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I am looking for locations and/or criteria for selecting locations to swim with dolphins. Anyplace on the East Coast of the USA, or the Gulf of Mexico. Searching on behalf of a blind woman who has heard that some places are better than others. Unsure what criteria are useful in making a choice.

Quality of dolphin care, and quality of person to dolphin interactions are primary concerns. Destinations reachable by automobile in the Eastern US and/or short boat rides are preferred.

I found several locations with an online search, ruled out a couple after reading the web page, probably missed finding some others. The list has 4 promising finds, but no idea where to go from here.

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    This question appears to be off-topic because it is asking for a potentially broad list of places, mentioned in the help center as not permitted. – Mark Mayo♦ Dec 20 '14 at 9:23
  • @MarkMayo I checked before posting and this type of question seems to be in scope. Also the potential list is less than a dozen (may only be 6), but the key point of my question is not to list them, but to identify criteria for "Quality of dolphin care, and quality of person to dolphin interactions" which are my primary concerns – James Jenkins Dec 20 '14 at 10:49
  • Generally list questions are considered too broad as there are too many possible options. However, if it's like half a dozen, then you may be ok. You've listed almost that many in your question though? I'd consider editing the question to make it clear you're looking for the criteria, the title makes it seem like you're just looking for a list. – Mark Mayo♦ Dec 20 '14 at 10:57
  • also it's worth noting that just because a past question is still in existence, they can't usually be pointed to to justify scope - the site has gone through some changes, and some questions are just kept around for historical purposes. I do think an edit will make it fine though, now that you've pointed out how few places there are. – Mark Mayo♦ Dec 20 '14 at 11:06
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If you are concerned about the care of dolphins, don't go swimming with them.

Whale and Dolphin Conservation have an article about the Issues with swimming with dolphins.

Dolphins are very intelligent animals, in the wild they can travel great distances. If kept in confinement , are not able to live naturally, and travel and hunt as they would in the wild. Captive dolphins can suffer from a range of illnesses, and die at a much a younger age. Dolphins are captured from wild populations, separated from their family groups, with many killed in the process.

Swimming with dolphins causes more issues - in captivity, they are not able to get away from people if they wanted, so can become stressed. They may behave aggressively - dolphins are wild animals, and can be rather large and strong, so may cause injuries to swimmers.

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