Thanks to the amazing weather in Florida all year round, there are a whole host of things to do when you visit Florida but one of the key attractions is most definitely taking a visit to The Everglades.
The Everglades is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is the largest designated sub-tropical wilderness reserve on the North American continent.
Its sheer size is quite astounding as is the myriad of wildlife inhabitants that call it home.
One of the most famous inhabitants, of course, is the American Alligator and as such there are several tours in The Everglades dedicated to giving you an opportunity to spot one in its natural habitat!
The Everglades are a source of pride for most people in Florida it appears due to its uniqueness and a lot of effort is spent to ensure the biodiversity of this national park – a key theme which is constantly re-iterated to you throughout your tour.
But anyhoo, let’s get started with the nitty-gritty of what you need to know before you visit the Everglades in Florida.
HOW TO GET TO THE EVERGLADES IN FLORIDA
Drive! You might also be able to get a tour bus that will take you there as one of its stops from Miami.
We actually took a taxi as we weren’t planning on picking up the hire care till the next day and it cost about $60 from Miami (which wasn’t too bad as we shared it between four of us. If we had picked up the car though, we definitely would have opted for driving instead.
There are loads of tour operators so you get a lot of choices. There’s also no need to pre-book, might be worth giving them a call before you leave just to be sure but we just turned up and got in straight away. Tickets cost approximately $20 for adults and $10 for children.
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE VISITING THE EVERGLADES IN FLORIDA
1.) Do not take an umbrella – those things aren’t called airboats for anything. They’re also fairly fast so even if it rains and you decide to get your brolly out- chances are that it will get blown away! Hopefully not with you at the end of it. 🙂
2.) If you take a camera with you, make sure you take the strap as well. You most certainly do not wanna drop it.
3.) Be prepared for the noise. You will get given ear-plugs which I recommend using as the boats are surprisingly loud.
4.) Ask questions! The tour is to give you a chance to learn as much as you can about The Everglades and what better way to learn than by speaking to a local expert.
5.) Stick around after the tour (or even before) to see the alligators and crocodiles in the park. Definitely worth it if you didn’t get to see one in the wild.
6.) Don’t fall overboard! 🙂
A little FYI, this post has quite a lot of photos (to give you a more immersive idea of what it was like to visit The Everglades). Here it goes…
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