dolphin research center

289jeffw

We spent an afternoon at the Dolphin Research Center during our recent trip to Marathon. This was one of my favorite parts of our vacation. We paid general admission and spent most of our time watching the different trainers work with the dolphins. They are such intelligent animals. This is a must if you are in the Florida Keys.

Bonnie48345

This was within walking distance from our hotel so we walked down and spent about 3 hours there. It was a little pricey to get in - $25, but they have different shows/demonstrations every 1/2 hour. Lots of dolphins to watch. Some sea lions. Tropical birds. Learned this is where Flipper was filmed. The young people there had no idea who Flipper was. They do some great research here and rescue dolphins so the money goes to a good cause.

williamn175

Incredible experience...our grandchildren loved the dolphins. Expensive but well worth the money. Educational and fun. They painted t-shirts with the dolphins and wore them home on the plane...so excited~

800lelandb

My son loves marine animals, so this was on our list to visit. Very interesting location, but all the upgrades/encounters were sold out, so it was more a passive experience for him. It's not a huge facility, but there are dolphins everywhere. The volunteers and research guides are very knowledgeable and it was more than worth the visit to walk around the center to learn about the dolphins, watch one of the many programs and learn about them. It's not a very large place, so unless you have reserved an additional program, I wouldn't plan on more than 2 hours to visit.

Kaila1960

That's so sweet of your children and you to be so willing to support Dolphin Research Center and our mission with your positive review. We're delighted that you all enjoyed a great experience during your recent trip. Aleta and Diva were surely a fun pair for your Dolphin Encounter!We do our best to always provide the finest care and home for the dolphins, sea lions and other animals in our family. You and the other people who visit all are part of making this possible. Thanks so much for coming to see us and then for telling other people about us with your review. Please tell your children that Allie and Diva say a special hello to them!

Robi0376

We're so happy to hear that you and your family had such a great time during your recent visit. We want all of our guests to enjoy seeing the dolphins and sea lions while they learn more about them. Thank you so much for becoming members to support our mission! We appreciate you telling others about your time here in this review and hope to see you again soon.

CaliforniaOriginal

We always say that we're fun for kids of all ages! Thanks for visiting and sharing a wonderful review. We're very happy to hear that you enjoyed your time at Dolphin Research Center.

Cheri215

Thanks for supporting us, Cheri. We are very happy that you enjoyed visiting our animal family members - including the iguanas. It looks like you had a great time with all of us.As a nonprofit, your visit enables us to provide our family members with the best care possible. We truly thank you for spending time with us and sharing your experience with others.

tnelchou

Thank you for visiting and giving out these helpful tips to other guests! We're very happy you enjoyed the day with us. Thanks for the review!

EagleForever

We are thrilled to hear that you got so much value out of your visit to Dolphin Research Center. It sounds like you took in several narrated educational presentations, plus watched the dolphins and sea lions. Thanks for spending the day with us!

jasonp998

Jason, we truly appreciate your families visit to Dolphin Research Center and are ecstatic to know it was the highlight of your trip! It's wonderful that your wife and children were able to meet and play with Jax, and also see our newest family members. As a nonprofit facility, your visit helps us continue our mission of education, research, conservation and rescue. Thanks to wonderful people like yourself, we are able to take in rescue dolphins, like Jax and provide them with a forever home and family, as well give the rest of our flippered family members the best care possible.Again, thank you for your visit.

VSRubato

You're right! The dolphins are stars! I'm sure you learned that the original Flipper movie was filmed right here at Dolphin Research Center, and we have descendents of two of the dolphins who played Flipper, Little Bit and Mr. Gipper. Today, Tursi and her four children, Talon, Pax, Gypsi and Gambit carry on the Flipper lineage.Thank you for visiting Dolphin Research Center and giving us such a wonderful review. We're very happy you enjoyed taking in our educational presentations, watching the staff interact with the dolphins and your Meet the Dolphin program.

LaQuintaTraveler

Isn't it exciting to see the babies? Well, all of the dolphins, of course, but newborns are extra special. We're so happy that you were here and that you had a great time doing the Dolphin Encounter. Thanks so much for visiting and for posting this review.

Aoreilly

We have to agree that seeing dolphins - especially newborns, is amazing! So glad that you were here at this time to enjoy your Dolphin Encounter swim. We love talking with guests about the dolphins and sea lions, as you discovered, and it's a pleasure for us to share them with you.Thanks so much for visiting. We're happy you had such a good time and appreciate you telling other people about it too.

gzgirl

We appreciate you expressing your concerns about our research. We'd like to assure you that we are, indeed, actively involved in cognitive, behavioral, and husbandry research. Some of our studies might not be immediately apparent but throughout the day, staff and interns are out on the boardwalks collecting data through observations and other means. Our cognition studies are also done in view of the public and shown on the schedule board, but it is possible that those sessions didn't take place during the time that you were here. If you'd like to learn about some of our recent studies, please visit the Research section of our website.We're glad that you and your children had a good time seeing the dolphins. Thank you for visiting and for providing feedback in your review.