They had booked a lot on the boats, so we had to wait for the boat to come back and get us at 10:30. They included all snorkel gear and beach umbrellas for that price, which we thought was a great deal. Petersburg and it’s was a good deal at $25 per adult and $12 for kids under 10. Found the Shell Key Shuttle ar Merry Pier in the Pass a Grille area of St. Looked at various options to get to Shell Key for the day and snorkel but most wanted $50 for a few hours only. We found a lot of larger & un-broken shells up by the backshore berm since it was after hightide On the way back we given a shells & birds informative sheet. We were fortunate to see several dolphins on are trip over to the Island. If they don’t have enough room on the shuttle, they will make another trip, so that you don’t have to wait another 2 hours for the next shuttle time. ![]() When you are ready to board the shuttle back to the dock, it better to be towards the back of the line to get off the shuttle 1st. After everyone is off the shuttle, they will lend you beach umbrellas & snorkeling equipment, but you will need to bring water, beach-chairs, blankets (which can be good to for a make-shift bathroom) etc. You give your name and number in your party and they will call name when boarding (so there is no need to started crowding to get on, you are boarded in the order you bought your tickets) 4. You will also be given free mesh bags for collection shells. When you purchase your tickets everyone in your party over 18 will need to sign a waiver. However, the store in front does sells snacks and has a bathroom to use before boarding the shuttle since there is no bathroom on the island. Purchase your shuttle tickets and parking pass at the little booth on the pier – not the store in front. Park along the water side at the meters – you can buy a parking pass for $5 that is good for all day when you purchase your shuttle tickets. We took the 10am shuttle to the Island so that there were fewer people and the shells were not picked over. This was probably one of the best things we did on our vacation. For $56 for two people, I wished I had just had a nice dinner on the beach in Siesta Key or Casey Key and walked the free shoreline. The others on our boat seemed to find more big shells and they said in the water was the place to get them. It looked like you could just walk onto the island which is in fact a connected key and not an island. When we walked to one side of the "island" it was more and more looking like another built-up beach with condos and houses close by. I found some broken sand dollars that I could find on any beach on the coast and some other common shells. Plus I didn't find a single large sand dollar or any interesting shells. I was a bit disappointed as I didn't realize that it was only a 10 minute boat ride to a place very close to the rest of St Pete and not at all a secluded island as I had imagined. However being from this area, I was not all that impressed for what we got for the price. Overall we had a great morning as a family and collected some cool shells. (7) WEAR WATERSHOES (or something to protect your feet) - you are literally walking on shells (ouch) It was overcast, so we opted out of umbrella use and we brought our own snorkel gear, so I can’t comment on condition or usefulness of either of these amenities. (6) Your cost includes shell collection bags, snorkel and umbrella rental. For $3, they will give you parking pass you can use all day (5) no need to put money in parking meter. (4) you are required to wear a mask and they are socially distancing groups on boat and plenty of island to social distance (3) there are no facilities on island so do your business before you go and bring drinks/snacks if you think you will need. ![]() Storms are good for bringing up good shells but decrease your visibility when snorkeling. Visibility was poor the day we went because of the storm the day before and coming in today. ![]() We shelled and then chilled in the water closer to drop off /pick up. (2) when you get off boat, go to right for good shell collection. (1) If you plan to take first shuttle - recommend arriving by 9:30 am. We opted to go anyway since this was our only day to go. Recommend calling the morning you plan to go to make sure they plan to head out for day. ![]() We were notified that we could only stay until 12:15 bc of the possible incoming storm and the Coast Guard regulations for the day.
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