A manatee seen on a Daytona Beach eco-tour with On The Hook Charters

Halifax River Eco-Tours
with On The Hook Charters
Daytona Beach, Florida
“Nobody knows the local waters like a fishing boat captain”

Dolphins spotted on our Daytona Beach eco-tour on the Halifax River

Scenic Tours, Eco-Tours and Dolphin Tours!
2 Boats and 2 Captains Available!

The whole family will enjoy our relaxing Scenic Tours, Eco-Tours and Dolphin Tours on the Halifax River, one of Florida’s most beautiful coastal waterways.

Get away from the crowds and take a private boat tour on the beautiful Halifax River with fishing and nature guides Captains Corey Simmons and Melissa Leone! The Halifax River is home to dolphins, manatees, sea turtles and many species of waterbirds and birds of prey.

You don’t have to travel far from the tourist filled beaches of Daytona Beach to “get away from it all”. On The Hook Charters offers fun filled adventures into wild and natural Florida just minutes from downtown Daytona Beach!

Wildlife Viewing on a Guided Daytona Beach Eco-Tour and Dolphin Tour with On The Hook Charters

The Halifax River near Daytona Beach is home to a wide variety of Florida marine life and wildlife. On a guided eco-tour or dolphin tour on the Halifax River with Captain Corey Simmons you will see dolphins, exotic water birds and many other other wildlife species. Captain Corey has seen mother dolphins on his ecotours on the Halifax River tossing fish to their young and pushing newborn dolphins up to the surface to breath! It is a sight to remember the rest of your life!

The Halifax River is also home to manatees. With a little luck you may see both dolphins and manatees on the same eco-tour!

There is plenty of other wildlife that may be seen from the boat on Captain Corey’s eco-tours and dolphin tours of the Halifax River basin including: Bald Eagles, Ospreys, Wood Storks, Great Egrets, Brown Pelicans, Great Blue Herons, Little Blue Herons, White Ibises, Double Crested Cormorants and more. From October through March, flocks of 40 – 60 Great White Pelicans can be seen on the Halifax River near Daytona Beach. These pelicans are twice the size of the native brown pelicans and travel to Florida from as far away as Idaho, Minnesota and Canada to avoid the frozen waters there. They are a special treat for tourists on guided eco-tours on the Halifax River from late Autumn to early Spring.

Green and undeveloped, wild and natural Florida begins just a couple of miles north and south of Daytona Beach on the beautiful Halifax River. The Halifax River cuts the town of Daytona Beach in two. You crossed the Halifax River to get to the beaches of Daytona Beach. But just 6 miles up or down the Halifax River from downtown Daytona Beach are miles of protected, undeveloped waterways full of Florida marine life and exotic water birds.

The Upper Halifax River

This beautiful, wild and undeveloped portion of the Halifax River begins just 6 miles upriver from Daytona Beach. Once your guided eco-tour or dolphin tour passes under the Granada Bridge in the town of Ormond Beach, Florida (6 miles upriver from Daytona Beach) you are approaching the headwater estuaries of the Halifax River.

Here is where the 25 mile long Halifax River begins where Halifax Creek, Bulow Creek and the Tomoka River converge in the far northeast corner of Volusia County (the county where Daytona Beach is located) These are the headwaters of the Halifax River. They are a complex system of creeks and coastal marshes almost totally undeveloped. They are a favorite destination of scenic tours as well as fishing guides on the Halifax River. As valuable estuaries for all types of marine life as well as water birds, most of this area is protected by a series of Florida State parks and preserves including: Bulow Creek State Park, Tomoka Marsh Aquatic Preserve, Tomoka State Park and Addison Blockhouse Historic State Park.

The Lower Halifax River

On the Halifax River, immediately past the Dunlawton Avenue bridge, where A1A crosses the Halifax River in Port Orange (6 miles down river from Daytona Beach), the wild and untamed wilderness of the Atlantic coastal marshes begins again. This lower portion of the Halifax River is especially easy to access by eco-tour guides and fishing guides like Captain Corey Simmons. There is a convenient boat ramp with parking under the bridge where Highway A1A crosses the Halifax River. It is used by fishing guides and scenic boat tour guides like Captain Corey to take their passengers on a trip down to the lower portions of the Halifax River.

Here the Halifax River and it’s tributaries form a very complex maze of slow moving, meandering natural creeks through undeveloped coastal marshes that are perfect habitats for water birds and marine life. This portion of the Halifax River is fed by dozens of creeks, large and small, that serve as estuaries and food sources for marine life and wildlife on the Halifax River. On a guided eco-tour or dolphin tour of this portion of the Halifax River you will pass many such creeks including Spruce Creek, Blind Spruce Creek, Live Oak Creek, Braddock Creek, Mill Creek and Fozzard Creek. Your eco-tour guide will also pass dozens of small islands that split the river many times over such as Piddler Island and Daggert Island.

Eco-tour guides frequently travel as far as two miles up wild and scenic Spruce Creek to Strickland Bay. This is all prime marinelife and wildlife habitat and contains some of the most beautiful and unspoiled Atlantic Coast marshes in all of Florida.

Manatees just below the water on the Halifax River near Daytona Beach.

For prices on Captain Corey’s Fishing Charters please see his Fishing Charter Rates page.