Holy schnikes I had the time of my life at Everglades Safari Park.. Wat out in THE GLADES in Florida you can do things no city slicker can do... First I got to wrestle well hold a gator ( baby ) for a photo and then I jumped onto a fan boat ride which is a high-speed, shallow-water boat cruising through mangroves and grass, perfect for spotting alligators and birds.... All I cared about was the gators but the need for speed was awesome. I felt very Miami Vice minus the music by Jan Hammer but damn it was fun flying around the swamp. This place was a lot of fun so I'm gonna give it my approval with the Devil horns in the air as I head bang... read more

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Like another reviewer said I don't have much to compare this to. And like another said it's pretty touristy. I'd never been to the Everglades before and an airboat tour seemed to be the thing so I bought the ticket and took the ride. I wouldn't mind going back to the Everglades but I don't think I'd take another airboat tour. It was an alright experience but a one and done for me. Our captain had his schtick down with jokes left and right, or is that port and starboard? They give you both written and verbal reminders that they appreciate tips so even with the steep $50 charge I handed him a fiver after. We saw a couple gators up close and they just jdgaf about tourists gawking at them or how very loud the airboats are. Those creatures are all about energy conservation mode when they're lazing about in the Florida sun. The boats are loud. Ours hit 116 db on the decibel meter on my phone. That's about 15 decibels louder than the loudest I measured at the Pistons/Magic game at the Kia Center and only one decibel short of the loudest it got at The Offspring concert at the Florida Strawberry Festival. They do provide foam earplugs at ESP but I've become inured to loud noise and/or sustained hearing damage from the many concerts I've gone to so I only wore them a lot while. Just like at Universal upstate (is upstate Florida a thing?) you get a preshow with your boat ride. You get to see gators and your host holds a baby gator and maybe a snake and maybe a bird or something? I can't remember... I've got so many vacation reviews I'm trying to keep straight and I was just ready for the boat tour. One obnoxious kid was pretty hilarious, taping our host with the creatures as close as he possibly could and following her around as she tried to give everyone a good look with him getting in the way no matter where she turned. Finally the kid's grandfather got him to stop crowding her. I couldn't believe how patient she had been up to that point. There's a short nature trail here as well but I thought I'd get that in somewhere else and hit the road once our airboat tour concluded. read more

As part of our Miami trip, we wanted to do an airboat tour in the Everglades, as that is one of the quintessential local attractions. I researched this online. This place seemed to be well reviewed and also was large enough that you could usually just show up and book a tour within 30 or so minutes of arrival. They do offer booking in advance, and depending on your schedule, this might not be a bad idea. In our case, we liked the flexibility and also, we ended up having a delay en route that would have been a problem. So I'm glad we didn't pre-book. Once you leave Miami heading west, there are only a few roads through the Everglades. That is mostly as there is not much out there meriting a road, other than cities on the far side. There was also a fair amount of construction on the road (in our case, Hwy 41) so don't be surprised by delays. There are several (I think at least 4) places along the road (before and after this one) that offer some form of airboat tour. This one appeared to be the largest. We arrived just past noon on a weekday. They seemed to have an adequate parking lot adjacent to the highway. The complex consists of several interconnected buildings (a gift shop, a restaurant, restrooms, etc.). The ticket booth is to the far right as you face this. We went there first and got tickets for a tour that was leaving about 35 minutes later. The cost was $50 per person. I think there was a slight discount if you have a national park pass of any kind. We explored some of the buildings, put on sunscreen, etc. They called for our group to assemble and checked tickets. You then walk across a gangway over water / swamp about 75 yards to the docking area for the airboats. In our case, our first stop was a covered open theater area where they showcased 4 alligators in a fenced area. One of the guides then entered and gave a talk about alligators, the difference between them and crocodiles, etc. It was relatively interesting. At the end, they offered a close-up photo op with a small gator. Some people paid the $5 for that, but we skipped it. They then walked most of the group back to the docks where we boarded our airboat. These were larger than the type I have often seen pictured. They had 2 fan-motors in the back and seated probably 40 - 50 people. The tour starts and ends slowly, as they don't want to create a huge wake near the main docks. You can see wildlife (alligators, turtles) occasionally. Once you get far enough out, they crank up the engines and speed along for a while. The scenery from that point doesn't change tremendously - water, stands of grasses, occasional slightly larger islands with trees, etc. It was pretty in its own way. They will slow down at especially scenic spots or when they see something interesting like an alligator. They also occasionally startle large white cranes that fly off. The whole boat-segment was probably 30 minutes. I enjoyed it. This is definitely worth doing once if your are visiting this area. read more

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Underwhelming! Keep driving. They will heard you through like cattle at $100 a pop. No one was at the ticket booth upon arrival. Probably waited like 10-15 minutes. Then she proceeds to tell me if I would hurry up I could make the ride going out but then tells me I will have to wait 35 minutes for the next one. I asked her about my 7 day park pass and she says even if you paid, I'm not refunding. When I gave her $100 bill, she asked if I had anything else to pay with. Then, you go sit on concrete for what you think will be a "show" but it's just some alligators floating in captivity. You can snap a photo with Snappy, the baby one for $5, but not allowed to touch it. Then you get on the airboat with like 80-100 people. Somehow we missed the cheap, foam earplugs they hand out. If you love nature, this may be your thing, but the day we went it was muggy with mosquitos and a few birds. Most disappointing, WE DID NOT SEE ANY on our side of the boat. Definitely not the "world's best" as they claim. There's also a worn out nature trail you can walk on through after. Wouldn't recommend. Been on whale, dolphin, and shark tours and this was by far my least favorite. read more

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I would put zero stars if I could. This company scammed a family of four out of $200 because of some legalism that said that the tickets expired after three months. It is very sneaky to lure you in by saying you can buy your tickets now and pick any day and then throw that in at the end. There were seats available. They were gonna loose nothing. Do not spend your money with company if they can find a way to screw you out your money they will. Look for a different company. read more

When looking for an airboat rides it is hard to choose from. Most places around here have signs like this one. The best airboat ride. This place looked great. It had a restaurant and a gift shop. We decided to give it a try. They had three different types of packages to choose. They start at round fifty dollars per person. The airboat ride included a wild life show and a nature walk. They directed us to the wild life show first. I found it not very entertaining. It was a short introduction to the three gators and a bird tjey had in a pool. It was a short show. After the show for $5 you could take a picture with the little gator. The waitress for people to take the picture with the alligator was a lot longer than the show and it was hot under that canopy. After the show was the boat ride. The boat ride was nice and slow. It was relaxing. The driver pointed to things . It was enjoyable. After the ride we walked around the nature trail. It was mostly cool wooden bridges. I got to see the back of the park . It has a little lagoon. The area has shade so it was nice. It had good areas for taking pictures. read more

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I flew in from California, and my friend who lives in FL was insistent we go on an airboat tour since I had never been on one. We stopped at this one. It's advertised as "the best" from their sign from the street, but I'd consider it just okay from my experience. We had a group of 4, and paid a little extra to have the private tour for 4. They do offer a military discount. We were honestly underwhelmed? If that's the right way to describe our tour. It was more so a relaxing boat tour. We all had expected the driver to be more tour like as in "To the left there's typically this.... and up here to your right you'll see..." in that sense. But it was a quiet tour. He stopped 1-2 times so we could look at things, but not very much tour-guiding as we expected. I get it the airboat is loud to talk over, but for a private tour we expected a lot more. There's a gift shop and small place to get some food located here on the property. The gift shop charges an additional fee for credit cards if your total is I think it was under $10, so be prepared to have cash handy if you're purchasing an inexpensive souvenir. They do have a show before your tour that's included with gators in their care to make your wait time go by faster. The airboat tour was cool for my first time, but if in the area again I think i'll try a different airboat company to give me a tour. read more

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Staff here are terrific. Super friendly and very knowledgeable. Really enjoyed our visit, but also this was our very first time and nothing to compare to. The airboat ride was fun to experience, and we saw a fair amount of alligators. The show was interesting as well, seeing the gators chomp and snakes up close. read more

Had a great time! Gio was a fantastic captain who answered all our questions and stopped the boat several times for us to look around and see the gators. The show was very entertaining and informative. The nature walk is beautiful and gives you a great chance to see the vegetation up close. I highly recommend the airboat ride!! read more

We travel to Florida every year and have gone on many airboat rides. This was our worst airboat experience, by far. Our family of 5 includes 3 children (9, 6 and 4). The airboats provided were the largest that I have ever travelled on (5-7 rows of 7 guests each). If you don't board first, and don't sit either in the front row or get a seat at the end of the aisle, you will see nothing other than other tourists. The noise cancelling equipment was absolutely substandard. On any other airboat ride, we received noise cancelling headphones that are connected to the captain. We received cheap orange foam earplugs, which did not stay in the ears of my toddlers. We (the adults) had to hold our fingers in their ears the entire time to cancel the loud noise of the boat motor. Of course, we could not hear anything that the captain said, given the loud noise of the motor. He actually put in very little effort. I don't even know his name - he did not introduce himself or provide any local information. We saw one alligator on the way back to the dock. I understand that nature is fickle, but the tour was underwhelming. My 9 year old said that her favorite part of the airboat ride was seeing the dock on the way back and knowing that it was almost over. I would highly advise against using this operator. read more

Great place for an airboat tour in the Everglades! the park was really cool too coz there were gators just hanging out! Found 2 baby gators read more

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We stopped by here on our drive back from the keys. My husband had never been on an airboat before, so we took the opportunity. It was so incredibly hot. Luckily we had sunscreen and everything with us. We were able to get on a boat within 10 minutes, which was awesome. We watched their gator show and walked around the park after. They do offer military discounts too. read more

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We came from California & drove down from Ft Lauderdale to explore the Everglades Natl Park. The park ranger mentioned about the airboat tour. We looked at 3 different companies website & found this one that closes at 6pm. The other companies closes at 4pm. We decided to checkout this company & came in about 4:30pm & come to find out they're done with the tour for the day! We're a but disappointed. I would suggest for them to put down in the website that last tour at 4!!! and bot at 6pm. The counter girl was not very nice & friendly either! read more

If you haven't been on an airboat tour of the everglades, this is worth doing. A little touristy, but fun and educational. This provider is one of 3 sanctioned by the National Park Service. We did the group tour, which was more affordable than the private tour, and it was just fine and not overly crowded. We found our guide to be pleasant and knowledgable. We saw many gators, but only a few species of birds. In addition to the airboat ride, there is also a show where you see some gators in captivity, a big snake, and a baby gator named Snappy. You can have your picture taken with Snappy, for a small donation. There is also a small nature trail/walk which you can take and see more gators, birds and plants. All in all worth doing. The gift shop was not that impressive, and the restaurant was convenient, but perhaps the worst grilled cheese sandwich I've ever had. It was not grilled, only warm white bread with some melted cheese. read more

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I went with low expectations because this isn't really my kind of thing, but was totally "blown away" by the Everglades Safari Park! We went with my daughters and in-laws on a private one hour boat tour. Manny was our captain and he was OUTSTANDING! He was knowledgeable, experienced and humorous; and clearly enjoys his job. After reading other reviews, I was prepared not to see any alligators as there is no guarantee that you will see any (it is wildlife, and unpredictable, after all), but Manny had a great eye and was able to point out several to us - we never would have seen them on our own. I think we saw five or six- one even swam by our boat, which was very freaky and cool! The wildlife "show" was also really good! The presenter was very dynamic (and brave!) and well educated on her subjects. Side note: if you don't want to be close to a snake, don't sit in the front row! I would definitely recommend the Everglades Safari Park! read more

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Another National Park down! This river part of the Everglades is not how people describe it. It is beautiful, peaceful!, not dirty, and not full of mosquitoes! Our tour guide Geo was amazing and super funny! He always made sure to keep a look out for all the fun Everglades creatures. We saw 5 alligators, a couple of really cool birds, and a gopher tortoise. Proceeding the 90 minute airboat tour, we got to see an alligator show! It was so cute seeing the alligators, plus I even got to hold Snappy! Fun fact: did you know, the Florida Everglades is the only place in the world where crocodiles and alligators coexist? Another fun fact: Those natural geographic tv shows/ movies/ documentaries are all STAGED! They take a tamed animal and "put it in the wild" to make it seem like it's in its natural habitat. read more

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One of the larger air boat tour facility, alligator show, snack shop and souvenir stand. They have huge group air boats that hold around 20 people. We opted to pay the extra for the private tour that took the four of us on a smaller boat. It was pricey, $300.00, for an hour tour plus $20.00 Federal park entrance fee. But it was worth it. Our boat captain was named Gio and he was awesome. He explained the differences between alligators and crocodiles. He brought us to various spots where we viewed large male and smaller female alligators. We were brought near to a alligator nest that contained eggs and was well guarded by mama alligator and poppa was also sunning near by. He took us all around the park, stopping and narrating at various spots. Overall it was very educational and a ton of fun. If you want to take one of these tours, I recommend this one and go with Gio. read more

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Great experience. Quick. Easy. We saw alligators and bird. Had a great time. Boat was awesome we saw lots. If you need to check off you to do list riding an airboat it's easy here. Writing this review for the sole purpose of letting everyone know about ride share. You can get an Uber to drop you off here. We were unable to get an Uber to pick us up. We were able to get a Lyft back. Be warned it took us about 20 -25 min to get a ride. Plan accordingly. It's also the Everglades so not a lot of 5G. Gift shop has wifi though. read more

Stay away! Very poor customer service in the restaurant. They charged us $15 mandatory tip to hand us 2-12 oz cans of soda, 2-8 oz water bottles and some fries and disgusting fried food in paper baskets that was already overpriced. $85 plus a mandatory $15 dollar tip. There was only 4 of us. We got up and just left after this. There are much better options for airboat rides, and they have respect for their customers. read more

We stopped here on our way to the Everglades National Park Visitor Center (Shark Valley) we ended up spending the day here instead. My kids loved the experience, we enjoyed the airboat ride and saw a few alligators. The show was okay but again the kids loved it. Overall we had an amazing day and we would come back. read more

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We hired an air boat for a private tour for my husband and I. Manny was our "Captain", and did an amazing job. He told us so much about the Everglades, the ecosystem, the edible plants, non-edible plants, the leaves that keep mosquitoes away, the history...pretty much everything you thought you wanted to know plus more. After our tour, we watched a show with live alligators. We learned that alligators don't specifically hunt humans, but they will attack if they feel threatened or their babies are threatened. There is also a boardwalk area where you can see wild alligators. Overall a super cool place!!! read more

Greeted by Vesenia and then taken on the tour with captain Ray. The ride was smooth, instructive and funny. Plenty of time for images and learning. I recommend coming early in the morning. Boat wasn't full weather was perfect. read more

The tour on the bait was good saw a few alligators after the tour there was a presentation with snakes and alligators Overall a pretty good experience read more

Booked online, the boat ride is around 40 minutes and there's no guaranteed that you'll see any alligator during the boat trip. The boat as signs that says "Captain works for tips", while you don't have to give them tips, it's something to consider. Once you get off the boat, you can go see the animal show - which consisted of them showing you the a snake, caged alligator and an opportunity to take photo with a baby gator. But, if you want to take a photo, then you'll need to pay in cash, so make sure you have exact change. Thereafter that, you can walk through the trail and if you are lucky, you can see some gators in the ponds. Overall, the boat ride was worth it, just don't go in July as it was hot! read more

Everglades Safari Park is a nice little excursion when in the area. After driving by several times I finally decided to see what this Airboat thing is all about. There are several airboat tours in the area and I am not sure what sets this one apart from the others but it seemed legit. The process to get through the attraction is pretty straight forward. We purchased the general tickets (as opposed to the $250+ private tour) which places you on a large airboat with roughly 20 other people sitting in rows of 5. The boat is loud and you are handed earplugs. The captain navigates the boat through the meandering Everglades, stopping occasionally to identify wildlife. The ride is cool and breezy when it gets up to speed. After the ride returns there is a short boardwalk trail through the park on which you will see several gators both captive and wild. Be vigilant as gators pop up all over the trail and are sometimes inches away from your feet with no barrier. There is also a show at the end of the tour where you can hold and pose with baby gators. All in all a good way to spend a few hours when passing through the Everglades. read more

Everglades Safari Park - Gator up close - Amusement Parks Near Me - Miami, Florida

We went on a private airboat ride with Gio and had a fantastic experience. We even got to see an alligator eat a fish! Great addition to our south Florida vacation. read more

This was an experience to remember. The boat ride was fun and even fun trying to spy gators in the swamp. It was hard, but fun. The show after was nice too. One of the highlights of my trip to florida! read more

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Came here with my dad. It was about an hour or less from Miami Beach. So not too far. Come cool things to look at on the way. We did the fan boat tour. Which was around 2 hours. Saw a bunch of gators along the way, it's loud so they make you put on ear plugs. It was such a unique and amazing experience. After the tour you can walk on the premises and then do a live show where they feed the monster gators and have snakes and other wildlife there. At the end you can opt to hold a baby gator for a price. In which I did. Gators are the scariest thing in the world to me. And to hold one in my hand was overcoming one of my worst fears. After all this we ate at the cafe. And had gator bites. Not a fan. It's like chicken but a little fishier. Not my cup of tea but still ate them all. I highly recommend this place. read more

Everglades Safari Park - Amusement Parks Near Me - Miami, Florida

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Pretty solid. It was very swampy and smelled like a M:TG tournament. The airboat ride was probably the best part, although I am officially ready to not have boat captains try out their tight five to a literal captive audience. If you're funny you're funny, and if you're not, you're an asshole if you try. Just be authentic. For that matter, when you greet a group of people and get a tepid response, and then go with "Let's try that again, how's everyone doing today?" you should immediately be handcuffed, given a cigarette and a blindfold, put up in front of a cement wall, and have people shoot your unprotected body with paintballs until you agree to never do it again. Saw some gators and birds and shit. It was nice. read more

Everglades Safari Park - Amusement Parks Near Me - Miami, Florida

I visited here with my friend while on vacation. We found this place on Groupon. The boat ride was pretty cool and we got to see an momma alligator and her nest. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see any others. I learned that they are mostly out when it's cooler which is early morning in summer or in the winter months. We did get to see alligators in the actual park area. We were told that they would soon be getting rid of all their alligators as they are no longer allowed to be kept there. We got a see a nice show with 3 alligators before walking around. People were allowed to get a picture with a baby alligator that was held by staff. Overall, good experience. read more

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Ran into a gator, but he couldnt tell me how the Gatorade is made! This was actually extremely exciting! Im from Arizona so thos Everglades swamp gator life is waaay different to me. The airboat captain told some pretty good jokes! Saw a big ass bird catch a fish out the water! Crazy wild life with a touch of humidity! I kept an eye out for Swamp Thing but homie must have not been home. Plus, I found out that the python is the alfa in the glades and they got bounties on thier heads! Get to huntin boys!!! read more

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They accommodated a group of 31 of us. We are a Boy Scout troop from California. They gave us a discount because we are tax exempt and a 501(c) We did the 40 min airboat. Guide was very informative and entertaining. We ended up seeing only 1-2 gators. But the high speed airboat was fun. And seeing the everglades was interesting and beautiful in its own way. Bring sunblock or wear longsleeves or else you will get sun burned. No mosquitoes however! That surprised me. Everglades water is fresh water. it's not a swamp, it's a river. Alligator show was cheesy but fun for little kids. read more

First time coming here and drove loops around their very small parking lot for 15 minutes trying to find parking with no luck. Would not recommend a business that doesn't have the foresight to have another lot to accommodate the amount of traffic, especially on a weekend. read more

Had a blast on the airboat ride and walking through the "park". Didn't see as many gators as I expected on the boat ride. But there we plenty in the park and at the dock. The employees were great, very friendly and knowledgeable. I had gone on another tour a few years ago and there were so many gators around it made me a little nervous, I had hoped to see the same this time & terrify my kids. We had fun, low stress, decent value. read more

Everglades Safari Park - At the dock... - Amusement Parks Near Me - Miami, Florida

Since we went during the Covid spike, we booked the private airboat tour for 6 people; this was good because we got to take things at our own pace. Our guide was knowledgeable of the area and spotted a couple of alligators for us (we saw 3-4 alligators in the wild which was less than I expected). We also saw soft shell turtles, fish, birds, sour apple trees, etc. There is also a trail around an artificial looking lake that's filled with alligators so you'll definitely see some there. Note that the airboat is pretty loud so they risky give you / recommend you to wear earplugs. When you get out, the water reflects the sky in a really cool mirror like fashion. BUG SPRAY IS ESSENTIAL or wear LONG pants- you will have a bad experience if you come unprepared!!! read more

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This business advertises a 30-40 minute Airboat Tour for $28/adult ($25/adult if you buy the tickets online). I'd say it's definitely worth the money. Our ride was definitely longer than 40 minutes, and I enjoyed every exhilarating minute of it. The airboat captain was quite humorous and knowledgeable. Make sure to tip your airboat captain, as that's apparently how they are able to sustain a living this way. After the airboat ride, you are allowed to check out the rest of the park (including a live amphibian/reptile exhibit and gator/crocodile pits, as well as gators in the wild) before being allowed to attend a brief but entertaining "gator show" with 4 gators/crocodiles (forgot how many of each). Among other things, the host of the show demonstrates the terrifying biting power of his 4 darling beasts. Upon conclusion of the gator show, you will be given the *option* to briefly hold a baby gator (aptly named "Snappy"). Exercising this option requires payment of a suggested $3 "tip" (I got the *strong* feeling it was really more of a non-optional fee). Poor bastard had his snout strapped shut. I suspect he would (understandably) have taken off all our fingers if it were not said safety strap. As one might expect, there is VERY spotty cell reception in this area. There is also a restaurant on-site, which sells gator bites. read more

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The boat ride itself was kind of fun, but if you want a private boat, you need to book in advance, and there are definitely more authentic, non-corporate places than this one. The group boat was crowded, we had to wait for quite a while to board, and they make you attend an "alligator show" before you get on the boat, which is just a weird kind of sad display of alligators and snakes held in captivity. The boat ride was mostly just searching for alligators, not learning much more about the Everglades or seeing other interesting things. I liked our boat captain--he made it more fun than it would have been otherwise. Felt like a tourist trap, not recommended. read more

The Everglades Safari Park was fantastic!!! The nature guides were so friendly and provided so much great information. The alligator show is so educational and exciting, while the boat show is relaxing and stunning. I highly recommend this excursion! read more

Everglades Safari Park - Airboat tour - Amusement Parks Near Me - Miami, Florida

5 star for experience and activities (Airboat ride, Gator show and to hold alligator). Awesome guides for activities. $3 to hold baby alligator in hand. 1 star for food in their restaurant. So don't eat here. Just enjoy the ride and leave back to miami for good food. read more

The tour of the Everglades on their wide long boats was fun. The tour guide was funny and very knowledgeable. The boat traveled very quickly at times which was cool, he even did some drifting. We saw several gators along the way and learned about the Everglades. The park you walk around had many gators. The amphitheater was an interesting show but having to pay 3 bucks just to get a picture with Snappy was lame. read more

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