Dolphins hold a very special place in peoples hearts and most people find swimming with a dolphin a very moving experience and cannot wait to do it again, despite the price. Florida offers many opportunities to swim with dolphins no matter where you are staying.

If you are staying in Central Florida near Orlando then you can simply head over to SeaWorld and watch the dolphin shows or visit the next door Discovery Cove where you can spend 30 minutes in the water in a controlled environment with an Atlantic bottle-nosed dolphin. Even if you are staying in Orlando and do not have a car, you can take a two day bus trip to the Florida Keys including a dolphin swim.

Alternatively you can head for the coast to one of a number of companies offering dolphin swims and dolphin encounters. Note that some companies offer therapeutic programs for special needs children.

Wild dolphin swim/encounter

It is illegal to harass, feed, chase or touch marine mammals in the wild and so a wild encounter is a different kind of experience to the controlled encounters that take part in marine parks. All reputable companies will take time to teach the participants the correct way to deal with wild dolphins in their environment.

Typically you are taken out by boat into the open ocean to meet wild dolphins in their natural habitat. Once the dolphins are found, you can either just watch them from the boat or go over the side and snorkel with them; you must be a confident swimmer to swim in the sea like this.

Obviously there is no guarantee that the weather will be suitable, that you will meet any dolphins or that they will want to spend time with you but if you want to experience as natural an encounter as possible then this is the sort of trip for you. It is worth checking if the company offers any form of 'no show' guarantee if no dolphins are found.

As well as a one day trip, some companies also offer extended programmes/workshops of anything from 2 days to 7 days if you want to spend more time with the dolphins.

Special Tip

Before making your visit check with the operator exactly what gear you need to provide yourself and what is supplied or can be hired; for example, snorkel, fins, towels etc.

Controlled dolphin swim/wade

If you do not want to go out into the ocean, then you can still either swim with a dolphin or even wade with a dolphin in captivity.

There are really two kinds of controlled swim, the natural swim where you typically free swim using a snorkel with captive dolphins and the structured swim where you are one on one with a trainer (much like the swim with dolphins experience at Discovery Cove, Orlando).

Generally you need to be a good swimmer, comfortable in water 10-15 feet (3-5 metres) deep without using any flotation device. If you do not like getting out of your depth then some companies offer a wade with a dolphin programme where you can still cuddle and touch a dolphin whilst standing in shallow water (up to your waist) or at places like Discovery Cove you can wear a flotation device for the actual swim.

Copyright 2005(c) Stephen Downs, the Florida Review and Travel Guide.

This article can be reprinted freely online, as long as the entire article and this resource box (with a live link) are included and the article is not changed in any way (apart from grammatical corrections).

Stephen Downs is the publisher of the Florida Review and Travel Guide (found at http://www.floridareview.co.uk/) which provides independent advice, tips and information for anyone planning a vacation in Florida. Let the Florida Review and Travel Guide help you to make it a holiday to remember.

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