HAVE YOU EVER DONE A DOLPHIN INTERACTION?
Are you a fan of dolphins? I have always loved dolphins! They are such fascinating and intelligent animals, and I have always wanted to meet a dolphin. So once we were settled at my parents’ home in South Florida, I looked up a way for the girls and I to meet some dolphins. And, I was so lucky to come across Island Dolphin Care in Key Largo, which is the beginning of the Florida keys.
Island Dolphin Care was founded by the parents of Joe Hoagland. Joe’s left side of his body was weakened by a stroke, and his parents brought him to swim with dolphins when he was 3 to encourage him to use his weak side. He formed a bond with a dolphin, and his parents decided to open this not-for-profit organization in 1997 so other kids could be helped by dolphins.
Island Dolphin Care also offers educational dolphin experiences to a small amount of visitors. Luckily, this facility was reopening for visitors when I looked online, and they were offering 50% discounts for the entire month of June. We were able to book an interaction on the lift, and we could not wait!
The facility took a lot of precautions for COVID which was great. We had to wear masks the whole time and did not get within six feet of the staff. We went in the water on the lift by ourselves with no trainers, and they were on the other side of the dock area. With the trainers spread out, we were actually able to help with the movements to tell the dolphins what to do, which was just amazing. We were able to pet the dolphins, have a water fight with them, they brought us presents from the lagoon, and so much more!
This was an absolutely incredible experience that I hope everyone is able to have at some point with their children. Not only were the kids in awe, but I was as well. It is so neat to experience something new with your children.
Afterwards, we drove from Key Largo to Key West. It was a spectacular two-hour drive that I have always wanted to do. While in Key West, we walked along Duval Street, stopped by for a picture at the southernmost point in the US, and we visited Fort Zachary Taylor State Park.
Check out this video if you want to see our day trip video to the Florida Keys! Have you been to Key West? Thank you for wandering along with us!
Beth Shor
What an amazing experience!
Jessica Wisniewski
Thank you, Mom! It was a blast.
Melody
That looked like a really fun experience! Thank you for sharing it. 🙂
Jessica Wisniewski
Thank you so much for reading!
Suzie
It sound like fun, i did it in the past in Punta Cana in Dominican Republic and i loved it!
Jessica Wisniewski
Wow, i’m sure it was amazing to do in Punta Cana!
Stephanie
This is amazing!! I swam with dolphins in the Bahamas and it was seriously one of the best things I’ve ever done! I cannot wait until my kids are old enough to do a dolphin encounter with me! This place sounds amazing. I’ll have to add it to my bucket list!
Jessica Wisniewski
It was really amazing! Sounds amazing that you did it in the Bahamas!!
Katie
Dolphins are my favorite! We did an encounter in the Bahamas and at SeaWorld. This place looks like it’s a lot of fun too.
Jessica Wisniewski
Sounds amazing!! I’d love to do more encounters! IDC was really neat, and I highly recommend it!