Marineland in St Augustine, Florida is the world’s first oceanarium and has a Dolphin Conservation Center , which is a 1. 3 million gallon series of dolphin habitats and is a great place to go and have a really ‘up close’ encounter with these beautiful creatures.
You can buy a general admission ticket to Marineland which will allow you just to go and watch the dolphins as they swim and play and interact with guests who have joined one of the many different experiences that are on offer here. This general admission ticket is perfect for those who love dolphins but don’t love the idea of getting in the water with them! You don’t need to pre-book the general ticket, but you will need to book in advance if you want to experience any of the specially designed programs. There are lots of different programs, but here are descriptions of just a few of them.
The perfect introductory program is the Discover Dolphins one. It is relatively short at 45 minutes in total, but is ideal if you haven’t done it before, are short of time, or are not sure that all members of your party will enjoy the experience.
The Immersion program gives you the chance to swim with the dolphins in shallow and deep water, wearing snorkels and life vests to allow you more freedom.
If you have swum with dolphins before, and wish you could stay in the water with them for longer, the Quest program is perfect. It is an afternoon session and numbers are limited to 4 guests per group. You get to play and interact with the dolphins with the same sort of intensity as the trainers do.
Another program to consider, if you have swum with dolphins before, or are not sure about actually getting into the water with them is the Dolphin Design program. This is great fun and allows you and the dolphins to create a work of art together. You get to choose a few different colours of paint and, with you holding the canvas out over the water, the dolphin creates its own work of art!
All of the programs have varying lengths of instruction time beforehand and any necessary safety information will be given out. Some of the programs have age restrictions, and some require children under a certain age to be accompanied by an adult.
It’s a wonderful place to go and visit, even if you are not going to get in the water with these beautiful creatures. There is a gift shop but unfortunately at the moment there is no restaurant, although they have plans to include that in the next phase of development.
You can buy a general admission ticket to Marineland which will allow you just to go and watch the dolphins as they swim and play and interact with guests who have joined one of the many different experiences that are on offer here. This general admission ticket is perfect for those who love dolphins but don’t love the idea of getting in the water with them! You don’t need to pre-book the general ticket, but you will need to book in advance if you want to experience any of the specially designed programs. There are lots of different programs, but here are descriptions of just a few of them.
The perfect introductory program is the Discover Dolphins one. It is relatively short at 45 minutes in total, but is ideal if you haven’t done it before, are short of time, or are not sure that all members of your party will enjoy the experience.
The Immersion program gives you the chance to swim with the dolphins in shallow and deep water, wearing snorkels and life vests to allow you more freedom.
If you have swum with dolphins before, and wish you could stay in the water with them for longer, the Quest program is perfect. It is an afternoon session and numbers are limited to 4 guests per group. You get to play and interact with the dolphins with the same sort of intensity as the trainers do.
Another program to consider, if you have swum with dolphins before, or are not sure about actually getting into the water with them is the Dolphin Design program. This is great fun and allows you and the dolphins to create a work of art together. You get to choose a few different colours of paint and, with you holding the canvas out over the water, the dolphin creates its own work of art!
All of the programs have varying lengths of instruction time beforehand and any necessary safety information will be given out. Some of the programs have age restrictions, and some require children under a certain age to be accompanied by an adult.
It’s a wonderful place to go and visit, even if you are not going to get in the water with these beautiful creatures. There is a gift shop but unfortunately at the moment there is no restaurant, although they have plans to include that in the next phase of development.