Swim with dolphins in Panama City, Florida

By Janice McSherry 

Dolphins are fascinating water mammals and if you are going to Florida you can get up close to them in the wild at Water Planet in Panama City. The dolphin encounter programs at Water Planet range from one day to one week programs, and a special feature here are the therapeutic programs for special needs children. 

The dolphin encounters at Water Planet are not done with captive dolphins in a swimming pool or tank, but take place in shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico near the Panama City beach. While the dolphin swim expeditions are lots of fun, they are also educational, emotionally moving and in some cases therapeutic. Some visitors describe the encounter with a dolphin as “the most moving encounter” of their life.   

Other positive benefits of this low-impact form of eco-tourism are an educational understanding of wildlife protection and preservation.  

The programs take place on 24 foot and 28 foot pontoon boats with six participants per trip.  Before getting in the water you will learn about dolphin physiology, social habits and environment in order to respect and protect their lifestyle.  

The organizers of these tours say that their purpose is to stimulate awareness about the delicate balance of the marine environment. They emphasize that they are not selling an experience using trained animals. 

The encounters take place around Shell Island, a nature preserve which is part of the Florida State Park network, and the species of wild dolphins that are encountered here are the bottle-nosed dolphins. Sometimes unprepared swimmers are overconfident or too aggressive with the dolphins and don’t get the experience they are looking for. That’s why the operators of the Water Planet take pains to teach patience and respect which they say is the basis for an intense and beautiful experience with the dolphins. 

Children are welcomed to participate in these dolphin swim programs. The staff at Water Planet has years of experience with helping children in the water during their dolphin swim and on board the boat.  

At Water Planet, as well as at similar programs around the world, the experience of swimming with dolphins has proven to be therapeutic for autistic and other special needs children. The Harmony program here has been designed to help children with most spectra of autism, manic depression, Rett Syndrome, Turrets Syndrome, ADHD, Downs Syndrome, hyperactivity, etc.  Children with more general mental and emotional disorders or difficulties in social adaptation have also participated in this program. 

The price of $98 plus tax (for the one day program) includes dolphin swim excursions, lectures and dolphin educational package, free bottled water on board. The one-day programs begin at 9:00 am and end 1:30 pm.

In case you are wondering where Panama City is located, you can find it in the Northwest part of Florida on the Gulf of Mexico. If you are coming from Tallahassee it is only a two hour drive, and it is a five hour drive from Atlanta or New Orleans, and a six hours drive from Orlando or Tampa.

Here is the contact information:   Water Planet, 203 Greenwood Drive, Panama City Beach, FL 32407. Boat dock address: 5709 N. Lagoon Drive, Panama City Beach, FL 32408 (Across from Captain Anderson Restaurant). You can contact them by toll free telephone at (866) 449-5591 or by email at info@waterplanetusa.com