60 min. Everglades Airboat ride & pick-up ,small group +pro guide
Description
Our Everglades Tour is led by a real guide with over 10 years of experience in Miami. Personal connection is super important to us, that's why we keep our tour groups small to medium-sized, ensuring that every question gets answered. We make sure no question goes unanswered! The Everglades have faced new challenges over time, from urban development and drainage to the invasion of exotic species from the tropical rainforests of South America. We want to show you how much we care about the Everglades, and that's why we've been actively involved in protecting them for years. During this tour, we'll also share ways you can actively contribute to preserving the Everglades. Looking forward to having you with us!
Tour Options
Itinerary
Our tour starts right from your pick-up! Our guide doesn't just talk to you and recite a standard script... No! They love their job and the surroundings, actively involving you in shaping this tour experience. Historically, the Everglades in South Florida began in the coastal areas of today's South Florida Metropolitan Area, and that's why our guides start sharing stories about the Everglades right from the pick-up. During the drive, you'll get detailed information about the past, present, and future of the Everglades, as well as insights into the exotic flora and fauna. By the time you step off the bus, you'll already be experts on the Everglades!
Get ready for a thrilling approximately 60-minute airboat ride through the "River of Grass" that we've selected for you! Zoom into the wild vegetation, pass by alligators, turtles, snakes, and other wildlife, giving you the chance for unforgettable experiences and unique photo opportunities! Our airboat ride lasts twice as long (up to 60 minutes) and is twice as fast (up to 80 km/h) compared to other tour providers. Afterward, enjoy an informative 20-minute wildlife show, where you can marvel at "Nuisance Alligators" – alligators that have been rescued from certain death! Don't forget to check out the park's souvenir shop for the perfect keepsake to bring home.
Before heading back, we'll explain to you why the alligator population has recovered through alligator farms. Also, feel free to use the return journey to discuss any remaining questions or other interesting topics about the Everglades. We're here to make sure you leave with all the information you're curious about!
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
IMPORTANT INFORMATION – PLEASE READ We reserve the right to move your booking to our afternoon tour if the morning tour becomes fully booked. We only offer pick-ups at private residences or hotels within our designated pick-up area. Pick-up times vary depending on your location and traffic conditions. Your guide will send the exact pick-up time the afternoon before your tour via email. Please also check your Viator Message Center. Certain areas in Miami Beach cannot be serviced directly due to local city code restrictions. If your address is in a restricted zone, we will assign the nearest legal and safe meeting point. All final details will be available in your TripAdvisor InfoCenter the afternoon before your tour. Florida weather changes quickly. The tour operates rain or shine. Miami Beach Pick-Up Regulations Miami Beach does not allow pick-ups on the road. Stopping at the curb — even for just a few seconds — can result in high fines issued by the city. ⚠️ To stay compliant and ensure your safety, we only pick up at hotels with a private driveway or loading ramp where we can safely pull in without blocking the street. If your hotel does not have its own driveway: You will receive a nearby meeting point at a hotel with a legal loading area. This meeting point will always be within short walking distance. It will appear in your final confirmation email.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Coordinated start times between 7:45 AM and 1:30 PM depending on location
- The guides will send out the pickup times the afternoon before the tour via email. Please check your Viator message center for that information as well.
- Please note: The unpredictable weather is a regular occurrence, with fluctuations observed every other day. This tour will operate in rain or shine.
Reviews(1,364)
A brilliant day. Our guide Hagen was brilliant and so good. Well done 👍
Dreadful experience! Company offered no communication whatsoever until afternoon before tour. I had booked pick up at a local hotel closest to me, although that was still 7 miles away. Never received any confirmation of pick up there. I paid for Uber to get there and then their bus driver, on querying where I was, told me I should have met them at a location in South Miami, which was around 25 miles away. Uber costs to that point would have been around $60 each way! Not feasible on a $65 your. I clearly used the pick up location correctly on the Viator platform. Their service has been dreadful. Avoid at all costs!!
Hi, We're genuinely sorry things didn't work out for you, but we'd like to clear up a few misunderstandings. Unlike a city bus with a fixed timetable, every one of our tours has a **custom pickup route**. That's why pickup details are sent the afternoon before the tour—only then do we know everyone's hotel locations and can build the most efficient route. Now, about those 7 miles... In most places, 7 miles doesn't sound like much. In **Miami rush-hour traffic**, however, it's a completely different story. 🐊 Picking up one guest 7 miles outside our service area doesn't just add 7 miles. It means: ➡️ 7 miles to reach you. ⬅️ 7 miles back to the planned route. ➡️ And exactly the same again at the end of the tour. That's **28 additional miles**, which can easily turn into **up to two extra hours of driving** in Miami traffic—all for a single booking. If we did that for every guest, our "5-hour Everglades Tour" would quickly become the "See You Tomorrow Tour." 🌴😄 That's why our pickup area is clearly defined in advance, and guests staying outside that area are given a convenient meeting point. Regarding communication, we intentionally don't operate by phone for day-to-day tour logistics. After many years of experience, we found that dozens of phone calls, voice messages, missed calls, and changing pickup requests create far more confusion than they solve. Instead, all tour communication is handled through **Rezdy**, one of the world's leading tour reservation and management systems. Every guest receives the same written information, pickup instructions, reminders, and updates, ensuring everyone has exactly the same details and nothing gets lost in translation. This system allows us to keep hundreds of guests organized every week while making sure our guides spend their time showing guests the Everglades—not sitting in traffic or answering phones. We understand this wasn't the experience you hoped for, but the pickup procedures and communication process were carried out exactly as described. We wish you all the best and hope you enjoy the rest of your time in sunny South Florida—preferably with a little less Miami traffic than we have to deal with every day! 🌞🐊
Excellent experience seen and learned a load about all the wildlife. Fantastic host Christian, viva whiskey and the Beatles
I really like the introduction of the animals by Christian; he did a great job by distributing the materials with cute little knowledge about alligators and crocodiles!
This tour started at our hotel in downtown Miami (Hilton). Häagen was our driver and tour guide. I got a text via Viator saying they would pick us up at the hotel at 7:30am and he was there at the exact time. He was an excellent driver and guide. Very friendly and helpful. He gave us info on what we were seeing downtown while we picked up other people. We only had 9 people on a Banana Joe tour bus that could have held 18-20. We got to Everglades Holiday Park 30 minutes before our airboat tour was to start, plenty of time for restroom breaks and a quick stop in the gift shop. He picked up our wristbands for the airboat for us and we were #1. He explained how the day would go and that he would be there when the tour was over. The airboat held about 25 people and was covered. Be very careful getting in and out of the boat. You have to duck your head to get in or out and the floor of the boat has ridges that can trip you. We saw 3 gators on the tour which they said was a little low but that’s nature for you. After the tour Haagen was there and handed us the group photo that had been taken before the boat ride. The photo was included in the admission. He told us there was an alligator show next and that we would leave on the bus at 11:45am. The show was a single guy talking about the gators in the little stage/habitat and he spent about 10 minutes interacting with one. Very interesting and at certain times amazing how calm he was and the gator was. After the show we had 20 minutes to use the restroom and/or shop. We boarded the bus at 11:15am and dropped everyone off at their hotels. If you get Haagen as your tour guide you will be very pleased. He is from Germany and has been here 18 years and is very friendly and helpful.
Great time wiith the family. We really enjoyed everything and Cristian output guide was amazing, friendly, and a great driver. Thank you for a great time.
The trip was superb and we saw Alligators !! It was very well organised with smooth pickup and drop off at down town hotel. We picked up at 7.50am and back by 1pm. The mini bus driver was great (Christian) and our air boat captain (Captain Chaos) equally as entertaining. The only slight issue is there was little water in the canals so the air boat was very restricted in how fast and where we went. In fact we travelled only a few kilometres. But, we saw 6/7 alligators in their own unique ecosystem and it was so worth the trip !!
Christian was a fantastic tour guide - excellent communication, knowledgeable and friendly! The Everglades Holiday Park was a brilliant; we saw alligators in the wild during the boat tour followed by an entertaining gator show. Great value and highly recommend!
This was not a 60 minute air boat ride near Everglades National park and was not a 6 to 8 person small group and not a 8 person air boat with pro guide This was totally false advertisement and did not get what was promised I would like a full refund They also made me drive over 2 hours to meet them and cost me for downtown parking when I stayed near where the air boat event was supposed to have taken place I can see they didn’t have more than us two so they changed the event without telling us and without compensation Please call me to rectify this problem 6026782319 Thank you
Hi, Thanks for reaching out! We're sorry the tour wasn't quite what you expected. We always want our guests to leave with big smiles, great photos, and maybe just a tiny bit of Everglades mud on their shoes. 🌴🐊😄 The good news is... the alligators didn't read the review either. The tour description says exactly what the adventure includes: 🌴 Small-group transportation in our comfortable tour vehicle. 🐊 An **approximately 60-minute shared airboat ride** (with up to 25 passengers — **not** a private airboat). 🦅 A wildlife show. 📸 An authentic Everglades experience. If you're dreaming of a private 6–8 passenger airboat with your own captain, that's absolutely available—but it's our premium private upgrade, not the standard tour. Our Everglades tour is one of the **best-value experiences in South Florida**, combining transportation, a full-length airboat ride, and a wildlife show for a price that's hard to beat. That's why so many visitors choose it every year. And one little tropical fun fact... 🌴 The Everglades cover more than **1.5 million acres**. That's a lot of swamp! Saying one part isn't "near the Everglades" is a bit like saying a coconut isn't near a palm tree. 😄 Since the tour was provided exactly as described in the booking, we're unfortunately unable to offer a refund. We hope you'll still look back on your Everglades adventure with a smile—and if not, we're pretty sure at least one alligator is still talking about meeting you. 🐊😉
Christian was a great tour guide, helpful and informative. Very relaxed and easy experience.
