We were recommended by friends to take a ride on the world famous Captain Doug's Airboat tours through the Everglades. I can see why! The facility had very nice landscaping and clean bathrooms which was a nice surprise. The staff were very friendly and we even got to take pictures holding a live baby alligator while we waited for our ride.

The captains were all uniformed and looked very professional. We were greeted by Captain Bill a native of the Everglades. As our tour began a group of pelicans landed right on our boats which was really exciting and unique. The airboat ride took us through the mangrove swamps in beautiful tree tunnel trails through the Everglades. The boat was fast and exciting. We also got to alligators which came right by the boat. Something unique was a raccoon came almost on the Captains command out to greet us which was truly a delight.

It was the best hour long ride we've had and I recommend Captains Doug's Airboat rides to anyone.

We (family of 4) headed down to Everglade City the week after Easter, March 2008. After reading reviews, checking out their website, and personal recommendations we selected Captain Doug's for air boat excursion. If you have a group, I'd advise stopping at the Everglades Info Center (right on the corner of Hwy 41 and 29) to get a $10 off coupon (these are also on Captain Doug's website).

If you are under a time constraint I'd recommend calling ahead for a reservation. We arrived around 11:30am and our first opportunity for a ride was at 2:15. Plan ahead and you can save yourself a wait (there isn't a tremendous amount to do in the area).

Another review indicated that they felt Captain Doug's was a rip off since they saw few animals. Our driver told us that this time of year the water in the Everglades is more highly concentrated with salt water which the gators don't tolerate as well the usual brackish water. It was disappointing, but we'd gotten our fill of gators by going down to the Everglades Oasis Center. Really, you've seen one gator you've seen them all!

The highlight of our trip was seeing a tidal racoon named Rosie. I won't spoil it for anyone going on this trip. Suffice to say, she comes out at low tide. We did see one gator, an osprey and several pelicans (most of them just feet in front of us on the boat!).

Overall the ride was still fun. We all agreed it could have been longer - by time you taxi through the no wake zone it's probably only about 35-40 minutes of being in the swamp area.

Our only disappointment was when we went down to Captain Doug's second location where it said you could get your picture taken with a live baby gator. We asked our driver about it and he was a bit wishy-washy about it. When we got there no one even acknowledged us. They did have a baby gator in a tank, but no mention of the photo taking. Captain Doug's ads mentioned a free shell or bracelet for "the ladies" but we didn't get that either - no one offered it.

What a rip-off. Almost $80.00 (for two) and all we saw were the Mangrove trees. The guide was boring and we didn't even go fast . We didn't get to see any wildlife and the guide kept claiming that there were animals there last week. Also, the canal was crowded by many airboats sharing the same route. Don't waste your money on this airboat tour. Date was March 13, 2008.

We took an air boat tour with "Captain Ken" and learned so much about the Florida Everglades. we had to split our large group into 2 tours and everyone was thrilled! But I must admit after our tours when we compared notes, we had the superior tour with "Ken" He knew so much about the area he grew up in and shared details about the history of the geography, drug busts, and animal life. We saw 4 alligators up close and one 14 footer plop into the water next to us from his perch on the land. Four pelicans rode with us for a while and Captain Ken told us how to determine their ages. We learned about the plentiful crab in the region from a trap filled with them that our guide pulled from the water. He also ended the tour with recommended nearby hikes and everything he promised from baby alligators to a bald eagle were there for us to enjoy. Definitely go with Captain Doug's- and ask for Captain Ken. I never learned and experienced so much in a single hour!