Everglades Adventure Tours — Local services in Everglades City

Me and my wife took this tour today. Let me start with the positive because this is how we saw the trip as a whole. We had the same airboat guide and swamp buggy guide. Carl I believe was his name. An amazing man that has a lot of knowledge and seemed happy to share. Those two highlights alone get a 5 star from us. Most amazing guide I've seen. Humor, knowledge, and appreciation for what he does. Now the bad. Our "comfortable seating" left me and my wife whom are chubbier (and I'm not even y talking obese as I'm 6'4 and 200 lbs) uncomfortable as hell in a van you can only crouch to get into and have a 1 1/2 hour ride from ft Myers litteraly stuck in a sweaty body to sweaty body embrace with strangers the whole way to and from, not even mentioning the fact we were expected to load in the van to be told to get back out after crossing the street with the only apparent reason being lack of accommodations. Then the "lunch" is a streamlined menu at a restraunt that treats you worse than dirt. Has to ask 4 times for a refill on drinks till the waitress said "fine, I'll refill it". The "gator appetizer" is so horribly cooked it may as well have been imitation lobster. Oh, and if any of these ideas bother you, damn sure don't take this trip. They are more interested in pushing you from attraction to attraction than even paying attention to people's comfort level. A teenager we were with couldnt even start his lunch because his frog legs were frozen in the middle and when they finally replaced his lunch as we were coming out of the door our "guide" told us we had to go and he didn't have time to eat. An hour long uncomfortable bus ride later, she told us we had "2 hours to kill". And we're not even going to get into the fact about how she bragged about how her friends were killing the pythons while the whole reason we took the trip is to see snakes and lizards as me and my wife own a reptile rescue. Long story short, get and rental car, drive to hootens airboat and swapbuggy rides yourself and save money while having a...

I was able to book through Jack on the phone who was very helpful and accomplished.

Ralph was my guide He was wonderful, calm energy matching with the peace and magic of the place. I booked the private photography tour. I loved the authentic gladesmen boat, that we used. It was large and stable, I could lay down or stand up to take pictures without a problem. Most importantly I felt very safe.

At first I was very concerned about entering the natural habitat of those huge alligators. I seriously thought that could be dangerous. Ralph informed me prior the Eco Tour.

Those Florida Alligators are naturally afraid of humans and they stay away from us, at the exception of those who have been fed by human hand. Those can be dangerous but remain rare.

The larger the alligator is, the more experienced it is and therefore it knows that human are up to know good and it’s best to stay away from us.

During my 3 hour tour I have encountered 6 alligators and felt very safe. I wanted to share, that those alligators in the Everglades are different from Australian Crocodiles.

In Australia they see humans as preys not as predators and they will hunt us. That s probably where my fear to do this tour came from. Once fully informed I felt very reassured and was able to relax and embrace this magic moment .

Ralph was extremely knowledgeable about this fauna and the flora. I was fascinated about how much he knew and how wonderful is the world of the mangrove.

I highly recommend...

Our group did the full day tour. Read the reviews first b/c this tour is $$$. Seems we spent WAY more time driving and just plain WAITING than anything. The drive to the Everglades is 1.5 hrs in their van. Then waiting to ride the SHORTEST swamp buggy ride ever. Then across the street to wait for an airboat that does a few turns and splashes. Then back on the van to a pre ordered lunch that was fair( the gator bite app is 4 tiny bites in a little plastic dish). The eco tour part is driving down a dirt road to look for birds and gators. Then a drive to a roadside attraction that's just plain underwhelming. Then back in the van for that 1.5 hr back to the parking lot. Don't...