Manatee, Dolphin, and 10,000 Islands Eco Beach Tour by Boat

Captain ed was a nice guy! Down to earth and knowledgeable. We saw beautiful FL Everglades and its’s wildlife…

Unfortunately, the tour was not really an eco-tour. I had hoped for much more information and explanations about the Everglades ecosystem. However, nothing has been explained about plants, animals or their habitat. The captain apparently set a completely different focus: driving at very high speed through the island world – sometimes so dense that birds flew up in terror. Afterwards we were dropped off on a small island for about an hour. The captain did not leave his boat, however, so we had to deal there without any explanation or escort. Although we later saw dolphins and even a manati at the very end, the overall experience was not reasonable value for money for us. It's a shame.

Very small group tour - max 6 per boat which is fabulous. Covered boat protection was so valuable in the hot sun. Be sure to have drinks and maybe a snack with you especially if you have kids. Our captain, Joe, was really knowledgeable and knew exactly where to look for alligators - the dolphins and manatees were a little more elusive but he knew exactly when a pair of dolphins were going to play in our wake - and they did! That was a short but magical moment and will stay with me for a long time to come as my first close encounter with dolphins. We did see some manatee “footprints” - circles of bubbles on the water surface but no actual manatees - but that’s nature for you - they don’t come out on command! Plenty of osprey and ibis, as well as a blue heron and an egret. Can highly recommend this trip - went by all too quickly.

We had some friends coming down from Illinois, and they wanted to go on a "swamp boat" ride to see some alligators. After hours of researching the Many companies that offer this Adventure. I decided to try out Manatee Sightsee And Wildlife Adventure. (Even though they were a 1&1/2 hour drive from our home in South Miami). We opted to take the "3 hour tour"... kind of ominous, Gillian's Island :) We were given the Honor of being assigned to Captain Becky. As you will see in the pictures that I took, Captain Becky found what we were looking for. When she tells you to be on the lookout for Dollphins, look far and wide. I saw some jumping in the distance and the next thing I knew Captin Becking was circling them and getting them to swim and jump in our wake. We had one Dolphin breaching the water and looking at us while he was in the air. Pretty Cool :) Video tape them swimming next to the boat and then screenshot them jumping out of the water later when you are back at home. (Captain Becky taught me this) We also got some Great pictures of some Alligator's and a few of the Manatees. But we really enjoyed our time shelling on one of the 10,000 Islands. We each came home with a Large bag of shells. So the drive was Definitely worth it for us! Now the price for the 3 hour tour might give you sticker shock at first. $129.99. But if you do the research like I did, you will find out that the other companies want $80 or more just to go out and look for alligators for only 1 hour! I would suggest getting 5 of your friends or Family members (6 total) to book a 3-hour tour with Captain Becky, so you can have the boat to yourself. Don't forget to bring a cooler with drinks and snacks with you. You Will Have a Great Time :)

Becky is an excellent captain. She is knowledgeable and more importantly lets her group choose their trip experience. She asks where the greatest interest is. We also appreciate we had a special request that the company granted.