Shell Key Shuttle

We had so much fun on the shell cruise! Early morning is the best time to go! We found numerous sand dollars and some really great shells. Some of the shells were quite big. The staff was very friendly and gave us lots of tips on our ride over! This is a must do for your vacation! Money well spent!

Went to this place over spring break. We got there a bit later in the day, with only two hours left to shell we decided to do it anyway. It was still the same price whether you got on the first or last (ours) shuttle. Would have been nice to see a bit of a deal for such a short time or getting the last one out (still $ 25 regardless). The reason I dropped this place stars really boils down to customer service, or really, lack thereof. The lady who took our money was grumpy from the start, ordering us around as if we were animals and used a tone that you would swear most angry parents in shopping malls wouldn’t dare use. They did however, give out free shell bags and let you use snorkels and goggles (disinfected for 30 seconds in bleach water from a person who got off the island before you). For me, the service of the ride was fine. But what throws me the most with places like these is the lack of customer service, it’s basically dead.

Go early in the morning to secure parking on pass a grill and for the best shell hunting. This is a must do!

My boyfriend and i wanted to explore the beach without the crowds– this was perfect! We went in the morning, there were maybe six other people with us. The island is large so we barely noticed the others. The shells are amazing. We found a couple dozen sand dollars and a variety of other shells. Also, we got to see dolphins on the way back! We would definitely go again.

This needs to be on everyone’s to do list! This was my second time and it was just as amazing as the first! Last Nov when I went we were lucky enough to see plenty of beautiful dolphin while hunting for shells. And this time we saw some really cool manta rays!

What a great way to spend the day. Beautiful island, shuttle boat was pleasent, the employees very helpful. A definate must for locals and visitors.
Just do it!

This is a must-​do! Plan to take the early boat out, bring a picnic and some beach towels and enjoy this remarkable and beautiful island. There is lots of shoreline to walk for shells and great bird watching too!

This is a must for any traveler to St. Pete’s Beach. Might be the best $ 25 ever spent on a vacation. The staff is very friendly, the day we went a front was coming in so they were just taking the morning trip out. During the 15 minute trip from the slip to the island the crew was very informative about the island as well as the dolphins that we saw frolicking in the bay.
While we were only able to spend two hours on the island due to the incoming weather it was easy for us to see how one could spend an entire afternoon on the island. With all the St. Pete’s has to offer and all that we enjoyed this was at the top of the list.
Grab a sack lunch and plan on spending several hours on the island relaxing, shelling and birding…

Played tourist while on staycation and used their service a couple times since the boat decided to break down. It was ok, friendly people, cheap prices and they came back pretty quickly once the storms moved in.

This is a great time. We did the shuttle to Shell Key and had such a good time that we came back for the sunset cruise. Both trips were well worth it.
Shell Key is a nature preserve that is covered in seashells. If you want to go shell hunting, then just bring a bag, a bottle of water, and start looking. The beach goes on forever but you do not have to go far to find some very nice shells. If you want to just relax, then bring a cooler, a beach chair, and a book (Shell Key Shuttle provides a beach umbrella if you want it).
The sunset cruise is a nice mixture of looking at wildlife and seeing some of the beautiful houses along the shore. We saw an island covered in all sorts of birds as well as two dolphins. At one point, we had dolphins playing by the boat as the sun went down in front of us; it doesn’t get any better than that. For the sunset cruise bring a cooler so you can have a little shipboard picnic.