My husband and I dragged ourselves out of bed on a beautiful Sunday to go on an air boat cruise. We thought it would be fun but weren't sure it was worth getting up so early. Well, it was. Captain Wayne and his wife Bonnie were a treat. He drives the boat and she handles the alligators--real ones. You can hold a baby alligator in your arms if you want to--I did.

The boat holds 6 adults or slightly more adults and kids. Each seat provides an amazing view of the lake and the grasslands around it. We saw, among other things, two bald eagles, hawks, egrets, lots of alligators and cows. Yes, cows. The state leases out the grassland for grazing. They cows seem pretty pleased about it. Captain Wayne provides knowledgeable commentary and answers questions graciously. Our group ranged from grade school kids to senior citizens and we all had a ball. The trip lasted well over and hour and we would do it again in a minute. Unfortunately Captain Wayne is losing his lease at the end of the month and will have to find another lake. He's keeping the phone number, though, so give him a call and set up your own adventure.

Date of Tour – April 11, 2011. My wife had always wanted to go on an airboat tour and we read reviews in Trip Advisor of several airboat tours we saw advertised in a local tourist brochure and called to see if they had seats available. The first one we called did not have seats available that day. We then called Captain Fred’s. They did not have seats available on a group tour (the airboats seat 6) but offered to take the two of us out for a 1.5 hour tour for $100 (price for adults as part of a group is normally $45 apiece). The tour was preceded by an approximately 30 minute introductory briefing in the office on alligators and the area, plus an opportunity to hold and take photos with a couple of baby alligators. We left on our tour in late morning on an exceptionally hot morning (temperatures in Central FL at the time of our visit were in the high 80’s, lower 90’s, about 10 degrees above normal). Since large alligators tend to stay out in the deeper and cooler water during the hottest times of the day, we didn’t expect to see many large gators but we did see many small gators and numerous birds and other wildlife.
Captain Fred’s is a small, family owned operation, with two airboats. Our captain was Captain Wayne. His wife, Bonnie, provided the introduction. Because it was a Monday morning and not peak season, we had a longer introduction while we waited for Captain Wayne to return with an earlier party, and were able to sit and talk with Bonnie and learn about the area and the history of Captain Fred’s. Both Captain Wayne and Bonnie were very friendly and informative. During the tour, Captain Wayne pointed out the various birds we saw and described them all. I don’t remember the names of all we saw but we saw Great Blue Herons, Little Blue Herons, at least two varieties of egrets, hornbills, and a bald eagle sitting on its nest. He also pointed out various trees and other flora and, in general, was just very knowledgeable about the area. It was a true nature tour, which was what we were hoping for. On our way out, going through one of the canals that fed into Lake Rosalie, where most of the tour takes place, we noticed a tree on the bank with small orange fruit. We asked about it and Captain Wayne told us it was a loquat tree. On our return, we paused briefly and sampled a couple. They were delicious.
Before leaving for the tour, Bonnie takes a photo of you in the airboat and you receive a copy of it on a calendar at the end of your tour. All in all, we thought the tour was very worthwhile, a good value, and would be very worthwhile for all ages except for infants and children less than 5-6 years old.

It was a highlight of our Florida vacation. Enjoyed meeting Bonnie and her three baby gators. Able to hold Bobby the gator and have our pictures taken with him. Boat was able to hold six passengers only so not over crowded. Driver stopped many times to explain flora, fauna, birds and animals we encountered. Terrific experience.

D & C - Onrtario, Canada

this airboat ride was awesome driver was excellent and so was bonnie very helpful people and we got several beautiful photos of the ride this airboat ride is a something everyone should try
Milt and Louise Olson from Michigan