Everglades: Airboat Ride & Nature Walk with Wildlife Sighting

4.86

(722 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

First thing I remember is our guide, Maria, waving us over at the parking lot just outside Miami. She had this sun-bleached hat and a laugh that made everyone relax right away. “You’ll want bug spray,” she said, grinning, and handed me some after seeing my ankles. I didn’t expect to feel so instantly welcomed — or to be swapping stories about gator sightings before we’d even left the van.

The drive along Tamiami Trail was quieter than I thought it’d be. Sawgrass everywhere, stretching out flat under a sky that felt too big for words. Maria pointed out birds by name — herons, anhingas — and got genuinely excited when she spotted a turtle sunning itself on a log. When we stopped for the nature walk in Everglades Park, the air was thick and sweet with something floral I couldn’t place. There were dragonflies everywhere. We followed Maria down a boardwalk where she showed us how to spot baby alligators (tiny eyes just above the water) and told stories about Seminole families who used to live on those tree islands.

I wandered off for a bit at the visitor center — picked up one of those cheesy pins shaped like an alligator (no regrets). The ranger inside stamped my notebook without even asking my name, like it was just what you do here. It’s funny how quiet it gets out there; even with other people around, you start hearing your own footsteps crunching gravel. That stuck with me more than I expected.

The airboat ride? I mean, you hear about it but nothing really prepares you for that first roar when the fan kicks in. Our driver, Pete, had this habit of slowing way down whenever he saw something interesting — once it was a family of ibis picking through reeds, another time an old gator half-hidden in mud. The wind whipped my hair into knots and everything smelled like wet grass and engine oil. We stopped at one of those tree islands where Pete talked about how people survived out here before there were roads or phones or anything. I tried saying “thank you” in Miccosukee and totally butchered it; Pete just laughed and told me not to worry.