Dolphins Plus, Inc.

AMAZING experience, book this now for the highlight of your trip! :) I loved it, the dolphins were friendly and happy, and we got fantastic photos from this! The staff were all incredibly NICE. They actually went above and beyond for us when we had a mishap with our travel plans, and I was so grateful! Very responsive over email and phone.
We did the Structured Dolphin Swim (deep water), met the sea lions after, and we ended up buying our photo CD at the Dolphins Plus BAYSIDE location. I’ve been wanting to do this for 15 years, and this was the best place to do it :) It’s in a natural bay too, so it’s sea water, no sad concrete tanks. The trainers really seem to care for these animals and it shows.
The only negative is that it’s expensive, so budget for this. $ 210 pp for the swim, and the photos are $ 12 each, or $ 89 for the whole CD (~ 200 pics). Since we did 2 experiences (dolphins & sea lion) it was $ 119 for all of our photos. You can view them after and decide if you’d like to buy or not. I’d recommend making friends with your group, and asking them to take some pics while you’re in the water, and you can do the same for them during their turn :)

Very competent and caring staff with an organized approach to what could be a hectic experience. The personal close-​up interaction with the dolphins is incomparable, a one-​in-​a-​lifetime experience. Pretty pricey, but definitely worthwhile if you love dolphins.

We treated the grandkids to this magical experience over Christmas break. The oldest one wants to be a marine biologist and it was very helpful for her to talk to the interns working there. Yes, it is pricey… but it’s a memory they will never forget. I searched several places and this seemed the most humane for the area we were in. I’m not sure who had more fun, the girls or those of us watching them experience this. We did the structured swim which allowed them a lot of interaction with the dolphins.

This place is magical! Not only do they do amazing work, but the staff is superb, the facility great, and the stars of the show are some of the most friendly creatures I’ve met!
Since we met, my girlfriend has told me how she has always wanted to swim with dolphins. So, for our first anniversary, I decided to surprise her with a drive down here to make it happen! I researched a bunch of different facilities in the area, but the trend at Dolphins Plus was clear: everyone raved about it! So, I called, and booked our experience.
We booked at the ocean side facility because that was the only one with openings. We were warmly greeted when we got there and were checked in quickly.
We went downstairs with the other people who were scheduled at that time and had a wonderful, and not too long, information session on bottlenose dolphins. Even though I know generally about them, I learned some great little tidbits!
Afterwards, we split into our groups for the encounter. My girlfriend and I were lucky enough to be paired with Alphonz and Jessica (those are the dolphins names)…they were AWSOME! We had the privilege of watching the other family we were paired with go first, so it was like getting a free show before we even got in the water! Super cool. The trainers were also über personable and were happy to answer ALL our questions while we were watching. They really are soooo cool.
After they were done, we got our shot. HOLY CRAP! What an amazing experience. The dolphin were spectacular and the experience is one not to be missed. I don’t want to get too much into the specifics of what we did, because I don’t want to spoil the fun, but just know it was easy, comfortable, incredible, and mind-​blowing.
I will say this though, if you’re paired with Alphonz, be aware: he likes butts! Evidently if he takes a liking to you, he may give you a little nudge in the tush! I had the surprising pleasure of experiencing this. Cracked me up… but he was totally friendly and just wanted to play more. It was awesome.
It was both incredible to see the dolphins’ personalities, strength, intelligence, and stamina, and to realize that we were part of their playtime. I can’t stress this enough, if you want to swim with the dolphins, Dolphins Plus is the place to do it!

A MUST to do experience! If you ever in the upper keys you owe it to yourself and your kids to do!
There are many different programs to choose from and a great gift shop!

I had an experience of a lifetime at Dolphin Plus. Big thanks to their AMAZING crew, especially Sarah and their photographer, Brian!!! Our pictures came out so good! And so many to choose from! We were able to swim up close to the dolphins for a surprisingly long time! My fiancé proposed to me here with help from their largest male dolphin, Alfonz! He was as sweet as could be, and he brought the ring box over to my fiancé as he asked me to marry him. I bought a coffee mug with Alfonz picture on it at the end! I got the dream proposal, and I couldn’t be happier with how helpful everyone was. Love this place!!!

Very disappointed. We paid over $ 200 each, and when we were in the water with the dolphins, we had less than 20 minutes. In those 20 minutes, we felt like toys in the water. The trainers commanded the Dolphins to do things quickly with us, that the dolphin didn’t even pay attention to us for more than a millisecond. In fact, we didn’t even have minutes to take in any experience, because of the speed of the four different things the trainers commanded the Dolphins to do. It went so fast that I didn’t even touch a dolphin for more than a few seconds!!! If you have the money, and want to see the dolphins, I would suggest possibly doing the cheaper program.

Wow! Okay so yes it’s expensive 210 a kid for 20 minutes in the water but I would do it all over again.
You’re there about 1.5 hour. 45 minutes of lessons about the animals. Then your divided in groups and watch and wait for your turn.
The experience was awesome and unforgettable! The staff was knowledgable and friendly. They made the kids feel comfortable and remembered their names. The kids had an amazing time and so did we watching from the side lines.
I wish it was a bit cheaper. Maybe a package deal because then I would have paid for my wife and I as well. However we will be back FOR SURE, as my wife and I would love to swim with the Dolphins as well.

What an amazing experience. I came here with my family and it was a once in a lifetime bucket list for me. Thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend to anyone coming to Miami. Staff was very nice and patient and the location itself was very nice.

I visited this location with my boyfriend and his mother and younger brother from Sweden. We had accidentally driven to the Bayside location, but fortunately for us the Oceanside location was only 7 minutes down the road, so make sure you google map the correct one. My boyfriend had already done a similar dolphin interaction experience at sea world so he joined us as an observer and translator for his mom and brother. They both understand English, but are not strong speakers so it was hopeful for the dolphin trainers to have him standby just in case. The three of us signed up for the structured swim program. Once we had arrived at the correct location, we were greeted by a kind lady who gave us our bands, we went to change and then as a group we went outside to go learn about some dolphins. This portion was great and enhances your experience since they take the time to teach you about the dolphin and all of its cool qualities. It was worth the 20−30minutes before the encounter. I was definitely getting nervous because I am not a strong swimmer, but I had nothing to worry about because the life vests that they provided did their job.
This group of about 18 people were split up into 3 groups. My group of 3 was paired with another family of 3. We went over to the water to meet a mother and baby pair, Dinghy (mom) and B.B. (baby.) The other family of 3 went first so that my boyfriend’s mom and brother could observe the hand movements first and get an idea of how the interaction would go. It was fairly simple the trainer would show them a pose to hold and then they would send the dolphins over to either jump, dance, give a kiss, and a variety of other movements. They had a photographer in the front to capture all the amazing moments. After about 30 – 45 minutes, we switched out and got in. It was an amazing experience to interact with these animals! They are insanely smart huge. They don’t look so big in the water but when you’re shaking «hands» up close, you realize how large and heavy they are (especially when the trainer mentions that their weight is in the 1,000slbs…please don’t accidentally fall on me!) There were some points where my boyfriend had to translate for his mom and brother, but it all went smoothly because both the trainers and dolphins were patient. My boyfriend tried to get pictures of us, but he quickly realized it was hard to get the great shots because it happened all very quickly and he wasn’t in the front. We ended up purchasing the USB with all of our pictures for $ 90, but there were too many great pictures, so I believe our purchase was justified. Overall, I would recommend this experience to anyone and everyone. I would definitely go back and re-​do it if I could!

Recemtly my two kids and I visited the Bayside location for a shallow water dolphin experience. Julie (pregnant female dolphin) was swimming and pushing around one of the female trainers as we made our way around the lake, so I was very surprised that they chose to put chuldren with an animal displaying disagreeable behavior. We held our hands out as instructed so Julie could swim under our hands and we could feel her back. This is the first behavior they did with all of us shallow experience folks. Julie went under our hands once, then we did it again and she pushed me directly in the groin with her head. I tried to play it off so as not to scare my kids, but the trainer saw it and sent Julie off instantly to another trainer. She said something to brush it off and then took us all out of the water and moved us across the pond to work with Isaac, a younger dolphin. I am not trying to talk badly about this place, because the swim experience groups all seemed to be fine. Pleaae just understand the waivers are there for a reason; just be educated on the risks of working with wild animals.
Two days later I observed a very calm and friendly group of animals and trainers do a dolphin shallow water swim at another place with a large conch she’ll out front, and if I had to try again, I’d go there instead.

Awesome place! Great for family vacation! We have been back several times to swim. Each time the experience becomes an new memory. I love going with my family. We enjoy this during our stay in the keys. It has become a new tradition. I would highly recommend this place to friends and family. The staff is beyond welcoming and the place is clean. They have a gift and photo shop too. I will be back soon. Thank you! Keep up the great work with those wonderful dolphins.

One of the best experiences you could ever have in life. The place is pretty expensive! The gift shop was great! The Dolphins were super friendly and exciting. The only thing bad about this place is that you only get to swim 10 – 30 minutes with the Dolphins. Very fun experience!

This place is definitely on the pricier end, but you’re paying for a experience that will last a lifetime. Instead of paying to go to sea world or aquariums where you take photos through a glass, Dolphins Plus lets you be in the water and interact with the Dolphins themselves. You spend about 45 minutes learning about the center, the dolphins, and some of their behaviors. Then you go out into the small cove in groups and go into the water based on your party size. My husband and I got paired with a family of four. They were nice enough to take photos for us, and we did the same. We also paid for the professional photographer which is another added expense, but hey, if you’re paying for the experience, you might as well pay to preserve the memories. We spent about 15 minutes in the water, and I ended up being paired with a baby dolphin who wasnt as cooperative. I preferred they didnt push him, rather do his own thing, and his mom came and did some of the tricks with me.
I was under the impression that the dolphins can roam around in a larger body of water, but in reality they are confined to the smaller cove, which allows water to run from the ocean, giving them the ‘ocean’ feel.
Overall, it was truly a unforgettable experience and a highlight of our trip to the keys.

Although I really loved this attraction, I’m giving it only three stars, to offset all the five star reviews.
My daughter and I did both the free swim and the structured swim, and the former was really a waste of time, with us swimming around frantically and the dolphins only approaching us sporadically. The strutted swim was MUCH better, really fun, and of recommend you consider only this.
They will rent you a GoPro, chafing you top dollar for this, and they’ll rent you just the case for the same rate. The kicker is, you get the opportunity to view some really awesome photos they take of you, but tit costs $ 11 – 10 to buy each tiny JPEG image, or $ 80 for the whole set, more for groups larger than 2 people, and plus $ 10 for the flash drive.
Basically this is a well run company that cares for it’s dolphins. However, they charge you the maximum money they can because «think of the he poor dolphins…» So protect yourself ahead of time (bring your own GoPro too).

Beautiful center. We did not realize when we went there that it was only a swim with the dolphin center and my children were too young to do their activities but they did let me stand on the balcony with the kids so the kids could see the balcony.

Was there in mid October. What a wonderfully run organization. My swim with the Dolphins and with Wono the Sea Lion was the at the top of my list of life experiences. Would advise anyone and everyone to do this, and this facility has to be one of the best. Fell in love with the Sea Lion. What an affection animal. Gentle Dolphins as well. Between the animals and the staff I couldn’t say who was more loving and caring.

Got to go swim with the dolphins it was awesome.

Daughters loved, loved, loved the structured swim with Sara and Grace. Worth the $$$$ for a lifetime of memories. Learned a lot about dolphins too. Overall great experience

Probably the most amazing experience I could have ever given my kid.
We did the natural and structured swim. Cost was around $ 290 but worth every penny.
For the natural swim, my kid was one of 3 people in a pool with 5 dolphins. She got over 30 minutes of quality, fun time with these dolphins. The trainers were all so nice and accommodating. My kid was even given some device to float around with as she viewed loads of dolphin activity.
She then went to the structured swim and was given more time now for tricks. These included belly rubs, jumping through hoops and being pushed through the water by 2 dolphins.
We bought the full CD of photos for $ 85. The quality was terrific.
Everything was worth every penny. I usually don’t splurge, but on this I did and if you want your kid to have a lifetime memory, put the money out and do it!
A freaking awesome experience.