Spirit of the Swamp Airboat Tours

Here’s a new Trip Advisor Review I wanted to share with you – check out this review and others at our Trip Advisor page!

I’ve been to Orlando a few times so the Disney parks are getting a little repetitive and I fancied doing a swamp tour, I’m really glad I did!

The drive down is easy, (40 minutes from Lake Buena Vista for me!) just follow directions and don’t rely too much on sat nav. If you’re on a dead end road then ends in the water, you’ve got it! There’s no parking issues or tourist trap; you literally park, walk onto the pontoon and you’re on the boat.

The captain was fantastic; very friendly. A quick introduction, safety brief, headset info and we were off.

He asked if there was anything particular to see, and was more than happy to spend a few minutes with me cooing over the baby moorhens (coots). He was very well informed and using the headsets spent most of the trip telling me around the area and pointing out all the local wildlife.

I saw a couple of aligators as well as lots of birds, millions of dragonfly and some of the endangered species that are currently in residence on the lake. It was also nice to just zip around at speed a bit and to have guaranteed front seats made it worth the while.

There was an approaching rain cloud which decided to pour down on us and within seconds he’d pulled up and was handing me a poncho, I was very impressed!

Here’s an email I received today, I just loved it and wanted to share it with you.  Especially the part about “the big guys must be worried and I am sure want them out of business, Our family  recommends them 100% , power to the small guys!”

I have to admit that since I’m not much of a car person, I had no idea what a Bugatti was until I looked it up (A Super Sports Car).  Wow, comparing our airboat to a Bugatti – that’s high praise!  Thanks a million Joseph!

April 2010 - 5 reasons why we choose Spirit of the Swamp vs. others

a) A Husband and wife team (Harold and Debi), own boat, very well maintained and ‘deluxe’, USCG 6 seater. Harold has 20 years around Airboats, handsome Texan (according to my wife!). Have 2 other friends with similar real 6 seat boats vs. the big tourist boats. Small Airboat is beautiful, Bugatti vs. a Barge,

b) Custom trips 2+ hrs vs. 1 hr on a big tourist airboat.

c) Can customize the experience as you wish , they recommended we cancel our first trip on marginal weather to have a better trip on a better day, 100% correct decision, professional and admirable , they deferred the quick buck to give us a better experience

d) The smaller boat gives you more of a “feel “for an airboat manoevering and can get into the tightest nooks.

e) These guys are the real deal for an authentic airboat, full intercoms, owner operators so very interested in your satisfaction.

Its something you experience once, beats “the Mouse” hands down for REALITY, the big guys must be worried and I am sure want them out of business, Our family  recommends them 100% , power to the small guys !

Joeseph ONeill, Paris/Ireland/Uk.

Our fantastic Trip Advisor airboat reviews are now tainted with a negative review. Just keepin’ it real here folks, as usual. I’m totally  sure the review was a fraud - maybe written by one of our competitors?

To make it even more unfair, the person who wrote the review never even rode on our airboat! Apparently they drove to our location without a reservation, and proceeded to complain about everything under the sun. Goodness, get a clue - our web site clearly says you need to make a reservation!  Obviously everyone else  understand this simple concept and our phone rings every day.

So be positive, I thought I’d go ahead and share some of the emails (UNEDITED since the bad reviewer seems to think our passengers are told what to write LOL) I’ve gotten over the past few days that have made me smile:

Sue and I went on a 2 hour airboat swamp tour with Captain Harold on April 1st 2010. We want you to know that this was the highlight of our vacation in Florida.

We will be more than happy to recommend this adventure to all of our friends and relatives.

We searched the Web trying to find the best company and we were lucky to find you guys.

Thanks for a wonderful experience that we will always remember. See you next year.

Jim and Sue

Get a Taste of the Real Florida!

I got this email from Kelly today, and wanted to share it with you. The McKinney’s are such fantastic people and wonderful friends. It was a pleasure to spend the afternoon on the airboat with them. After all, like Captain Harold says – that’s what airboating is all about, friends and family having a great time!

We had a great airboat ride. We saw alligators, turtles & eagles. We saw cows & Cypress trees. We had a fantastic time & our Captain Harold & his wife Debi made the ride very enjoyable.

If you want to get a taste of Florida, then take a ride of a lifetime on the Spirit of the Swamp.

From the

McKinney’s

Here are some photos Kelly took:

Spirit of the Swamp Airboat

Everybody Has Fun on an Airboat!

Beautiful Swamp

A Gator Lurks!!