I booked this tour as a birthday gift for my husband. He's lived in Florida his entire life, and I for about 12 years. Neither of us had never even heard of this, let alone done it! And we still don't know how we never did, because it was just amazing.
The night we went was unusually pleasant for August (as in, not stiflingly hot and disgustingly humid), so we had a nice breeze, a full moon, starlight peeking through, and a lightning storm well to our east. Very beautiful and romantic! That said, the mosquitoes were pretty crazy. We wore long sleeves, long workout pants AND bug repellent on our exposed hands, feet and on our clothes, and I was still bit here and there through my clothes. Once we got onto the water, they were gone. That's Florida though.
Anyway, despite the full moon, the biolums were very bright and amazing! We didn't see any dolphin or manatee, but plenty of fish darting around like underwater ghosts, and "blue caps" from the slight chop due to the breeze. Our tour guides Ashley and Elijah (I think that was his name) were outstanding. They led us on the path, engaged us in searching for comb jellys, but also gave us enough space for us to be on our own some and allowed us to go at our pace. All very organized and professional. We can't wait to go back with our kids!
We highly recommend the following tips:
1. Read the tips on their website.
2. ***Wear long sleeves and pants, something you don't mind getting wet. (Like workout clothes.) AND wear bug repellent, too!
3. Bring a water bottle.
4. Go to the bathroom before you head out to the refuge.
5. Don't bother bringing a camera or video gear. Unless you have a professional low-light camera, you probably won't get the bio on camera. Enjoy with your eyes!
6. On your feet, wear flip flops or water shoes.
7. Enjoy!