Everglades Tour Miami: Airboat, Wet Walk & 10,000 Islands

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Free cancellationExcellent quality

1/14

Duration9h

GroupUp to 14

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

Airboat Deep into the Everglades, Then Wade Through Cypress Swamp

You get picked up in Fort Lauderdale and driven to the Everglades, where you spend a full day on two separate boat trips through the 10,000 Islands and Big Cypress, plus a guided wade through cypress swamp with a naturalist. Lunch and water shoes are included, and the group size stays small so the pace feels personal rather than rushed. The tour wraps by late afternoon, and you head back to your hotel without arranging transportation or park fees yourself.

Step-by-step itinerary

Everglades wet walk and boat tours

Pick up in Fort Lauderdale
Enjoy narrated Miami scenic tour
Pass by Tamiami Trail
Go on swamp walk with naturalist
Relish scenic wildlife drive
Enjoy lunch at local cafe
Tour historic small town
Visit local museum
Take 60-minute boat trip in 10,000 Islands
Take 1-hour air boat trip in Everglades
Stop at native tree island village

The Experience

You're driving west out of Fort Lauderdale on the Tamiami Trail, and the landscape starts to flatten and open. Your guide narrates the shift from city to wetland as you head toward Big Cypress National Preserve. The Everglades tour picks up speed once you hit the water — first the airboat, a flat-bottomed skiff that cuts through shallow marsh and lets you see alligators, roseate spoonbills, and the occasional manatee without the engine noise of a regular motorboat. You'll stop at one or two Native tree island villages, the kind of remote spots where you stand still and listen to the water and the birds, and the scale of the place finally hits you.

The wet walk comes next, and this is where the day shifts. A Florida Master Naturalist leads your small group into the cypress canopy on foot, actually wading through the water in borrowed shoes or your own sneakers — you choose. The trees are massive and old, and the guide points out rare orchids, explains the ecosystem, talks about what lives here and why. It's not a casual stroll; you're moving through actual swamp, but the pace is slow enough that you're not struggling. After the walk, there's a scenic drive through Loop Road, where the big alligators hang out, and then lunch at a local café in Everglades City, a small town that used to be the county seat and still feels like it's in a time capsule.

The final boat trip is the 10,000 Islands run through Everglades National Park — a full hour on the water with a multi-generational boat captain who knows where the dolphins and manatees move. You'll pass the historic trading post and whatever else the captain decides to show you that day. The whole thing runs about eight hours from pickup to drop-off, and the group stays small enough that you're not herded. Water shoes are provided if you need them, and lunch, water, and snacks are all included, so you're not stopping to buy anything or figure out what to eat.

What’s included

Fort Lauderdale hotel pickup and return, narrated scenic drive through Miami en route, a one-hour airboat trip into the Everglades with stops at Native tree island villages, a guided wet walk through Big Cypress cypress swamp led by a Florida Master Naturalist, a scenic wildlife drive on Loop Road, lunch at a local café in Everglades City with a town tour, a one-hour boat trip through the 10,000 Islands in Everglades National Park, all National Park entrance fees, water shoes (provided or bring your own sneakers), walking sticks, snacks, and water throughout the day.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPublic transport nearby

Operated by Wild Lime Adventures

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to see the Everglades without renting a car or figuring out park logistics yourself — the pickup, permits, guide, and lunch are all arranged, which is what makes a full day of airboat, swamp walk, and island tour possible in one trip.