Sanibel Island Shelling Tours

Sand Do ar
 She ing

Great Information About
Shelling on Sanibel Island

Florida
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Sanibel Island and its world famous beaches have long been known for fantastic shelling
because of their best-known shells that show up; the Alphabet Cone, Junonia, and many more. 
The real explosion and allure began to ramp up in the 1950s, local legend has it that a couple
of women won in which was an editor of a newspaper had purchased a left-handed Junonia.  

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She purchased this from below the equator a guess is somewhere in Australia and laid it on
the beach only to pick it back up in front of a group of people. The photographs and story ran
in her local newspaper. The AP Wire or associated press had picked up the story and ran it in
markets around the United States, shelling was in its infancy and when avid collectors had
heard that an opposite twist Junonia had been found on Sanibel, word spread like wild re. 

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The whole intent was to bring more tourism to an island that was little more than a sand dune.

The Real Reason Sanibel Has an Abundance of Great
Shells

Most people don’t realize the reason why Sanibel has such phenomenal shelling. 

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It’s because its one of the very few islands that run perpendicular to the state of Florida,
whereas most islands run the same way as Florida, which causes the ocean currents to have
the beaches primarily ushing water downward.

Because of its Location, Seashells Can Wash Up Easier

It’s not that shells live and grow more o the beaches in the waters near Sanibel, it’s that they
wash up much easier. 

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Sanibel does have a few varieties that some other Florida beaches don’t have, for instance, the
large Lions Paw, but pretty much the shells on Sanibel Island can be found in the waters o
Marco Island otherwise known as the 10,000 Islands.

The Downsides to Shelling on Sanibel Island

In a nutshell, its a drive up beach. Lovely tourists from all over America can pack up their picnic
baskets, drive up, parking in the public parking and vacuum up the beach. 

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This usually begins just before daylight with ashlights, what a wonderful opportunity for
beginner shellers to walk the beach and begin their fantastic hobby of collecting. 
Although good shells can be found and have been found for decades, with the growth of
tourism the common complaint is simply that there are fewer shells to be had because they’re
divided up between more and more people every year.

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The Alternative for the Real Connoisseur is to Take a
Short Trip to Marco Island

We o er shelling tours on Marco Island, so you can visit barren beaches void of people, laden
with fantastic shells. Here are a couple of advantages of why Marco Island has become better
for shelling on Sanibel Island:

1. You’re going to beaches that are accessible only by boat, that fact alone takes out 97% of
your shelling competition if that’s what you would call it

2. The beaches in the 10,000 Islands are far more pristine and untouched then you would
ever nd on Sanibel Island, not to discredit its beauty but we at Sand Dollar Shelling takes
out the human factor when beachcombing

Simply put, it’s far better to walk a beach and pick up shells that could have been laying there
for months.

How Our Tours Can Help You Find The Perfect Shells

SandDollarShelling.com and its sister company, MarcoIslandShelling.com has been chosen by
the Travel channel to lm episodes speci cally on shelling. This is based on solely the success
for the customers. 

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There are a few tour companies that provide a somewhat similar service but are less
successful. When making the decision on who to choose, check out the Facebook pages on
social media, if a company is showing pictures of shells that are photoshopped or have their
guides holding shells that they’ve found, you know that they’re shelling for themselves.

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 Sand Dollar Shelling has long had a company rule that you’ll never see our captains bend
down and pick anything up. It wouldn’t be fair. You would not want us picking up valuable
sought after shells just ahead of your beach walk. 
It’s just not fair. What we do is o er advice, a quick 5-10 minute shelling lesson will increase
your success rate. If you see the social media pages and websites of Sand Dollar Shelling and
Marco Island Shelling, you’ll see small children with valuable Junonias, why, because basically,
the children are the guests that are listening to the words that we say before the trip begins. 

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They’re better listeners. Sometimes the most experienced shelling who have been doing it the
most of their life don’t feel the need to take any advice. Which is ne, but then return to the
boat disheartened when an 8-year-old nds a grade AAA Junonia because they stuck around
for the lesson. Our trips are for the experienced sheller as well as the rst time beach walker,
we give a quick informational segment for those who are careful on the di erences between
scallops, clams, snails, and the di erent variety of sea life.
We have several boats departing daily, we never over shell any particular beach and would
rather let some areas go a few weeks with nobody walking picking up shells to give the best
chance on nding your shell. 

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BOInoufoorkrTminriagptison About

Marco Island is not very far from Sanibel, you can get breakfast and head
over to our location, board a boat with no more than 6 people aboard
for literally the best shelling you’ve EVER had.

Tickets are 90 dollars per adult and 75 for children, and our trips are 3
and a half hours long. We provide everything that you would need for
shelling such as netted bags and buckets, as many as you can ll and
keep.

We have coolers lled with ice and water, we suggest you bring snacks for
your trip or a beach lunch, foot protection, and a smile. 

Call in advance for depart times and tide tables.

CONTACT US

We specialize in creating unforgettable
memories on our Marco Island shelling and
dolphin boat tours. Dolphins riding the boat
wake typically accompanies our ten thousand
island boat tours.

Sand Dollar Shelling

Address: 750 Palm Point Drive Marco Island, FL
34145, United States
Phone: +1-239-301-8913
Email: [email protected]

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