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!

We were in Florida for Winter Break.  We had seen the Disney thing and loved it but we wanted to see Florida and its wildlife. We heard about taking airboat tours in the Everglades but we didn’t want to drive 4 hours there and back. So we looked into other airboat rides in Orlando and Kissimmee. They were very expensive and in order for us to afford it we need to go searching for coupons. I went to Trip Advisor and looked up the reviews for the airboat rides because maybe the inflated price was worth it. When I read through the reviews one company stood out. It was Spirit of the Swamp. I called the number and I spoke with Debi. She was great. Very friendly, helpful and informative. We loved the idea that the 6 of us could have a private boat ride and for 1 hour at a very low price of $40 each. The other boat companies wanted $85 for an hour boat ride and you where on the ride with a lot of other people.

We booked it and had truly the best time. All of us. The kids wanted to go back another day and so did I.

The Capt. was great very educational. He pointed out everything. He even would circle back to any spot so you could get a picture. The headphones you wore had microphones so you could speak to the Capt. or other people on the ride. You could ask questions and ask the Capt. to swing around to get a better look or a picture. We saw so many animals, alligators, bald eagles, water moccasins, hawks, armadillos, raccoons and many other birds. We loved this ride and the nature of Florida. Truly a great experience. Thanks to Capt. Harold and Debi for providing a great educational opportunity and not a tourist trap.  Highly Recommend!!!  Syracuse, NY

Yes, those Trip Advisor Reviews keep on rolling in.  Actually we’re very proud of our 5-star airboat ride rating on Trip Advisor, and we certainly love to share the reviews with you:

What a fab hour we spent with Captain Harold, a very knowledgeable and friendly bloke.  It’s the first time we have been on an airboat and can’t wait to come back and do it again. Thank-you very much, hope to see you again next year.  Ian, Pippa, Matt, Freya & Robin, Horsham, UK

Here’s an email I received from another happy passenger:

This is the 7th time I’ve been to Florida and have done a few airboat rides. Found this one on trip advisor and gave them a call.

What a great trip. The hour tour we took shot by. Captain Harold is a top bloke, mixes up the wildlife with a bit of adventure and humour. My 2 teenage boys thought it was fantastic and would have gone again the next day given the chance.

The best thing though is that the boat is for 7 passengers max and he keeps you in your own group not mixing you up with strangers as some of the others do.

Next time we go we will see Captain Harold again and this time take a longer tour!

Thanks again,   Scott  Harris, UK