Everglades National Park: A Boat Tour of Ten Thousand Islands
With a trip to Miami already booked, we opted to take a day trip to Everglades National Park! This national park is an easy drive from any other part of south Florida, which may be opportune since many family travelers take cruises out of Miami or Port Canaveral.
More akin to our visit to Kenai Fjords, our research indicated that we should see the Everglades by boat. Everglades National Park also offers a host of land-based activities with plenty to see, as well. With our limited time and visit planned for Thanksgiving Day, we took the Ten Thousand Islands Cruise with Everglades Florida Adventures – one of the few tours offered that day.
Everlasting Everglades: A Tour of Ten Thousand Islands
- Getting to the Airboat Tour of Ten Thousand Islands
- Sights in Ten Thousand Islands, Everglades
- Other Ways to Experience Everglades National Park
- Insider Info
- Final Thoughts on Everglades National Park & Boat Tour of Ten Thousand Islands
Getting to the Boat Tour of Ten Thousand Islands, Everglades
The Ten Thousand Islands Airboat Tour departs from Everglades City, FL. It took us about 2 hours of driving to get to Everglades City from Miami. The ticket noted that we would need to show our NPS pass upon arrival, but there was nowhere to do so. As of the writing of this post in November 2022, the visitor center here was temporarily closed.
The parking lot by the dock has plenty of space for visitors to wait until their boat tour leaves. There is also a picnic area right off the dock to enjoy a meal with a view of the water and mangroves.
Sights in Ten Thousand Islands, Everglades
The Ten Thousand Island Cruise lasted 90 minutes, weaving us through the mangrove islands, touching the Gulf of Mexico. The tour guide provided details on the history of Everglades, the impact of hurricanes, and the wildlife in the area. We were fortunate enough to see dolphins and a shark (fin) – both of which are rare to see. Much to our dismay, our luck didn’t carry further for us to see see eagles, manta rays, or turtles. That just means I got to go back :)! Fortunately the dolphins were in abundance, swimming up right against the idled boat, and then surfing the wave of the boat as we motored away.
The tour guide took us through the outer skirts of the Everglades banks. We saw the impact from Hurricane Irma (uprooted mangroves) and Hurricane Ian (uprooted mangroves pushed “inland” allowing new mangroves to grow).
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You may also be wondering if there are, in fact, ten thousand islands? And the answer is…. there are many more! There are over twelve thousand islands comprising this area of the park; even a lone mangrove is considered an island! With an ever-evolving footprint, Everglades National Park is bound to provide a new experience at each visit!
Unlike most other National Parks, the Everglades isn’t a great place if you’re more interested in landscape and/or mountain photography. We’d recommend other parks such as Glacier National Park for those. Or, if you want a similarly tropical location with more active opportunities to hike through jungles for wildlife observation, we’d recommend Belize.
Other Ways to Experience Everglades National Park
Given our limited time, we were only able to commit to the Ten Thousand Island tour of the Everglades. Given more time, we were considering a few other activities:
- Driven the Loop Road through Big Cypress National Preserve. While not technically apart of the Everglades, this drive is a great opportunity to spot wildlife, including alligators and vultures! There are also nature trails off of the road; I always feel the best way to experience a park is to walk it!
- Shark Valley Tram Tour – An opportunity to visit a different ecosystem and portion of the park, the Shark Valley Tram Tour provides an on-land tour in the Everglades. Alligators are noted to be found along the tram ride. You can also rent bikes (or bring your own) to explore the area. Please check in with the rangers for specifics on bike trails!
- Drive to Flamingo entrance located in the southern part of the park. Located about an hour and half driving distance from Miami, visitors can access walking trails and additional water-based tours of the Everglades from Flamingo.
Insider Info
- Bring bug spray! Sitting for 15 minutes until our tour time, I got bit 6 times on my legs…ouch 🙁
- The cell service is not strong close the docks – while Everglades City is a small town, be sure to remember how you got to the dock to navigate your way back to the highway! Fortunately you can get stronger signal once you’re out on the water.
- There are a few cafes/restaurants in Everglades City, but we recommend you bring food from elsewhere if you plan to have lunch by the water.
- If you have a quick-shutter camera you can likely get a decent shot of the dolphins. Otherwise would recommend video or just taking in the experience for your memory
- Sharks are very hard to spot and they quickly touch the surface (the most you’re likely to see is their fin) before they dip back down (I wasn’t quick enough for a photo 🙁 ).
- The boat tends to move fast – if you have a baseball cap, make sure it’s secure so it doesn’t fly away!
Final Thoughts on Everglades National Park & Boat Tour of Ten Thousand Islands
Our visit was sweet, but oh too short! I am so glad we were able to fit in a tour of the Ten Thousand Islands. Seeing wildlife definitely sweetened the deal!
With 9 ecosystems to explore, we recommend taking 2 full days to visit the Everglades:
- Day 1: A visit to the northern portion of the park, adding in the Shark Valley Tram Tour
- Day 2: A drive to the southern portion of the park with another water-based tour and walking the hiking trails through the prairies
If you’re planning a trip to the southern parts of Florida – whether it’s Miami on the east, Naples or even up to Sarasota on the west – be sure to plan at least a single day trip to visit this amazing National Park!
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