How did you discover this activity?

We found TripShock when I Googled, “fun things to do in Destin.” After reading reviews on the site, this sounded like it would be fun for our family!

When did you book your tour compared to the departure date?

I booked a week in advance.

Why did you choose this activity?

This was our first vacation to Destin. My kids are teenagers and I wanted to find something we could enjoy together as a family that wouldn’t take away an entire day, but would be long enough to enjoy. I read this boat had music and the crew is entertaining and informative.

It also provided free drinks, which was a definite plus as similar tours I read about said to bring your own cooler. The snorkeling caught my eye, as well, and we chose to spend a little more time on this over the boat ride itself (best decision).

How did you get to the activity location?

Getting to the harbor was a 5 minute car ride from our resort. We put the address that the voucher provided in our GPS and voila! There were no issues finding the parking lot and finding the excursion hut for our ride tickets.

What was your experience with the activity’s staff?

The staff was tons of fun! I can’t remember the main captain’s name, but his first mate Brian and second mate were also fun and informative. They even let my husband run off the boat before setting off when we realized we forgot our sunblock. He was able to purchase some right on the harbor.

The crew educated us on how to use our snorkeling gear appropriately and what to expect. When getting back on after snorkeling, the crew rounded the boat to make sure everyone was hydrated and kept our cups full. My hubands hat flew off and got trapped on the pole on top of the awning. The captain laughed, stopped the boat, and jumped on top to rescue it! It was hilarious and the boat cheered and yelled for his fearlessness.

The smaller kids had a blast taking turns to be captain. The captain had fun with them, telling them how to use the loud speaker. They thought it was cool to get the passengers to yell and raise their hands as they instructed.

Highlights or memories you and your group will take from the trip?

This will definitely go down in the books as the highlight to our Destin vacation. It is not easy to find something that the entire family can enjoy from beginning to end with no complaints, but this was it. From the beginning when we went snorkeling, we were set. We saw cool, tiny, bright blue fish swimmming by the rocks. We saw many more fish. My daughter and I thought it would be scary swimming amongst fish, but it was actually amazing.

The water was clear and we saw all types of different small fish. We also saw hermit crabs crawling on the bottom. My son thought it was cool to jump off the side of the boat into the water with his snorkeling gear like they do on Discovery Channel. We found some pretty sea shells, as well. The captain saw me trying to find a place to keep them and provided me with a cup to store them in. We got to snorkel for one and a half hours and got back on the boat.

The second hour and a half was the boat ride, which was just as fun as snorkeling. The best part was that while the adults enjoyed never ending beer and wine, included with the price, the kids could enjoy Sprite, Coke, or water. The captain pointed out a shark while riding and got us close enough to see it grab a fish. We saw 3 dolphins jump out of the water at one point!

The music was great. The captain encouraged us to walk around, which was fun, so we could see different sides and dance a little to the upbeat music. The crew kept us cool from the Destin heat with cold super soakers. The kids could use it to squirt their families, and the adults had fun spraying them too. Although our kids were too old and cool, it was fun to watch the younger kids enjoy captaining the boat and talking on the intercom.

It was hilarious when my husbands hat was rescued by our captain after flying off of his head to the awning. This event was definitely worth every penny and we will definitely do it again.

Would you recommend this activity to another group like yours? Why or why not?

I would 100% recommend this trip to any and all ages. There was something to keep everyone engaged. It was familybfriendly, but would also be fun for couples