Want to swim with sea lions or seals? Fortunately, there are a few attractions in Florida that offer sea lion and seal encounters.
The following is a list of sea lion and seal encounters in Florida:
Theater of the Sea:
Address: 84721 Overseas Hwy (Mile Marker 84.5) Islamorada, FL
Website: theaterofthesea.com
Established in 1946, Theater of the Sea is a marine mammal park in Islmadora that is home to dolphins, alligators, sharks, sea turtles, sting rays and sea lions.
The park offers three sea lion encounters: a Swim with the Sea Lion encounter, a Meet the Sea Lion encounter and a Paint with the Sea Lion encounter.
The park also offers other types of animal encounters, such as a dolphin encounter, a shark encounter, a stingray encounter, an alligator encounter and a sea turtle encounter.
Theater of the Sea is owned by P.F. McKenney, Jr.
Gulf World Marine Park:
Address: 15412 Front Beach Rd, Panama City Beach, FL
Website: gulfworldmarinepark.com
Established in 1970, Gulf World Marine Park is a marine park in Panama City Beach that is home to bottlenose dolphins, harbor seals, California sea lions, tropical birds, penguins, stingrays and African penguins.
The park offers three types of sea lion and seal encounters: a Sea Lion Encounter, a Sea Lion and Harbor Seal Meet & Greet as well as a Harbor Seal Encounter.
In addition, the park also offers other types of animal encounters such as a dolphin encounter, penguin encounter and a stingray interactive program.
In 2022, Gulf World Marine Park was ranked the number one place to swim with dolphins in Florida, according to Florida Vacationers website.
The Gulf World Marine Park is owned by Ron Hardy.
Dolphin World:
Address: 101425 Overseas Highway #241, Key Largo, FL
Website: dolphinworld.org
Established in 1995, Dolphin World is an educational program in Key Largo where visitors can swim with sea lions and dolphins.
The program offers a Sea Lion Swim encounter which is a 30 minute encounter with a sea lion. During the encounter, guests can swim with a sea lion while they play with, touch, hold and train the sea lion.
The program also offers various other types of animal encounters, including a Dolphin Swim Age 5+ encounter, a Dolphin Encounter Age 1+, a Dolphin and and a Swim Snorkel Trip.
Seaworld Orlando:
Address: 7007 Sea World Dr, Orlando, FL
Website: seaworld.com/orlando
Established in 1973, SeaWorld Orlando is a theme park and marine zoological park in Orlando that features amusement park rides and animal experiences.
The park offers a Sea Lion Up Close tour which is a 60-minute tour of the Sea Lion exhibit at the park. During the tour, visitors meet a sea lion and learn about what it takes to train and care for sea lions.
The park also offers other animal encounters, such as a Dine With Orcas experience, Shark Encounter, Penguin Encounter, Dolphin Encounter, Walrus Encounter, Beluga Encounter, Killer Whale Up-Close Tour and an annual Christmas Celebration tour.
Seaworld is accredited by Association of Zoos and Aquariums and is owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment.
Miami Seaquarium:
Address: 4400 Rickenbacker Causeway, Key Biscayne, FL
Website: miamiseaquarium.com
Established in 1955, the Miami Seaquarium is a 38-acre oceanarium in Key Biscayne that is home to sea turtles, dolphins, sea lions, penguins and stingrays.
The seaquarium offers a Seal Swim experience which is a 15 to 20 minute swim with harbor seals in shallow water.
The seaquarium also offers other types of animal encounters, such as a Dolphin Encounter, Penguin Encounter, Stingray Interaction and a Sea Trek Reef Encounter.
Miami Seaquarium is accredited by Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks & Aquariums, IMATA’s Animal Trainer Development Program and by American Humane.
Miami Seaquarium is owned by the Dolphin Company.
If you would like to visit the Miami Seaquarium and want to save money on tickets, check out this article on Miami Seaquarium discount tickets.
Sources:
“About Us.” Dolphin World, dolphinworld.org/about-us
“About Miami Seaquarium.” Miami Seaquarium, miamiseaquarium.com/plan-a-visit/about-miami-seaquarium/
“Accreditations.” Miami Seaquarium, miamiseaquarium.com/conservation-and-care/accreditations/
Cobb, Nathan. “Gulf World named No. 1 place to swim with dolphins in Florida; other PCB spot ranked No. 11.” Panama City News Herald, 14 July. 2022, newsherald.com/story/entertainment/2022/07/14/panama-city-beach-has-floridas-best-places-swim-dolphins/10036848002/
“List of AZA Accredited Zoos.” The Zoo Directory, zoo.directory/pages/list-of-aza-accredited-zoos
“About Us.” Gulf World, gulfworldmarinepark.com/about-us/
“History.” Theater of the Sea, theaterofthesea.com/about-us/history/
