Ride a Seabob Off the Beach to Fort Lauderdale's Reef
A battery-powered Seabob pulls you from the sand behind Pelican Grand Beach Resort out to a reef, with an instructor alongside.
The Seabob is an electric water scooter. You lie along it, hold a trigger, and it pulls you across the surface or tips you under for as long as you can hold your breath. On this tour it stands in for the boat. The group gathers on the sand behind Pelican Grand Beach Resort on North Ocean Boulevard, gets a safety briefing and some practice in the water, then rides out to the reef behind an instructor.
The operator told WSVN in 2019 that the group goes about 700 yards off the beach, and a 2026 rider put the ride out at roughly 20 minutes. The booking calls the whole outing a two-mile underwater reef tour of up to 90 minutes.
The booking calendar shows two departures a day, at 9:45 AM and 1:30 PM, and one booking covers up to six people. The listing offers the tour in English and German. It includes the Seabob, a mask, the safety harness and the instructor.
90-Minute Snorkel & Seabob Underwater Guided Reef Tour in Fort LauderdaleGuided Seabob reef tour from the beach behind Pelican Grand Beach Resort, up to 90 minutes, for groups of up to six.www.viator.comStrapped to a Machine That Floats
Each rider wears a pilot belt clipped to the Seabob. The operator's FAQ calls the machine unsinkable and says it floats on the surface. The same FAQ says it shuts itself off at a depth of 2.5 meters, the figure the owner also gave WSVN in 2019, and one rider wrote that the machines would not let them go deeper than 2 meters. The dives are short and shallow, and how long you stay down depends on your breath.
The kit is a mask and the harness. There is no snorkel in it, though the meeting notes say you can bring your own. Steering through chop takes some upper-body work, and one 2024 rider wrote that "it can be quite a workout if you are fighting against the machine instead of going with it."
Plan for Chop Once You Leave the Sand
There is no sheltered cove on this route. It crosses open Atlantic water: the owner told WSVN in 2019 that the group goes about 700 yards out, and riders' own guesses run from a few hundred yards to about a mile. The listing recommends over-the-counter motion sickness pills such as Dramamine on windy days, and several riders wrote afterward that they wished they had taken them. One 2024 rider wrote that if someone gets ill, the group either sticks it out or the tour ends early for everyone. The same rider said the crew told them mornings usually mean calmer seas and more marine life, worth weighing when you choose between 9:45 AM and 1:30 PM.
The listing names angelfish, parrotfish, sergeant majors, hogfish and sea turtles among the sea life on the route. On murky or rough days a few riders found the reef thin on fish, or too far below to see well.
Twelve and Up, and Able to Tread Water
The operator's newest FAQ sets the age floor at over 12, and the listing summary says ages 12 and up with a 75-pound minimum. Plan on 12 and up; a ten- or eleven-year-old would be booking on older, looser wording. That older wording is still live: another line of the listing, an earlier operator FAQ entry and the booking form accept riders from age 10 with a parent's consent and supervision, and reviewers brought ten- and eleven-year-olds as recently as 2025. No upper weight limit is stated, only that a rider has to fit the safety harness.
On swimming, the operator's newest FAQ asks that you can tread water and are comfortable in the ocean, and a 2026 rider called it a family activity as long as everyone is a strong swimmer and comfortable with large waves. The listing still says you do not need to know how to swim, because the harness keeps you attached to a machine that floats. The listing does not recommend the tour for pregnant travelers, and the operator's FAQ asks riders to bring a state ID, driver's license or passport.
What Costs Extra on the Day
- Wetsuits are optional and rent for 10 dollars in winter. The listing also suggests a long-sleeve shirt against sun and harness rub.
- Parking is not included. The meeting notes point to a few spaces in front of the hotel at 1.75 dollars an hour, more on A1A to the south, and a garage at 3020 NE 32nd Avenue. That 1.75 figure appears in the city's beach meter tables from 2016 and 2019. The city's current table charges 4 dollars an hour at every metered beach zone, including NE 21st Street between North Ocean Boulevard and the beach, where the limit is three hours. City residents pay 1.50.
- The tour's camera footage is sold separately on the day, and tips are not included.
- Bring a towel, water and dry clothes. There are showers on the beach but no changing rooms.
Meet on the sand behind Pelican Grand Beach Resort, the yellow hotel at 2000 North Ocean Boulevard. One rider found the setup by walking through the hotel lobby onto its beach. A 2024 rider warned that the requested arrival time in the operator's messages can be earlier than the start time on the booking, and a 2025 rider said the waiver arrives by message on the morning of the tour. Cancel at least 24 hours ahead for a full refund; if weather cancels the trip, the booking offers another date or a full refund.
Then it is the briefing on the sand, practice in the water, and the reef, with the yellow hotel getting smaller behind you.