I have to say that parking at Clearwater Beach on the weekend after 9 a.m. is rediculous. Wound up having to pay $20 for lot parking across the road from Tropics Boat Tour. The tour to Caledesi Island is only on Saturday and Sunday at 2:15 p.m. The boat trip lasts about 3 hours and of that we saw dolphins for about 4 minutes. We had a Living Social voucher for $13 per person and the price includes one free drink, beer wine or soda per person. It was hard to distinguish the P.A. system but the people at the tour office and the crew of the boat were very friendly. For those of us that live in Florida, the tour is probably mundane. For visitors to Florida for the first time it would probably be interesting. There is a 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. tour where they take you to Caladesi Island and drop you off and pick you up 6 hours later. Caladesi Island is a world class beach with kayak/canoe rental, "shelling", bird watching, etc.
That tour is $60 per adult I believe and would be a nice day's enjoyment for any beach lover. You can canoe/kayak through the mangroves though the water clarity leaves much to be desired.