Captain Jed’s Airboat Rides — Attraction in DeLand

Not my first airboat tour, but definitely the best! I had gone down to the Everglades previously and had a really good time on a large group airboat gator tour, so I wanted to take my son to experience an airboat wildlife and gator tour too. I didn’t realize I would have a completely different experience though. The smaller style boat that Captain Joe took us out on made this a very personal experience that gets you right up close and personal with this beautiful habitat and the majestic creatures within. Captain Joe truly has a personal relationship with these animals and their habitat too. When I was in the Everglades we only saw two gators on our tour and stayed at a great distance from them. With captain Joe, you’re going to get up so close to the gators, and maybe some manatees, that you could actually reach out and touch them. Don’t do that obviously. Follow the simple boat rules and come with a good sense of humor because Captain Joe is going to show you a good time and maybe poke a little fun if you can take it. He gets to know his guests through a little Q&A and you can tell how he tailors each ride to the people on board. For example, for my son who is a mechanic, he opened up his brand new engine and added a little thrill to the ride on the main river! It is so refreshing to see someone so passionate about showing people this amazing area, the animals themselves, and especially the people who come to share it with him. He is not just knowledgeable about the current animals and vegetation either, he showed us a shell mound that had become visible due to erosion and told us about the history of the area and the native people that used to hunt and forage there and how the shells actually came to be there. I won’t spoil the ending, but if you figured it out, don’t worry, he has plenty of great stories. P.s. be sure to ask him to see pictures of the mountain cat and bear he grew up with! I can honestly say that this is the best money I have ever spent on a tour and I would come back again just to hang out with Captain Joe! Thanks for an...

Awesome experience! It's called Captain Jed but as I understand it he is no longer giving tours. Captain Joe is now the tour guide and he is a US Coast Guard licensed Master Captain which means he knows what he's doing. (Which he proved) Both he and his wife were very personable. I especially appreciated that his wife answers text immediately if she's not available on the phone for reservations. Last year we tried to go on an airboat ride and couldn't get in touch with the operator. So this year we said we would find a ride! it's the most fun thing we've done in the two years we've been coming to Florida. Would do it again. Probably will.

I had my camera and Captain Joe pointed out every bird, alligator and turtle he saw for me to photograph. Slowed down at times to make sure everyone saw things like the baby alligator resting on momma's head! The ride was so smooth and stable! Nothing to be afraid of. Respectfully slow through wake zones and in the wildlife swamp areas. Alligators seemed to know him. Some knew his voice and not leave when we came close. Very knowledgeable about the wildlife. Fun faster speed in the...

Amazing adventure!!! Jed is SO kind and informative. More than worth it! I am thrilled this was so much closer to us and the beach than most airboat rides around Orlando. This was only 30 minutes from Daytona Beach and we had a blast! We saw baby alligators, mother alligators and a huge male alligator that was still swallowing the bird he caught! That was quite the sight! Jed more than delivered when we had kids who were super excited hoping to catch a glimpse of alligators - we saw atleast 8-12 of them on our 1 hour tour.

The boat is amazingly clean, and Jed provides brand new ear plugs still wrapped in plastic for his guests to use and keep. This was a nice surprise, and a relief to those of us without headphones.

It was a neat experience to glide right over the reeds, grasses etc. I wasn’t expecting us to be able to do that, I’ve never been on an airboat before. So it was a nice surprise.

We’ve already had neighbors asking where we went and contact info to come here as they’ve seen our photos & videos of our amazing experience. This is a must do on our list to take visiting family & friends from...