Everglades Day Safari from Miami
Description
Explore the wilderness of the Everglades on a full day adventure from Miami. With your naturalist guide, take a thrilling airboat tour in Everglades National Park, spot wildlife on a drive through Big Cypress National Preserve, enjoy a nature walk through a towering cypress forest, and relax on a boat cruise along mangrove-lined waters to search for manatees, dolphins, shark and more! Learn about the Everglades from your guide and have lunch at a waterside restaurant in the heart of the Everglades.
Tour Options
Itinerary
An ecotour along the Tamiami Trail offers a vivid glimpse into Florida’s wild heart. Guests travel through sawgrass prairies, cypress swamps, and wetland sloughs, surrounded by towering bald cypress trees draped in Spanish moss. Wildlife sightings often include American alligators, white-tailed deer, otters, turtles, and a dazzling array of birds like egrets, spoonbills, herons, and barred owls. The preserve is also rich in rare plants like ghost orchids and air plants clinging to ancient trees. Guides share stories of the Miccosukee and Seminole tribes, the area’s early development, and conservation efforts that saved this vital ecosystem. Each season offers something new—migratory birds, blooming bromeliads, or low waters that reveal the swamp’s secrets. Whether by van, boardwalk, or airboat ride, this tour is a chance to connect with nature and witness the timeless beauty of the Everglades.
Tour the “River of Grass” aboard an iconic airboat—flat-bottomed and perfectly designed to glide over the shallow wetlands of the Everglades. As the wind rushes past and birds soar overhead, your captain shares stories of the land, wildlife, and traditions passed down through generations.
Big Cypress National Preserve is a vast, wild landscape spanning over 700,000 acres in South Florida, just north of Everglades National Park. It protects a rich mosaic of swamps, pinelands, prairies, and hardwood hammocks that support a wide range of wildlife, including alligators, Florida panthers, black bears, white-tailed deer, and hundreds of bird species. Unlike a traditional national park, Big Cypress allows for multiple uses—hunting, off-road vehicle access, and tribal living—while still preserving its unique ecology. A visit to the Oasis Visitor Center, located right along the Tamiami Trail, is the perfect introduction to the preserve. Guests can view educational exhibits about the swamp's wildlife, hydrology, and cultural history, chat with rangers, and enjoy up-close views of alligators sunning in the canal just outside. It's an ideal launch point for deeper exploration into this subtropical wilderness—whether by boardwalk, scenic drive, or guided ecotour.
Island Cafe in Everglades City offers a free and satisfying lunch menu featuring local flavors and classic favorites. Guests can enjoy fried oysters, perfectly crispy and full of coastal flavor, or savor a tender, flaky grilled Mahi filet. For something hearty and familiar, the grilled chicken and juicy burgers are always a hit. Those craving bold flavors can dig into BBQ pork tacos or cheesy quesadillas, served hot and loaded with flavor. Lighter fare includes a variety of veggie wraps and fresh salads, perfect for guests looking for a plant-based or refreshing option. Whether you’re in the mood for seafood, comfort food, or something green, Island Cafe serves it up with a smile—completely free on tour!
A visit to the Historic Smallwood Store in Chokoloskee adds rich cultural depth to your adventure. Perched on stilts above the edge of the Ten Thousand Islands, this preserved trading post from 1906 offers a fascinating glimpse into frontier life in the Florida Everglades. Guests can explore artifacts, tools, and stories from early settlers, Gladesmen, and the Seminole and Miccosukee tribes who once traded goods here. The museum is steeped in legend, including tales of infamous outlaw Ed Watson and the rugged isolation that shaped the region. Visiting the Smallwood Store is like stepping back in time—guests seeking history, mystery, and a deeper connection to the people of the Everglades. It’s a rare chance to see the human side of the swamp, and a powerful companion experience to the wildlife and ecology showcased on the safari.
Enjoy an unforgettable 60-minute boat tour into the heart of Everglades National Park, launching from the edge of Chokoloskee Bay. Glide through a maze of mangrove forests and coastal estuaries in the Ten Thousand Islands, where land and sea blur in a stunning display of natural beauty. Your captain, a local expert, shares fascinating insights into the Everglades’ unique ecology and the region’s rich history. Keep your eyes peeled for Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, manatees, sharks, and a variety of coastal birds like ospreys, herons, and roseate spoonbills. This peaceful ride through Florida’s remote backwaters offers close encounters with wildlife and a deeper appreciation for one of the most diverse ecosystems in North America—a serene yet thrilling highlight of the day’s adventure.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Wheelchair accessible
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Hat, sunscreen and sunglasses are recommended
- Minimum age is 6 years old
Reviews(18)
We had a fantastic full day experience with this company which is recommended for their ecological approach. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and informative and led the nature walk, which was short but really interesting. We also had an airboat ride, a boat ride where we saw several pods of dolphin and many beautiful birds, and a delicious lunch. Toilet stops were frequent, as was the chance to top up water bottles. A brilliant experience.
Thank you for the great review! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Glad you enjoyed the full-day experience and the variety—from the walk to the airboat and mangroves. Sounds like wildlife showed up with dolphins and birds. We appreciate you noting the pacing and stops along the way. Thanks for coming out with us!
This was a great experience! Our guide (Reza) was insightful about the history of the area, the biology and able to make this entire day entertaining. Two boat rides! Alligators! Dolphins!! And all of the birds you never knew you needed to see!
Exceeded our expectations. Mark did a phenomenal job sharing insights/history/bird and wildlife knowledge with great enthusiasm. The air boat, walk, lunch and boat tour were excellent. Well worth the money spent for a day in the Everglades!
It was a very busy day but it is an awesome experience. You get to do so much and Mark, our guide was excellent.
Our family had a wonderful time on this full day (8:30 am to 5:30 pm) tour of the Everglades. It included shuttle service from a Miami hotel, airboat ride in the Everglades, a short nature hike, lunch, and a boat tour of a few of the ten thousand islands. We saw an array of birds, alligators, manatees, and dolphins. Our tour guide, Reza, knew all the birds and pointed them out to us along the way. The kids had fun checking them off on a checklist they were given. Reza was so knowledgeable kind and a very good driver (we were in a 13 passenger van). We highly recommend this tour.
This tour was amazing and we especially appreciated the hotel pick up and drop off, made it so much easier. They were right on time. Had a text the day before to confirm which was nice and given 10 minute timeframe for pick up. Addy was our guide and she was amazing. We did the half-day tour and then hour long boat ride. Perfect amount of time.
It was full day. Contact with elements, nature and amazing quide, who put all his heart. It was easy in the atmosphere to make new contacts
Proper, thorough eco-tour, with everything from ospreys to gators to dolphins. Lunch was good and Marc was a great guide!
I appreciate the feedback and am glad you enjoyed the tour!
Do not let the lack of reviews out you off. It’s part of a larger firm and not sure why this one has branched out. But Marc was amazing. Non stop talker…. In a good way. Really cares for nature and wildlife. This is a real nature tour - as in no tacky theme park it’s the wild. Airboats. Amazing. Larger ones but that didn’t distract from amazing experience. Here nice cool air. No bugs. We saw several alligators. Turtles. All sorts of birds. Amazing. Great time on the boat and felt right. Back in the air con van Marc explains everything and grass lands goto forests as you go west. One part was full of mosquitos but only one walk area. Here Marc had bee keeper hats but full ponchos and nuclear grade bug spray to protect us! More tours more gators and wildlife - the entire freeway is nature. Birds everywhere. They gave us a cool bird tick off list highlighting what’s rare. Amazing. Oh note the van holds around 16 people. We were a family of four and we had two other couples. Nice small lovely feel Over on the west coast the food was great at a lovely cafe where all the locals and community is strong (Everglades city). The second boat ride was amazing seeing dolphins in the wild, birds but also cheeky raccoons on raccoon island. Tristan the captain was amazing with a super chilled laid back voice. That boat holds max 8 people and they split the group 4 and 4 so we had a super personalised experience. Again great time on the boat that didn’t feel rushed. Was about perfect. Over at small wood. Lovely bit of history with again all the generations of the family still running the place. Prices were not eye gouging and sensible so we purchased various bits and bobs. Some more tacky but some lovely native Indian jewels from the local tribes that look great. Basically you won’t regret anything here. A perfect tour. We went July. Insane heat and weather BUT the trip is broken up and air con van to lovely air on the boat trips. So the heat didn’t ruin anything just wear hats and bring water. But it wasn’t intense despite the heat (!) warning in the area. Yes in ONE part the bugs were bad but the Everglades and West Island / coastal areas we had no bugs at all so don’t let anything put you off. Tristan needs his own show his voice is so chill :) Highly recommend. Also no upselling AT ALL. We tipped the captains as felt they deserved it but had no pressure or stops that tried to sell. Just a guide who was very knowledgable. Even stopping at a local gas station for us (English) was an experience seeing local fishing tackle and equipment and “Skunk Ape!!” That’s still with a photo. Loved it. Life memories here.
Amazing day out, thoroughly recommend. You see the Everglades and their animals how you should - in the wild and not performing for us humans. So many facts and insights into the different animals, habitat and history, our guide was amazing. Highlights were definitely the gator boat ride and the mangrove boat ride where we were lucky enough to have dolphins swim with us. Yes it was pricey but for a hike day out and what we saw, worth every penny!
