![]() Captain Manny was the highlight of our US East Coast tour. He really made our airboat tour a memorable family moment we will always cherish. He was able to show us an alligator from close while still being respectful of this incredible reptile: a thrillingly fascinating experience. He was not just reciting a script, but he really knew his stuff as he could answer all our questions. His love for the nature he works within was genuine and evident. And he was so effective in doing so that on the way back, my husband voted to go for the fast trail! At each stop, he was full of interesting explanations and stories about the animals and plants of the Everglades, about how humans have been living in the area, and much more. Manny was clear and friendly when he explained the rules, and at the first stop - having read our feelings from the body postures - he reassured my husband who was a bit scared of the speed, also by sharing some personal stories. We were a family of four, with kids of 10 and 7 years old. excellent way to bring you there, by saying you are going to watch a show, and than no show, but a way to make you pay extra for a picture! When I talked to the workers, who clamed to be the "show" people, the explanation was, that the alligator didn't come out of the water, because of the weather (?!) (It is April - not too cold and not too hot), and the show will make the alligators to be stress!!! and with this stress the animal will live only 20 years! (interesting fact - at the restaurant at that place, they sell "Alligator Bites" - so maybe they are not too concern about "how the alligator will feel.Captain Manny was simply fantastic. that "show" was about 30 seconds, and than the guy went out of the crocodile place, holding a small alligator, and offer people to take a picture with it, for 3 dollars. I was traveling with my 2 boys (7, 9) for over an hour from Miami Beach, hoping to see alligators during the boat ride and after that to watch a show, but - nothing!!!!! No alligators, and no show! All the guy did, was to take a piece of ,so called, food, showed it to the one poor crocodile / alligator that was in the small narrow water place, but the crocodile didn't care about this piece, and didn't come out of the water. The gift shop was closed so I am not sure of their selections. We stopped in the afterwards 2 canned soft drinks, 2 appetizers totaled $22. I believe animals are best in their natural habit being animals and not passed around or handled. There is an option at the begin of the tour for a photo (we declined this so I’m not sure the price of the souvenir photo) and afterwards, there is a Gator show (we skipped this only because I didn’t want to see any animals being aggravated or harassed so I’m not sure whether this occurs or not. During the walk you see a few caged alligators, and crocodiles. After the airboat tour, you can do a short walk around the park. We saw lots of wildlife including two alligators, turtles, birds, etc. You start by doing the airboat ride, which lasts about 30-40 minutes. Our tour guide for the boat was Giovanni and he was very personable and had vocalized several years (since 2007) working and driving the boats which helped me feel comfortable with the ride. The Everglades Safari Park was a very good time. If you have time I highly suggest making time for an airboat ride. Also, the boat is not too fast or bumpy at all, so don’t be afraid of that (I was worried). ![]() It was a bit chilly with the wind so we didn’t get to see many alligators but we did see some! The swamp is amazing and really a unique experience I highly recommend. The airboat tour felt like lit was about an hour (I could be wrong) and they provide you with ear plugs to protect hearing from the large fan. The last tour of the day goes out at 4pm and tickets were $30 each (make sure to bring cash to tip your airboat driver!). There are no airboat tours that operate within the actual national park, it the park does provide 3 operating airboats, Everglades Safari being one of the 3. After spending the day at the Everglades National Park, we drove almost an hour north to do an airboat swamp tour. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |