Florida Everglades Tours

“Staycation”: a vacation spent at home or near home, doing enjoyable activities or visiting local attractions.

Millions of people from all over the nation and the world make Southwest Florida their travel destination each year. They come seeking our beautiful Florida sunshine, theme parks, warm winter weather and beautiful natural landscapes.

For those of us who work here and raise our families here, we tend to forget that we live in such an amazing area with so many great things to do. Getting caught up in a routine and not making time to do what a visitor may do in your community is bound to happen. We understand, we are busy too—but that doesn’t mean that every so often you shouldn’t get outside and experience your state like a tourist. This is when you book your ‘staycation’, and we are here to help you out.

Many Floridians rarely take the time to appreciate one of the world’s greatest natural wonders, even though it is directly in our backyard! When you take a tour with us at Everglades Adventures, you’ll allow us to take the wheel and navigate into the Florida Everglades.  Allow us to take you and your loved ones   the edge of saw grass and take you on a trip back in time, to life in Florida before housing developments and shopping centers.

Enjoy a ride in an airboat, swamp buggy and get up-close and personal encounters with wildlife by day, and relax at home as usual at night. You’ll walk away from the tour not only with amazing memories, but also with an education about the land you have made your life upon.

Next time you need an escape, a break from work or school or if you’re looking for a fun and educational activity for your family- remember Everglades Adventure.

The other day a father staying with his family on Fort Myers Beach asked me a fairly common question, “Wouldn’t it be cheaper to just drive to the Everglades and buy the various attractions a la cart?”

My answer was, “With all respect, we think that’s the wrong question. Even if you plan to visit Southwest Florida every year for the rest of your life, your family’s time here now is precious. Doing the Everglades on your own might, just might, save you a few dollars. But, what if you spent all that time and traveled all that distance and missed something you wished the family had seen and appreciated, or made a wrong turn and wasted a lot of time driving around?”

The point? When you consider the time spent planning your day in the Everglades, driving to and from the Everglades and Everglades City, the charges for dolphin cruises, airboat and swamp buggy rides, lunch and good luck even finding the dirt roads for off road wildlife drives, you would have a different experience from the one you have on an Everglades Adventure Excursion, which includes knowledgeable nature guides. Our guides have college degrees, and are certified Florida Master Naturalists and provide insight and information so you can actually learn about the Everglades not just see it.

Plus drivers for Everglades Adventure know the way, do the work of driving on strange roads, make the most of your time spent in the day, let you relax in air conditioned comfort both coming and going, and assure you arrive home safely.

If you have never been to the Everglades Area before it can be overwhelming to try and pick what activities to do, with what companies, and how to navigate the area. Some of the companies out there will not treat you with the same priority as they treat our customers, we have everything reserved in advance for you, and we never have to wait for a table at lunch. We often meet 4th and 5th generation native gladesmen in the area that love to tell our inquisitive customers stories from their childhood and what the real Glades was like long ago.

Many of our visitors join us for a tour to get acquainted with the Everglades Area and then go on their own adventures for their next visit. Considering all that, most people say Everglades Adventure is a heck of a good deal. Going with a guide is an added cost, but it is also a luxury.

By the way, the Everglades Adventure van will even pick you up and drop you off at the Fort Myers Beach hotel, resort, or accommodation where you are staying for free. No other Everglades tour company offers this service on the island.

Have you made this excursion with us in the past? What do you think? Would you recommend Everglades Adventure to your friends? We realize we are not for everybody but we sure enjoy what we do and helping to educate everyone about this beautiful and unique place.

The birds of the Everglades can prompt a chorus of oohs and aahs from visitors who glimpse them for the first time. Some have exotic names – like the Anhinga, which dives in the water for food, then stands and spreads its wings to dry them.  Or the Roseate Spoonbill, with gloriously pink feathers and a spoon-like bill to search for prey. The majestic Great Blue Heron is here, and the elegant Snowy Egret with its bright yellow feet.

They are all magnificent to watch, but they also tell us a story. The latest chapter hasn’t been a good one and the ending is still a mystery.

The more than 350 species of birds seen in the Everglades are indicators of the health of this delicate ecosystem. Their dwindling nesting numbers shows that the system is in trouble.  Nesting plummeted 28 percent overall in 2014 over the previous year, the latest count from the South Florida Water Management District shows. For specific species like Little Blue Herons, Tricolored Herons and the Snowy Egret, the drop is 83 percent; 42 percent; and 47 percent, respectively.

It means the multi-billion dollar Everglades Restoration Plan started in 2000 to restore the natural flow of water through the River of Grass is faltering.  The flow was disrupted starting more than a century ago, with the intent to drain and claim the swampy land for agriculture and development. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built a series of dikes, canals and levees at mid-century. The resulting damage to the ecosystem, its hydrology, birds and other wildlife was severe.

Scientists say the continued and accelerated drop in nesting is a sign that restoration must progress much more quickly. Environmental groups and agencies like the Audubon Society, the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology and Everglades National Park are looking to “citizen scientists” to help document where the birds are and how their numbers change.

If the ecological deterioration doesn’t stop, the result may be irreversible, the water management district report says. But the future could be bright if historic water conditions can be restored.

Our Everglades Adventure tours bring you in touch with the Everglades, it’s beauty and the challenges it faces. We are committed to helping make the end of the story a happy one.

Everglades Adventure: Little known facts about the Florida Everglades

Grab a guidebook, it will tell you where to go, what to look for, what roads to take and what pit stops to stretch your legs at in the Florida Everglades. Our guides can help you decide on things to do or see in the area, internet reviews can guide you and recommendations from friends can also help you make the most of your trip.

Regardless of all of the amazing sources you can utilize to make your adventure into the everglades the most worthwhile, isn’t it exciting when you come across an interesting fact or stumble upon some thought-provoking information when you least expect it? Here are a few little known facts to jump-start your expedition into the Everglades.

• The Everglades is a World Heritage Site and an International Biosphere Reserve.

• Native Americans living in and around the river called it a Pahayokee, meaning “grassy waters”.

• There are 36 protected species that live inside the park, including the American crocodile, snail kite, West Indian manatee, Cape Sable seaside sparrow, Florida panther and four varieties of sea turtles.

• The Everglades is the only place in the world where the American Alligator and the American Crocodile co-exist in the wild.

• There are no underground springs in the Everglades — unlike the rest of Florida. Instead, a huge reservoir called the Floridian Aquifer lies roughly 1,000 feet down. Water into the Everglades is primarily through rainfall, as the main supply of water from Lake Okeechobee has been altered.

• Today’s Everglades National Park is less than 50% of what existed of the ‘Glades before all the drainage efforts started.

• Mosquitos play a vitally important link in the Everglades food chain. The larvae of grown mosquitos provide food for a variety of native fish that are critical to the diet of wading birds.

Everglades Adventure: Why a Trip To The Everglades Will Change Your Life

There are always stories about how breathtaking the Grand Canyon is, how moving it is to stand close to Niagara Falls or how standing on top of the Empire State building is just like touching the sky. Not forgotten, but most definitely not as celebrated, the natural beauty of the Florida Everglades is one that is as awe-inspiring as a trip to the Sahara Desert or Amazon Rainforest. Looking out across the waving saw grass, into the blue sky dotted with fluffy white clouds, it is impossible not to feel minuscule compared to the expansive River of Grass.

Hop aboard a kayak, dune buggy or airboat to float across the shallow waters of the Glades. Mangrove islands dot the landscape, a haven for many of the creatures that call the Florida Everglades home. Look closely and watch turtles and alligators pop up to the water’s surface from time to time. Hawks, herons and anhinga’s soar above large schools of fish swimming with the current. Stick around for sunset, watch the blues and whites in the sky become a kaleidoscope of color as the sun goes down. Reds, oranges, purples and pinks blend as birds fly, frogs croak and crickets sing.

If you’re lucky enough to stay past nightfall, gaze into the sky at the thousands upon thousands of stars sprinkled across Florida’s night sky. The farther away you get from city lights, the darker the sky and the brighter the star.

When you spend a day in the Everglades, you will have experienced the conditions and terrain that the first settlers of the country experienced hundreds of years ago. The glades are a time capsule, a preservation project not just for the South Florida ecosystem, but a preserve for those looking for a little bit of soul searching and adventure. When you leave, you will never be the same.