Our Blue Pelican water shuttle carrying guests across Naples Bay past the downtown Naples waterfront in Naples, Florida

Near Your Stay

Boat Tours Near the Bayfront Inn 5th Avenue, Naples

You’re staying at the east end of 5th Avenue South — and so, more or less, are we. Our Naples dock sits a few hundred yards further along the same street, which makes this the shortest trip to a boat tour of any hotel we serve: a walk, not a drive.

Naples Bay Resort & Marina
A few minutes’ walk east
1.5–2 hour cruises
USCG Master Captains

Check Availability & Book (239) 301-8913

Nearest dockNaples Bay Resort & Marina

From the propertyA few minutes’ walk — or a 5 min drive

WaterCalm, protected Naples Bay

You may seeDolphins, yachts, Port Royal estates — no guarantees

The Shortest Trip to a Boat

The closest stay to our Naples dock

Here’s the entire logistics section of your Naples water day: step out of the Bayfront Inn 5th Avenue and walk east. Our Naples boats work out of Naples Bay Resort & Marina at 1500 5th Avenue South, a couple of blocks — call it a quarter-mile — further along the same street you’re already on. It’s flat sidewalk the whole way, and most guests cover it in a few minutes on foot with a coffee still in hand. If you’d rather ride, it’s about a five-minute drive. Either way there’s no rental car to justify, no garage to circle and no drive-time math to do before a sunset cruise. Of every property we serve across Naples and Marco Island, this is the shortest walk to a boat.

That short walk also means the bay you’ve been looking at from the Bayfront district is the exact water we run. Naples Bay is protected and mostly glassy, which makes it forgiving for a first cruise, for grandparents, and for anyone who gets uneasy in a chop. We idle south past yacht rows and mangrove edges, read the waterfront estates of Port Royal — Naples’ own Millionaire’s Row — and slip toward Gordon Pass, where the bay opens to the Gulf and Keewaydin Island runs wild and boat-only on the far side. Bottlenose dolphins live here year-round and often turn up in the wake. When the Gulf cools below about 68 degrees, roughly November through March, a manatee sometimes noses into the warmer backwater. Wild animals, wild schedule — we never promise a sighting.

From this dock we run the Dolphin & Wildlife tour, easygoing Sunset Cruises, the Port Royal mansion cruise, fully private charters, and the Naples Bay water shuttle at $20 per person, which works the Tin City and Bayfront waterfront on the same stretch of bay your hotel sits on. That last one is a small piece of magic for a guest staying here: dinner on the water, reached by water, and a walk home afterward. One honest caveat — our shelling trips and the wild Ten Thousand Islands leave from our other dock down in Goodland, on the southeast tip of Marco Island. That one is a genuine drive south, not a walk. Shelling starts at $125 for adults and $90 for children, and if that’s the morning you want, call us and we’ll line it up.

A quarter-mile east on 5th Ave S — walkable
No rental car, no parking, no drive-time math
Calm, protected Naples Bay — kind to first-timers
Dolphin, sunset, Port Royal & the $20 water shuttle

Check Availability

Our Blue Pelican water shuttle carrying guests along Naples Bay past waterfront buildings in Naples, Florida — ⚓ The Blue Pelican working the bay — a few hundred yards from your door

Walk Down and Go

The trips that fit a Bayfront Inn 5th Avenue stay

Every one of these leaves from a dock you can reach on foot — except shelling, which we’ll gladly arrange from Goodland.

Naples Bay Water ShuttleDinner on the water for $20 a person — the Tin City and Bayfront run, no car involved. Dolphin & Wildlife TourYear-round bottlenose dolphins, seagrass flats and bird-worked seawalls — the classic first cruise. Sunset CruiseStroll down at golden hour and watch the Gulf sun drop from the water instead of the sidewalk. Port Royal Mansion CruiseIdle the canals of Millionaire’s Row and read Naples’ grandest waterfront from the bay. Private CharterThe whole boat, your route, your timing — and still a few minutes’ walk from your room. Shelling TripsWild barrier-island shelling in the Ten Thousand Islands — from our Goodland dock, a drive south.

Getting Aboard

From the Bayfront Inn to the boat, on foot

There isn’t much to it — here’s the whole route, door to lines-off.

Start: the Bayfront district on Naples Bay

You’re at 1221 5th Avenue South, at the east end of the avenue where downtown Naples runs out of shopfronts and runs into water. That position is the whole advantage. Most guests planning a boat tour spend the first hour of the day on logistics — a rental car, a garage, a rideshare that’s eight minutes out — and you get to skip every bit of it. Step outside, look east along the same street you slept on, and you’re looking down the last stretch between you and our dock. It’s the reason this page is short on directions: there isn’t much to direct.

The walk: a quarter-mile east on 5th Avenue South

Head east on 5th Avenue South and keep going until the street runs out at the water. That’s roughly a quarter of a mile — a few minutes on foot for most people, a little longer if you stop to look at the bay, which you probably will. The sidewalk is flat the whole way and shaded in patches, though a midday summer walk in Southwest Florida is still a midday summer walk, so carry water and don’t rush it. Families do this with strollers. Grandparents do it slowly and still arrive early. And if anyone in your group would rather not walk at all, see two steps down.

The dock: Naples Bay Resort & Marina

Our Naples boats tie up at Naples Bay Resort & Marina, 1500 5th Avenue South, on protected Naples Bay. It’s a calm, walkable marina rather than a Gulf-front ramp, and that’s exactly why we run from here — it drops you straight into the bay, the Port Royal canals and Gordon Pass without a bouncy open-water start. Once you’ve booked, we send the exact slip and a where-to-meet note, so nobody wanders the docks with a phone held in the air. Look for your captain at the boat; there’s no ticket window to hunt down and no shuttle to catch. Restrooms are right there before you board.

If you’d rather ride

Not everyone wants to walk, and there’s no virtue in it. A rideshare or taxi covers the same ground in about five minutes, and pickups are quick because you’re downtown. If you have a car, there’s parking at and around the marina and through the 5th Avenue district, and on a trip this short it’s genuinely fine to drive down, park once and stop thinking about it. The one thing we’d skip is renting a car purely for the boat trip. Between the walk, a rideshare and the water shuttle, guests staying at this end of the avenue rarely need one for a day on the water.

What to bring

Keep it light, because you’re carrying it on foot. Sunglasses, a hat, reef-safe sunscreen and soft-soled shoes cover most of it. Add a light layer for anything running late in the day — the bay turns cool and glassy once the sun is down, and it always feels warmer on the sidewalk than it does out in the breeze. Bring a camera or wipe your phone lens; golden hour and the Port Royal seawalls do most of the work for you. We handle water and the shaded seating. Anything you’d hate to drop in the bay is better left in the room, which is, conveniently, a few minutes away.

Then: lines off into the bay

Come down about fifteen minutes before your booked time, step aboard, and the planning part of your day is over. Your captain idles out past the yachts and points the bow wherever the trip calls for — south toward the Port Royal canals, out through Gordon Pass toward Keewaydin, or onto the flats to look for dolphins. Most cruises run an hour and a half to two hours and finish at the same dock you left. Then you walk back west up the same street, with 5th Avenue South right there for dinner. If plans shift or someone’s running late, call us at (239) 301-8913 — a real person answers.

Who It Suits

A great fit if you’re…

This address makes some trips almost too easy — here’s who gets the most out of it.

Here without a car

You flew in, skipped the rental, and still want on the water. Walk east down 5th Avenue South, step aboard, and walk home after — no parking, no rideshare app, no logistics.

Traveling with kids or grandparents

Nobody has to survive a drive before the fun starts. A short flat walk, calm protected bay water and shaded seating make this the gentlest way onto a boat in Naples.

Booking on short notice

When the dock is minutes away, one free afternoon is enough. Call us, check availability, and you can be out on the bay before the light turns without reshuffling the day.

Building a dinner-and-boat evening

Take a sunset cruise, then the water shuttle to the Tin City and Bayfront waterfront for $20 a person — dinner reached by boat, with 5th Avenue South waiting on the walk back.

On the Water

What the short walk buys you

Real boats, real Naples water — a few minutes east of your room.

One of our shaded pontoon tour boats cruising a mangrove-lined backwater near Naples, Florida — Shaded pontoon seating, easy on every age

A young guest watching a wild bottlenose dolphin surface in the boat’s wake near Naples, Florida — Wild dolphins turn up often — never on cue

A family watching the sun set over the water from the shaded deck of a Sand Dollar boat near Naples, Florida — Sunset from the water, minutes from your door

Keep Planning

More ways to plan your Naples trip

The neighbors on your street, the bay itself, and every property we serve.

Near Naples Bay Resort & MarinaThe property right at our dock — the only stay closer than yours. Near Inn on FifthSame avenue, west end — the car-free downtown version of this day. Boat Tours on Naples BayEvery cruise we run on the bay outside your window. All Stays We ServeFind the dock nearest your hotel across Naples, Marco Island and Goodland.

Good to Know

Boat tours near the Bayfront Inn 5th Avenue

The questions guests at the east end of 5th Avenue South ask us most.

How far is your dock from the Bayfront Inn 5th Avenue?

About a quarter-mile east, along the same street. We depart from Naples Bay Resort & Marina at 1500 5th Avenue South, and the inn sits at 1221 5th Avenue South — a few hundred yards apart on the same avenue. For most guests that’s a few minutes on foot on flat sidewalk, or roughly a five-minute drive if you’d rather ride. It’s the shortest gap between a hotel and one of our docks anywhere in Naples or on Marco Island. Drop the marina address into your own map app if you want an exact door-to-dock number, but honestly, there isn’t much here to plan around.

Can we really walk to the boat, or should we drive?

You can genuinely walk it — that isn’t marketing, it’s just where the two addresses happen to sit, and plenty of guests do it with kids and strollers. Walk it on your own terms, though: midday summer heat in Southwest Florida is real, so carry water, and if anyone in the group would rather not, a rideshare covers the same ground in about five minutes. There’s parking at and around the marina and through the 5th Avenue district too. One thing worth saying plainly: we’re an independent, captain-led local company with no affiliation to the inn. We simply run boats from the end of your street.

Which cruise should we book first?

If it’s your first time on Naples Bay, start with the Dolphin & Wildlife tour — it covers the bay, the passes and the wildlife, and it orients you to the water you’ll be looking at all week. If you’re here for the view, book a Sunset Cruise and stroll down at golden hour; you’ll be back on the avenue in time for a late dinner. Couples and anyone who wants the boat to themselves should look at a private charter, and the Port Royal mansion cruise is the one guests tend to talk about afterward. There’s no rule against doing two on one stay — you’re close enough that a second trip costs nothing but time.

Will we see dolphins or manatees on Naples Bay?

Often, and honestly never on demand. Bottlenose dolphins live in these waters year-round and regularly turn up alongside the boat or in the wake — a great chance on most cruises, but they’re wild animals working their own day. Manatees are more seasonal: when the Gulf drops below about 68 degrees, roughly November through March, they move into warmer backwater around Naples and Rookery Bay, though they’re dispersed here rather than bunched into one spring. You’ll almost always see birdlife — herons, ospreys and pelicans working the seawalls. What we can count on is calm water, an unhurried pace and captains who know where things tend to show.

Can we go shelling from the Naples dock?

Not from this one. Our shelling trips run out of our Goodland dock at San Marco Marina, on the southeast tip of Marco Island, because that’s where the Ten Thousand Islands begin — the wild, boat-only barrier-island beaches are the whole point of the trip. From the Bayfront district that’s a real drive south, so plan it as its own morning rather than a walk-down outing. Shelling starts at $125 for adults and $90 for children. Two honest notes: it’s empty shells only in Collier County, and shelling here runs year-round rather than in one window — winter brings morning negative low tides, summer pushes the lows into the evening.

How do we book, and what does it cost?

Tap any ‘Check availability’ button on this page to see live times, or call us at (239) 301-8913 and a local person will pick up. Most cruises are quoted when you reserve, because the number depends on the trip, its length and your group — we’d rather match you to the right boat than post a figure that doesn’t fit your day. The two set fares we do publish: the Naples Bay water shuttle at $20 per person, and shelling from $125 for adults and $90 for children out of Goodland. Mention you’re at the Bayfront Inn 5th Avenue and we’ll point you at the easiest departure to walk to.

Reserve Your Seats

Walk down and get on the water

Check availability and book a boat tour — our dock is a few minutes east on the same street.

Or call (239) 301-8913

The Shortest Walk in Naples

Book your boat from the Bayfront Inn 5th Avenue

Dolphin cruises, golden-hour sunsets, the Port Royal mansion run and the $20 water shuttle — all leaving from a dock a quarter-mile east along 5th Avenue South. Pick a time and walk down.

Book a Boat Tour (239) 301-8913

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