Swimming with Dolphins
Photo courtesy of Discovery Cove .
I consider swimming with dolphins a life changing experience. I’ve been fortunate enough to swim with dolphins four times in my life and each time I’ve come away with a renewed appreciation of the animal world, in general, and dolphins, in particular.
Where You Can Swim With Dolphins in the US
The programs listed here are all include actually swimming with dolphins in a controlled deep-water environment. There are many, many more programs where you can stand in shallow water with dolphins to touch and feed them, but not swim. There are also many boat tours that will take you to see dolphins in the wild and allow you to swim in the water near them, but not physically interact with them.
Discovery Cove in Orlando, FL
Dolphin Research Center in Grassy Key, FL
Marineland in St. Augustine, FL
Dolphin Quest in Oahu, HI and Big Island, HI
Dolphins Plus/Dolphin Cove in Key Largo, FL
Theater of the Sea in Islamorada, FL
Miami Seaquarium in Miami, FL
Gulf World Marine Park in Panama City Beach, FL
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, CA
Sea Life Park in Oahu, HI
Note to my readers: I only included US locations because the US has very strict laws regulating the care of marine mammals in captivity. There are swim with dolphin programs in other countries, but because their laws aren’t as stringent I didn’t include them in this article. That doesn’t mean they don’t take excellent care of their animals. It only means it’s harder to know for sure.
To many joyful beach experiences!
— Lisa Dworkin
