A Sand Dollar captain at the console of the boat with two guests aboard, a green mangrove shoreline behind them near Marco Island, Florida

Celebrations

A 70th Birthday Cruise Built Around What They Love

Ask what they’re into, then book that. A morning walking a boat-only shell beach and an evening idling the Port Royal seawalls are two entirely different birthdays — and the right one is whichever they’d have picked for themselves.

Goodland & Naples departures
Tiki 26 · Hopper 19 · console 6
Private charter, your itinerary
Morning tide or evening light

Check Availability & Book (239) 301-8913

Best forA 70th shaped around one real, long-standing interest

BoatsTiki up to 26, Island Hopper up to 19, center console up to 6

TimingMorning low tides for shelling, evenings for the light

DeparturesSan Marco Marina in Goodland & Naples Bay Resort & Marina

Start With the Person

Ask what they love, then build the day around the answer

The hard part of planning a 70th isn’t the boat or the date. It’s that the person you’re planning it for has already been taken to every good restaurant in town, more than once, and is genuinely difficult to surprise. So stop trying. The move here isn’t a bigger gesture — it’s a more specific one. Ask what they’re actually into, in the particular way they’re into it: shells, birds, a rod back in their hands, the houses along the water, or an afternoon where nobody talks at them. Then hand that one answer to a captain and let the day get built around it.

That is what a private charter is for. On a shared scheduled tour the route is already drawn, which is often exactly right; on a private charter you name the interest and we tell you which boat and which dock serve it. A shelling morning wants the Island Hopper, up to 19 guests, because it beaches bow-first on islands that have no bridge to them. A slow afternoon with everyone together in the shade wants the thatched-roof tiki boat, up to 26. A fishing morning wants the center console, up to 6. Same captains, same water, three completely different days.

Two things are worth settling early. The dock first: shelling, wild-island and backwater runs leave from San Marco Marina in Goodland, at the southeast tip of Marco Island, while the Port Royal, dolphin and sunset cruises run from Naples Bay Resort & Marina downtown — and Goodland sits a good 30 to 40 minutes past Naples by road, so choose the trip and let the dock follow. Second, comfort here is built in rather than arranged: fixed shade over the seats, a low fixed dock to step from, protected water, and a captain who will slow down or turn for home the moment you ask — but there is no wheelchair lift aboard, so if boarding is the worry, read our accessible boat tours page first.

Pick the interest first — the boat and the dock follow
Private charters run your itinerary, not a fixed route
Tiki up to 26, Island Hopper up to 19, center console up to 6
Wildlife is wild — we never promise a sighting

Check Availability

A large sand dollar held flat in an open palm above the sand on a Southwest Florida beach — ⚓ One answer to “what are they into?” — and a whole morning follows from it

The Trips Behind the Answers

Six trips, and what each one is really for

Every one of these can run as a private charter, so the group and the clock are yours.

Shelling ToursOut of Goodland into the Ten Thousand Islands, bow-first onto a beach with no bridge to it. Dolphin & Wildlife ToursMangrove edges and tidal flats — ospreys, herons, spoonbills, and dolphins on their own schedule. Fishing ChartersAn easy inshore morning on the console for the one who used to keep a rod in the garage. Port Royal Mansion CruiseIdle the seawalls and canals at the south end of Naples Bay with the stories attached. Sunset CruisesNo agenda, no beach stop — the light goes long and everybody stops talking for a while. Private ChartersThe whole boat, your own clock, and a route drawn around one specific interest.

The Menu

Six interests, six different days on the water

Find the one that sounds like them — that is the trip.

If they’re the sheller

The one with a bowl of them on a windowsill and a firm lifelong opinion about which beach is best. A shelling tour runs from Goodland into the Ten Thousand Islands, and the Island Hopper puts its bow onto a beach nothing arrives at by road — which is precisely why the shells are still lying there. It goes year-round: winter brings morning negative lows, summer brings evening ones. Two honest caveats. The tide picks the departure time, not you, so build the rest of the day around the boat rather than the reverse. And Collier County is empty shells only — nothing alive comes home, sand dollars and starfish included. Shelling starts at $125 per adult and $90 per child. If they have never turned up a horse conch, Florida’s state shell, say so at the dock; no promises, but your captain knows where to walk them.

If they’re the birder

Binoculars by the back door, and they can pick an osprey off a bare branch at half a mile. Point the day at the backwater rather than the open Gulf. Our dolphin and wildlife run idles the mangrove edges and tidal flats where the birds actually feed: ospreys holding still on dead limbs, herons standing in six inches of water, roseate spoonbills sweeping the shallows. Wild bottlenose dolphins live here year-round and often work the wake alongside the boat. The caveat covers everything out here with a heartbeat — none of it is guaranteed. These are wild animals on their own schedule, and anyone who promises you a sighting is selling something. Tell your captain birds are the point and he will run it slower and tighter to the mangroves than a standard route would.

If they used to fish

There is a particular kind of seventy-year-old who kept a boat, sold it, and has not had a rod in their hands since. An easy inshore morning on the center console — up to 6 guests, so it is them, you, and maybe two more — puts that back without any of it becoming a production. We work the passes, flats and mangrove shorelines for snook, redfish, trout, and tarpon when they are around. Two things to know first. Tarpon here are catch-and-release only, so the photograph is the trophy. And snook are regulated and seasonal — a moving target your captain will walk you through on the day rather than us guessing at it on a web page. The administrative part is the easy part: our charter runs under a vessel license covering every paying passenger, so nobody needs to buy a license of their own.

If they read about the place

The one who knows who built what, and reads the local history section first. The Port Royal cruise is theirs. It idles the seawalls, canals and yacht basins at the south end of Naples Bay, past the estates on Naples’ best-known address, with your captain naming the houses, the docks and the boats as you pass. It leaves from Naples Bay Resort & Marina, minutes from 5th Avenue South, so lunch afterward is a walk rather than a drive. The caveat: this is a cruise, not a tour of anything. We look from the water, we go ashore nowhere, and we knock on no doors. If their interest runs older than seawalls, ask a Goodland captain about Cape Romano instead — the dome houses out there were toppled by Hurricane Ian in 2022 and sit half-submerged now.

If they just want to sit and look at it

Some people, asked what they want, say ‘nothing, really’ — and they mean it. That is a real answer, and it points at the slow evening run. No beach stop, no agenda, nobody handing them something to do. The boat idles out, the light goes long over the Gulf, and everyone aboard goes quiet for a while without anyone suggesting it. A private sunset charter holds only your people, so there is no stranger’s conversation to sit through. Two honest notes. Sunset here moves close to three hours between December and June, so check the real departure time for your date instead of assuming an evening slot. And we do not run sunrise cruises, before an early riser in the family suggests one.

If they miss having a boat

The one who ran their own for thirty years, sold it, and does not especially want to talk about it. A fixed-route tour cannot serve this, because what they want is not a destination — it is the water itself, in the order they used to run it. A private charter on a custom itinerary is exactly that: name the stretch, the pass, the old anchorage, the flat they used to fish, and if it is reachable and safe on the day, your captain will run it. The caveat is legal and there is no way around it — our captain drives the boat, every trip. What they get is the seat beside him, the chart on the console, and someone happy to talk depth, tide and weather for two hours straight.

Who It Suits

Point to the one that sounds like them

Four people we plan 70ths for, and the trip each one ends up on.

The shell collector

They have opinions about beaches. Give them a boat-only one and a slow tide.

The lifelong birder

Binoculars by the door, a mangrove backwater, and a captain willing to idle.

The one who sold the boat

An inshore morning on the console puts a rod back in their hands without a fuss.

The local-history reader

Port Royal seawalls and estates from the water, with the stories attached.

On the Water

What those different days actually look like

A dolphin off the stern, a redfish in hand, an osprey holding still — three different reasons to be out here.

Two guests at the stern of the boat watching a wild bottlenose dolphin ride the wake near Naples, Florida — Dolphins often ride the wake — never promised

An angler on a center console boat holding a copper-colored redfish with a black spot on its tail, mangroves behind him near Naples, Florida — An easy inshore morning on the console, up to 6 aboard

An osprey perched on a bare mangrove branch against a clear blue sky in Southwest Florida — Ospreys sit still long enough for the good photograph

Keep Planning

More ways to shape the day

The full celebrations index, custom routes, and the two trips this page keeps pointing at.

All CelebrationsEvery milestone and occasion we put a boat under, in one place. Custom Itinerary ChartersName the stretch of water and we’ll draw the route around it. Senior Boat ToursCalm protected water, fixed shade and an unhurried pace as standard. Port Royal Mansion CruiseThe seawalls, canals and estates at the south end of Naples Bay.

Good to Know

Planning a 70th birthday cruise

The questions people ask us once the date is set and the guessing starts.

How do we pick a trip if they won’t say what they want?

Stop asking about the birthday and ask about them. What do they stop and look at? What is on the coffee table? What did they do with a free afternoon back when they had the energy for it? Shells, birds, fishing, old houses, or simply being out on open water — each of those points at a different boat and a different dock. If you land on two, call (239) 301-8913 and describe them to us.

Can we combine two interests in one charter?

Often, yes, and a private charter is how you do it — a shelling stop followed by a slow run home through the backwater is a common shape. What you cannot do is stack everything. The docks are 30 to 40 minutes apart by road, the tide decides when a beach is worth walking, and the boat that fishes well is not the boat that seats a crowd in the shade. Tell us the two that matter most and we will say honestly whether they fit in one trip.

Do you provide a cake, decorations, catering or a photographer?

No. We supply the boat, the captain and the water, and that is the entire list. On a private charter you are welcome to bring aboard what you like, and it is worth asking your captain what travels well out there, because a tiered cake and a Gulf chop are not friends. There is no package to buy and no coordinator. Bring what you want and we will carry it.

Does everybody on a fishing charter need their own license?

No. Our charter operates under a vessel license that covers every paying passenger aboard, so nobody in your group needs to buy one first, and rods, tackle and bait come with the boat. The rules still apply to everyone, though: tarpon here are catch-and-release only, snook are regulated and seasonal, and your captain will tell you exactly what may come home on the day rather than us guessing at it here.

Which dock do we meet at?

It depends on the trip, and it is the one detail worth getting right in advance. Shelling, wild-island and backwater runs leave from San Marco Marina, 604 E Palm Ave in Goodland, on the southeast tip of Marco Island. Dolphin, sunset and Port Royal cruises leave from Naples Bay Resort & Marina, 1500 5th Ave S in Naples. Goodland is a solid 30 to 40 minutes past Naples by road, so the two are not interchangeable — put the right address in the car.

How far ahead should we book, and how does pricing work?

Book as soon as the date is fixed. A private boat is one boat, and winter weekends go first. Private charters are quoted when you book, because the number depends on the boat, the length of the trip and the dock — call (239) 301-8913 for a real figure rather than a range. If you would rather buy seats than the whole boat, our shelling tours start at $125 per adult and $90 per child.

Reserve Your Seats

Know what they love? Let’s build the day around it.

Check availability and book a private charter — or call (239) 301-8913 and just tell us what they’re into.

Or call (239) 301-8913

Their Day, Not a Template

Plan a 70th around one real interest

Shells, birds, a rod, the Port Royal seawalls, or nothing at all but open water and the last of the light — tell us which one sounds like them and our captains will build the trip around it. Sand Dollar Shelling & Boat Tours, running from Goodland, Marco Island and Naples.

Plan the Cruise (239) 301-8913

← All celebrations