Tampa Bay Watch Discovery Center Eco-Tours

My husband and I gathered a few friends and went on the 5pm Eco Boat Tour and it was awesome! We saw tons of rare birds (including a royal tern and a spoonbill!), a manatee, handful of dolphins, and got a great little ride around downtown and Bird Island in Coffee Pot Bayou at sunset. Mandy and Brooke were super friendly and informative- they even offered to take your picture with the sunset in the background. For an hour ride, I’m so happy with the experience and price. Also, every penny goes to a great cause- Tampa Bay Watch is a fantastic local environmental organization that has done so much for the health of our Bay. Definitely going to do it again!

We stumbled across this center on the ground floor of the building at the end of the pier. There is a small gift shop at the entrance that you can browse freely, but access to the exhibits costs $8 for adults and $3 for children. They have daily marine life feedings and different events. The exhibits are educational and focused on local marine life and conservation, making it a great low-cost stop for families with kids. The staff was welcoming, friendly, and informative as we navigated through the each section.

We have enjoyed this tour several times. Each time is a unique experience because the crew does net pulls to gather fish and other small sea creatures for research. (It is a catch and release research program.) The crew does a wonderful job of teaching and sharing what makes Tampa Bay a natural classroom. Be sure to stop in at The Tampa Bay Discovery Center at the Pier to see more displays and wildlife!

Such a great activity to do in St Pete! We wanted to do a boat ride and see some animals and we're so glad we chose the Tampa Bay Watch Discovery Center tour. The staff was fantastic and answered all of our questions -- we got to see really cool little marine life from what they brought up in the net (including this puffer fish) and then were followed back to shore by two dolphins who swam in our wake for quite some time and put on an amazing show! Bird island was also great and we saw beautiful birds and pelicans. But the best part was getting to ask so many questions and learn about the estuary and the marine life and the history of the area. We were there during school vacation and they had a camp on the boat and did a fantastic job of keeping the campers engaged, which was nice to see. Thank you for such a great experience! I can't wait to go back and do the longer evening tour!

My bestie and I had a wonderful time on the Christmas bird count with Grace and the gang. 10/10 recommend for beautiful Tampa Bay views!

Update Feb 2025: took the morning wildlife tour with Captain Mel and Izzy and it was fantastic. We saw lots of dolphins, birds, and we even saw them do a scientific study of what's on the bottom. They dragged a net on the bay floor and pucked up some alive sand dollars. Feb 2024: We had an absolutely outstanding time with Captain Moe and biologist Abby on Valentine's day. We saw lots of dolphins, a sting ray and many birds. Learned some interesting facts about the local wild life. The sunset views were spectacular. They had treats for us too.

From a 7 year old: Thank you! I had a great time, I like that it wasn’t too crowded. I like that we saw the bird island and dolphins. And it was really nice for kids, even 4 year olds. My little sister is 4 years old, and she liked it. The staff were very nice, educated, and helpful. I loved riding on the boat.