Airboat locations, and safety

Fort Lauderdale FLORIDA’s BEST EVERGLADES AIRBOAT RIDES

Taking an airboat ride through the Everglades is a must-do for all Fort Lauderdale Florida vacationers! Riding first class is what you can expect when you book your Everglades Airboat ride with Cypress Airboats in Fort Lauderdale Florida. Explore North America’s last remaining subtropical wetlands, The Florida Everglades while riding on an airboat which has all been custom designed for Couples, families, and Corporate groups. Our Airboat Captains are certified United States Coast Guard Captains running Private airboat rides in the Florida Everglades including Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, and Boca Raton Fl.

Experience the Florida Everglades on an airboat ride today, it Lets you encounter the Florida Alligator up close as well as exotic birds, like the Great Blue Heron and the wood stork. Some other species you may encounter include turtles, White-tailed deer, and a variety of Fish. This is a one-of-a-kind sightseeing adventure deep into the Heart of the Florida Swamp. Our professional, experienced airboat captains are sure to get your heart pumping. With over 300 species of birds, whitetail deer, bald eagles, panthers, and even bears calling the Florida Everglades their home, each airboat rides from Ft Lauderdale offers a truly unique and one-of-a-kind Airboat Tour. The River of Grass rides is in the vicinity of Fort Lauderdale and Pompano Florida. 

OUR TOUR LOCATIONS

Cypress Airboats rides and Airboat tours serve customers in the entire south Florida portion of the Everglades National Park area including Ft Lauderdale and Hollywood Florida. Our airboat rides are private just for your group with no strangers on the boat and we offer different airboat ride packages to choose from. We operate by appointment only, you can make an appointment by calling or going to our website we cannot take walk-ups. We offer private airboat rides for customers in the Fort Lauderdale area who wish to do an airboat ride in the Everglades. 

FORT LAUDERDALE’s BEST EVERGLADES AIRBOAT RIDES

Safety is a big priority in this industry that is not often thought of when booking an airboat trip, and you and your family should have a fun and safe airboat ride in the Florida Everglades. Whichever company you chose to do an airboat ride with ask them these simple questions. Ask your Everglades tour guide how long have they been in business this will give you an idea of their experience in operating airboats. Also, ask them if their safety equipment is up to date and if have they ever been involved in any airboating accidents with customers being hurt. You may also ask if their Captains are licensed United States Coast Guard Captains, and ask to see their Insurance. There have been serious injuries and some deaths caused by operators who are not experienced and do not have the credentials this is an important part of the booking process for you and your family. I will add there are some fine companies out there that have great safety records you need to use them.

When booking the best airboat rides in Florida here are a few tips when deciding what to look for, there is a big difference between commercial airboat tours versus Private airboat rides. The first thing is normally the size of the airboats, Larger airboats holding 20 to 30 passengers or more are made for carrying a large number of passengers and are not as maneuverable as your smaller private airboats. So if your looking for the thrill of the airboat ride as well as an educational echo tour then the smaller airboat tour companies may be your best option. Another factor is that the larger airboats sometimes cannot get into the smaller trails that lead you into the deeper part of the Everglades where you may encounter more wildlife and larger alligators.

If you want to get some great photos and/or video of the Everglades it is sometimes difficult on larger commercial boats based on where you are sitting on the airboat. Normally commercial airboat rides are 30 to 45 minutes long, private Everglades tours may be from one to three hours based on the airboat tour company. Normally private airboat rides are owner operated and in some cases may be more experienced than employees, thats not to say there are not some experienced commercial airboat ride captains as well as reputable commercial airboat tour companies.

The cost factor for private airboat rides versus commercial rides will differ as well, normally you will pay more for a private airboat tour than a commercial Everglades tour, obviously because there are far fewer passengers and you have the one on one experience. The cost to maintain a custom private airboat depending on the engine and horsepower can be costly for the airboat operator as well. Some high-performance airboats new can cost up to seventy thousand dollars, and with high-performance engines comes a costly maintenance factor. Half the fun of being on an airboat ride is the airboat itself. Basically, you will have to decide on what experience you want to have on your trip to the Everglades based on your budget as well as your expectations.

Where you take your tour is a factor as well, the true boundaries of the Everglades echo system and the river of grass run basically from south Lake Okeechobee in west palm beach to Florida Bay south of Miami into the south end of Everglades National Park. Some Florida tour companies offer airboat rides that are not basically in the Florida Everglades, a perfect example would be Airboat rides in Orlando Florida, this is not part of the Everglades Echo system, were not saying the ride may not be fun were saying it will not be in the everglades echo system. The core of the Everglades is in west Miami which is where you will find Everglades National Park.

Our professional airboat guides at cypress airboat rides will take you on a personalized, educational airboat tour covering approximately 15 miles of this unique wetland. We first go into the vast open saw grass where you will see why the Everglades are called the “River of Grass”! You will travel by Airboat through sawgrass into the Miami Everglades National Park stopping at alligator holes and seeing the abundance of wildlife. See the Purple Gallinule voted the most colorful bird in Florida and the endangered Everglade Snail Kite as well as herons, grackles, turtles, raccoons, and other Everglades residents! The Everglades are a truly unique and vibrant environment that you can only experience firsthand! Unless you brought your hip waders, a private airboat ride is the best way to see it!