Wake surf boat rental in Naples, Florida

Surf Florida rents its Naples wake surf boat for $210 per hour with a 6-hour minimum, which comes to $1,260 for a half day, or $1,350 for a full day. Florida sales tax, Boatsetter booking fees and the fuel you burn are added on top. Every rental includes wakesurf boards, wakeboards, tubes, tow ropes and life jackets at no extra charge.

All bookings run through Boatsetter, which handles the rental agreement, payment and insurance. Pick your date and duration on the Boatsetter listing and Darrick confirms it, usually within 12 hours. Boatsetter also holds the security deposit and releases it 48 hours after your trip.

No captain is required — you run the boat yourself. Florida does not issue a recreational boating license; it issues a Boating Safety Education Identification Card, and whether you need proof of boating-safety education depends on your date of birth. Born before January 1, 1988, and Florida’s age-based education requirement generally does not apply to you. Born on or after January 1, 1988, and you generally need qualifying proof of boating-safety education with you while operating a motorboat of 10 horsepower or greater. Boatsetter account verification, insurance eligibility and our own operator check apply on top of the state rule. You get a full ramp-side briefing on the boat, the surf system and the local channels before you leave the dock. If you would rather not drive, ask and we will send a list of local captains you can hire separately.

Yes. Wakesurf boards, wakeboards for adults and youth, towable tubes, tow ropes and Coast Guard life jackets are all included in the hourly and daily rate. The only paid extra is the wake foil board, which is an add-on you reserve when you book.

Not as a single day. Surf Florida runs Monday through Saturday, and Sundays are reserved. A multi-day booking can run straight through a Sunday, so a Saturday-to-Monday weekend works fine.

Cocohatchee River Marina at 13535 Vanderbilt Dr in North Naples, or Bayview Park Marina at 1575 Danford St on Naples Bay. Both are free to launch from and you pick whichever is closer to where you are staying. We meet you at the ramp with the boat already in the water and fueled. A third option is Goodland Boat Park at 750 Palm Point Dr in Goodland, on the back side of Marco Island, for a $120 delivery fee — that is the Ten Thousand Islands launch.

No. The boat is set up for wake sports and beach days, so fishing, fish cleaning and bait are not permitted. Wakesurfing, wakeboarding, wake foiling, tubing, swimming and sandbar hopping are all fair game.

Bring food, non-alcoholic drinks, ice, sunscreen, towels, sunglasses and a dry bag. The boat comes fueled with boards, tubes, ropes, life jackets, Bimini shade and a Bluetooth stereo ready to go. Tell us ahead of time if you need infant or toddler life jackets.

Up to 10 guests, including kids. Children under 12 are welcome and swimming off the boat is encouraged. Let us know your group size when you book so the right life jackets are on board.

Southwest Florida storms usually pass in under an hour, and the plan is normally to duck into the backwaters and wait it out. If conditions are genuinely unsafe for the whole window, we work with you and Boatsetter to reschedule. Boatsetter cancellation terms are moderate: free until five days out, 50 percent between three and five days, none inside two days.

Yes. We trailer the boat to Goodland Boat Park at 750 Palm Point Dr, Goodland, FL 34140, on the back side of Marco Island, for a flat $120 delivery fee on top of the normal rental rate. Goodland is the closest ramp in Collier County to the Ten Thousand Islands: the first mangrove keys are about 10 minutes out of the channel, dolphin water in Gullivan Bay is 15, the secluded Gulf-facing shelling beaches around Cape Romano are about 25, and the Everglades backwaters start around 40. The same run from Bayview Park in Naples Bay eats about 35 minutes of your rental each way, so the delivery fee usually buys back more water time than it costs.

Usually, and no boat can promise it. Resident Atlantic bottlenose dolphins live in Naples Bay, Rookery Bay, Gullivan Bay and the passes around Goodland year-round, and they routinely come over to ride a boat wake. Odds are best in the first two hours after sunrise and the last two before sunset, on a moving tide, at idle speed. Federal law requires staying 50 yards back and never feeding or touching them — keep your distance and they close it themselves.

Florida does not issue a recreational boating license. It issues a Boating Safety Education Identification Card, and the requirement turns on your date of birth. If you were born before January 1, 1988, Florida generally does not require you to hold the card based solely on the state’s age-based boater-education requirement. If you were born on or after January 1, 1988, you generally must have qualifying proof of boating-safety education with you while operating a motorboat of 10 horsepower or greater in Florida. Either way, rental, Boatsetter and insurance requirements can still apply on top of the state rule.

Yes. SURFL rents its boat self-captained in Naples, Florida, so you drive it yourself with no captain aboard — subject to Florida’s boating-safety education requirements, Boatsetter’s renter and account-verification requirements, the requirements of the insurance program covering the rental, and SURFL’s approval of the person who will be operating the boat. You get a ramp-side briefing on the helm, the surf system, the local channels and the safety gear before you leave the dock.

If you were born before January 1, 1988, Florida’s age-based boater-education requirement generally does not require you to have a Florida Boating Safety Education Identification Card in order to operate a motorboat in Florida. That exemption is only about the state’s age-based education rule. Other legal, rental, Boatsetter and insurance requirements can still apply, and SURFL still has to verify that the person operating the boat holds whatever boating qualifications the law requires of them.

If you were born on or after January 1, 1988, a person operating a motorboat of 10 horsepower or greater in Florida generally must have qualifying proof of boating-safety education while operating the boat. Acceptable documentation may include a Florida Boating Safety Education Identification Card, qualifying proof of completing an approved NASBLA or state boating-safety course (including qualifying out-of-state documentation where Florida recognizes it), or a Florida Temporary Boating Certificate where applicable. Carry the document and photo identification with you on the water.

Yes. Florida offers a Temporary Boating Certificate, which is valid for 90 days and is designed for visitors and renters who need a quick option. The online exam contains 25 questions, and at least 19 of the 25 must be answered correctly to pass. Once you pass, carry the certificate and photo identification with you while operating the boat. Full details and authorized vendors are on the FWC Temporary Boating Certificate page.

Yes. The BoatUS Foundation course is listed as an approved online option in the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s course table at a price of free. You can take it online at boatus.org/florida, and the full list of approved classroom and online providers, with prices, is on the FWC boating safety courses page.

Yes, if the requirement applies to you. An operator who is subject to Florida’s boating-safety education requirement needs to have qualifying proof of that education with them while operating the boat, together with photo identification, available for inspection. Bring the physical or electronic card or certificate to the ramp — SURFL checks it before the boat is released.

No. Completing a Florida boating-safety course satisfies a state education requirement; it does not by itself make you an eligible renter. Boatsetter account verification, the eligibility requirements of the insurance program covering the rental, owner and operator verification by SURFL, and the other terms of the rental may all still apply. Eligibility can vary from booking to booking, so confirm with us before you travel if you are unsure.