Everglades Boat Tours — Local services in Chokoloskee Island

My husband and I were fortunate to be the only two signed up for the morning tour, so we got our fabulous tour guide, Don, all to ourselves! Everything we knew about the Everglades we learned from watching TV, so we were expecting to spend most of our time in kayaks, surrounded by sawgrass, deep the swamp. Our experience couldn't have been less what we'd envisioned, yet completely wonderful in the most unexpected way!

The Everglades in this area are salt water, so primarily mangroves, and we spent the first portion of our trip enjoying a leisurely boat ride and seeing a variety of birds and wildlife. We then reached an island where we walked the beach looking at shells, tiny crabs and a variety of other sea life. We even rescued two horseshoe crabs that had gotten themselves flipped upside down on their backs. What a wonderful feeling to watch them swim away and live to 'crab' another day!

The kayaking portion of the trip was short, from one beach to another, which was fabulous because we both hate paddling. One we arrived, we saw the largest shells we'd ever seen, and found chards of pottery from the Indian tribe that used to live there. Don was a wonderful fountain of information on both the sea life, as well as the history of the area, and we were fascinated by all he shared.

In sum, book this tour...you'll enjoy...

We had a great time during our 3-day, 2-night adventure. Don McCumber (our guide) made the excursion even better. I expected him to be knowledgeable various channels and islands ... I was not surprised that he was engaging and participated with our crazy group during our campfire sing-a-longs!

BUT ... I had no idea that he would have so much knowledge about the myriad of flora, fauna and creatures that we encountered. His insights into the various conchs, mollusks and crustaceans and their interactions was a highlight for me.

AND ... did I mention his culinary talents? The menu was diverse, filling and flavorful ... I had not expected this.

I should also mention the company in general (Charles, Dan). Easy to work with and flexible. These traits were a must when coordinating folks from multiple states.

An adventure in the Everglades? Work with these folks! Aquaterra Excursions and...

We did a boat assisted kayak tour with Captain Charles and Captain Don. It was absolutely fantastic -- it is definitely the best way to get into the park to see the mangroves and wildlife. We took the boat out to some more remote islands and then kayaked around getting out frequency to explore the beaches. Captain Don is an incredibly knowledgable naturalist with stories about every shell, animal, and plant that we found. We learned so much and my boys had a blast! We ended the day with a pod of dolphins jumping around the boat. I can't recommend Everglades Area...