My First Dolphin Encounter Miami Tour

By Monica Dyben

We arranged our Dolphin Encounter Miami Tour, a half-day dolphin encounter, through Dolphin World, which made everything easy and convenient for us. My kids (ages 5 and 10) were jumping up and down with excitement when the van pulled up to take us to Miami. I nearly was too – I was thrilled that I didn’t have to drive! One of the best perks about booking with Dolphin World is their Shuttle Service. Even as a native Floridian, I will avoid driving to or through Miami any chance I get! The traffic, the stress of getting lost, and the possibility of ending up in a bad neighborhood with two young children, makes it not worth the effort of going down there. But that shuttle service is a beautiful thing! They will pick you up promptly from any number of hotels in the West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, & Miami Beach area. They have service from the Marriot Singer Island, hotels in Fort Lauderdale, and even as far North as Jupiter or South to South Beach Miami. Nice.

Our tour guide was super-friendly and courteous, and definitelywent the extra mile to make us feel comfortable. The van was roomy, comfy, clean, and held up to 12 passengers. We had it all to ourselves though, including the snacks, which my children loved. I was impressed with them myself – chips, oranges, granola bars, brownies, even drinks like water, OJ, coke, and diet coke. That was one less thing for me to worry about – hungry kids. I relaxed, my daughter read, my son ate, and there was NO DEALING WITH MIAMI TRAFFIC! (Sweet. Particularly in questionable weather!) So even though it rained intermittently, the drive down was pleasant, stress-free, and good conversation with the driver made the time pass quickly.

An hour and a half later we arrived at Miami Seaquarium, where our dolphin adventure began. After the friendly staff greeted us at check in, John showed us around, explaining that we had time to watch two of the marine animal shows and see some of the other park exhibits before our Dolphin Wade. My kids were psyched. He then led us to the proper building and helped us get all signed in for our dolphin encounter. Then he left us to enjoy the park on our own.

The first show we viewed was the Sea Lion show. It delighted my 5-year-old son like nothing I’ve ever seen. His face simply lit up as he watched, and he thoroughly enjoyed sitting in the “splash zone,” even though we didn’t actually get very wet. My 10-year-old daughter found the show hilarious as well.

Next, we were off to the Dolphin show. It was enchanting, as dolphins always are, and really wet our appetites for spending time in the water with them. After that we had about 40 minutes to walk around, eat the sandwiches we packed, and explore the park. My son enjoyed expending some of his unlimited energy on the big pirate ship playground. We went from there to the aquarium (complete with diver), the manatees, the crocodiles, and sea turtles; we even saw two deer before it was time for the Dolphin Encounter.

We met our driver by the Dolphin building for  our encounter. We were so excited! We took a picture, got our wetsuits and booties (know your sizes), changed, and put our things into a locker. After that, it was time for our introductory information on dolphins and what to expect during our Dolphin Encounter. Then finally, it was time to get in the water -- which was cold, which is kept that way for the dolphin's sake.

My son went a little hyper at the temperature of the water, which was about waist deep on him. I think the dolphin’s size and teeth (they have 88-100 which close like a zipper, so keep your fingers out of their mouths) also intimidated him. That’s scary information for a 5-year-old. However, the trainers were great and knew just how to make it a fun experience for each of us.

We were there on the perfect day. The park wasn’t too busy right after the holidays, so it was just the three of us in our own little group. We worked with four dolphins, three females and one male named Abaco. We had a fabulous time learning about each one and how they slightly differ from each other. My daughter and I loved touching the dolphins, rubbing them, and giving them kisses. We learned and gave commands for them to flip and do tricks, fed them fish, the whole 9 yards. It was marvelous!

My son got over his inhibitions by first playing catch with the dolphin with a small basketball. It was a comfortable and fun first interaction for him, and he was thrilled when the dolphin threw the ball back! Then he warmed up and decided to touch one, which he really enjoyed. However, he wanted no part of kissing one. He did shake a flipper though, and that was enough. And of course he was delighted every time it splashed us!

The half-hour dolphin encounter was over way too soon, but we loved every single minute of it. After changing back into our clothes, we stopped at the Dolphin gift shop for some souvenirs of our special day. The driver escorted us back to the van and gave us complimentary t-shirts from Dolphin World, which was neat.

The ride back in the van was a God send. It was wonderful to be able to bask in the joy of our dolphin experience for a few hours longer! We were able to kick back, relax and talk about what a good time we had. My son even fell asleep. I had no worries or stress about traffic, getting out of Miami, or dealing with the rain on I-95. It just doesn’t get any better.

The pictures we took that day we will cherish for the rest of our lives. I look at them often, whenever I need to bring a smile to my face. It was truly an unforgettable experience; one we will repeat as often as possible.