dolphin research and sea life nature center

Our family of four visited the Sea Life Nature Center and took the dolphin tour on Friday, March 13th. We started by visiting the Sea Life Nature Center, and my two daughters (ages 6 and 10) loved it, and so did my wife and I. We were more than happy to pay the small donation, especially considering the wonderful work the people at the Center are doing.After visiting the Sea Life Center, we embarked on our dolphin tour. Scarlett - along with her assistant, Ford, and 2 canine assistants - were all wonderful. Scarlett's passion and love for the area and its wildlife, specifically the dolphins, is contagious. She is knowledgeable, informative, and a wonderful guide. She was also great with our two daughters. We headed south from the marina, and soon encountered our first dolphins. When we later returned to the same area we were lucky to encounter a larger group of dolphins, including 2 or 3 baby dolphins with their mothers. For approximately 30 minutes, the frolicked and followed Scarlett's boat, at times close enough to spray my daughters with mist when surfacing to breathe. It was an amazing experience and one we will not soon forget.Hopefully it goes without saying, but we highly recommend Scarlett and her tour. It will be a must-do activity next time we return to SPI.

Rather than intruding on the dolphins lives you're visiting them (and playing with them) on *their* terms. Scarlet really knows how to "read" them and that makes the experience excellent. She's also a top-notch birder so that's a bonus. We had a great time and really got a feel for how the dolphins play. And the two dogs were charming and fun to be with.

This is a must do...Scarlet ' s enthusiasm and knowledge is superior! It's an experience that can't be described but has to be experienced. We had dolphins surrounding our boat and dancing up a storm for all the while we were there!!!

This is an increadible experience for all. The dolphins recognize and trust Scarlet and George, thats when the real fun begins!

This was my second visit to SPI and my younger brother and his girlfriend's first trip to the island. We were spending the day on SPI, but didn't make plans other than walking along the beach. I checked out trip advisor and saw this was the top rated activity so we called and they were nice enough to wait for us so we could make their last trip of the day. I have never been on a dolphin watching excursion so I cannot compare it to anything else, but I can say that I believe they deserve their number 1 rank. For $25 we got an extra long tour (ours was probably close to 2.5 hrs, though I think they are generally 1.5), full of many dolphin sightings, many of which were only 5-10 feet from our boat! The owners have two small dogs which seemed to get as big of a kick seeing the dolphins as we did. I saw the big boat dolphin tours and they did not seem to get as close to the dolphins as we were able to. I'm just thankful we didn't take that tour. I would definitely recommend this trip to everyone!! If I'm in the area again I will probably be going again!Thanks Scarlet and your Rozzi and Suga for a great time!

Took a great tour with Scarlet. After a little while looking for the dolphins she found two pods of dolphins. They knew that it was Scarlet and as she talked to them they really showed off for us as well as her two dogs. She could not do enough to explain them and their names, age, and sex. Also she was able to show us the Mom and baby (female). What a great time we had as it seemed to short but it was a two hour trip. Would do it again in a heart beat. Highly recommend it for all ages. Thanks again Scarlet for a great adventure.

The Dolphin Research and Sea Life Center offers a great opportunity for children and adults alike to learn first hand about many sea creatures. You can pick up many species. The displays are very good

My husband,daughter and I went on Scarlet and Rozzi's (her darling dolphin dog) boat tour last week....we can't brag enough about it. Scarlet is truly a wonderful friend and supporter of the dolphins in the bay and they know her and love her. For 2 hours we watched the dolphins swim and play around out pontoon boat with little Rozzi running around and being part of the fun Scarlet was so personable and had a wealth of knowledge about the tribe of dolphins we saw. I don't think we every stopped smiling,laughing,or making all kinds of noises thanking the dolphins for the company and "beautiful faces" as Scarlet like to say. I would highly recommend this trip to anyone.....it was not expensive and better than any other dolphin tour we have been on...we would to it again in a hearbeat!!!!!!

Had a great time on the pontoon with the dogs and the pot belly pig. Rozzi did a good job greating the Dolphins. Saw more Dolphins than we could count. They swam along next to the pontoon. Scarlet did an amazing job

We had a girls trip of 5 girls and was looking for something fun to do. We are all animal lovers and found this dolphin research place to go to. It was the most amazing time. Scarlett was great....she new where to go and was so passionate about the dolphins. We were able to see several dolphins on our trip, even a baby. It was very personable with having Scarlett showing us and giving insight about how they live. There were 2 dogs on the boat and a pot belly pig. They wpuld alert us when there was a dolphin close by, it was so cute :)We saw a large dolphin tour pass us and we're so glad we weren't on that boat. We were able to get way closer to them than anyone on the large boat would have. I would recommend choosing this place over any large place. Have a fabulous time!

Myself, my daughter, & my good friend went on the dolphin tour with Captain George. There was only 5 total on this tour, and could roam freely around his houseboat, and see the dolphins from every angle. Up close and personal is this tour. We saw momma dolphins with their babies, and many young dolphins playing around in the water. We just couldn't believe our eyes how many dolphins we saw in their natural habitat. Before we left on our tour, enjoyed walking around the Sea Life Nature center and watching Dominic the turtle roam freely in the building and outside on the patio, eating her kale and hibiscus flower buds. All in all, you will not go wrong by taking this tour. You will be so amazed!!!

After researching all the large commercial dolphin tours for the South Padre Island area decided on taking the one with Scarlet, even though it was a little bit more money it was so well worth it. My husband and I have heard of those tours where you dont really get close to the dolphins more like viewing through a binocular, was not what we wanted to pay for. We were not disapointed, from the moment we entered the Sealife center with Capt George as we awaited our tour until the tour ended we were amazed. The Sealife center is a nice touch not very large and admission is included with your tour but lots of good information on the area sealiife and Capt George was very helpful. As we (only 6 at a time on the boat) boarded the boat we were greetted by Scarlet and Rozzi her dog - off we go and Scarlet pointed out different sea grasses and other birds and explained alot of Eco information - Once we found the dolphins the amazement and joy was almost overwhelming - (let me point out the Dolphins are very ingtelligent and a happy positive feeling goes a long way) the boat is smaller and closer to the water and it allowed us to see the Dolphins up close- Scarlet truy is the Dolphin Whisperer as she would talk and call out to them and they would respond with leaps and splashes and would come close to the boat - This is a must do adventure wish we could rate it a 10 plus

We traveled 10 hours to South Padre just to see the Dolphins. Captain George and Scarlett were wonderful people. Guillermo and his brother in law also help out around the center and were very knowledgeable. We really enjoyed this cruise! My husband and I have traveled many places, but this dolphin cruise ranks at the top! We have three children, ages ranging from 1-7, and they each had a blast on the cruise. Even our one year old enjoyed himself! I highly recommend stopping by here!

Scarlet the Dolphin Whisperer is fantastic! Her gentle voice and kind words will sooth your heart and soul. We saw over 70 dolphins! Scarlet calls most of them by name (she has special names for, and can identify each, by their uniquely shaped fins & coloring). Her co-pilots, two cute little dogs Rozze and Suga - one of which fell overboard (see photo) during our excursion - completed the beautiful and adventurous experience. Thank you, Scarlet, for the beautiful lessons learned! Warmest regards,Three generations from South Dakota

Very passionate about providing a more intimate look at this near shore tribe of dolphins. Also quite knowledgeable...as if each dolphin were a member of the family. The genuine commitment to the preservation of the local habitat was impressive and an obvious labor of love. The enthusiasm is most definitely contagious and the dolphins were simply breathtaking.