardens in Tampa.

Hope this helps you out!

 

[luckymeacres]

Marty we haven't heard of any of your frog problems lately. Any updates??

 

[shminifancier]

That would be so neat to swim with the dolphins. I would love to have a chance to do it.

:

 

[iluvwalkers]

I SWAM WITH THEM IN MEXICO A FEW YEARS AGO. IT WAS A WILD FACILITY, REALLY NEAT. IT WAS VERY EXPENSIVE BUT WORTH EVERY PENNY

: , NIKKI