Gilligan’s Watersports

My husband and I went parasailing with this company and have no complaints! The staff was extremely friendly and fun. The first day we tried to go, it was too gusty. We were bummed but they made the safe decision. We were able to go a couple days later and had a blast! I also recommend adding the photo package, such a cool keepsake.

We absolutely had a blast on the parasailing trip with these guys. We chose Gilligan’s after reading the reviews on here and were thrilled with our choice! The guides were down to earth and great to chill with, and the view is awesome! Don’t go elsewhere… Gilligan’s is the right choice!

Parasailing was on my to-​do list when vacationing in Destin. I was going to go solo even if anyone wasn’t going with me. Fortunately when we went to the condo, a welcome kit was inside with a free voucher for parasailing. Since we had two condos, we had 2 free vouchers. There was a total of six of us who wanted to go parasailing. Regular price for parasailing is $ 60. We had to call and schedule a time and chose 2:00 pm.
We got to the location at 1:30 pm to fill out lots and lots of paperwork. We paid $ 20 extra so we could get our photos taken and take a memory card home.
So we waited until time to get on the boat. I really thought it was only going to be the six of us but it turned out that there were also 8 other people who was also excited to parasail with us. Our group was the last and the largest. The captain drove out to the Gulf of Mexico. He even allowed my niece to get her 10 minutes of fame being captain while they were prepping for our gears.
Since we were last, we watched all the other people, who went in groups of two’s, before us get flown in the air, enjoy the view, dipped in the water, and come back on the boat. The winds started blowing really hard so the captain asked our group of 6 was it okay if we were to go in three’s because the wind is blowing too hard. We agreed, it was already an hour since we boarded.
The experience was wonderful. I loved being in the air, feels so serene. I’ve already gone ziplining and skydiving before so parasailing is a breeze. I would definitely do it again. I got a really good tan just by going too.

This is the first time of done para-​sailing and I’m glad I did. I feel as if all the companies that do para-​sailing offer the same thing. What I liked about Gilligan’s is that their service was great. The captain and first mate were very pleasant and did more than just drive the boat. They discussed Destin, it’s history, and the marine life that you could see from the air. They also made you feel safe and were very thorough when securing you in. I recommend this for anyone looking for a little adventure, but nothing scary. You’d be amazed at the fish that you can see from that high up. We saw a lot of jelly fish and even a hammer head shark.

Went to Gilligan’s to take kids parasailing. They had a blast with all three of them — including the seven year old — up at the same time. Nico and Chris were exceptional and professional. Chris worked with the kids on the gear, etc. while Nico drove the boat attentively. Helpful with local information. We enjoyed our time so much, we went back a couple days later to rent pontoon boats.
Staff at counter was attentive and appreciative of our business. Rained a lot (sporadically) during the week of our vacation, but they were forthright when we called. Other businesses we called for pontoon boat rentals were more than happy to get you on the boat then deal with weather later. Gilligan’s would not rent the boat without some confidence in the weather. We ended up skipping a day. Next day we returned and as it is, we paid for the half-​day, but we had to return about an hour short of the four hours. Gilligan’s refunded us the difference without issue, but we had a blast for the three hours we were able to enjoy puttering around the harbor.
Overall I would recommend them. Rates are decent, and the equipment newish and look to be well taken care if by the staff. Staff was helpful and friendly.
Cannot speak to wave runner /​dolphin excursion experience, but based on my two rental experiences, I would highly recommend them!

My family of four, including two teenagers, went on the «wave runner dolphin tour». This is advertised as just that – a guided tour on wave runners that takes you to areas in the bay where you can enjoy dolphins up close. We were so excited to do this!!! The check-​in staff was pleasant. We watched a movie about safety and using the wave runner, and then went down to the bay to begin our tour. The «tour guide», who we were instructed to follow as he was leading in a small motor boat could not have been any more disinterested. He told us «don’t worry about losing me because I’m the only white boat». Well the joke was on us, because EVERY boat out in the bay is white, and once we got out of the no wake zone, he took off at a high rate of speed, not looking back! In order to keep his boat in view, the group had to ride at speeds from 35 – 50 MPH (yes, MPH, not kms!). We witnessed a couple who fell off of their wave runner, and were assisted by my husband, as our «tour guide» was nowhere to be found. Finally, we found some dolphins! The first pod of dolphins we saw were not seen by the other members in the tour group, who were too busy trying not to lose the guide. We were able to watch them for about 30 seconds before we had to take off after the guide ourselves, soooo frustrating!!! At the end of the tour, having not seen any other dolphins, the guide led us (at high speed) to the entrance of the gulf. Here there was a large pod of dolphins, but again, he took off at a high rate of speed so we were only allowed to view them for about a minute or two. So after two hours of speeding around after a boat, we were allowed to actually observe the dolphins for a collective time of three minutes, tops! I’m guessing everyone else in out tour group felt the same, as I observed not one person putting any $$ in the tips jar at the end of the trip.
Wanting to give our feedback to the company, my husband called and spoke with the alleged owner. He was very understanding, listening to what we had to say and stating that some of the kids who lead these tours become very complacent and don’t do their jobs very well. He had a manager call us, stating they would offer us some financial restitution. Well, the second guy called us and basically told us to take a hike. In the future, we will NEVER use this company again – misleading advertising, complacent guides, and poor customer service by management.

We rented waverunners from Gilligan’s and had a great time. The location is convenient to get in and out of the harbor. The staff was very helpful and friendly. Don’t forget to tip the Hut Girls.

Gilligan’s Watersports is probably one of biggest highlights of our trip down to FL. We were greated by employees who were glad we were there (unlike some places where the people don’t even look up off their phones and act like you’re bugging them) they had great rates and even worked with us sense we didn’t have cash to make sure we could still enjoy the time we spent. We took some jet skis out and I was pretty nervous but they stayed right there until I was ready. I would go again with these guys again in a heart beat. I felt safe and they were really nice about us being totally new. Plus they are in a beautiful location you see some amazing sights I’ll be taking a waterproof camera along next time

Chose Gilligan’s due to reading a brochure that stated they could take up a trio on their parasails. We went up (without incident), one was 9 years old. Nico & Chris were very friendly & helpful.

Had lunch at Gilligan’s Seafood and then rented a pontoon boat from Gilligan’s Watersports for a few hours. Great staff, very friendly and helpful. The boat looked new and ran smoothly. Excellent afternoon!

I am so glad we chose Gilligans. Nico and Brad were top notch and really know what they are doing. After sailing with them I wouldn’t consider any other company to go out with. Hats off th Gilligans for having such great employees.