Things to Do
The 20 Best Things to Do in Naples, Florida
Twenty things worth your day, ranked by how often we send visiting friends to each one.
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Things to Do
Taking Kids on the Water in Naples: A Parent's Field Guide
Two hours, one beach landing, before lunch. That's the formula — here's why it works.
The short answer
Naples is unusually good at boat days with children, mostly because the interesting things are close together: dolphins in the bay, a shelling beach twenty minutes south, water warm enough to swim in for eight months of the year. The trips that go wrong are the ones that try to do too much.
Jump to the questions people ask about this.
The formula that works
- Two to three hours, no more, for children under about eight
- A morning departure — calm water and cooler air, both non-negotiable
- One beach or sandbar landing so they can get off the boat and dig
- Snacks aboard, lunch afterwards on land
The critical variable is not the boat, it is who is driving it. A captain who has done this a hundred times will read the group in the first ten minutes, cut the run short, anchor in knee-deep water and let the kids look for shells instead of pushing on to the next headland. That flexibility is the entire argument for a private boat with children — private departures out of Naples Bay can be shaped around a toddler's morning, and a fixed schedule cannot.
Life jackets and the actual rules
Florida requires every child under six to wear a Coast Guard-approved life jacket on a vessel under 26 feet while under way. Charters carry infant, child and youth sizes, but tell them the weights when you book so the right ones are aboard. Older kids are not required to wear one under way, though most captains ask them to during beach landings and swim stops.
Dolphins: managing expectations
Bottlenose dolphins live in Naples Bay and Gordon Pass year-round, and sightings on a morning trip are common enough that most operators talk about them casually. They are wild animals, so nobody guarantees them. The reliable spots are the pass edges on a moving tide and behind working shrimp boats. Feeding or chasing them is illegal under federal law, and a good captain will hold off and let them come to the boat — which they usually do.
What to bring for children
- Mineral sunscreen and a rash guard — reapplying on a moving boat is a losing battle
- A mesh bag for shells and a small bucket
- Water, plus a snack that survives heat
- A dry change of clothes for the drive home
- Ear protection for babies if the boat runs at speed
Common questions
- What age is old enough for a boat tour in Naples?
- Infants can legally go aboard, and families with toddlers do fine on short morning trips. Two to three hours with one beach landing works well from about age two upward.
- Do children need life jackets on a Naples boat trip?
- Florida law requires children under six to wear a Coast Guard-approved life jacket on vessels under 26 feet while under way. Charters supply properly sized jackets if you give them the children's weights when booking.
- Will we definitely see dolphins?
- No operator can guarantee wild dolphins, but resident bottlenose pods in Naples Bay and Gordon Pass make morning sightings common. Moving tides near the pass are the most reliable conditions.
- How long should a boat trip be with young kids?
- Two to three hours, in the morning, with a stop where they can get off and play. Longer trips tend to end early anyway.
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