Everglades Small Group Guided Boating And Walking Expedition

Arrangements may vary but our "expedition" was a ride in a small boat with outboard motor propulsion, maybe room for 6 passengers. The boat took a great deal of time chugging up a man-made channel then finally went out into the "10,000 Islands" area of the Florida coast. You may pass within the boundaries of the national park on occasion, but you won't notice. You just look at the coastline of lots of little island channels, all bounded by mangroves. Our guide kept his mouth shut most of the time, but did stop ocasionally to tell us about this or that bird he spotted. The walking part of the expedition was just beaching on a sandbar and letting us out, unaccompanied, to look for seashells. We were quite disappointed with the whole thing and told the guide to cut it short. On the way back we drew him out and got good suggestions for a restaurant and sightseeing for our trip back to Miami. Yeah in some ways the whole thing was our fault, for failing to understand that the Everglades is a big place and is not just swamps and alligators. We didn't research carefully enough and expected something quite different from what was provided. Still, this was a poor quality "expedition." We expected a guide to "talk it up" and not just silently pilot a small motorboat. And we expected the walking to be more than being let out by ourselves to roam around on a sandbar. Hence the two stars.

Great trip! First of all, this is not the trip I originally booked. Due to scheduling changes, my shorter morning trip became unavailable but the director phoned me immediately and offered me a choice of another trip at the cost of my original booking. So my friend and I ended up on this longer trip, guided by Captain Don. It was just us and another couple. Don was so knowledgeable and so eager to show us around. He had spotted a group of dolphins mating earlier in the day, so we zipped right out and he located them -- I mean, how often do you get to watch dolphins canoodling right in front of you? Then we headed further out and Don took us to whatever looked interesting, which was a lot. We stopped at 2 small islets/cays/beaches? I don't know the proper word. But anyway, he showed us all sorts of interesting marine and bird life, as well as local vegetation and objects of historic interest such as the ancient oyster shell wall. Believe me, it's impressive. If you are guided by Captain Don, make sure to ask him about Nyad -- he has a lot to tell you. All in all, a wonderful outing with a very pleasant and knowledgable guide. I'd repeat this trip if I were in the area, that's how good it was.

We had am amazing time - Dan was our captain, and it ended up being just our family group on the boat. We saw a lot of wildlife during the tour - baby horseshoe crabs, nesting birds, and several dolphins (including a group that played near the boat for a while). The sandbar where we anchored to walk was beautiful, and we also got a chance to see some really interesting artifacts from the first people who had lived in the Everglades. Dan was a great captain - tremendously knowledgeable and friendly - and we got a chance to see things on the tour that we wouldn't have even known to look for without his expertise. Cannot recommend the tour highly enough!

-Incredible and knowledgeable guide -Learned about the history and indigenous people -We saw lots of wildlife -Small group of kindred spirits -Lots of fun!

Amazing morning in the Everglades! We loved seeing dolphins, manatees, a bird rookery and a stingray. The tour was perfect for our family. We loved hearing about the history and the wildlife.

Jerry was an awesome guide and he was so patient with our little one asking questions every 5 min. We saw tons of dolphins and Jerry made the follow the boat. It was a small group too!

We had done a cruise out of Miami and stayed a couple of extra days to do this tour. It was was amazing - we all thought it was the high point of the vacation. Our party consisted of me - an old guy, two 30-somethings, and a 5-yr-old. We motored out to Little Pavilion Key and spent a couple of hours walking it and checking out the shells. Our guide (foolishly, I can't recall his name) was incredibly knowledgeable about all the wildlife. We thought he was a marine biologist or retired college professor, but no, it was knowledge gained over years of doing these tours. We saw hundreds of birds and even came upon a pair of dolphins in their mating ritual. My grandson (age 5) was a bit disappointed he didn't see any gators, but our guide pointed us to the Oasis visitor center on the way back to Miami and there were about 20 of them in the canal by the boardwalk. My wife unfortunately got sick and was unable to do the tour. I called after we got home and had a refund before I even hung up the phone. Highly recommended if you ever get a chance.

We went on what was described as "Boat Assisted Kayak Eco Tour (Dolphins/manatees, sea turtles)" We were in a beautiful location with many birds, although we saw no dolphins, manatees, or sea turtles. We had been expecting to spend a great deal of time on kayaks, but it was less than 1/2 hour, rest of the time in a boat. The reason for the abbreviated kayak experience is that of the three couples taking the trip, one couple hadn't ever kayaked before and were having a difficult time. Instead of kindly instructing them, the guide got mad and yelled at them. Then the guide decided we'd done enough kayaking. We didn't know the other couples, but felt bad for them and it kind of ruined what otherwise would have been a nice trip. We did walk on a beach while the guide gave interesting explanations of shells we found and the scenery was lovely. More patience on the guide's part would have made it a 5 star experience.

We had an absolutely incredible trip out with Don as our guide. We took a motorboat past incredible mangrove stands to a remote sandy beach filled with amazing shells and Calusa artifacts. We saw dolphins leaping out of the water right next to the boat, as well as ospreys, pelicans, ibises, terns, plovers, and so many varieties of shelled sea creatures (the Florida fighting conch and lightening welk were highlights). Don was so so knowledgeable. He was absolutely amazing at answering every question my 7 and 9 year old threw at him (and they had a lot!). When he learned that my 7-year old was a vegetarian, he showed him a plant on the island he could eat, which he enjoyed sampling. We took other guided kayaking trips during our trip to Florida, and this one really stood out because of Don’s incredible depth of knowledge. Highly recommend!

A very interesting trip to different side of Everglades. Don was so knowledgeable about eveything coming our way. We really appreciated this introduction to Everglades.

This trip definitely exceeded my expectation. From dolphins playing with the boat to exploring remote keys - it was definitely worth the time. Our captain was knowledgable about flora and fauna and shared many interesting stories and facts about the area and natural beauty around us.

Wonderful tour through the nature of 10 thousand islands. Great guide. Perfect experience. We enjoyed the Everglades in peace and quiet 👍😎

Captain (Lieutenant) Dan was great! My wife and I had a great time. Hammerhead and bull sharks, rays, manatee, mating horseshoe crabs, and the most incredible experience with dolphins right next to the boat. The walking portion was filled with beautiful flowers and shells and some ancient pottery. Thanks Aquaterra and Captain Dan for an amazing day.

We took the 3.5 hour boat/walking tour with Dan as our guide. It was comfortable as there was only one other couple on the tour. Dan is knowledgeable and able to answer questions on a wide range of topics about the everglades and respectful of the park and wildlife. The day we went, there were no dolphins present, and the birds were primary osprey, terns, egrets and pelicans, but that's the way it goes with wildlife. When we stopped on an island for a break and walk-around he found a pottery shard, possibly left from the Calusa people who lived in the region prior to the late 1700's. He also took us by an island that had been built, probably over millennia, of oyster shells. We saw no other boats/people until we were coming back - very impactful to be so isolated. Overall, a great time.

The guide was extremely knowledgeable about all sorts of things: shells and creatures and history of the Caloosa natives. One fun thing was that the dolphins liked to "surf" in the wake of the boat. Wear, or take footwear that you don't mind getting wet, and protect yourself from the sun.

We did the 3.5 hour boat, walking and kayak tour yesterday. We’re a family of 4 with 2 girls aged 9 & 11. We had a great time. Our guide was hugely knowledgeable, professional, friendly and patient with my poor kayaking skills! It was super fun. Saw lots of wildlife, loved seeing the dolphins play in the waves from our boat, kayaking in the mangrove and shell hunting. We’d definitely recommend this tour. Thanks Dan and team for lasting Everglades memories.

I loved the quiet way of touring nature with respect. We saw an American Eagle's nest and the adult and baby, dolphins, and a beautiful island. Our tour guide was enthusiastic and knowledgeable, identifying birds all along the way.

Four of us did the 3 1/2 hour Everglades national park tour. Captain Jason is a highly educated, very experienced ecological guide. He is involved in our local community groups for development and water issues. I’ve been going to the Naples beaches for 30 years and finally learned what some of these things are. We ended up on a sand beach island, miles away, had a great walk and learned so much. Too many dolphins to count. At times we were the only people anywhere in sight. Kudos to Jason for putting on quite a show that he is so passionate and knowledgeable on. He is an expert. I would recommend this to anybody that’s willing to spend $150 plus a good tip per person.

We four joined two others for an amazing afternoon on the water leaving from Chokoloskee south of Everglades City. Our guide Don has an incredible knowledge of the ecology of the region including the bird life (we saw many osprey and two eagles, among a host of other birds) as well as the history of its white settlement and native culture. We stopped on Rabbit Island to check out the shells and a series of fascinating glimpses of sea life and the many interdependencies among the critters that have evolved over millions of years. Don topped off the tour with several dolphin sightings, including a run in which the dolphins surfed in our wake. Don's knowledgeable approach, stories about the Calusa tribe, native to the islands, and ability to point out small features of the ecology made our trip one for the memories.

We took the Mangrove Tunnel Kayak tour in mid-January with guide Ron on the Turner River. We were lucky with the weather. Even in winter there is plenty to see. Ron was knowledgeable and congenial. The Turner River has practically no current and the kayaking was quite sedate. The split kayak paddles we were ;provided made it easy to paddle the tight channel through the mangroves.

I can not say enough good things about captain Charles and this wonderful experience, he was very knowledgeable of the Everglades, and showed us all the great wildlife in the area. Do not write this off.. it was well worth it! Bravo Captain Charles and thank you!

Perfect tour. ❤️ Our tour guide was so knowledgeable and was an expert animal spotter. Definitely a must if heading your the everglades! Thank u so much for a great morning!

Capt. Don was outstanding. He had so much knowledge to share, even my sassy teen was engaged. Much respect for him and the Everglades.

Our guide was knowledgeable. I learned about Everglades ecology way more than I expected. Impressive tour.

This was an awesome trip and our guide was so knowledgeable- have already recommended the trip to friends on their visit in a few weeks

We went on boat-assisted kayak eco tour. Captain Dan was incredible and extremely knowledgeable. We all loved him! We saw lots of wildlife. We thought there would be more kayaking. It was mostly boating. Still a great tour.

We did a boating and kayaking trip and the TRIP and GUIDES were AMAZING!! Sadly the owner of the company is a jacka$$ and doesn’t deserve your money. Which is a shame for the guides. We had an amazing trip. And tipped our guides well. Very knowledgeable, easy going, and fun. Hard to recommend this company based on who is behind it.

Much water. Few living things. The guides were excellent, knowledgeable, and engaging. But the route was a huge disappointment. We saw water, mangroves, a few porpoises. The rest was water for almost 3 hours. The tour description should make this clear. It sounded like a trip through alligator alley. But the boat bounced over water hour after hour. The last hour was actually painfully boring.

Great guides Lovely experience Very chilled Skimming about the Everglades and sliding into small mangrove tree lined creeks to see wildlife up close Wonderful few hours

Wir haben unseren Vormittag in den Everglades sehr genossen und kommen sicher wieder. Wir haben neben Delfinen auch Fisch- und Weisskopfadler gesehen :-)