Many Florida vacationers are thrilled when they glimpse a dolphin, manatee or whale from the seashore or the bow of a boat. But if these sightings aren’t enough, or you’re fishing for a group activity that combines marine life encounters with a little education and entertainment, Florida’s aquariums might fit the bill.
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Set on the Atlantic between Palm Coast and St. Augustine and newly affiliated with the Georgia Aquarium, Marineland focuses on personal interaction between dolphins and visitors, offering a variety of programs including Touch & Feed and Dolphin Designs—you choose the colors while the dolphins "paint."
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Dolphins, sea lions, tropical birds and reptiles show off their talents in daily shows at Gulf World Marine Park, a classic Panama City Beach attraction, while other exhibits showcase penguins, flamingos, sharks, gators and sea turtles. The park’s Tropical Garden Banquet Room can host up to 150, with tables, linens and centerpieces provided.
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Florida Aquarium on Tampa Bay explores marine worlds from across the globe, inviting guests to "swim with the fishes," dive with sharks and go behind the scenes to interact with penguins. The aquarium’s Bay Spirit II, a 72-foot catamaran, takes 90-minute tours of Tampa Bay, home to more than 500 bottlenose dolphins and a great place to view endangered manatees. Event space at the attraction can accommodate up to 3,000.
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Shows and presentations at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium spotlight sharks, river otters and other creatures, but marine research and rescue/rehabilitation efforts are priorities as well. Case in point: Winter, the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin who was three months old in 2005 when she was found entangled in a crab trap near Cape Canaveral. Nursed back to health at the CMA, Winter gets around today with the help of a prosthetic tail and is poised for international stardom as Dolphin Tale, a movie based on her life, is set for release this September.
- Other marine-themed parks include Florida’s Gulfarium in Fort Walton Beach, which dates back to 1955 and still puts on a great show; the Miami Seaquarium, home of Lolita the killer whale and exceptional event space overlooking Biscayne Bay; Theater of the Sea in Islamorada, offering swim programs with dolphins, sea lions and stingrays; and Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium in Sarasota, featuring new narrated shark-training sessions, a new penguin exhibit coming this summer and function space that overlooks the aquarium’s dolphin lagoon.
