10,000 Island Boat Tour on Chokoloskee Bay in Everglades National Park

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Due to construction at the Gulf Coast Visitor Center, the marina is closed as of April 2024. It is expected to reopen later this year. During the closure, tours depart two miles north of the Visitor Center at 929 Dupont Street in Everglades City. All participants must have an Everglades National Park entrance pass to attend the tour. While this page may not be updated in a timely manner, when you make a reservation for the tour you will be notified as to the current departure location.

The 10,000 Islands Boat Tour leaves from the Gulf Coast Visitor Center at Everglades National Park and runs year-round. This tour lasts two hours and takes you six miles out to the Gulf of Mexico through the islands in Chokoloskee Bay. See the Everglades National Park Adventures website for the current tour price, schedule, and to make reservations.

Entering the 10,000 Islands at Chokoloskee Bay, Everglades National Park

The tour’s biggest draw is the chance to see dolphins. In fact, you might as well call it a “dolphin spotting tour,” because that’s what everyone on the boat wants to see, though sharks and manatees are also a thrill. On the tour I went on, we saw dolphins right out of the gate and plenty more all the way across the bay. The Florida Bay Boat Tour, which is held down in the Flamingo Area, is basically the same tour, and I saw plenty of dolphins there as well. By the time I was done, I’d seen so many dolphins that they might as well have been dogs. You get to the point where you don’t even want to bother standing up to see them. The guide did tell me that if it has been stormy, the dolphins are harder to find, so book your tour during a spell of nice weather if possible.

Dolphin playing in the wake of the tour boat in Everglades National Park

Manatees in Chokoloskee Bay, Florida

Bird watchers will also delight at the vast array of species that can be seen in the bay—pelicans, herons, osprey, bald eagles, cormorants. I saw my first bald eagle on this trip.

Bald Eagle in Chokoloskee Bay

Cormorant drying its wings

White pelicans in Chokoloskee Bay

The islands are called the 10,000 Islands (there’s actually about 5,000 more), and half the reason for such a large number is because some aren’t any bigger than a few yards across. It is interesting to see islands that are nothing more than one mangrove tree growing in the middle of the water.

Three of the 10,000 Islands in Chokoloskee Bay, Everglades National Park

If you have already done the Florida Bay Tour and saw enough dolphins to be content, then there is no reason to do both tours unless you have time and money to spare, or simply love dolphins. Likewise, if you paddled out to the islands in Chokoloskee Bay and were fortunate enough to see dolphins and manatees up close and are happy with that, no need to spend time here. Seeing dolphins and other wildlife is definitely the main attraction of the 10,000 Islands Boat Tour.

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