Island Time Sailing in Panama City Beach

Island Time runs sailing catamarans from The Dock at 5201 North Lagoon Drive, on Grand Lagoon in Panama City Beach, just inside St. Andrews Pass. It sells two public trips: a three-hour Shell Island snorkel and dolphin cruise, which anchors at the island for about an hour, and a two-hour sunset dolphin sail with no swim stop. Both sail on the same large catamaran, with restrooms and a bar on board.

The short answer

For most visitors, the trip to book is Island Time’s Shell Island snorkel and dolphin cruise, in the booking box on this page: about an hour at anchor off Shell Island with snorkel gear, life jackets and two paddle boards, then two hours watching for dolphins in St. Andrews Bay and out into the Gulf. Adults pay $52.43, children aged 3 to 12 $41.73 and infants up to 2 $10.70, rated 4.9 from 5,074 reviews on Viator and Tripadvisor (checked October 2026).

Check dates for Island Time's Shell Island cruise

If nobody in your group wants to get in the water, the sunset dolphin sail is two hours on the same boat at the end of the day, from $41.73 for adults and $31.03 for children 12 and under (checked October 2026); the sunset dolphin cruise page compares it with the other evening boats.

What Island Time runs

Viator prices and departure times checked October 2026. Viator’s fares include taxes and fees; gratuities are extra.

The same three-hour Shell Island trip is also sold on GetYourGuide as Island Time's Shell Island snorkel and dolphin catamaran cruise, from $52 a person (checked October 2026). Island Time also sells both trips direct.

The boat

Island Time describes its boat as a 50-foot, wide-body sailing catamaran that it caps at 65 passengers, with open deck space, a shaded lower deck, a partly covered bar selling snacks and drinks, swim steps and a water slide. There are two restrooms, four steps below deck. A second catamaran, Island Time II, is 53 feet long and 27 feet wide, built in 2017 by the same builder.

• Getting aboard: you walk up a ramp and climb two steps. The crew helps wheelchair users aboard, and the boats have set places for wheelchairs.
• Weight limits: 250 lb for the water slide and 200 lb for the paddle boards, as the Shell Island listing states.
• Children: infants ride on an adult’s lap; there are life jackets for guests of all ages, and young children may prefer to bring their own goggles instead of the masks on board.
• Not swimming? Nobody has to get in the water at Shell Island: life jackets are fitted on board, and you can stay on deck.

Where it leaves from

The Dock, also called The Dock PCB, is at 5201 North Lagoon Drive. Turn onto North Lagoon Drive as if you were going to Captain Anderson’s, carry on past its parking lot and past the Lighthouse Marina, and The Dock is on the right down a paved road, under tall Island Time signs. Lagoon Pontoons’ six-guest boats leave from the same dock.

Check-in is at the office 30 minutes before departure. Island Time does not reschedule or refund late arrivals; if you are running late, call it on 850-234-7377.

Seasons and departure times

Island Time’s times move with the season and with the sunset. At the end of October 2026 its Viator calendar showed the Shell Island cruise at 9:30 a.m. and 1 p.m., and then one midday departure a day in November, with dates to November 28, 2026 and none yet posted for spring 2027 (checked October 2026). The sunset sail left at 4:30 p.m. at the end of October, 3:30 p.m. in November and 6 p.m. in its August 2027 calendar (checked October 2026). Its own site advises booking early for spring break, summer, fall break, weekends and holidays.

Weather calls are Island Time’s to make and are often made at the last minute, so plan to arrive as booked unless it tells you otherwise. Minimum numbers apply: a trip that does not fill can be cancelled after confirmation, with another date or a full refund offered. The best time of year guide covers winter timetables and hurricane season.

Group size, what is included, and the rules

The catamaran takes up to 65 passengers, and a Viator booking takes up to 14 people. The Shell Island fare includes snorkel gear, life jackets, the paddle boards, the captain and deckhands, and taxes and fees. Drinks and snacks are extra: the bar sells beer, wine, cocktails, soft drinks and snacks, and rum punch on the sunset sail.

• Outside food and drink: on the Shell Island cruise, bottled water is the only outside food or drink allowed; on the sunset sail, no outside food or drink at all. No coolers and no outside alcohol on either.
• Gratuity: not included; an 18% gratuity is added for parties of 15 or more, as both listings state.
• On board: no smoking and no chewing gum; the minimum drinking age is 21, and the crew can refuse passengers who are intoxicated, without a refund.
• Bring: swimwear under your clothes, towels, hats, sunglasses and sunscreen without aerosol sprays; water shoes help at the island. The sunset sail asks for smart casual dress and no high heels.
• Health: the Shell Island listing does not recommend the trip for people with heart complaints or other serious medical conditions, especially in the summer heat.
• Cancelling: free up to 24 hours before departure on Viator.

Rules and inclusions from the Viator listings (checked October 2026); the boat, restrooms and boarding from Island Time’s own description of its catamarans, read October 2026.

The dolphins

Island Time looks for the bottlenose dolphins that live in St. Andrews Bay all year, and dolphins often swim alongside the boat; no operator can promise a sighting. The crews watch from the boat, and the wild-dolphin rules page explains why nobody should swim toward the dolphins or feed them. To compare Island Time with every other boat that stops at the island, see the Shell Island dolphin tour page, or go back to the Panama City Beach dolphin tour overview.