Four children standing ankle-deep in the Gulf surf holding green shell buckets on a beach in the Ten Thousand Islands near Marco Island, Florida

Near Your Stay

Boat Tours Near Hammock Bay, Marco Island

Somebody in the house is always not playing. This page is for them — the half-day on the water while one of you is out on a tee time, and the one trip you all take together before the week is over.

San Marco Marina, Goodland
1.5–2 hour cruises
All ages welcome
USCG Master Captains

Check Availability & Book (239) 301-8913

Nearest dockSan Marco Marina, Goodland

From Hammock Bay15–20 min — south on CR-951, then east

Waterbackwater and wild beaches of the Ten Thousand Islands

You may seedolphins, shell beaches, big Gulf light — wild things, never guaranteed

For Everyone Not Playing

What the rest of the house does today

Hammock Bay sits on Collier Boulevard — CR-951 — a gated golf community of mid-rise buildings on the mainland side of the water. Our boats are berthed south and east of you at San Marco Marina, 604 East Palm Avenue in Goodland, out on the southeast tip of Marco Island. The drive runs about fifteen to twenty minutes: south on Collier Boulevard, over the bridge, then east on San Marco Road until the pavement narrows and the mangroves close in. That is short enough to fit inside a morning somebody else has already booked for themselves, which is the whole reason this page exists.

Here is the useful part. Our cruises run about an hour and a half to two hours, and with the drive on both ends a boat trip comes to roughly three hours door to door. A morning tee time and a morning cruise fit inside the same window without anybody rearranging anything. The half of the group that isn’t playing leaves when the players leave, gets out into the Ten Thousand Islands, and is back at the same time everyone else is — rinsed off, hungry, and holding better photographs. Nobody spends the morning in the residence waiting on a text that says the group ahead is running long.

The other half of this page is the day the tee sheet is full and nobody is playing at all. That is the day to put the whole household on one boat: a private charter with your own start time, a shelling run to a beach that has no bridge to it, or the last cruise of the evening with the sun going down over open Gulf water. It is usually the trip people actually talk about afterward, because it is the one where the four-year-old, the teenagers and the grandparents were all leaning over the same rail looking at the same dolphin.

Our slip is in Goodland — a 15–20 minute drive south and east
Cruises run 1.5–2 hours, so a trip fits around a tee time
Split up in the morning, reconvene for the one everybody does
Every tour boards at the marina, never a private or community dock

Check Availability

A family of four on a white shell beach near Marco Island, Florida holding up their finds — an orange mesh collecting bag, one large shell and one small round one — with the youngest child in a life jacket and a bare grey treeline behind them — ⚓ The trip the whole house does together, and everybody with something to hold up

Fits Around a Tee Time

The trips that fit a Hammock Bay week

All five leave from our Goodland slip — the first three slot inside a morning, the last two are built for the whole group at once.

Dolphin ToursWild bottlenose working the backwater between Goodland and the outer islands — often, but never a guarantee. Shelling ToursBoat-only beaches the tide just uncovered. From $125 adult, $90 child — empty shells only. Beach & Island TripsNose the bow onto a wild barrier island with no bridge to it and let everybody wander. Private ChartersThe whole boat and your own start time — the trip the entire household does together. Sunset CruisesThe last slot of the day, once the round is finished and the group has reconvened.

Door to Dock

Hammock Bay to Goodland, step by step

Six steps from your gate to the bow, with an honest drive time in the middle.

Start: a house where the morning is already spoken for

Most weeks at Hammock Bay run on a start time somebody booked well in advance. One or two people in the group have a place to be; the rest have an open morning and a rental car sitting in the shade. Being off Collier Boulevard on the mainland side turns out to be genuinely useful when a household has to split in two — the car pulls out of the gate onto a road that actually goes somewhere, and neither half of the group has to wait on the other to get moving. If you are the one not playing today, you have more of the day free than you think, and the water south of you is the best possible use of it. Everything below is written on the assumption that you would like to be back before the rest of them are.

The drive: south on Collier Boulevard, then east

Turn south on CR-951 and stay on it, over the bridge, then east on San Marco Road until the road runs out at the water. Call it fifteen to twenty minutes. Season traffic can stretch that in February; a soft July morning will beat it. That is a range and not a promise, so drop 604 East Palm Avenue, Goodland into your own map app before you pull out and let it tell you the truth for your gate and your hour. Add a few minutes if you are the one driving a carful of teenagers who have not yet located their shoes. The last stretch is the good part, where the houses thin out and you can see how much water there really is down here.

The dock: our slip at San Marco Marina

We board at San Marco Marina, 604 East Palm Avenue, in Goodland — a small working fishing village on the southeast tip of Marco Island rather than a resort strip. Since so much of this part of the county is built around water, let us be direct about how it works: every tour we run departs from our slip at that marina, and we are not able to collect you from a private residence, a community dock or a neighborhood ramp. Treat that as a logistics fact rather than a brush-off. The slip is where the boats are berthed, where the crew stages, and where a group can board safely. After you book we send the exact slip and a short where-to-meet note, which matters more than usual when your people are arriving in two cars from two different directions.

Parking, and the ten minutes to leave yourself

Parking at the marina is a far gentler proposition than anything you will hunt for out on the island in season, but give yourself a cushion anyway and plan to be there about ten minutes ahead of departure. That buffer is what lets you park without rushing, find the right boat, use the restroom and step aboard breathing normally — and it means we push off on time for everybody else who managed it. If your group is coming in two cars, name the marina itself as the meeting point instead of the lot, and send the slower car first. One late arrival holds up a full boat. If you are behind, call (239) 301-8913 rather than guessing; a real person picks up and will tell you honestly whether to hurry.

What to pack once the group has split in two

Soft-soled shoes, sunglasses, a hat, reef-safe sunscreen and one light layer for the ride back — the water gives up its heat faster than a parking lot does. Bring whatever you want to drink or snack on beyond the water we keep aboard, plus a towel if anybody plans to wade. Going shelling? Bring a mesh bag and take empty shells only: Collier County law is empty-only, meaning no live shells, no sand dollars, no starfish. The Florida state shell is the horse conch, if anyone in the group wants to sound informed at dinner. Tell us the kids’ ages when you book so the right life jackets are waiting, and leave anything in the car you would hate to watch go over the side.

Then: out into the islands, and back before everyone reconvenes

This is where the day stops being logistics. Your captain runs you through the backwater and out into the Ten Thousand Islands — mangrove keys, tidal flats, wild beaches with no road to them — naming what you are looking at as you go, which is most of what you are paying a captain for. Ninety minutes to two hours later you are tied up at the same slip with sand in the bottom of a bag. The drive back puts you on Collier Boulevard at roughly the hour the other half of the group is walking in, which is the entire point of running the two things in parallel. Then you compare notes over lunch, and one side of that conversation is usually more interesting than the other.

Who It Suits

A great fit if you’re…

This one is written for the people in the house who are not playing today.

Not the golfer in the group

You came along, you like the trip, and you would rather be doing something than waiting on it.

Traveling with restless teenagers

Two hours in the islands beats another morning of everyone on their phones by the pool.

Looking at a full tee sheet

The morning nobody could get a slot is the morning to put the whole house on a boat instead.

Planning the one thing you all do

Save a private charter or a shelling run for the last full day and let that be the memory.

On the Water

What the other half of the group did today

Wild shell beaches, dolphins in the wake, and sand that only arrives by boat.

A low, empty white sand island across shallow green Gulf water under a big cloudy sky near Marco Island, Florida — Boat-only beaches, and what collects on them

A wild bottlenose dolphin leaping clear of a boat’s wake in green water near Marco Island, Florida — Wild dolphins ride the wake — often, on their own schedule

A wide, empty white-sand beach scattered with bleached driftwood, with old wooden pilings standing in the shallows offshore — No bridge, no chairs, no umbrella rental

Keep Planning

More water within twenty minutes of your gate

The mainland side, the island itself, and the village we run out of.

Boat Tours Near Marco ShoresHow the quiet mainland side gets out on the same water. Boat Tours on Marco IslandEvery trip we run on and around the island, gathered in one place. Boat Tours from GoodlandThe working village our slip sits in, and why that head start matters. All Stays We ServeEvery community, hotel and neighborhood we run boat tours near.

Good to Know

Boat tours near Hammock Bay, Marco Island

The questions we get from households that split up for the morning.

One of us has a morning tee time. Can the rest of us get out on the water and still be back in time?

Usually, yes, and it is the most common way this works from your address. Our cruises run about an hour and a half to two hours, and our Goodland slip is roughly fifteen to twenty minutes each way, so the outing lands close to three hours from leaving the gate to walking back in. A morning departure lines up neatly with a morning start time on the other side. Book the earlier slot if you want the widest margin, and mention when you book that you are on a clock — we will steer you to the departure that fits rather than the one that sounds nice. Check the drive from your own building in a map app, because CR-951 moves slower in season.

Can you pick us up at Hammock Bay, or at a dock near the community?

We can’t, and it is worth knowing before you plan around it. Every tour we run departs from our slip at San Marco Marina, 604 East Palm Avenue in Goodland, and we do not run pickups at private residences, community docks or neighborhood boat ramps — for anyone, anywhere. The marina is where our boats are berthed and where a group can board safely, with life jackets sized out, a captain briefing and a restroom right there before you step on. From where you are that costs you very little: a straight run south on Collier Boulevard, over the bridge, then east. Once your booking is confirmed we send the exact slip and the where-to-meet details.

The tee sheet is full and nobody is playing. What should the whole group do instead?

Take a private charter and set your own start time, or take a shelling run out to the boat-only beaches. A private charter gives you the entire boat, your own clock, and a captain who will shape the route around what your particular group wants — dolphins first for the kids, a beach stop in the middle, back before anybody wilts. Shelling starts at $125 per adult and $90 per child. If the afternoon is spoken for, the last cruise of the day puts everyone on the water while the light goes long over the Gulf. Call (239) 301-8913 and we will help you match the trip to the ages and the hours you have.

How does shelling work out here, and is there a season for it?

Shelling here runs all year — what changes is the tide, not the calendar. Winter brings the big negative lows in the morning; in summer they swing around to the evening, which is why the departure time we suggest moves across the calendar. Our captains run to the beaches the tide has just uncovered out in the Ten Thousand Islands, and that head start is the real reason to leave from Goodland instead of walking onto a public beach with everyone else. Two rules before you go: Collier County is empty shells only, with no live shells, sand dollars or starfish taken, and Florida’s state shell is the horse conch.

Will we actually see dolphins?

Often. Wild bottlenose dolphins live in this water year-round, they regularly surface alongside the boat or ride the wake, and the backwater between Goodland and the outer islands is good ground for them. They are wild animals keeping their own schedule, though, so we never guarantee a sighting and you should be wary of any operator who does. What we can tell you is that you will be in the water they genuinely use, with a captain who knows which stretches tend to produce and when the tide favors them. Birdlife is close to a given on any trip — ospreys, pelicans, herons and roseate spoonbills working the exposed flats.

Will a trip out of Goodland work for the youngest kids and the grandparents on the same boat?

That is exactly what these boats are for, and it is why the group trip is usually the one everybody remembers. Our tour boats are shaded pontoons with cushioned seating, a flat deck and an easy step aboard from a fixed dock, and a cruise of ninety minutes to two hours is short enough that nobody has to tough it out. Give us ages when you book and the right life jackets will be waiting; the little ones wear them the whole way. If somebody overheats easily, ask for a seat under the canopy and bring water and a hat. If mobility is a real question, call (239) 301-8913 before booking and we will talk boarding through honestly.

Reserve Your Seats

Ready to give the non-golfers a better morning?

Check availability and book a boat tour out of Goodland — a short run south and east of your gate.

Or call (239) 301-8913

The Other Half of the Week

Book a boat tour from Hammock Bay

Dolphin cruises, shelling runs to boat-only beaches, island landings, private charters and sunset cruises — all from our slip at San Marco Marina in Goodland. Take a morning for whoever isn’t playing, and save one for the whole house.

Book a Boat Tour (239) 301-8913

← All stays we serve