Schooner Eco Tour
Schooner Eco Tour
Your backcountry adventure eco-tour encompasses a schooner sail, guided kayak tour through mangroves and snorkeling at sponge gardens. Discover the varied, diverse ecosystem of Key West's backcountry in one amazing tour. This up-close and intimate nature tour is limited to a very small number of participants, providing you with professional and trained guides who will give you their full attention.
Departing from Key West's Historic Seaport, your historic schooner's sails are unfurled for an authentic sailing experience on the way to Key West's backcountry. If you have always dreamed of sailing aboard a tall mast wooden ship, here is your chance to help raise the sails and take a turn at the wheel; all guests are encouraged to participate.
Your destination is Key West's uninhabited mangrove islands in the Key West National Wildlife Refuge. The shallow-drafted schooner is the perfect design for your eco-adventure, being a replica of historic bug-eye schooners that dragged for oysters in Maryland's Chesapeake Bay. Keep an eye out for dolphins, sea turtles, manta rays, and much other wildlife that call the refuge home. Your captain knows where dolphins are frequently seen and will let you know if he spots any.
Upon reaching the mangrove islands, the boat drops anchor and your exploration begins as the day is divided between guided kayaking tours and guided snorkeling tours. For kayaking, your crew will help you into your stable sea kayak, providing paddling instructions. Don't worry if you aren't used to paddling, the warm, shallow water is calm, sheltered by the uninhabited mangroves, making kayaking a breeze. Your crew will speak about the mangroves and their important role as nurseries to the sea. Learn how mangrove trees survive in saltwater and about the varied marine life that inhabits Key West's unique mangrove ecosystem. Discover there are several hundred species of birds that call these mangroves home where on a typical day, you may see ospreys, frigates, blue herons, bald eagles, and even roseate spoonbills. In the water, look for sea turtles, dolphins, manta rays and tropical fish.
You will also have the opportunity to get in the water on a guided snorkel tour. Your experienced crew provides professional instructions on snorkeling along with information on the sponge gardens. Never snorkeled? No worries, the crew will answer all your questions and be in the water with you. Soon you will be enjoying snorkeling the shallow, calm waters of the sponge gardens. Experience the tropical fish, sponges, and marine wildlife that call the gardens home. If you prefer to float on the surface, grab a noodle float, lean back and watch the clouds drift by. Conditions vary throughout the different areas of the mangrove islands and your tour operator prides itself on providing their guests with the best experience possible as your experienced captain will chart a course for the optimal kayaking and snorkeling locations given that day's tides and weather conditions.
After your adventure, come back aboard and wash off with a freshwater rinse. Find a comfortable spot to relax on deck and then choose from plenty of complimentary cold drinks including frosty cold beer, wine, homemade sangria, chilled sodas, and filtered water. This is the best of laid-back island lifestyle living there can be. Lunch is also served on the boat as an all-you-can-eat fresh buffet feast is provided. Start with peel and eat shrimp and then try the delicious fried chicken, selection of deli meats and cheeses, accompanied by assorted bread and condiments and don't forget the side salads!
Once the day begins to wind down, it's time to raise anchor and leave the tranquil mangrove islands behind. Refresh yourself with another tasty beverage and snack and find your perfect spot on the boat to relax and enjoy your brisk sail back to the Historic Seaport as a lifetime of memories have been made during your day on the calm waters off Key West.
- Eco & Sustainability
About Shore Excursions Group
About Us
Shore Excursions Group is the market leading and world's largest shore excursion company. Since 2008, we've provided cruise passengers with higher-quality, lower-priced, and smaller group shore excursions from a portfolio of nearly 4,000 tours in over 300 ports. Over the last 16 years, we've delivered more than 4.6M excursions with a 4.7 out of 5 star rating from more than 47k reviews.
Exceptional travel experiences are created by exceptional people. Our incredible team of cruise and travel experts has more than 100 years of combined industry experience, and we work in close collaboration with a network of exceptional tour operator partners dedicated to providing personalized and immersive excursions to cruise passengers in the ports they visit around the world.
Our excursions are higher quality, lower priced, and travel in smaller groups averaging just 12 guests per departure, allowing our guests to truly connect with the local culture and enjoy a more enriching travel experience. Our website provides a personalized shopping experience highlighting the top-rated and most popular excursions in each port of call with authentic photos, videos, and reviews from other guests.
Our proprietary itinerary search technology makes booking easy by displaying the excursions guaranteed to work for your ship's scheduled arrival and departure into each port of call. We also feature hand-curated multi-port packages with the top-rated excursion for each port bundled together at an additional discount.
Our Unique Approach
While the cruise lines and other companies also offer excursions, we are the experts and our experience and approach set us apart. Our exceptional excursions travel in smaller groups and visit more interesting and authentic locations, using more personalized tour guides.
Our team uses a comprehensive approach to select the leading guides and best tour providers around the world. Every excursion is carefully curated and closely monitored through quality control and customer feedback.
In today's fast paced world, vacations are an important way to relax, reconnect with family and friends, and discover new and interesting places - and our portfolio of the highest quality tours was created to provide authentic and rewarding travel experiences on your next trip.
High quality service is very important to travelers and leads to better experiences with higher satisfaction. We encourage you to call us, so our experts can answer your questions and help you select the best excursions for your cruise.
Our Exceptional Tours
Our priority is providing cruise guests with exciting and enriching tours with personalized service and smaller groups.
Our small group tours range from 2-12 people - far less than other tour companies with larger tours up to 50 people. We also offer outstanding private excursions - exclusive experiences for only you and your group with options to fully customize your tour.
Our "Scenic" tours provide up close and personal access to some of the most spectacular natural environments on Earth from majestic glaciers in Alaska to spectacular reefs in the Caribbean.
Our "Cultural" tours allow customers to experience local customs, entertainment and culinary delights ranging from tribal dances in Alaska to an outstanding local meal in Santorini, Greece.
Our "Active" tours offer a multitude of exciting and adventurous ways to experience our destinations. Kayak the turquoise waters of the Caribbean, hike to a spectacular waterfall in Hawaii, or bicycle through quaint villages in France.
Our "City" tours allow travelers to see the highlights of great cities around the world with unique insights provided by our expert tour guides.
Our Guarantee
We stand by our excursions, and we're committed to meeting your expectations. Our team and our guides are dedicated to delivering exceptional experiences, which we've achieved consistently over many years and millions of tours. To the extent you are in any way dissatisfied with the experience we deliver, we will work to resolve your concerns - up to and including a full refund of your tour price. For more information visit the Shore Excursions Group website.
About Shore Excursions Group
About Us
Shore Excursions Group is the market leading and world's largest shore excursion company. Since 2008, we've provided cruise passengers with higher-quality, lower-priced, and smaller group shore excursions from a portfolio of nearly 4,000 tours in over 300 ports. Over the last 16 years, we've delivered more than 4.6M excursions with a 4.7 out of 5 star rating from more than 47k reviews.
Exceptional travel experiences are created by exceptional people. Our incredible team of cruise and travel experts has more than 100 years of combined industry experience, and we work in close collaboration with a network of exceptional tour operator partners dedicated to providing personalized and immersive excursions to cruise passengers in the ports they visit around the world.
Our excursions are higher quality, lower priced, and travel in smaller groups averaging just 12 guests per departure, allowing our guests to truly connect with the local culture and enjoy a more enriching travel experience. Our website provides a personalized shopping experience highlighting the top-rated and most popular excursions in each port of call with authentic photos, videos, and reviews from other guests.
Our proprietary itinerary search technology makes booking easy by displaying the excursions guaranteed to work for your ship's scheduled arrival and departure into each port of call. We also feature hand-curated multi-port packages with the top-rated excursion for each port bundled together at an additional discount.
Our Unique Approach
While the cruise lines and other companies also offer excursions, we are the experts and our experience and approach set us apart. Our exceptional excursions travel in smaller groups and visit more interesting and authentic locations, using more personalized tour guides.
Our team uses a comprehensive approach to select the leading guides and best tour providers around the world. Every excursion is carefully curated and closely monitored through quality control and customer feedback.
In today's fast paced world, vacations are an important way to relax, reconnect with family and friends, and discover new and interesting places - and our portfolio of the highest quality tours was created to provide authentic and rewarding travel experiences on your next trip.
High quality service is very important to travelers and leads to better experiences with higher satisfaction. We encourage you to call us, so our experts can answer your questions and help you select the best excursions for your cruise.
Our Exceptional Tours
Our priority is providing cruise guests with exciting and enriching tours with personalized service and smaller groups.
Our small group tours range from 2-12 people - far less than other tour companies with larger tours up to 50 people. We also offer outstanding private excursions - exclusive experiences for only you and your group with options to fully customize your tour.
Our "Scenic" tours provide up close and personal access to some of the most spectacular natural environments on Earth from majestic glaciers in Alaska to spectacular reefs in the Caribbean.
Our "Cultural" tours allow customers to experience local customs, entertainment and culinary delights ranging from tribal dances in Alaska to an outstanding local meal in Santorini, Greece.
Our "Active" tours offer a multitude of exciting and adventurous ways to experience our destinations. Kayak the turquoise waters of the Caribbean, hike to a spectacular waterfall in Hawaii, or bicycle through quaint villages in France.
Our "City" tours allow travelers to see the highlights of great cities around the world with unique insights provided by our expert tour guides.
Our Guarantee
We stand by our excursions, and we're committed to meeting your expectations. Our team and our guides are dedicated to delivering exceptional experiences, which we've achieved consistently over many years and millions of tours. To the extent you are in any way dissatisfied with the experience we deliver, we will work to resolve your concerns - up to and including a full refund of your tour price. For more information visit the Shore Excursions Group website.
