Table Of Content

Gulf of Mexico while listening to music, watching the sites, and enjoying your favorite beverages. By booking a private cruise for private parties, family reunions, weddings and corporate events. Get your Shopping done and receive a discount at these retailers with your boat ticket.
The Salty Mermaid Beach Boats
The Preserve is made up of four islands – Anclote Key, North Anclote Bar, South Anclote Bar, and Three Rooker Island. It’s more than 11,000 acres and home to hundreds of animal species, including 43 species of birds. Odyssey Cruises is located in the heart of Dodecanese Boulevard, just down the street from the historic Sponge Exchange. They have a small parking lot though I parked elsewhere. Once checked in, there’s time to explore the area or you can wait beneath a large thatched-roof tiki hut. Arrive early and enjoy a great Tarpon Springs meal at one of the nearby restaurants or explore some of the shops.
Glory Tours
Greek restaurants and shops are scattered throughout the area. Seafood, Greek salads, and pastries are particularly popular. St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral was modeled after the great Byzantine cathedrals such as St. Sophia Cathedral in Constantinople and is open daily to visitors. By the 1950s, sponging as a profitable industry was nearly wiped out.
Pirate Adventures of Cortez
I appreciate your time and am grateful you've chosen to give Wander Florida a bit of your day. The river is endowed with saw grass marshes, sea oats, and mangroves and is one of few unspoiled lands in our coastal area. The first settlers in the area now known as Tarpon Springs were A.W. J.C. Boyer, an adventurer from Nassau, sailed into the Bayou. Our boat has enough room to bring your cake, presents, and food.
This Florida Adventure With Odyssey Cruises Lets You Hunt For Gigantic Shells
By 1890, the sponge industry was firmly established in Tarpon Springs. The Cheney Sponge Company sold almost a million dollars worth of sponges that year. Make that corporate event, birthday, wedding, graduation or anniversary an outing to remember for all your family and friends. Let us work with your favorite local restaurant and bakery for your catering needs. Yet, there’s more to these cruises than marine mammal meet-and-greets.
Captain Mike maneuvered the vessel around the dolphins for several minutes so that everyone had a chance to see and photograph them. Naturalist Rick continued his educational talks, discussing the importance of the horseshoe crabs and some of the local birds. The tour allows for 30 minutes on the island, though we were given 40 minutes. The entire week leading up to the sunset cruise to Anclote Key had been plagued with vicious afternoon storms. On that day, however, the clouds cleared, and nature gifted us with a beautiful sky. The clouds rolled back in just before sunset though so we didn’t capture any great sunset photos.
Location & Hours
There is no other experience like this one; it is truly one of a kind. If you purchase your tickets online please contact us 24 hours in advance of when you would like to take your cruise. Departure times change daily due to the season, weather, and other conditions. This will ensure you will have the most up-to-date schedule and we will schedule your cruise at that time. The tourist families immediately headed for the beach and shells. It was low tide and a perfect time to find the best shells.
An Airbnb for boats and 5 other ways to set sail around Tampa Bay - Tampa Bay Times
An Airbnb for boats and 5 other ways to set sail around Tampa Bay.
Posted: Mon, 23 Jan 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Now, Tarpon Springs is back to being a leader in the world’s natural sponge market. The early sponge divers created a need at the docks for eating places for the boat crews. Then as news of the industry grew, people began coming to the docks to see the sponges. Shops opened so people could buy the sponges and other souvenirs.
The Odyssey II will take over the day-to-day dolphin boat tours Tarpon Springs and dolphin adventure island cruises. The only tour out of Tarpon Springs with a certified naturalist on every cruise. We do not allow guests to take any live shells on our boat.
Top things to do in Tampa Bay - Tampa Bay Times
Top things to do in Tampa Bay.
Posted: Thu, 20 Oct 2016 07:00:00 GMT [source]
This trip will treat you to some of the most beautiful sunsets imaginable. We boarded the boat again at 8 PM for the return trip to Tarpon Springs. By this time, the tide had turned, and at the mouth of the Anclote River we encountered a group of dolphins feeding at the edges of the river channel.
You'll find those here and on my YouTube channel of the same name. Space is VERY limited, each cruise only boards 49 passengers. Trees like oak, bay, magnolia, palmetto, and palm are adorned by yellow Jasmin, Spanish moss, and air plants. This natural work of art gets reflected on the clear waters of the river, along the shores, to make for a truly captivating sight. In addition to seeing the history of sponge harvesting, visitors can experience the Greek influence.
Naturalist Rick was filled with great information, humorous, and happy to answer any questions. Our dolphin cruise boat has a full liquor bar, and we offer drink specials regularly. These features allow us to make your special events memorable. • Daytime Dining Cruise – Like our daytime dolphin cruise, you'll get to enjoy some of the beach during our Tarpon Springs dining cruise. Before we depart, though, we include an authentic meal at Yianni's Greek Cuisine, which is at the Sponge Docks.
But here, the gold is glossy and comes in the shape of shells that might just be roomy enough for a small family of sea creatures. Odyssey’s diverse offerings cater to all sorts of sea adventurers. Right under our noses, Odyssey Cruises in Tarpon Springs offers a local adventure so grand, it will make you feel like an explorer discovering new lands. At the mouth of the Anclote River, Captain Mike ramped up the boat’s speed. With wind in hair and instructions to be on the look out for dolphins, we sped away to Anclote Key Preserve State Park. On the gulf side of the island is a beautiful, unspoiled white sand beach stretching from the northern end all the way to the southern tip.

Anclote Key Preserve State Park lies three miles from Tarpon Springs in the Gulf of Mexico. While I generally have private boats available to me, I had never been to this particular barrier island. For your pleasure and convenience, we offer cold beverages, beer, wine, margaritas, and other tropical drinks on board.
Do not mistake another cruise line for Odyssey, we have only 1 location with 2 Boats. Once you make reservations with us by clicking Book Now your spot on our cruise is secured. Right now, we live in Dunedin, Florida which is in the Tampa Bay area.
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