Tarpon Springs Sponge Boat Tours

Tarpon Springs is a city on Florida’s gulf coast. It’s about 30 miles northwest of Tampa. It has a population of about 24,000. The city has the highest number of Greek Americans anywhere in the United States which means some great Greek cuisine! The city is on a series of Bayous which feed into the Gulf of Mexico. The first settlers spotted Tarpon jumping out of the waters so it was named Tarpon Springs. It is also known as the Sponge Capital of the World! It’s a beautiful place to spend the day!

Historic Sponge Docks

We took a stroll along the docks and saw boats that had been gathering natural sponges. In 1880, the first sponge business was started, at that time they would hook the sponges and then process them for use. In 1905, John Cocoris introduced the technique of sponge diving to Tarpon Springs and recruited divers and crew from Greece. By the mid-1930s there were 200 boats working the Gulf of Mexico harvesting sponges. Unfortunately, in the late 1930s, a bacterial blight killed the sponges and destroyed the industry.

Today they are making a comeback with a small active sponge industry in Tarpon Springs.

St. Nicholas Boat Line

Established in 1924, the St. Nicholas Boat Line started providing Sponge Boat Tours and is still giving tours today. They are the second oldest attraction in Florida.

Tarpon Springs Sponge Boat Tour

• Location: 693 Dodecanese Blvd., Tarpon Springs
• Hours: 10:00-4:30 Daily, the St. Nicholas IV leaves the sponge docks every 40 minutes on a round-trip cruise the Anclote River.
• The Tour: Includes the history of the Sponge docks and a live sponge harvesting demonstration
• Cost: Adults $10

Sponge Diver Memorial

A statue of a fearless sponge diver stands along the docks of Tarpon Springs. Dedicated in 2002, “In Memory of the Spongers of Tarpon Springs”, the statue depicts a young man in a full rubber diving suit, holding his helmet in one arm. A lot of these spongers died on the job. Today there are safer methods to harvest the sponges.

Shopping

Spongeorama Sponge Factory was founded in 1968 and has the World’s largest collection of natural sea sponges in their gift shop. Located at 510 Dodecanese Blvd. You can also watch a movie on the history of the sponge harvesting industry, get tickets for a sightseeing cruise, or have a bite at Yiannis.

They have many other cool items in their gift shop;

• Jewelry
• bath & body products
• home decor
• shells
• soaps
• gift sets
• loofas and sponges

There are many other shops at the Sponge docks;

• Tarpon Sponge Company–735 Dodecanese Blvd, #57
• Katherine’s Gifts and Linens-628 Athens St.
• My Favorite Store–Clothing, 713 Dodecanese Blvd.
• Gloria’s Gifts–793 Dodecanese Blvd.
• Tarpon Springs Olive Oil Company–838 Dodecanese Blvd.

Tarpon Springs Aquarium

We also stopped in at the Tarpon Springs Aquarium. The aquarium is a family-owned business. It’s small but very interesting!

**NOTE** The Tarpon Springs Aquarium has moved from the sponge docks(850 Dodecanese Blvd) to 1722 North Pinellas Ave, Tarpon Springs, FL. The last day they were open for business at the docks was 7/07/20. They have now opened at their new facility!

Tarpon Springs Aquarium

Greek food Tarpon Springs

If you enjoy Greek food, this is the place to be.

• Mama’s Greek Cuisine
• Mr. Souvlaki Restaurant
• Hellas Restaurant
• Mykonos
• Dimitri’s on the Water
• Yiannis

Other Tarpon Springs Restaurants

• Rusty Bellies Waterfront Grill
• Olive the World Bistro
• The Bistro
• Tarpon Tavern

In Conclusion..

We had a great time visiting the Sponge docks, Aquarium, museum, and shops at Tarpon Springs, FL. It’s worth a trip! Please let me know if you have been to this part of Florida. I would love to hear from you, please comment below, and remember to share with your family & friends on social media!

You may also enjoy reading about Largo FL

*originally written June 23, 2019, recently updated*

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