Tour The Glades - Private Wildlife Tours
Tour The Glades - Private Wildlife Tours
Tour The Glades - Private Wildlife Tours
5
Boat ToursEco ToursPrivate ToursNature & Wildlife ToursKayaking & Canoeing
7:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Monday
7:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Tuesday
7:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Wednesday
7:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Thursday
7:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Friday
7:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Saturday
7:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Sunday
7:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Full view
About
Tour The Glades - Private Wildlife Tours is the Only all inclusive Private tour operator in the Everglades! Quality instead of quantity is our goal...which means our guests receive 100% of our attention. This approach is better for the environment and hands down the best way to explore the Everglades & 10,000 Islands....just you and your own personal guide.
Come with us in search of Alligator, Manatee, Black Bear, playful Dolphin and even the elusive Florida Panther! The Everglades is also a Birder's Paradise and we'll help you get your target species. We provide tours year round and all excursions are led by Local Naturalist Guides that provide EVERYTHING you'll need. Fresh fruit, cold bottled water and all the necessities are included. You won't need to purchase any additional items because we've thought of everything! Private is BEST because YOU are our #1 priority.
Everglades City, Florida
Meets animal welfare guidelines
Awards
Travelers' Choice
2024
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
5.0
1,558 reviews
Excellent
1,522
Very good
28
Average
5
Poor
2
Terrible
1
Grete S R
Northern Norway, Norway1,085 contributions
Oct 2019
From our first contact to the drop off after a great day out - we got the best service.
On our way from the west to the east coast of Florida we wanted to do a tour in the Everglades, in a eco friendly way.
We went for Tour The Glades and booked a 3 hour private ecotour (motorboat)
Logan, our guide, met us at the dock and we spent 3 hours among the beautiful 10 000 islands in the Glades. Logan was a great and fun captain and had so much knowledge about nature, the birds and animals we saw during our trip. He also did his very best to put us in good positions for photo opportunities.
So many different species of birds gave us a great show on our tour but we also got a glimse of dolphins, mannatees and alligators.
We had a snack break at a beach with lovely shells. We had enough time to do some shelling - among the favoritts were the Angel wings (and Logan; they both arrived Norway safe and whole..)
Thank you for a great day out - highly recommended.
On our way from the west to the east coast of Florida we wanted to do a tour in the Everglades, in a eco friendly way.
We went for Tour The Glades and booked a 3 hour private ecotour (motorboat)
Logan, our guide, met us at the dock and we spent 3 hours among the beautiful 10 000 islands in the Glades. Logan was a great and fun captain and had so much knowledge about nature, the birds and animals we saw during our trip. He also did his very best to put us in good positions for photo opportunities.
So many different species of birds gave us a great show on our tour but we also got a glimse of dolphins, mannatees and alligators.
We had a snack break at a beach with lovely shells. We had enough time to do some shelling - among the favoritts were the Angel wings (and Logan; they both arrived Norway safe and whole..)
Thank you for a great day out - highly recommended.
Written January 1, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jimrva
Reston, VA18 contributions
Jan 2020
I've been fascinated by the Everglades ever since I first took a tour 10 years ago on a large craft operated by a Park Service concessionaire out of Everglades City. I was in Ft. Myers on business on 1/30/20 with my nephew and decided to drive down to the Eveglades to show him what I was so excited about. The Park Service mangrove tour wasn't in service so I decided to book a tour with Captain Rob on a monohulled party boat.
The high point of our tour was our encounter with a pod of five dolphins. Once they started to frolic in our wake Rob adjusted the speed so they could surf behind our boat. They played in our wake for miles, often coming so close we could almost touch them.
Perhaps the best things about Rob is that he knows the 10,000 Islands inside out and adjusts the tour to what you say you want to see. At our request, he took us through mangrove tunnels so we could see birds close up and beached the boat on one of the islands so we could explore.
Rob has been working in the Eveglades since he was a teen. It shows: His knowledge of the local flora and fauna is deep. So is his knowledge of local history which includes the escapades of the many drug smugglers operating in the area before DHS shut this trade down. We loved the tour. The only downside is that Rob operates out of the Port of the Islands Marina which involves 3.8 miles of chugging along in a wide waterway iwth a no wake zone before reaching open water.
The high point of our tour was our encounter with a pod of five dolphins. Once they started to frolic in our wake Rob adjusted the speed so they could surf behind our boat. They played in our wake for miles, often coming so close we could almost touch them.
Perhaps the best things about Rob is that he knows the 10,000 Islands inside out and adjusts the tour to what you say you want to see. At our request, he took us through mangrove tunnels so we could see birds close up and beached the boat on one of the islands so we could explore.
Rob has been working in the Eveglades since he was a teen. It shows: His knowledge of the local flora and fauna is deep. So is his knowledge of local history which includes the escapades of the many drug smugglers operating in the area before DHS shut this trade down. We loved the tour. The only downside is that Rob operates out of the Port of the Islands Marina which involves 3.8 miles of chugging along in a wide waterway iwth a no wake zone before reaching open water.
Written February 12, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Claudia
4 contributions
Feb 2020
We booked a three and a half hour kayak trip in the Everglades with tourtheglades. It was really awesome. Everything was well arranged. Our guide Kalen explained everything about plants and animals in a very clear way. Thanks for bringing us closer to nature. We strongly recommend this trip to everyone who wants to discover the Everglades on the water.
Written February 18, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kathrin E
Cologne, Germany9 contributions
Dec 2019
We had booked a private kayak tour for our vacation in Florida. Communication with the staff and booking the trip was very easy. They also answered all my questions I had before the trip.
We met our guide Kalen at 9:00am. Kalen gave us a warm welcome, we knew immediately we would have a lot of fun. At the kayak launch he explained where we are going to, what kind of wildlife we probably see etc. Each of us had a single kayak and it was so much fun, even though we were not the most experienced kayakers. But the pace was fine and there was so much too see. Kalen told us so much about this fragile eco system and how everything is related together, he spotted every bird, every gator (even Mama Gator and some babies), every turtle, snail and so on. We learned so much and had so much fun during our trip. His sense of humour is exactly what ours is like. We paddled both sides of the river and enjoyed the very silence as soon as we went deeper into the mangroves. When we arrived at a little lake, Kalen brought some snacks that we enjoyed very much.
FIVE STARS for this great trip and Kalen, who showed us all the beautiful nature, wildlife and flowers. We learned so much about this ecosystem, how unique it is and why it is so important to maintain it and keep it safe. We laughed so much during th whole trip and had such a great time. A perfect day in the everglades with memories we won´t forget.
We say HI to Kalen and send best regards from our little plushmonkey who joined us on this amazing tour!
We met our guide Kalen at 9:00am. Kalen gave us a warm welcome, we knew immediately we would have a lot of fun. At the kayak launch he explained where we are going to, what kind of wildlife we probably see etc. Each of us had a single kayak and it was so much fun, even though we were not the most experienced kayakers. But the pace was fine and there was so much too see. Kalen told us so much about this fragile eco system and how everything is related together, he spotted every bird, every gator (even Mama Gator and some babies), every turtle, snail and so on. We learned so much and had so much fun during our trip. His sense of humour is exactly what ours is like. We paddled both sides of the river and enjoyed the very silence as soon as we went deeper into the mangroves. When we arrived at a little lake, Kalen brought some snacks that we enjoyed very much.
FIVE STARS for this great trip and Kalen, who showed us all the beautiful nature, wildlife and flowers. We learned so much about this ecosystem, how unique it is and why it is so important to maintain it and keep it safe. We laughed so much during th whole trip and had such a great time. A perfect day in the everglades with memories we won´t forget.
We say HI to Kalen and send best regards from our little plushmonkey who joined us on this amazing tour!
Written January 20, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
janethI4186XB
Swindon, UK16 contributions
Jan 2020
We are a couple of active seniors and we had a wonderful trip out kayaking with Cody.
I was not keen to kayak until I read about your trips on your website and the benefits of it being a private tour with a local guide won me over. Cody was patient and helpful and made me feel at ease and showed us so much wildlife- several alligators and lots of different birds, trees etc. Booking and payment was easy.
It was a highlight of our time in Florida.
I was not keen to kayak until I read about your trips on your website and the benefits of it being a private tour with a local guide won me over. Cody was patient and helpful and made me feel at ease and showed us so much wildlife- several alligators and lots of different birds, trees etc. Booking and payment was easy.
It was a highlight of our time in Florida.
Written January 21, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dadijanki
Dubai, United Arab Emirates9 contributions
Jan 2020
I started off the day a 7am meeting the owner of the company Tod at the Big Cypress visitor center. He then took me in his vehicle to an area in the middle of the Everglades where we could hike. I very much enjoyed the tour and Tod took great pains to talk about everything we saw and answer all my questions. He was very keen to make sure I enjoyed the tour from start to finish, and I did. Well worth the time and money, I would certainly go again.
After we finished the tour, I drove around the area and then decided to go to Everglades City for lunch. As it turns out Tod has a pizza joint there called "Hole in the Wall Pizza". I decided to go there and have a couple of slices, which were absolutely delicious, frankly much better than what I have found on the streets of NYC, which is known for its pizza.
I asked Tod what I could do with my afternoon in the area and he suggested a private boat tour to the Ten Thousand Islands. This too turned out to be an awesome tour and a must do. Saw lots of dolphins, alligators and manatees in addition to the variety of bird life. On at least two occasions the dolphins wake surfed with us, as my boat captain Logan knew exactly what he was doing. Superb stuff. Also the mangrove islands themselves are worth seeing. We even docked on one, Fakahatchee Island and walked around.
Tour the Glades are a wonderful tour operator to work with. They have my highest recommendation.
After we finished the tour, I drove around the area and then decided to go to Everglades City for lunch. As it turns out Tod has a pizza joint there called "Hole in the Wall Pizza". I decided to go there and have a couple of slices, which were absolutely delicious, frankly much better than what I have found on the streets of NYC, which is known for its pizza.
I asked Tod what I could do with my afternoon in the area and he suggested a private boat tour to the Ten Thousand Islands. This too turned out to be an awesome tour and a must do. Saw lots of dolphins, alligators and manatees in addition to the variety of bird life. On at least two occasions the dolphins wake surfed with us, as my boat captain Logan knew exactly what he was doing. Superb stuff. Also the mangrove islands themselves are worth seeing. We even docked on one, Fakahatchee Island and walked around.
Tour the Glades are a wonderful tour operator to work with. They have my highest recommendation.
Written February 10, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Pam
Chicago, IL12 contributions
Jan 2020
Educational and fun tour of the Everglades with my guide Kalen. He is very knowledgeable of the area and had lots of interesting stories to share. Our tour started off at 9 am and we were very fortunate to have the perfect weather. Can't get over how serene it is to kayak and be more leveled with the water while listening to the sounds of nature. We saw alligators, turtles, a snake, and many birds. Definitely the highlight of my Miami trip. If you're unsure about going, or questioning the price, don't even think twice, it's well worth every penny.
Written February 12, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hayley G
1 contribution
Jan 2020
My family decided to do an Everglades tour while on vacation in the area. We chose the Tour the Glades tour because they had pontoon boats and it could be a private tour. Captain Rob lead us through the Everglades and also provided a lot of history. He spent extra time looking for animals we wanted to see and even created wake for a group of dolphins to follow us! We saw dolphins, who followed us for quite a long time, a hammerhead shark, several large alligators, and beautiful birds! We had an amazing time and would recommend this tour to anyone in the area!
Written March 12, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Donna S
4 contributions
Feb 2020
Absolutely this is the private kayak trip to book! It was just two of us with our guide Cody, who was a great local guide and very knowledgeable of the area's history, wildlife, and flora. We were offered either two single kayaks or a tandem, and we opted for a tandem. We couldn't have asked for anything better. The private aspect of this guided service truly makes this trip phenomenal. You see exactly what he is pointing out and NOT at the end of a long line of kayaks. Don't hesitate to book this trip with this company, you will be SO Glad you did. Wonderful opportunity! Plus they take CC's on-the-spot so it was really convenient.
Written February 21, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jeremy P
13 contributions
Mar 2020 • Family
First and foremost, VERY accommodating to our needs. This was a private tour and we were able to influence how it was set up and the agenda.
Our group of three had one non-paddler (due to shoulder surgery) so the guide offered to join her in a tandem kayak so she could easily take pictures and the other two of us could have single kayaks. It worked out perfectly.
We were worried because the three of us are not terribly physically fit, so we were worried about open water paddling and the length of time we would be on the water. This was not a concern; the trip was sheltered in the Everglades with no wind and a leisurely paddle. We ended up doing the full 3.5 hours without any problems.
We saw baby alligators, full sized gators, ibis, brown water snakes, fish swimming around, and lots of bromeliads and orchids (none were flowering during March).
The highlight was our guide and his outgoing personality and knowledge of the Everglades. He was young but had so much knowledge about the area that it was clear he lived and breathed the information. He was also curious about us and where we are from and just generally a like able person, which is key if you’re stuck on a tour for over three hours with them.
Our group of three had one non-paddler (due to shoulder surgery) so the guide offered to join her in a tandem kayak so she could easily take pictures and the other two of us could have single kayaks. It worked out perfectly.
We were worried because the three of us are not terribly physically fit, so we were worried about open water paddling and the length of time we would be on the water. This was not a concern; the trip was sheltered in the Everglades with no wind and a leisurely paddle. We ended up doing the full 3.5 hours without any problems.
We saw baby alligators, full sized gators, ibis, brown water snakes, fish swimming around, and lots of bromeliads and orchids (none were flowering during March).
The highlight was our guide and his outgoing personality and knowledge of the Everglades. He was young but had so much knowledge about the area that it was clear he lived and breathed the information. He was also curious about us and where we are from and just generally a like able person, which is key if you’re stuck on a tour for over three hours with them.
Written March 16, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Are there any tours that would see a boa in the wild?
Written February 17, 2019
You would have a better chance of finding them on the highways at night. The pythons have a tendency to lay on the heat from the asphalt, in the evenings, our tour guide killed a thirteen footer as I described above.
Written February 17, 2019
NinaChandler
Miami, Florida
Wohin muss ich mich wenden um schnellstmögliche eine private Tour zu buchen ?
Written June 12, 2018
Can I have name, number o website your Guide for tour ?
thank you
Denis
Written October 15, 2017
How dangerous is it to encounter gators so close? Has anyone had a bad experience?
Written July 1, 2017
We did not see any gators near our boat. We ha no concerns.
Written October 4, 2017
Splenda17
Miami Beach, Florida
I'm planning to book a tour for my family this upcoming weekend.
I just have a doubt... Is it suitable for a 21 months old little boy?
Thank you for your attention.
Written May 1, 2017
I have a grandson that age. I wouldn't take him. The trip was a couple hours. That is a long time sitting in a kayak for a toddler. Mosquitoes were super thick. Off was effective. Not sure about toddler and Off.
Written May 2, 2017
Sounds like a great time...what is the price for 2people...4 people...for the motorboat tour and how long is the tour?
Written March 19, 2017
Oh to answer your question, I think it was $300 for 2 hours. Very fair. We actually to almost 3 hours and he didn't charge me extra.
Written March 20, 2017
We are going kayaking next month. What should we wear. Long trousers? What sort of footwear? Thanks.
Written February 10, 2017
Four adults arriving available either Friday, Nov. 25 or Saturday, Nov. 26, 2016.
We are looking for a private air boat tour - not a tourist attraction.
Do you offer this type of 2-3 hour tour?
What time of day is best?
Cost per person?
Written September 26, 2016
We would definitely recommend Tour the Glades; we did both the private canoe trip and the boat trip around the 10000 isles. Lovely people, a lot of expertise, brilliant surroundings. well worth it!!!
Written September 27, 2016
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