We just got off Capt Harold's boat this morning and I had to write this now!! We had an amazing 2hr tour with Spirit of the Swamp. We got directions from Debi which took us right to the dock, and Capt Harold was waiting for us there. We left after our safety briefing on our "private" boat! There was just the 2 of us and we had the royal treatment!! We saw all 4 types of endangered birds, a bald eagle, many other birds, plus lots and lots of alligators!! Up close and personal, too!!
I would not hesitiate to recommend this tour - I love to support the local small business people, and this is a way to do it.
Booking was a breeze, and I always had quick replies to my emails - and there were a lot of them!!!

Thanks Debi and Harold for our best Orlando experience ever!!

Heather and Margaret

Our family of 5 from Australia had the most amazing tour. We saw a number of alligators, snail kites, turtles and even a deer. Our guide was very friendly and went out of his way to take photos of us and position the boat for photo opportunities. I would recommend this tour to anyone who wants a private tour. We saw one of the big tour companies and they would not have been able to see al the things we did with 4 - 5 per seat row when we had 2 per row.

They have the right approach for this type of service. Nature is unpredictable, so in my opinion you need to be flexible. Hard to do when you are in a boat with 10-20 strangers. I did not want to have to lean over people to see things or miss getting a picture of an alligator because of someone's head. Spirit offers small groups which is awesome. My wife and I along with our son took a tour and did not regret one thing, even though it rained on the morning we went. Captain Harold is a pro, easily providing local info and knowledge without being preachy or boring. He made several passes when we spotted gators and did his best despite the lack of sun(which brings them out to warm up). I am one to look at a few options before choosing, but don't bother here. Just book it. It's personal and the price is right in line with similar tours, but this is your tour, no strangers allowed!

We're from the Netherlands and you can't do anything like this in our country. After some research on the internet I choose to make a reservation at Spirit of the Swamp and this was months before our holiday to Orlando. Emails got replied and the booking was made official by phoning Debi to give her my credit card info. She was really friendly on the phone and send me a confirmation by email straight away including the route from our area. And yes, there is no restroom but this is mentioned in the confirmation.
We got there around 09.15 and Harold was already waiting for us, making the airboat ready. From the 1st moment on we started chatting and he wanted to know our (Dutch) names and succeeded in pronouncing them. He explained about the safety and we could use sunlotion if we wanted.
The trip was breath taking, nature at it's best. Harold spotted quite a few interesting animals and told us all sorts of things. He stopped for a while to take pictures with our own camera and we all enjoyed the adventure. When we got back to the landing place he had time enough to answer questions and gave us some info on the area.
I would love to go back and "fly" over the waters again. I will recommend this company to everyone who's goin to Orlando. No big boats, just the 5 of us and Harold. Wonderful!