Shelling Tours in Sarasota, Siesta Key & Anna Maria Island
The Gulf Coast between Anna Maria Island and Siesta Key is some of the easiest shelling in Florida: calm, shallow water, soft sand and a steady supply of whelks, scallops, olives and sand dollars. Here is where to look, what you will find, and how a guided shelling tour takes the guesswork out of it.
Three shorelines, three different kinds of shelling.
Each spot has its own mix of shells, sand and current. All three are shallow enough to wade, which is exactly why our tours meet there.
Sarasota (City Island)
A wide, current-sheltered flat on Sarasota Bay. The bay side holds more live shells and sea life than the Gulf beaches, so this is the spot for lightning whelks, fighting conchs, banded tulips, scallops and sand dollars resting on the sand and seagrass. Look along the edges of the grass beds where the bottom turns from grass to bare sand.
Siesta Key
Famous for its powder-white quartz sand, which means smaller, cleaner shells than the rocky spots to the south. Expect coquinas, augers, olives, small scallops and the occasional whelk. The calm flats on the bay side of the bridge are more productive than the open Gulf beach, and far easier to search in a group.
Anna Maria Island (Holmes Beach)
A barrier-island flat with warm, shallow water year round. Scallop halves, olives, slipper shells, crown conchs and the odd tulip turn up on the sand, with crabs, sea urchins and small fish in the grass. A favorite for first-timers because the bottom is soft and the water stays under 4 feet.
How to find shells on the Gulf Coast.
A few things every sheller around Sarasota and Bradenton should know before heading out.
Low tide exposes the most sand, and the hour on either side of it is the sweet spot. Winter and spring (November through April) bring the cold fronts and north winds that stir up the bottom and push shells ashore, so a calm day after a blow is often the best day of the year. Summer shelling is quieter on the beach, but the bay flats stay productive because the shells never leave the water.
The regulars are lightning whelks, fighting conchs, crown conchs, banded and true tulips, lettered olives, augers, calico and bay scallops, coquinas, slipper shells, sand dollars and sea urchins. Lucky finds include murex, alphabet cones and the occasional horse conch. Our free photo guide at lookforshells.com shows all of them with identification tips.
Empty shells are yours to keep. Anything alive, including live sand dollars, hermit crabs and the animals still inside a shell, must go back in the water. Florida protects live shelling in several counties and Sarasota is one of them, so the rule on our tours is simple: if it moves or has an animal in it, look, then put it back.
No. The sandbar boat charters around Siesta Key and Anna Maria Island are a fun day out, but they cost several hundred dollars for a private boat and the shelling stop is a small part of the trip. The bay flats you can wade into from shore hold the same shells, and you can search them for far longer on foot. That is what our guided tour is built around.
Water shoes or aqua socks (the bottom has sharp shell pieces), a mesh bag so sand falls through, a small net or scoop for the shallows, sunscreen by day and a light by night. On our tour the aqua socks, bag, net and the LED light are all provided, so you only need a swimsuit.
The easiest way to shell all three spots: a guided wade-in tour.
Fun Florida Tours runs a guided shelling and snorkeling tour at Sarasota, Siesta Key and Anna Maria Island. You wade in from shore with a guide, the group shares one 10,000-lumen LED light pod that lights up the bottom, and the water stays under 4 feet deep. It runs after dark, when whelks, crabs, seahorses and fish come out onto the sand and the shells are easiest to spot.
1 hour 15 minutes
About 60 minutes in the water, then a 15-minute show-and-tell on the sand where your guide names every treasure the group found.
All gear included
Snorkel mask and gear, aqua socks to keep, glow stick, safety noodle, whistle, mesh collection bag and a net. Just bring your swimsuit.
$60 adults · $45 ages 6–11
Kids 5 and under join free with a parent. Same price at every location, nightly at 8:30 PM, weather permitting.
Guided wade-in tour vs. a shelling boat charter.
Our guided tour is $60 per adult and $45 per child, all gear included. Private sandbar and shelling charters around Sarasota and Anna Maria Island typically run $300 to $800 for the boat, before tips.
Our tour is 60 minutes in the water searching, plus show-and-tell. A boat charter spends most of its time cruising, with a shorter stop at a sandbar.
Families with kids, first-time snorkelers and anyone who wants to find shells without a boat. The water is under 4 feet deep and no strong swimming is needed. If you want a sunset cruise with a swim stop, a boat charter is the better fit.
Sarasota: City Island Park, 1799 Ken Thompson Pkwy. Siesta Key: 1460 Siesta Dr, the Sarasota-side bridge parking lot. Anna Maria Island: next to the King Fish boat ramp, 752 Manatee Ave, Holmes Beach. Parking is free at all three.