This unique experience is great for those that want to have direct contact with these beautiful animals without taking up the whole day. Make your reservation in the gift house. When it is time for your session, take a water taxi to Bailey’s Key, the home of the St. Anthony’s Key dolphins. Walk along the dock that arcs around the enclosed area where the dolphins swim as a pod to meet with the Encounter trainers. You will be given time to store your items in lockers and then meet up for the encounter.

Once being broken up into groups based on the program selected, wade into the water approximately waist deep. You will then meet your trainer and dolphin.

Our dolphin, Maurey, quickly met us with a smile. After we had a swim-by and each participant touched the top of our new dolphin friend, then the next pass was her being upside down and letting us pet her underside. Getting introduced to how powerful these animals really are, along with how smart they are is a unique and special experience. Unlike wild dolphins that will stay at a distance, get a true rare experience to touch a dolphin, look inside the mouth of one of these animals, even noticing they don’t have taste buds on their tongue, but on the back of their mouths near their throat! Near the end of the encounter you will get a chance to pair up and help lift your dolphin so that they can lift their tail out of the water for a picture. You will also spend one on one with them and have them give you a kiss on the cheek. It’s quite fun; even if they decided to stick their tongue at you in the picture! Once everyone in the group got their chance to be photographed with the dolphin, and be shown the power these animals have as they are told to go away from the group and leap high into the sky. After that show of strength and agility, get a last chance to say goodbye to your new dolphin friend with one last pet as it swims by. One of the last things that could happen is that something natural, like a seashell, rock, or piece of sea grass could be picked up by your new dolphin friend and given to one of the people in the group as a memento of you Dolphin encounter!