Me, my husband and our three adult children
will be heading down to Marco Island next week for our vacation. We want to see the Everglades but not sure whether to just walk around the State Park or take an airboat tour. Can anyone reccomend a good airboat tour company or make any other suggestions? Thanks

With the heat, I'd take the airboat ride. The "breeze" will make the stifling heat and humidity much more bearable. Your hotel can probably recommend a reputable company.

Go to Everglades and take a pontoon boat tour national park. We did it in March and saw osprey, eagles and many other birds.

The highlight was groups of dolphins playing in our wake and the wake of other boats.

Keith

Personally I would skip the Everglades because it is mosquito season.

At the very least, find the most powerful mosquito repellent on the market and hose yourself down with it before you even get there.

I'm not kidding.

I have been to the Everglades a few times, and my favorite ways to actually see the park are to bike the loop at Shark Valley or to take the boat tour at the Flamingo Visitor center. The airboat tours, especially those south of the highway on the enormous boats are terrible. The trips in the Indian reservations, north of the highway, on smaller boats are much better, but still not a good way to see the park. We biked the loop at Shark Valley last December and saw hundreds of alligators and other wildlife -- plus you get to experience the park w/o the need to wear noise-muffling earphones, as you do on the airboats.

Just for clarity's sake: Everglades is a national park, not a state park. There are no airboat rides within the park's boundaries. The airboat rides you see up and down the road operate outside of the national park, so you can take an airboat ride if you want, but it won't take you into the national park.

Too many mosquitoes, as well as heavy humidity for hiking in August. Take an airboat ride from one of many operators on the Tamiami Trail (Hwy 41). You can also take a National Park tram ride in Shark Valley, which is also off of Hwy 41. There's an observation tower at the southern end of the tram ride loop. Some pretty big gators hangout below the tower.

Thanks everyone for your input. We are renting a house so there is no one to ask for advice. I'll stop at a visitor center and ask there. The pontoon boat sounds fun as well as the airboat. I guess we will figure it out when we get down there.