Spotting dolphins in Florida’s Gulf Coast

Before the boat even started moving, we spotted the fins. Gliding serenely through the waters of Bradenton Beach on Florida’s Gulf Coast, around 165 bottlenose dolphins make their home on this stretch of coast.

press trip*

Studied in the wild since the 1970s by the Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium in neighbouring Sarasota, Bradenton’s dolphins include the oldest known living one. A venerable 64, she’s usually accompanied by a 62-year-old friend.

I’m used to wildlife spotting tours cautiously suggesting you might see the animals if you’re very lucky. Paradise Boat tours say you’ve got a 95% chance of seeing dolphins, and with the expertise of the crew, you’d have to be very unlucky to be among the 5%.

It was our last full day and our last excursion during our stay on Anna Maria Island, this time heading to the far south of the island and the pier at the end of Bridge Street, one of the oldest areas.

With Captain Sherman Baldwin at the wheel – until Minnie briefly took over – we got a great introduction to all things dolphin as well as the area.

I discovered the dolphins shed their skin every three hours or so, which keeps them shiny, and that each has its own call or signal, as unique as a fingerprint (although the pitch changes, just as human voices deepen) with the sound travelling up to four miles underwater.

The Anna Maria Island dolphins also recognise the sound of the boat’s engines, and know it’s no threat.

Quite the opposite, in fact, with the crew picking up discarded plastic bottles from the water and always keeping a respectful distance away before moving on after a few minutes.

Which is how we saw the baby dolphin. Around three months old, he splashed happily in the water, around the same size as my three-year-old.

For me, it more than made up for the lack of manatees, which can sometimes be spotted in the mangroves – Minnie, her manatee fascination going strong after meeting Snooty was less forgiving.

Between those were pelicans looking hugely satisfied as a silver boiling of fish marked the meetings of the waters of the Bay and the Gulf, washing huge shoals in and out.

As we cruised around, we got a taste of Florida’s different sides: luxury houses on an island accessible only by boat, Sarasota’s high-rise skyline in the distance and the fishing village of Cortez.

It’s somewhere you might recognise, even if you’ve never set foot in Bradenton, the Gulf Coast or even Florida. Dating back to the 19th century, when five families moved from North Carolina to restart their fishing business after a series of destructive storms, Cortez is still frozen partly in the past.

There are no mailboxes or even street numbers there, and it’s so convincingly of another time, it’s popped up in various Hollywood movies including A Perfect Storm.

90 minutes passed all too quickly, and we were back on dry land again. It’s a lovely area to wander around though – lots of boutiques, such as Searenity Beach, which does on-beach massages (no chance with a three-year-old) and quirky jewellery (that, I could try).

There’s also The Fish Hole mini golf, where water mists the lush plants – and players – as you try to get your ball around the course.

Minnie’s hugely competitive side came out (inherited from me alas), with her club used partly as croquet mallet, partly as offensive weapon.

She did manage to beat me on three holes though. I’ll leave you to guess how much of that was down to my rusty crazy golf skills, and how much a tactiful way of pacifying a preschooler who’s a sore loser.

To the far south of the island is Leffis Key, a nature trail with wooden boardwalks over the shallows where you can spot crabs, sea urchins and seahorses – although we had to content ourselves with fish, geckos and little spidery beetles.

And from one relaxed beachy spot to another… back to the north of the island and Anna Maria City, with one of my favourite places to eat. The Sandbar sits right on the beachfront, with tables where you can literally put your feet in the sand as you eat.

For more of the best beaches in Florida with kids, check out my top picks

Had Minnie been a bit older or the sun less strong, I can imagine relaxing back with a drink and food as she busied herself playing. The sand is so powdery fine that you’ll need plenty of buckets from the sea or a stock of water if you fancy making sandcastles.

Tempting though it was, we stuck to the shadier outdoor tables under the fans as I was given a mini tasting menu of some of the restaurant’s highlights.

And it’s an impressive list. As well as their own farm where they grow as many vegetables as possible, they work with other smaller producers as well as local fishermen to offer a market for mullet which was otherwise just dumped back in the sea.

I had everything from sturgeon caviar with soft bellied crab to Tennessee sausage with sauerkraut (I hate sauerkraut but this was delicious), along with a lovely dry Riesling and their homebaked foccaccia. Minnie, meanwhile, was scoffing the mac’n’cheese and ice cream.

One of three sister properties on the island – one of which was named the best place to meet a millionaire (by someone who did), it seemed to sum up this slice of Florida: an unexpected, laid-back treat of a place.

Who needs Mickey, Minnie and Pluto when Florida’s secrets are this good?

Disclosure: My trip to spot dolphins in Florida was courtesy of Visit Bradenton. All opinions and crazy golf skills are my own.

Images copyright MummyTravels

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