Black Hammock Adventures
Black Hammock Adventures
4.5
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Full view
About
Black Hammock Adventures is an exciting "Real Florida" lakeside experience like nowhere else just outside the City Beautiful, Orlando! Our airboat rides will take you on a thrilling exploration of Lake Jesup which has the largest alligator population in Florida. Our airboats are U.S. Coast Guard approved and driven by Licensed Master Captains. Every airboat tour includes your own personalized photo (with your own camera) holding our resident baby gator, Lucy. Get 10% at the Black Hammock Restaurant using your airboat ride ticket stub. Great for the whole family! Our on-site restaurant serves up your favorite Florida delicacies fresh daily. Try our Catfish Nuggets, Gator Bites, or Bangin' Shrimp! The Lazy Gator bar is open seven days a week and serves 2-4-1 Margaritas all day every day. Book your event with us! Our venue provides a unique backdrop for your corporate outing, birthday, field trip and much more.
Oviedo, 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
4.5
480 reviews
Excellent
323
Very good
98
Average
30
Poor
14
Terrible
15
Scott2718
10 contributions
May 2021
We had a very good time on a quick airboat tour today. The Florida weather was amazing, as usual. It is something you can take your teenage children and your 78 year old mother to and they all enjoy it. It is a quick ride but you can also see the birds and the gators on the property for free.
The airboat is noisy so you won't be doing any talking on the ride. It is worth it though when the airboat skips over the plant life in the lake.
We live only a few miles from Black Hammock. I will go again with more people from out of town.
The airboat is noisy so you won't be doing any talking on the ride. It is worth it though when the airboat skips over the plant life in the lake.
We live only a few miles from Black Hammock. I will go again with more people from out of town.
Written May 9, 2021
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.
kasey305
IOWA282 contributions
Feb 2022
WHAT A RIDE!! This ticked off another item on our bucketlist. Our pilot Sammy was awesome. She might be small in stature but she is packed with knowledge, ability to maneuver the airboat, and alligator handling. We took a 10:30 tour and saw many alligators of all sizes and many birds. This 30 minute tour was definitely a highlight to our time in Florida. We recommend it to all nature lovers who have never experienced airboating to view alligators. We will bring friends here when they visit us in Florida.
Written February 22, 2022
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.
shortsuzy87
Union, MO35 contributions
Mar 2020 • Friends
My Dad and I partook in the one hour airboat tour. If you are wanting to see Alligators and other FL animals in the wild this is the tour for you! Don’t judge a book by its cover. The store, restaurant area, etc are a bit run down but we chose this location because it’s situated on Lake Jessup and has one of the highest gator populations! We saw them even before boarding the boat! It was unreal. Our captain was very knowledgeable about the wildlife. My favorite part was actually a flock of hundreds of pelicans that took flight right in front of our boat! Surreal! If you aren’t looking for gimmicks and want a nature show go to Black Hammock!
Written April 13, 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.
Taylor
1 contribution
Oct 2020 • Family
Absolutely horrible... complete rip off, don’t even bother wasting your time or money stopping just keep driving to the Everglades. (You’ll actually see a gator). If your interested in seeing birds and grass it’s perfect for you.. if you’re actually looking for a gator experience you’ll leave feeling like you Paid 30$ to take a picture with a foot long gator... because that’s the only one you’ll even see. “Unique gator experience” lol if by unique they Mean they are the only airboat ride in FL that YOU WONT SEE A GATOR ON. Then they hit the nail on the head! we would have stayed to eat but after pouring 130$ down the drain we weren’t too enthusiastic about giving them more money for food.
Written October 14, 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.
missjchk
New York2 contributions
Apr 2023 • Family
The boat ride was great and our Captain was fun and knowledgeable. Unfortunately the day fell short of what we wanted for a couple of reasons. We prepaid to feed the alligators and they were all out of the hotdogs that they get fed. After our boat tour we went to the restaurant for their “famous” gator bites (all my son wanted) and they were out of FLOUR!!!! No gator bites, no anything that needed to be breaded and fried. Total disappointment. On the up side the 2 for 1 margaritas were tasty!
Written April 8, 2023
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.
Hina G
6 contributions
Oct 2023 • Family
If you want to enjoy a boat trip then this is all fine. If however, like us, you want to see gators in the wild then really don't bother....as soon as we got on the boat, the guide pretty much said it was too hot, even though the site says that the early rides are best, and we were on the first available one out at 9.30am
Apparently mating season in April or May is the best time to see lots of them.
Regarding holding one, we were told the larger baby gators were sick so initially they said they'd refund us that cost, which was even more disappointing. Then they realised they had a small one in the restaurant and said we could meet him....he was just about 1 ft long but ideal for the kids.
If you book online it is more expensive than doing it there in person so i would suggest you wait and book up there. And don't bother with buying the experiences in advance as again it's cheaper there. I appreciate entirely that they cannot guarantee you'll see gators as they are wild animals, but I do feel like the marketing narrative is a bit misleading. It's a very expensive day out and not sure it's worth it for just the experience we had in seeing a few birds.
Apparently mating season in April or May is the best time to see lots of them.
Regarding holding one, we were told the larger baby gators were sick so initially they said they'd refund us that cost, which was even more disappointing. Then they realised they had a small one in the restaurant and said we could meet him....he was just about 1 ft long but ideal for the kids.
If you book online it is more expensive than doing it there in person so i would suggest you wait and book up there. And don't bother with buying the experiences in advance as again it's cheaper there. I appreciate entirely that they cannot guarantee you'll see gators as they are wild animals, but I do feel like the marketing narrative is a bit misleading. It's a very expensive day out and not sure it's worth it for just the experience we had in seeing a few birds.
Written October 26, 2023
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.
Mylean L
9 contributions
Jul 2023 • Couples
We visited Black Hammock on a Friday morning to avoid the afternoon heat. We enjoyed the airboat ride so much! Our boat captain, Byron, provided top-notch service and shared information about the wildlife and gators. We saw a few gators and the many birds that are local to the area. Thanks for the nice experience!
Written July 22, 2023
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.
Charmaine G
2 contributions
Apr 2023 • Family
Our driver Byron was amazing. He was more than well educated on the region and his narrative was impressive, knew where the gators were drove the boat with precision we were completely impressed. We felt completely safe and in good hands.
We were disappointed with the living conditions of the gators in captivity at the office, restaurant area . The cages were small and cramped and sad. would be nice to see them in a better enclosure with natural earth under them and updated conditions.
Understood they can’t go back into the wild, would just be nice to see them in a happier viewing position.
We were disappointed with the living conditions of the gators in captivity at the office, restaurant area . The cages were small and cramped and sad. would be nice to see them in a better enclosure with natural earth under them and updated conditions.
Understood they can’t go back into the wild, would just be nice to see them in a happier viewing position.
Written April 13, 2023
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.
The World is My Oyster
Orlando, FL21,671 contributions
Feb 2020 • Family
Even though the weather was REALLY bad, the staff of the Black Hammock took great care of our large group of students. Jay and his staff truly did all they could to make us feel right at home. Two thumbs way up to Joel, Jay, and his incredible staff!
Written February 22, 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.
Sonia S
2 contributions
Jul 2023 • Couples
Black Hammock Adventures was an awesome experience! Had a great time doing the 1hour boat tour. Captain was friendly and knowledgeable about Lake Jesup, proving fun details on the native plants and creatures that inhabit the area. Didn’t see too many gators since it was very hot out (even at 10am), but this was expected for July. Stayed after for drinks from the bar which were good! Food was okay. There was a cute gift shop onsite with affordable keepsake items. Friendly staff and easy online booking tool were a plus. Overall - 10/10 I would recommend and return for another spin around the lake!
Written July 24, 2023
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.
My family is visiting in March. Would you recommend the half an hour tour or the full hour?
Written January 13, 2020
I would do an hour. There is tons of nature to see on Lake Jessup. I've been on numerous boats and these are the best.
Written January 14, 2020
Is there public transportation facility to get there? Any alternative without a car?
Written March 23, 2019
For a senior with a bum knee and a cane, are there any entry/exit issues with the boat?
Written January 13, 2017
When the water levels are high (like right now) the boats are not very accessible. We used a temporary plank bridge to access the boat. That being said, I believe they would have done everything possible to get someone with mobility issues on that boat. I would recommend calling ahead of time if you are visiting during the rainy season.
Written July 5, 2018
Is this for any ages, I have a 3 year old, thanks
Written March 27, 2016
Yes!! Especially if your child loves boat rides and seeing animals. There was another child about that age on the boat with us
Written March 30, 2016
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