My parents were reminiscing about when they were middle school aged and came here for field trips…read more I was surprised to find out that Silver Springs State Park and the glass bottom boat tours have been around for that long! It was about a 1.5 hour ride from Orlando. Woke up real early on a Saturday (on honestly one of the coldest days of the year) to arrive at the park around 8am. I highly suggest purchasing glass bottom boat tour tickets online about a week in advance atleast since time slots fill up! We purchased the 1.5 hour tour on the boats. Our tour guide was incredible and shared so much knowledge and facts about the wildlife and park. I got to see tons of manatees! Plus getting to see gators, turtles, birds, and even monkeys! The glass bottom gives such a cool perspective on viewing the wildlife and plants underwater. Aside from the tour, we walked several trails to enjoy the great outdoors. Also, we had coffee in the morning when we first got here and lunch after the tour. The food was pretty good and filling. At the gift shop I made sure to leave with a magnet and Christmas ornament to remember such a great day here.

What a breathtaking location! From the parking lot, it doesn't look like much. They are redoing the…read moreentrance sign, and from the outside, it seems like the place might be pretty rundown. However, once you walk through, you are quickly transported. The entrance to the park is only two dollars per person, and honestly, in my opinion, they could charge just a little bit more. The glass-bottom boat tours run faster than you might expect, so if you have the time (which we didn't during our visit), opt for the longer boat ride; it doesn't cost much more. They also have little shops to explore and plenty of outdoor seating so you can take in the beautiful surroundings. If you're a water lover, make sure to plan ahead and reserve a crystal-clear kayak or paddleboard to enjoy the water--it'll be worth every penny. The only hiccup in our plan was that we booked everything on the day of our visit, so we ended up with a shorter tour on the glass-bottom boats and got locked into the last kayaking time slot. The woman at the reservation desk for the kayaks was not very pleasant. She told us that despite showing a 5 o'clock slot, they were no longer taking reservations. I showed her the option on my phone, but she still refused to let us sign waivers. Luckily, we found the manager in charge of the rental hut, who advised that we could still make our reservation online. I showed him on my phone, and although we'd have to pay full price and probably have less than an hour, that was perfectly fine with us since we were in the last slot. The lake was practically empty, so we had the entire waterway to ourselves--so beautiful and peaceful. Honestly, it felt like we were in another country, surrounded by nature. If you don't have the chance to kayak, there's also a walking path where you can see monkeys left behind from one of the movies that was filmed on location. We walked part of the path, and it was just as beautiful. Any chance my kids and I get to be outside in nature, we gravitate towards it, putting away our phones to enjoy everything around us. What a great way to spend your day and your vacation!

I drove through here on the way home from the Panhandle. It reminded me of what I thought Florida…read morewas like when I was a child growing up in Massachusetts. Forrests and springs, fishing, canoeing, swimming, and yes, gators. There are over 400,000 acres in the Ocala National Forest. It needs more than one visit to fully explore this wonder. There are many opportunities for camping and backpacking. I want to come back soon to go on a nature hike. Like Dave O. says, this is the wilderness so don't be naive. You must go in prepared with water, protein snacks, and emergency supplies. This is not Disney, this is the real Florida adventure.

Another spot of beautiful nature in Wild Florida…read more I love going on nature hikes, and this trail has plenty of wildlife and plants to see. Even with the paths seeming wild and free, they're easy to follow and I wasn't afraid of getting lost.

Garrett was a blast! We are just coming into the warm season and most manatees are back in the…read moregulf, he still got us to 7 manatees, 2 gators, and we caught a dolphin in kings bay towards the end. He gave us plenty of time to look for things to come up out of the water which was great for my 2 year old. Boat was shaded and was enjoyable even with a small child. Other tours wouldn't let me book because she was under 3- we brought our own lifevest but they did also have some on board that were her size.

Thank you Piper and Wade (best guide and captain combo ever!) for an experience my wife and I will…read morenever forget! Amazing! We learned so much and got to go face to face with a big old male. Piper's encouragement and direction kept us calm when things got exciting! Would recommend to everyone who loves nature. Also the office staff were gracious and made great recommendation for lunch at a local deli. 100% glad we chose these guys.

I booked the "hold on tour" and was an experience I'll never forget!…read moreWe saw beautiful widlife. The river and swamp are gorgeous, the guide friendly and knowledgeable. I'll also share that I really did have to hold on!!

Took my mom, sister, wife and daughter for an awesome 1.5 hr trip with Captain Justin…read more Great time and he answered tons of questions while showing off the gators and birds (herons, hawks, bald eagles) Note: Bewares the Giant Spider!

We were a family of four, including a 14 yo boy and an 18 yo girl. We had a very relaxing,…read moreenjoyable time. Ericka is a deep resource of knowledge about the area and we learned much more about the ecosystem of the river and the surrounding area, along with the history of the waterways. We were shown many animals, too, that she picked out of the surrounding that we never would have seen. We all highly recommend Ericka and her tour.

From the owner: Pontoon boat educational river boat tours. Family and pet friendly. Manatees and Monkeys. Birds and…read morephotography of scenic beauty of wildlife.

Yeesssssss!, should be your answer, when asked "do you want to go on an airboat?". This was a…read moresuper fun experience for ALL ages. I took my 21 yo little and had an absolute blast! Captain Bill is fun, experienced and knowledgeable about the waterways we traveled. We saw lots of wildlife, learned about boat safety and got to go really fast (my favorite part). Bonus: the Captain is a very kind and conscientious operator and was so respectful to the other boaters around us.

Great experience on the airboat! Bill was a fabulous guide and especially informative about the…read morearea and the sites.

Outstanding experience for my family and grandchildren. Josh was very knowledgeable and receptive…read moreto any questions you might have, even from a 6 year old. I'll be back with more of my family.

We had an absolutely terrific time with Capt Josh on our airboat ride! Making the appt with…read moreBrittany was very easy, then she texted prior to our ride with all the details. We were on our way from Jacksonville to Orlando, and this was the perfect location. Capt Josh somehow managed to not only drive around and give us a ton of information on the area, but also took some great pictures of the animals (and us!) ! He then transferred all the pics to my phone right before we left. What a great unexpected bonus! He also sent us some great recommends for places to eat in Orlando! Highly recommend this tour!! #TravelwiththeKirklands

Fantastic trip with a very knowledgeable and professional crew. From check in to the boat ride it…read morewas safe and fun. We saw plenty of gators and learned a lot about them and the surrounding area. You can tell they love the lake and the animals. It is definitely worth the trip, we will be back.

Awesome experience.. everyone was super friendly.. awesome tour.. randy is an awesome guide and we…read morewere able to pet Luke their alligator..

Had some family in town and they requested a boat ride so hey why not an airboat right. Capt Jed…read morewas fun & made the trip enjoyable. There wasn't too many creatures out this time of year but the scenery was great. Would love to come back first of the year

Went on this airboat ride yesterday and I must say it did not disappoint. Captain Jed airboat ride…read morewas the best. Our captain was Joe. Love the tour!! He was very friendly and knowledgeable He even extended the trip. Saw manatees, turtles, birds and a small gator sunbathing. Highly recommend our Captain Joe! He also suggested many places to eat and we choose one, Brian's BBQ!! So good! Thanks again for a well spent day. Ruth and Katrina