Cocoa Beach 1,000 Islands: In Search of Wildlife

It was such a pleasant way to spend the afternoon! It was great to cool down during a hot day. The hosts were great- funny, interesting, and full of information. Wish we could have seen more manatees and dolphins but thats something that can't be controlled! We did see some and saw a ton of birds and other wildlife. My sister, 6-year-old niece, and I would do this again in a heartbeat!

Relaxed, fun few hours on a beautiful day viewing birds of all kinds, manatees and dolphins.

My husband and I found the tour very enjoyable. The cold weather caused us not to see all the animals (animals stay hidden the cold) but the birds were out in full force. The guides were well versed with the area and gave interesting details on all the landscape and various homes we viewed.....the guides were great, especially keeping us entertained with everyone complaining how cold they were. When we come back next year, weather permitting, we'd take tour again.

We've taken the Island boat ride many times and each time we've loved it. The people that navigate and narrate the ride are all very informative and friendly. We had Bob this last time (we've had him before) and he's a joy to talk to and laugh with. He points out all the different things, even the huge houses that most of us cannot afford but are so happy to look at them. Each time we learn something we didn't know. Thank you all very much and "we'll be back"....Marsha & Jim Canter

I've been coming to Cocoa Beach for about 30 years. This is the first time I really became aware of the wonders of the Banana river lagoon. The captain and guide were very entertaining and knowledgable. Saw many manatees and pods of dolphins that came right up to the boat. As a bonus, it was fun seeing the nice homes located on the water. Lots of beautiful birds posed for us during tour also. I strongly recommend.

Tons of interesting information delivered by a delightful pair. The boat was comfortable, clean and safe. We were lucky to see lots of wild life but even if we hadn't the trip would have been worth it for the educational facts of the Cocoa Beach area, the Banana River, and the history of the space coast.. I highly recommend this tour.

Islandboats were incredible hosts. We originally booked our tour for a family outing to celebrate my wife's birthday. During the very early morning of the day of our tour one of our children became ill. My wife still went on the tour and raved about the items she learned and the seeing of manatees and dolphins. She found the information of dolphin feeding habits of particular interest. She wished the whole family could have gone but she had a great time nonetheless. Also, Islandboats refunded our other tickets (on their own initiative) - GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE!

Both days, we saw manatees all along the channel route. There were many bottle nose dolphins out in the lagoon both days and on Friday, two pairs approached the boat several times. We saw about 6 species of herons and egrets, laughing gulls, 2 species of cormorants, vultures, mallard ducks complete with ducklings and brown pelicans. There were wood storks, white ibis and roseate spoonbills foraging together in some peoples' yards. We saw numerous very interesting waterfront homes. Ospreys dove on fish at several points along the way and even at the dock at the end of the Friday trip. To top it all off, we found 4 to 6 manatees feeding on the floating grasses right next to and between the 2 boats on both days after after we docked. On Friday's trip, there was no wind and we had spectacular stratus and cumulonimbus clouds roiling up ahead of a severe lightning storm that broke out at the Orlando airport in the evening and which delayed my flight's departure from 7 pm until 10 pm. It was well worth it. I took a great many very cool infrared photos of the clouds and their mirror reflections in the glassy water which I am very happy to have. Bravo Cap'n Mike and Susan! Hooray Cap'n John and Jack!

The guide and captain were very entertaining and knowledgeable. They made the tour very enjoyable.

This was an enjoyable tour - the two hours passed quickly due to the friendly and knowledgeable crew. The guide provided lots of interesting information about the area, both the natural and the man-made. The captain worked hard to make sure we all saw as much wildlife as possible, resulting in numerous manatee sightings. I will do this again the next time I am in the area.