I have done numerous boat trips in my lifetime, so I had something to compare this to. We took the 3.5 hour morning trip, which went around the islands and stopped at one for a brief walk. The boat was comfortable, and the ride was smooth. We were at low tide, so our captain had to be very cautious where he went. The mangroves are pretty, but once you saw 10 islands, it was probably enough. We got to see a few dolphins, and he got two of them to surf the boat waves which was fun. Our little stroll on the one island turned up a few interesting shells. Overall, I think the trip is too long as you just keep seeing the same things, island after island. There weren't really as many birds as I anticipated. read more

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Great trip, got what we were looking for: photographs! boat was vey stable and smooth, and Jerry followed the dolphins so we could get more shots. Also saw a diverse rookery, osprey's nest, royal tern and much more. Wonderful outing! read more

A fun, educational and enjoyable 2 hour tour of the Everglades on a 6 person boat led by an entertaining, knowledgeable captain Glen. We saw osprey, pelicans, a bald eagle and several other types of birds. A couple horseshoe crabs up close and personal and watched dolphins play in our wake. Highly recommend! read more

Everglades Area Tours - Dolphin jumping and playing in the wake from our boat. - Tours Near Me - Chokoloskee, Florida

I booked a trip with Everglade Area Tours with my friend to take photos along the Ten Thousand Islands. We sure picked the proper tour company for our needs! Captain Charles met us early as not to miss out on the early morning light. He was just the guide we needed. Knowledgeable, friendly and determined to make sure we got the absolute most out of our tour. Be sure to look them up when you are down in Southwest Florida!! You cant go wrong!!!! Tell Captain Charles we said hello!!! read more

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Ron did an amazing job with our kayak tour. Very knowledgeable, answered all our questions, spent a little extra time in the mangrove tunnel with us. Also pointed us to some great food options at the end. Highly recommend them!! read more

Dan was amazing. He helped us see as many things as we could on our tour. He followed dolphins, showed us an oyster bed where the pelicans hung out as well as osprey and eagle nests. His knowledge of the area was amazing! Would highly recommend this to anyone in the area. read more

I didn't try the bout but it looks fun, people were happy! I get to see the animal and I even get to touch a baby crocodile! I love it great staffs. Give you all the information about the animal read more

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Darlene took us on the 3 hour mangrove tunnel & sunset tour and it was unforgettable!!! Boy does she know her way around that place - tunneling through the mangroves was so much fun... wooohooo, I want to do it again!!!! It was more than what we expected and learned so much. The birds, fish & all sorts of critters were all over the place. The following day, we went on the boat assisted kayak tour which was equally amazing, we learned so much about the 10,000 islands and the history of the mangroves. We saw so many amazing birds including various varieties of pelicans, osprey, eagles doing their thing out in the wild. We also saw many dolphins up close. One island had a small racoon running around on it -- the tour guide explained that they are smaller than usual racoons for various reasons -- google it, or better yet, take the tour :-) We stopped at an oyster bar -- no, they don't sell oysters, but the sand was so white and beautiful and shells and crabs of all kinds everywhere. We kayaked around one of the mangroves to get up close and personal with nature -- it was simply an amazing experience and you don't want to miss. Both tour guides were incredibly knowledgeable. read more

We had a great time doing the 3 hour boat, kayak, and walking tour. The everglades are beautiful! Captain Bruce was our guide, he was very knowledgeable, friendly and laid back. Don't forget to give your Capt. a tip! read more

We wanted to explore the Big Cypress Park portion of the Everglades. I'm so glad we went with the Kayak Tour here than those airboat tours. They seemed so commercialized, and after watching videos of people holding on for dear life on the airboat, we decided not to. The Kayak Tour is recommended for anyone that really wants to immerse themselves in the nature, and peacefulness of the Everglades - and not zip through like a monster. Booking online was easy and convenient. We requested our tour guide to confirm by text, as we had no access to internet during the day. Everything was set to go for the next day. We met at the Vistors Centre, right at the intersection before Big Cypress Park. We gathered our stuff, and hopped into a van with one other couple. It was nice an intimate guided tour. Drove into the park, and unloaded at the kayak/canoe entrance. Ron (our guide) helped with unloaded, and it was quick and painless. Everything include life jackets, and paddles were provided. During the tour, he was quite knowledgeable about all the plant life, and tried his best to find us birds to look at. We saw one alligator and lots of birds. It was a bit annoying that we were stuck behind another slower group, and ended up turning around and possibly not seeing something? The water is shallow and calm. Paddling was quite easy, especially when we got into open waters. The tour was long, about 2.5 hours in the water, and it did get a little tiring. I was also a little jealous when I heard another group guide offering snacks. We brought our own. Overall, it was a great way to explore the area. I do recommend visiting the various parks within the park, and look out areas. We saw a lot more animals and gators this way. It's hit and miss while on this tour read more

A friend told me I had to visit Chokoloskee Island on my way from the west coast to the east coast of FL. As a fan and supporter of small seaside places that have been previously whacked by hurricanes, I was happy to make this slight detour. The boat tour was delightful- only 6 passengers and Captain Don. He was very knowledgable and interesting and I learned so much. The small boat made me feel like I was right there in the middle of it all. The weather was perfect but I don't think I would have minded if it wasn't. Had a grin on my face for the next couple of days. Was so grateful that this was NOT a noisy airboat ride. Highly recommended. read more

The lady handling the phone reservation line is INCREDIBLY rude. She was not helpful in any way shape or form and was very snippy when all I wanted was some information. I'll take my business elsewhere.. if they can't even help with basic info I would imagine they can't be very safe or professional either read more

We took the 3 1/2 hour boat, kayak and walking tour and absolutely loved it. Our guide Andy was very friendly and knowledgeable and gave us a wonderful overview of the area, the wildlife and a brief background on the history of the 10,000 islands. We loved the fact that the tour groups are very, very small (a max of 6 per tour) and that it's not your typical mass tourism operation. I would recommend this tour to anyone. read more

I think my experience was pretty unique but the captain rushed out after the tour and locked me in the facility (I was last in line for the bathroom but was in there only 3 min). Despite the fact that my car was still in the parking lot, I was padlocked into the office and had to call 911 to get out (I called the number the tour gave me and the phone just started ringing in the office). Since I was stranded for about 2-3 hours until the cops arrived and found someone that could let them in, I would think that the tour might offer me some rebate (or at least the Captain would have returned my tip!!!). So--the tour was interesting but if something goes weird (and it sure did for me), don't expect awesome customer service. read more

we had so much fun on the boat, kayak, shelling tour. Its something me and my kids could have never done without a guide. The 10,000 islands were beautiful. The remote beach was wicked cool. Very non-commercial. It didn't feel like one of those tourist attractions. Great information from how to start a fire with a bag of urine to where the pink birds came from. I went with a 4 year old, a 7 year old, an 8 year old and 4 adults and we had a blast. Highly recommend. read more