Splash And Wade Program: Swim With Dolphins In Key Largo

It is best to aim to arrive 15 minutes prior to your swim time to allow for changing and check-in procedures. When you calculate drive time, keep in mind possible unexpected traffic and finding the facility.

Please bring your towel and apply a reef-safe sunscreen (such as Stream 2 Sea – sold here at DPMMR), at least 15 minutes prior to your swim. However, we do sell towels, should you forget to bring one.

Yes. DPMMR has several programs that will accommodate our international guests. However, if all guests that are participating do not speak English, we do require that someone in the party, even an observer, can translate what the trainer is saying to the guest. For safety reasons, it is extremely important that the in-water participant can understand and follow instructions from the trainer.

All interaction programs at DPMMR take place at 31 Corrine Place, Key Largo, FL, in our natural, ocean water lagoons. Our facility resides on a salt-water canal that is open at both ends to the Atlantic Ocean. We have two tidal exchanges each day and Mother Nature acts as our natural filtration system. We do not need any chlorine, pumps, or machines for our water, as it is natural ocean water. There is no need for a boat and once you have arrived at the facility, your encounter is just moments away!

The Interactive and Splash and Wade programs are not based on time, but rather on a certain number of behaviors. This is done to ensure that everyone has a similar experience, regardless of speed of the animals. The dolphins sometimes do not interact continuously with guests due to distractions in the canal and in the lagoon (E.g., their own calves, wild dolphins or manatees). Occasionally, dolphins like to take breaks! If the dolphins are distracted, guests may be in the water longer because the total number of behaviors will take longer for the dolphins to complete. The length of the session is also dependent on the number swimmers, as well as outside influencing factors. The Snorkel with the Dolphins Program is one of our only timed programs, with a briefing of 20-30 minutes and the in-water portion lasts twenty minutes. The Connect to Protect Program has a 15 minute educational briefing and the in-water program lasts 15 minutes. All other programs are based on a specific number of behaviors that the trainer asks the dolphins to do. In order to maximize your and the dolphins’ experience, we do not time those programs, but the educational briefing lasts around 30 minutes.

Dolphins Plus Marine Mammal Responder is privileged to care for a diverse population of bottlenose dolphins that have inspired and educated thousands of guests and have contributed to our understanding of this species. The goal of our organization is to connect each person that walks through our doors with our unique and inspiring marine mammal family. As the world’s oceans face temperature shifts, overfishing, pollution, and acidification, now more than ever we need to educate and motivate individuals to save our natural resources. One person that makes a change in their daily lives can result in thousands of pieces of plastic never reaching the ocean, and by encouraging each visitor to spread the word, the positive changes are multiplied. When we provide the opportunity for our guests to interact in a meaningful way with our dolphins, we hope these changes and the education they receive by our animal care professionals will resonate and last for the rest of their lives. In addition to the direct positive impact DPMMR’s response and rescue team has on stranded whales and dolphins, DPMMR also indirectly affects marine mammals in the wild via the research that we do on a daily basis. DPMMR is proud to have over 60 ongoing research projects exploring dolphin behavior, cognition, acoustics, and welfare. With dozens of publications, book chapters, and graduate student theses, our prolific research department has disseminated groundbreaking research to the scientific community to better conserve and protect our dolphins’ wild counterparts. Additionally, the knowledge we have gained caring for our dolphins has resulted in a deeper understanding of behavior and medicine that we are able to apply during stranding scenarios with distressed cetaceans. Sharing this knowledge with our collaborators allows for further advancement in the area of rehabilitation and welfare, and it is a responsibility DPMMR cherishes. Our immersive internships provide opportunities for career advancement in the areas of animal care and research, and our interns complete the programs with a greater appreciation for the marine environment and leave with the tools to continue to educate others about the complex issues facing the marine environment. The most important part of our job is connecting people to these animals. These meaningful connections will profoundly alter the lives of those who experience them, and our staff is a living testament to the power of connecting to protect. It is our hope that combining our passion for education and research and utilizing experiential learning activities with our animals will contribute to positive changes in the lives of our visitors. #ConnectToProtect at DPMMR, and help us in our mission to create a better world.