I'm looking for suggestions on good tours of the everglades. We'll be staying in Ft. Lauderdale in late August and can set aside one day to see some of the everglades. We are interested mostly in the wildlife (i.e. alligators, manatees, etc.). Some of our group has expressed interest in airboats - will we see wildlife that way or is it just a high speed boat ride? Thanks.

Our family visited Everglades City in February. We went out on an airboat that seated 6 people. Our captain was great, he even let the kids (ages 7, 7, & 8) drive the boat in a secluded little pond-like area. They really loved it! The airboat was an unique experience which we really enjoyed and will always remember. On the down side-airboats went out every 10-15 minutes and were extremely loud. The only wildlife we saw were some birds and 6 raccoons that our driver stopped to feed. On our drive from Everglades City to Naples we saw probably 75 alligaters soaking up the sun along the canal that ran along side the road. We were able to park the car at one point and walk up the road to get pictures. We had a memorable trip and recommend it.

Doug-agree with Terry about the airboat trip thru the Everglades. My husband & I were referred to a guide-and wound up being the only 2 on his boat. What a trip we enjoyed. These size airboats can get into places (sorta like having a small car as opposed to a mini-van) than the bigger, crowd oriented ones can. We saw gators of all sizes-from a nest of little ones to the full grown adults. Our trip-which was a few years ago-ran us about $60 for a little over an hour-but it was worth every cent. We suited up in a jumpsuit overall thing, put the ear protectors on-and away we went.

Terry's braver than I would have been in getting out of the car to take pics of the gators sunning themselves-my zoom lens would have done that for me!!

Doug...I concur with Terry. The airboats are incredibly loud and any animal worth his salt should be long gone. The Everglades are a vast expanse of marsh--flat, almost treeless and hot. I's not a bit like the more picturesque Okeefenokee.

If you play golf while you are here you may see gators around the water hazards. Only the foolhardy swim in fresh water ponds in FL because of them and now you are even having to think about them in some salt water as they are spotted there on occasion. Are they evolving? One has been hanging around a St Pete Marina in Tampa Bay recently. Pity the divers who go down to clean boat bottoms there!

Manatees are hard to spot as they come up only briefly to get a breath...maybe do a roll, then are back down--and not in the Everglades! There are some areas where you can almost be guaranteed to see some but they are quite a bit north of where you'll be (Homosassa Springs area).

Hi Doug, you may want to give some thought to taking a day trip to Florida City(southwest of Miami).Its really not to far from Fort Lauderdale and the entrance to the Everglades National Park is located there.At the park entrance you can visit the visitors center and get a map of the glades and from there you can drive thru the everglades to the settlement of Flamingo located on Florida Bay.The drive is a dead end and round trip is approx. 70 miles and entirely in the everglades.The map will show many nature trails along the way where you will see gators,snakes,lots of birds and,who knows,maybe even a Florida panther.When you arrive in Flamingo you will have a choice of air boat or a regular boat tour of the glades. The regular boat even goes out into Florida Bay and you may see Manatees,dolphins or even a salt water crocodile(rare but possible).You could take a picnic lunch (lots of places with tables along the way)or went you get to Flamingo there is a snack shop.Whenever we visit Florida we spend a day doing this drive,the grandkids love it.From Lauderdale its a very doable day trip.Have fun !!

A couple points:
August in the Glades will be very hot and humid, with a good chance you'll be in the middle of a mosquito hatch. So, if you stop for a picnic lunch along the road, be prepared with a GOOD bug spray (like OFF or Cutter, don't bother with the ones that claim to be gentle on your skin- they're gentle on bugs, too!).
If you want to see wildlife, go to the Florida City entrance (as an above poster suggested) and at the visitors center ask for directions to the Anhinga trail (actually, you can't miss it): you should see gators, turtles, birds, and also a good look at many fish.
Finally, a comment about the "gatorphobe" above- I have water skied and swam in freshwater canals, WITH GATORS, many times, and I am not "foolhardy"; I just know how gators behave. They select prey by size, and don't generally want any part of a full size human. Little children, on the other hand, I would not let play around the shoreline of a pond that had alligators.

we went on a boat tour from everglades city that was nice. i believe it is run by the state park system....it was a fairly large boat and only cost about $12 per. i think it toured the "thousand island" sections.....we saw some dolphins and various wildlike on the small islands. for what its worth i think everglades nat. park is a waste of time and $10. you'll spend most of your time stuck behind a RV going 20mph with no chance of passing on that winding, 2 lane rd. the view from flamingo point is what you would see from anywhere in key largo.

My husband and I went to the Everglades a year and half ago and loved it. While the airboat ride was very enjoyable, we only saw some crabs, birds, and raccoons. There were hints of a manatee but we never actually saw it. We also did the tram ride around Shark Valley (I think that's the name) which was fantastic! You can also ride bikes and walk (I think). We saw tons of birds and many many alligators including a mom and her babies and a huge gator right next to the path to the observation tower. The guide was very informative and brave, wading out in the water at times. Have a great time!

Doug, I think this is one of the great natural wonders of the United States and would recommend your taking the time to visit. As others have mentioned it will be HOT out there, with the humidity and the temperature hovering around 95, bring plenty of sunscreen. I would recommend at this time of year you plan to see things early in the morning or later in the afternoon, as high noon can be unbearable. Afternoon maybe risky, because of the frequent summer thundershowers. If you like adventure there is nothing like being a few feet from an alligator with nothing between you. I just visted the Shark Valley portion of the park and there was an alligator on the path not fifty yards from the ranger house. I did not push the limits but you can get as close as you want and believe it or not the gator was indifferent. The swamp boat ride is always a winner, and the breeze should keep things cool, but it is no guarantee to see a gator up close. The Tamiami Trail, by the entrance to Shark Valley, has airboat places every five miles and you can get an good taste of the Everglades within this area.

how do you get people to read your message so fast? I posted my message 1 minute after you did, and you have 8 messages, and I don't have any!!!!!!
HOW RUDE!

Hey Tom: You do realize that Doug asked his question in JULY OF LAST YEAR and his visit has been over for 7 months now? Why did you search for a 7 month old post to reply to? Please try to keep up with the rest of us!

...those of us whose visits to the everglades is yet to come (May 2002) appreciate reading ALL the posts... my question was the same as the first post (everglade tours) and am ready to print all the replys regardless when they were written!! thanks for all the great information... if anyone has any suggestions of a reputable airboat or regular boat tour guide, please post it...thanks again for all your help!