You have no time limits, but must get off the Island by the end the day. Check the Ferry schedule before purchasing your ticket.
In the early 1990’s, the sandbar just south of Pass-a-Grille Beach known as Shell Island joined with its neighboring island to the south to form one contiguous island. In 2000, Pinellas County acquired a lease from the State of Florida to establish Shell Key (a.k.a. Shell Island) as a Wildlife Preserve and today, Shell Key is a pristine white sand strip of Florida paradise.
Your Shell Key adventure begins and ends at Fort De Soto. A military outpost, Fort De Soto is Pinellas County’s most famous park. Fort De Soto Park consists of 1,136 acres spread across five interconnected island. Discover the fort, which still houses 12-inch rifled mortars along with two British breech-loading 6-inch Armstrong rapidfire gun guns. Fort De Soto has been named the #1 beach in the United States.
Shell Island can only be accessed by boat, and the Shell Island Ferry is the easiest, safest, and quickest way for visitors to reach Shell Island. As the official Shell Island Ferry service of St. Andrews State Park, the Shell Island Ferry has been ferrying guests between the St. Andrews State Park Marina and Shell Island for many years.
This service is currently unavailable. Shell Island Ferry provides transportation services. A concession boat is also available during summer from Memorial Day through Labor Day. This is the only concessional service on the island.
Shell Island is a local must-see location for Panama City Beach visitors looking for the unspoiled white-sand beach experience. The island offers plenty of beach space and peaceful inshore waters where swimming and snorkeling are great. Colorful tropical fish, dolphins, and sea turtles are common in the waters around the island. On land, hiking the interior of Shell Island is an opportunity to explore rare coastal plant, bird, and wildlife communities.
This is an exceptional trip. In spring and summer, the ferry boat runs almost every day and in winter it operates nearly every day. The ride to the island takes only twenty minutes. It offers excellent opportunities to spot dolphins and sea turtles as well as manatees. You may also spot seabirds while riding the green ferry boat to Shell Key.
Sand dollars, moon snails, conch shells, pin shells, periwinkles, whelk and olive shells are just a few of the indigenous seashells found here. And, as long as there are no creatures living in them, there is no limit to how many of these one-of-a-kind souvenirs you can take home with you
Shell Island is on the west coast of Wales about 7 miles north of Barmouth. There is a road leading to there that you drive on, but at certain high tides the sea covers the road.
You may arrive anytime between 8.00am and 8.00pm (9.00pm on Fridays) no admittance will be given outside of these times. Sites must be vacated by 3.00pm on the day of departure, if you wish to extend you stay please bring your car pass back to reception to book back in.
There is no limit to the activities you can experience at or on Shell Island! You can swim, snorkel, paddleboard, go kayaking, sunbathe, hunt seashells, go hiking, have a picnic, and more!