Florida Everglades: 90 Minute Airboat Tour with Wildlife

★★★★★★★★★★

4.99

(102 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

The first thing that hit me was the way the grass bent in the wind as our airboat skimmed over the water — not quite flying, but not really floating either. We’d barely left the dock near Kissimmee when our captain (I think his name was Mike?) grinned back at us and gunned it. The engine roared, but you could still catch that earthy, almost sweet smell coming off the water. I kept looking for alligators, half-expecting one to pop up right away.

We slowed down in this quiet patch where lily pads floated like little green plates. Mike pointed out a bird I’d never seen before — purple gallinule? He said they’re called “swamp chickens” around here. He had this way of telling stories about the Everglades that made it feel less like a tour and more like he was showing us his backyard. When he spotted an alligator sunbathing, he just nodded and said, “There’s your star.” It didn’t even flinch when we drifted closer. Honestly, I thought I’d be more scared, but it felt… peaceful? Maybe because everyone seemed so relaxed about it.

At one point I tried to ask how deep the water was (it looked shallow), but my words got lost in the wind and Mike just laughed — “Not as deep as you think!” The light kept changing, clouds rolling in and out so sometimes everything looked silver and then suddenly bright green again. My niece tried to shout something over the engine but gave up and just pointed at a turtle sliding off a log. There’s something kind of hypnotic about moving that fast through such open space. It’s hard to explain unless you’ve done it.