How much is parasailing at Clearwater Beach?

Chute Em Up charges $89 per person plus tax, or $79 on the first boat of the day booked a day ahead. Pier 60 Parasail charges $79 at 800 feet, $89 at 1,000 feet and $99 at 1,200 feet. Both give you about ten minutes in the air.

What is the weight limit for parasailing?

Chute Em Up will not fly a single person over 265 pounds and may lower that in wind. Light riders are paired with another flyer, and two or three people usually go up together.

Do you need a license to rent a jet ski in Clearwater?

No license, but anyone born on or after January 1, 1988 needs a Florida Boating Safety Education ID card or a 90-day temporary certificate from an online exam. Bring it with a photo ID.

How old do you have to be to drive a jet ski in Florida?

State law says 14 to operate one and 18 to rent one. Clearwater operators such as Beach Jet Ski set the driving age at 16, and kids from 6 can ride along.

Can you rent a pontoon without a captain?

Yes. Island Breeze, Adventure Boat and Clearwater Beach Boat Rentals all rent self-drive pontoons, with a boater-safety card required for anyone born in 1988 or later and a minimum renter age of 25 at Island Breeze and Clearwater Beach Boat Rentals. Float charges about $50 an hour for a captain if you would rather not drive.

Clearwater Beach Parasailing: Prices, Jet Skis, Pontoons

A lot of the water fun on this island leaves from one place: the docks of Clearwater Beach Marina at 25 Causeway Blvd, a few steps from the roundabout and Pier 60. Clearwater Beach parasailing, jet ski tours, pontoon rentals and kayak trips all book the same way, by the time slot, and they all answer to the same Gulf wind, so this guide puts the prices, the weight and age limits and the boater-card rule in one place, operator by operator, for anyone planning a few days on the water off Clearwater Beach.

The short version: parasailing runs about $79 to $99 a person, a guided jet ski tour starts around $149, and a four-hour pontoon is about $400 before fuel and tax. If you would rather sit back while somebody else drives, the things to do in Clearwater Beach between swims include plenty of seats on other people's boats.

Clearwater Beach parasailing

Book Chute Em Up if you want to leave from the main marina, a short walk from the Pier 60 lot, and know the price before you show up. Its single $89 fare (no height tiers) and posted 265-pound cap make the planning easy.

Chute Em Up Parasail Clearwater

Chute Em Up Parasail flies from slip 21 at Clearwater Beach Marina, about 0.1 miles east of Pier 60, and charges $89 a person plus tax for roughly ten minutes in the air. The first boat of the day drops to $79 if you book and pay 24 hours ahead.

Observers pay $40, a photo and video pack is $40, and two or three people fly together depending on weight and wind. You launch and land on the back deck, so you can stay dry or ask for a dip.

The rules are the same story at every operator, with small differences. At Chute Em Up the minimum age is 5, anyone under 18 needs a parent to sign the waiver, and no single flyer can weigh more than 265 pounds, a number the captain can lower when the wind picks up. Parking is in the marina lot, and the company asks you to call ahead for a code if you will be there longer than 30 minutes. Cancel inside 24 hours and you pay the full fare, but if the crew cancels for weather you get a new slot or a refund.

Pier 60 Parasail prices by height instead: $79 at 800 feet, $89 at 1,000 feet and $99 at 1,200 feet, with about ten minutes of flight either way and a $45 photo service per group. Its listed address is 455 E Shore Dr, the Intracoastal side of the island about 0.3 miles northeast of the pier, and boats carry up to 12 passengers. Kids from 5 can go, children under 14 must fly with someone 14 or older, and a light flyer may be paired with another passenger to make the weight. Reviewers rave about the photo and GoPro packages and mention dolphins following the boat out.

Go in the morning if you can. The Gulf is usually flatter before the sea breeze fills in, and both operators note that weight limits and flights depend on the conditions on the day.

Jet ski rentals and tours

For a jet ski day, Idle Speed Watersports is the easy pick: its 90-minute guided tour starts from $149 and leaves from the quieter north beach, away from the marina crowds. Nearly every jet ski outing here is a guided tour, which is a good thing in a channel full of boats.

Idle Speed Watersports

Idle Speed Watersports runs out of 663 Bay Esplanade, about 0.8 miles north of Pier 60, and its Dolphin Island tour crosses open Gulf water to a stop at Honeymoon, Caladesi or Three Rooker Island. Private tours for your own group start from $589, and it is open 9:30 am to 6 pm every day.

Its 1,437 reviews average 5 stars, and reviewers say guides take action photos and open up the throttle during a freestyle stretch. They also warn it fills up, so book ahead.

Beach Jet Ski Rentals works from slips 29 and 30 at the main marina and offers a 1-hour freestyle ride, a 1.5-hour Honeymoon Island tour and a 2-hour dolphin tour. Riders can be 6, drivers must be 16, and the site does not post prices, so book online to see the rate for your slot. One reviewer was told to arrive 45 minutes early and stood around for 30 of them, so treat that window loosely.

Jet Ski Clearwater Beach leaves from the Courtyard Marriott dock at 455 E Shore Dr and runs guided, dolphin, beginner and sunset tours. Reviewers mention a stop at a spot the guides call the Fountain of Youth, stingrays and the occasional manatee, and a beginner-friendly 1.5-hour beach tour. Prices are on its booking page, not its home page.

For a short spin without a guide, the Pier 60 Watersports stand rents jet skis from the sand behind the Hilton at $70 for 30 minutes or $135 for an hour, plus $10 per passenger. Read the checkout: 7% sales tax and a 15% service charge are added to every rental.

Pontoon and boat rentals on Clearwater Beach

Island Breeze Pontoon Rentals is the straightforward choice for driving your own boat, with posted prices, a 2025 tritoon for bigger groups and a dock at the foot of the Memorial Causeway. No license is needed, but a boater-safety card is, and the renter has to be 25.

Island Breeze Pontoon Rentals

Island Breeze Pontoon Rentals meets you at the Seminole Street boat launch on the mainland side, about 1.6 miles east of Pier 60, across the harbor from the beach. A 24-foot pontoon seats nine and the 26-foot tritoon seats twelve, and rentals run $399 for 4 hours, $499 for 6 and $599 for 8, plus tax and a set fuel charge shown at checkout.

Reviewers like the Bluetooth stereo, the cooler with ice and the owner's tips on which island to anchor off. New boaters should add a captain when booking.

Adventure Boat Rental lists the same $399, $499 and $599 rates for 4, 6 and 8 hours, a $249 sunset cruise, and a base at 223 Dolphin Point on Island Estates, about 0.6 miles east-northeast of Pier 60. It will also deliver a boat to the nearest public ramp, and one reviewer had the boat dropped at their rental's own slip. It shares a phone number with Island Breeze and reviewers name the same staff at both, so expect a similar setup.

Clearwater Beach Boat Rentals works from the public dock next door at 198 Seminole St with two 2023 tritoons: a 23-foot Bennington for 12 from $295 for 2 1/2 hours, and a 25-foot Harris for 13 from $395. Gas, tax and fees are extra, weekdays are $50 off, and the renter must be 25. Far-off spots like Anclote or the Johns Pass sandbar need a full-day rental.

For something faster than a pontoon, look at Float Pontoon and Boat Rentals, whose fleet runs from a 19-foot deck boat at $390 for 4 hours to slide pontoons and a Ski Nautique wake boat, with captains at about $50 an hour on a 4-hour minimum. Two things to know: it is closed Wednesdays, and its site says all bookings currently meet at the Belleair Causeway boat ramp, not the S Gulfview Blvd address in its listing. Weekdays are 10% off and holiday weekends carry a 25% surcharge.

Where to point the boat: north to Caladesi and Honeymoon Island for shelling, or anchor off a sandbar and wait for dolphins, then come home before the afternoon storms. If nobody in your group wants to drive, the dolphin boats and sunset cruises out of the marina cost less per head than a private pontoon.

Kayaks and paddleboards

Book Chadillac Adventures for a clear-bottomed kayak tour from the beach side, with a guide who knows where the manatees hang out. If you just want a board for an hour, rent one off the sand instead.

Chadillac Adventures

Chadillac Adventures launches its clear kayak tours from slip 50 at 445 E Shore Dr and charges $65 for adults and $55 for kids 12 and under, per person, for about two hours on the Intracoastal toward the spoil islands and a sandbar. The after-dark tour uses LED-lit kayaks at the same price, with start times that move with sunset.

Its second base is at Cove Cay on the mainland, about 6.8 miles east-southeast of Pier 60, and every trip needs a reservation. Its 653 reviews average 4.9 stars, and one couple called the paddle back in the dark peaceful.

Paddle Out Adventures solves the wind problem by carrying you and the boards on its boat to a sheltered cove before anyone paddles, from the main marina at 25 Causeway Blvd. Tours are $85 for 2 hours, $115 for 3 and $135 for 4, per person, with a $5 fuel surcharge. Reviewers say the 3-hour trip is the sweet spot and the guides narrate the waterfront on the way out.

For a cheap self-guided paddle, Idle Speed rents kayaks and paddleboards from $29 for two hours, and Pier 60 Watersports charges $35 an hour for a board or a double kayak. Stay inside the swim area on calm mornings and leave the open Gulf to the guided trips.

Banana boats and beach toys

The cheapest thrill on the beach is the banana boat at the Pier 60 Watersports stand, $25 a person for a 15-minute ride with up to six aboard. It sits on the sand at 400 Mandalay Ave behind the Hilton, about 0.1 miles north of Pier 60, and walk-ups are welcome. Riders have to be 5 or older, which makes it the easy pick for a family with younger kids. Its site lists 9 am to 5 pm daily, an hour shorter than its map listing, so plan on the earlier close. Remember the 7% tax and 15% service charge here too.

Rules, licenses and weather

You do not need a boating license to rent here, but anyone born on or after January 1, 1988 needs a Florida Boating Safety Education ID card, or proof of an approved course, to drive anything with 10 horsepower or more. That covers every jet ski and pontoon in this guide.

Visitors can take an online exam from an FWC-approved vendor for a temporary certificate, which is valid for 90 days and which a rental company can inspect before handing over the keys. Beach Jet Ski wants the printed or screenshot certificate and a photo ID on arrival, and Adventure Boat says it turns renters away without one. Do it at the hotel the night before.

Florida law sets the age floor: nobody under 14 may operate a personal watercraft, and a rental company may not rent a motorized boat or jet ski to anyone under 18. Operators set their own bar on top of that: Beach Jet Ski and Pier 60 Watersports want drivers of 16 or more, and Island Breeze and Clearwater Beach Boat Rentals want pontoon renters to be 25. Everyone on a jet ski wears a life jacket, the kill-switch lanyard goes on your wrist or vest, and no jet ski may run from half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise.

Wind is the other rule. State law grounds parasail boats when sustained wind tops 20 mph, when gusts pass 25 mph, when visibility drops under half a mile or when lightning comes within 7 miles. Summer storms tend to build in the afternoon, so book the water early in the day and keep the afternoon for the pool. When an operator cancels for weather, Chute Em Up and Pier 60 Parasail reschedule or refund, and Float lets you move the date or gift the rental within a year. When you cancel inside 24 hours, expect to pay in full.