I have a confession to make: Swampy wetlands terrify me. There’s no telling what might be lurking or slithering in the dark water, reedy shallows, and muddy shores. On the other hand, I love to visit UNESCO World Heritage sites because they are places deemed as having outstanding cultural or natural importance. The Everglades National Park checks both boxes, so I had to figure out how to overcome my fears to experience this vast wetland that covers over 700 square miles of southern Florida. An Everglades airboat tour turned out to be a fun and exciting way to see a small portion of this fascinating ecosystem.

In addition to being a World Heritage Site, the Everglades National Park is an International Biosphere Reserve, an additional UNESCO designation for protected areas that demonstrate a sustainable balance between people and nature. Contrary to what I originally thought, the Everglades isn’t just one huge swamp in the middle of Florida. It does have a significant amount of wet sawgrass prairies with freshwater sloughs running through them (marshy, slow-moving rivers), but also has tropical hardwood hammocks, pinelands, mangrove swamps and coastal estuaries. The Everglades have both saltwater and freshwater and host abundant wildlife that includes birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and fish.

There are many ways to experience the unique ecosystems of the Everglades: hike, bike, camp, and kayak, to name a few. Given my squeamishness of wetlands, I didn’t have any desire to do a Ranger-led “Slough Slog” – described as “Wade through the River of Grass into the shadows of a gator hole.” No, thank you! I opted for an Everglades airboat tour through the mangroves.

My Everglades Airboat Tour

There are multiple Everglades airboat tour companies operating in southwest Florida. I chose Everglades City Airboat Tours for two reasons. First, they are the “original” airboat tour company in Everglades City, founded by Captain Doug, himself a second-generation Everglades guide. Captain Doug is now retired and his son-in-law, Captain Bruce, runs the company with his own son, Captain Josh. Four generations of experience in the Everglades made me feel more secure about braving the swamp.

The second reason I chose Everglades City Airboat Tours is because they are the only company that uses two-way communication headsets. Airboats are LOUD and the comfortable headsets allowed our Captain to give a running commentary on the facts and history of what we were seeing as we went. We could ask questions and talk to each other over the roar of the engine.

Everglades City is about 45-minutes drive south of Naples, Florida. We arrived a half-hour before our reserved tour time, so we admired the real gator claws for sale in the little gift shop and the whole gators on the patio, then waited in a shaded, open-air seating area. Captain Bobby called for his six passengers and it was time to go into the mangrove swamp!

We cruised by some very beautiful canal-side homes on the way into the mangroves. Then the waterway got narrower with a dense tangle of roots reaching down into standing water on either side of the boat. In many places, the mangrove trees formed a low green tunnel overhead that the sun could barely penetrate. Captain Bobby told us that mangroves are nicknamed “the walking tree” and if the airboats stopped running the paths, nature would quickly grow over, making the paths impassable.

We followed the watery path as it twisted and turned deep into the mangrove forest, Captain Bobby narrating interesting Everglades facts along the way. Then he revved up the engine and we raced through the snaking canal until it opened onto a wide area where he made thrilling turns that made spray fly high into the air.

Everglades Wildlife

We looked for alligators, but since the rainfall had been low, the water was relatively salty and Captain Bobby said the gators prefer fresh water. He took us to a small pond ringed by mangroves to see the wild “ring-tailed swamp monkey.” Captain Bobby pulled right up to the roots and pulled a package of crackers from his pocket. When he rattled it, a little raccoon climbed out of the roots! He was so close he could have stepped right onto our boat if he wanted to. I was pleased when Captain Bobby told us that Everglades City Airboat Tours has a strict policy of not feeding the wildlife, although other less eco-responsible companies do.

When Captain Bobby offered to let us jump off and swim, the mother of the two young children on our boat quickly said, “No, kids! It’s a joke!” as she grabbed the boys’ collars. I was feeling pretty swamp savvy by then – enough to sit in the Captain’s chair – but you couldn’t have pried me off of that boat! When we left the pond, we raced around playing hide-and-seek through more mangrove tunnels and racing our running mate’s airboat back to the dock on the open water.

An Everglades airboat tour is a must do for a visit to southwest Florida and I highly recommend Everglades City Airboat Tours for a safe, responsible and comfortable experience. One hour tours cost $42.00 per adult/$22 children 10 and under. You can find them at 907 Dupont Road, Everglades City, Florida, 239-695-2393.

For help planning the rest of your Florida vacation, contact your Covington Vacation Advisor.