Small Group Boat, Kayak and Walking Guided Eco Tour Everglades
Description
This very popular eco-adventure and combines the best of a boat tour, a kayak tour and a walking tour in a single great learning experience. Depending on the season, you can encounter manatees, dolphins, sea turtles, bald eagles, ospreys, herons, egrets, pelicans, roseate spoonbills and/or numerous species of fish and shore birds. A very comfortable transport boat will bring you deep into Everglades National Park with your Florida Master Naturalist guide. Once at the first destination, the tour slows down using very stable, comfortable kayaks to get you close to the flora and fauna. Imagine paddling next to a manatee or a dolphin! (No previous kayaking experience is required and there are single and two-person kayaks on every tour). Continue your interpretive experience with a walking tour on remote, pristine barrier island beach … a beach that is seldom visited by others. Note: June through October, we suggest the morning experiences due to the weather.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Meet your ground and guide and begin your Everglade Experience. Each trip is led by an experienced Florida Master Naturalist who is certified by the National Park and licensed by the US Coast Guard.
Get the ultimate experience of the Florida Everglades on this fun, exciting eco-adventure by boat, kayak and foot! Your tour is led by an experienced naturalist who is certified by the national park and licensed by the US Coast Guard. Throughout your tour, your guide will teach you all about the history of the area, as well as the wildlife and diverse vegetation. Begin your tour with a boat ride through some of the most beautiful and remote areas of the Everglades National Park. Once you arrive at your destination, receive a brief safety instruction before getting into your kayak (no experience required) and exploring the area up close. Paddle your way to Barrier Island Beach, a remote beach seldom visited by others. Here, take a guided walking tour of the area and see the wrack lines, shallow tidal zones, dunes, uniquely adapted plants, mangrove swamps and many different invertebrate species. Your guide will tailor the tour according to the group’s interests and the day’s environmental conditions. You may encounter a wide array of the park’s wildlife including manatees, dolphins, sea turtles, bald eagles, ospreys, herons, egrets, roseate spoonbills and more! After your hike on the beach, get back into your kayak and paddle back to the boat for your return journey.
The 10,000 Islands extend from Marco Island into Everglades National Park.
Chokoloskee was the "Wild Southeast". Learn about the history and culture of the area.
Chokoloskee is a 150 acre island that has been inhabited for 1000's of years. First by the Calusa indians and then by modern settlers since 1870.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Service animals allowed
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- You will need to access the boat by decending a couple steps of a ladder.
Reviews(164)
Amazing tour with such a knowledgeable guide. The entire experience was perfect and we learned so much about the area.
The website and/or guide could easily have recommended super heavy duty clothing or even provided a few critical items (like apparently other guide services did for their clients). The mosquitos were so bad we couldn’t enjoy any of this, and seeing/hearing the unescapable pain my family was in was brutal. We’ve done similar Everglades kayak tours before so we showed up in reasonable clothing drenched head to toe in repellant, and this worked very well previously. The guide (Guy) showed up dressed like a beekeeper with heavy duty clothing, gloves, a hat/mosquito net, with no visible skin. If the service knew we'd be paddling into an inescapable onslaught, it would have been helpful if the website recommended dressing this way to clients. We met Guy at a local gas station that sells such items/ clothing, and if Guy knew we were headed into what he later said “had been one of the worst mosquito periods [he’d] ever seen lately”, it would have really helpful had he recommended gearing up a lot more. Instead, we all set off into the mangroves and into a pulsating fog of mosquitos. No additional clothing/ gloves/ netting was offered by the service/our guide, which was particularly infuriating after we passed multiple other tours whose participants reported that their guides had given their clients gloves and hats/mosquito nets etc. Once we were out in the mangroves, there was no escape from getting constantly needled from head to toe. We counted the seconds until we could get out of there. I’m just glad that Guy, dressed in his beekeeper outfit, could find humor in the situation by pointing out multiple times that “man, the bugs are really eating you guys alive” and “hey, your Dad seems pretty angry”. But I think Guy had a good time, and thankfully he really didn’t seem to be bothered by the mosquitos at all.
We are sorry for the “brutal, inescapable onslaught”. As you said, insect repellent usually is fine. When mosquitos are bad, we do offer head nets to our guests.I am sure that your guide was just trying to add a little levity to the situation We experienced the worst drought in over two decades. Once the rains started, they really hatched out. The dragonflies and other predators have caught up with them and things are back to normal.
Our guide was awesome - we learned a lot about the local flora and fauna and kept the tour fun and light.
Thank you for the review!! Glad you had a great time in the Everglades with us! Our guides love to share their knowledge and passion of the everglades in a way that is fun and engaging! Thanks again for coming out with us!
Fantastic tour in the Everglades National Park! This is out in the ocean so no alligators but saw 4 dolphins (by kayak and jumping our boat waves), many different birds, tons of crabs, and learned a lot about the the history and ecology of the area. Captain Don is a true pro!
I can’t imagine a better tour guide than Don! He is so interesting and knowledgeable. His enthusiasm is contagious and you definitely realize that he has a deep love and regard for this beautiful area
We had a fabulous guided tour with Captain Don; his enthusiasm and knowledge were delightful. The weather was beautiful and we saw lots of sea birds and dolphins. The mangroves were fascinating as were the lightning whelks and horsehoe crabs. The trip was not quite as described by Viator - no manatees for example (apparently they are rarely spotted) and the 'hike' was a short walk on a beach (which was lovely but not a hike). We enjoyed the boat ride and the kayaking and the wild life we saw. As mentioned earlier, Captain Don was an excellent guide.
Thank you for leaving a review! Captain Don is one of the best captains you could ask for! Sorry the manatees were not out to play, as they can hide in spots we can't really get the boat into. Thanks again for coming out with us!
We had an amazing experience! Our guide was knowledgeable and enthusiastic, teaching us about the history of the Everglades and surrounding area. He was able to tailor the tour as we encountered wildlife, knowing the best change to spot birds and dolphins! The kayak portion was my personal favorite part, I liked being tucked away in a cove and taking the time to paddle about close to the mangroves. My husband and I both agree this was the highlight of our trip, thank you again!
Thank you for the great review!! Getting to experience the Everglades via boat and kayak in one trip really takes the experience to the next level!! Glad we could make this trip the highlight of your vacation!
The boat ride was comfortable and fun. Our guide, Don, was outstanding. He took us into pods of dolphins who "surfed" in the wake of our boat, showed us numerous bird habitats and took us to an island with more shells than I have ever seen in one place. Lots of stories and information was shared. Kayaking off the island with Don and one other couple on the tour was peaceful and enjoyable. It is obvious he has been doing this for quite awhile and loves what he is doing, which made for an interesting and enjoyable day. We highly recommend this tour.
It sounds like you had an amazing experience on the boat tour! Don is a fantastic guide, and it's great to hear that the whole day was both informative and fun. Experiencing The Everglades via boat and kayak is the way to go! Plus, kayaking with such a small group must have made it even more special and serene. Thank you coming out with us and leaving a review!!
The guide was very kind, helpful and knowledgeable and helped us see lots of wildlife, including dolphins! The area where the tour is conducted is beautiful and not crowded. I had an amazing time!
Thanks for coming out with us! It sounds like an amazing experience! It always makes for a special time when the dolphins come up close and personal. Thank you for the review!
What an outing! 3.5 hours into the Everglades. Don is amazing! Extremely knowledgeable and full of interesting stories and explanations. Came away with a much greater appreciation of the Everglades, its wildlife, flora and history.
Captain Don is one of the best and he loves sharing his passion and knowledge about the Everglades! Thanks for leaving a review!
