HHI Dolphin tour

[primecap]

Hi All
Does anybody know if there is a significant difference between the disney sponsored dolphin tour for $40 per person vs a dolphin tour advertised in the tourist flyers for $16 per adult and $8 per child?

Does anybody have any experience with these? Is the disney tour worth it compared to the nondisney sponsored tour?

Thanks

 

[iloveokw]

The tours offered by Disney and others priced similarily are on small boats, you might be the only people on the boat and the guides are a wealth of knowledge. The cheaper cruises are on much larger boats with lots of people.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

This may be comparing apples and oranges, but...

We went on the $40 dolphin cruise at Hilton Head in late November, and went on one of the large dolphin cruises in Gulf Shores, Alabama in July.

I'm glad I did the Disney cruise first, because the GS cruise was unbelievably better.

I don't know if it was the time of the year (chilly) or what, but after the GS trip...I would not do the Hilton Head Dolphin tour again.

Example: On HHI, we searched and searched for dolphins and finally found some that would stick their heads out of the water for a few seconds. Several times people said...oh look...I guess you missed it. In GS - we saw dolphins leaping completely out of the water all over the place. We were in the back of the boat and there were between 4 and 6 jumping in and out of the water in the wake of the boat nearly the whole time we were out.

I got more out of looking at expensive houses on the shore than looking at the dolphins in HH.

I wonder if other people had a better experience on HHI than we did.

 

[bobbiwoz]

We took the Disney one over Halloween weekend one year, and we did see dolphins, not many. The skipper was very knowledgeable about the area and it was a worthwhile tour. I do enjoy being on a boat, and I get to see many dolphins right from the shore in Cape May, so learning about the history of HHI was fine with me.

I've been on 2-3 hour whale watching tours and gotten a free pass because we didn't see any. So you just don't know for sure. Once we saw a seal on the shore in NJ! Didn't expect that, and haven't seen one again!

Bobbi

 

[CMOORE185]

I would make sure you are on one of the zodiac tours. They are smaller boats where you are right at water level. When you do see Dolphins it will be a much better experience than on the bigger boats where you are way above water level.

 

[primecap]

THank you for your help. We'll probably try the disney one this week.

 

[snaupal]

We went on a dolphin tour with Commander Zodiac, on a zodiac raft, and had the best time! We were the only ones on the boat, and the captain took us first to a giant sandbar off of HH where we walked around for about 45 minutes collecting shells and sand dollars and watching live starfish and rays. Then we went on a 90 minute ride and saw at least 40-50 dolphins. The water was so calm, we went all the way to Tybee Island, GA before returning to the dock by the Salty Dog Cafe. The captain had so many interesting stories to tell, and being the only ones on the boat, we could ask anything. I highly recommend Commander Zodiac, and would check them out before booking the Disney dolphin cruise.