St. Pete Memorial Day Boat Charters Accepting Bookings

Skyla Luckey
Updated ·3 min read

ST. PETERSBURG, FL —This Memorial Day weekend probably ranks as the most confusing time of planning in the 21st century because so many St. Pete residents are unsure about what is closed and open this weekend.

Patch is here to help you sort through the confusion of planning your weekend with a list of boat charter companies that say they are abiding by guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as they accept reservations for the holiday. Not all the companies listed have openings.

Island Ferry

Island Ferry in Tierra Verde is accepting bookings for its sunset cruise throughout Memorial Day weekend. The charter boats that operate under Island Ferry are disinfected from the bow to the stern after each use, said charter captain Sebastian Font. If social distancing is a concern of yours, Island Ferry books groups of six or fewer on its 25-foot boats so there is room for 6 feet of distance as recommended by the CDC.

"Our captains are wearing masks while they're out there on the boat," Font said. "We do take the CDC guidelines seriously during these times."

Its sunset cruises take off an hour before sunset. Tickets are purchased online, which limits the worries of exchanging tickets or debit/credit cards.

St. Pete Boat Tours

If you'd like to do some dolphin watching, snorkeling, sightseeing or bay fishing on Memorial Day, captain Ben Boyle of St. Pete Boat Tours has some slots ready to book. "We generally book small groups of six or less, so we don't have to worry about having an overcrowded boat during these times," Boyle said. "It's easy to practice social distancing on the boat when you have small groups like this." To book with St. Pete Boat Tours or find out more information, visit its website.

Island Boat Adventures

For groups of more than six that would like to go out on the water for Memorial Day weekend, Island Boat Adventures has a 45-foot-long boat that generally holds 49. However, owner Betty Anderson said it is taking a smaller number than usual to create enough space for social distancing. Anderson confirmed that her captains are not wearing masks at this time. Island Boat Adventures provides dolphin watching, shelling, picnicking on Egmont Island Key and wildlife sightings. For more information about its tours or for a booking, visit Island Boat Adventures.

Local Boat Charter

Captain Vicki of Local Boat Charter said it is booked throughout Memorial Day weekend but that it does have openings after Memorial Day weekend. Local Boat Charter takes small groups of four out for dolphin watching and makes a couple of stops at the sand dunes. "We get a lot of girls night out requests," Vicki said. "The last booking we did before the pandemic was a group of guys from New York." She said it is following CDC guidelines and is happy to be back out on the water. For more information about Local Boat Charter, visit its website.

This article originally appeared on the St. Pete Patch