Only book this trip if you can't get out and explore yourself, which is not hard to do. We started the day having to drive 50 minutes to a pick-up point, after understanding we would be picked up at our hotel in Florida City. We then spent 4-5 hours of the day just driving in the van, or taking bathroom stops. The van was comfortable, but not our idea of an "eco-centered tour". We took 2 commercial boat rides (air-boat in Shark Valley and flat motor boat in Thousand Islands), which were nice enough - but with organizations that are easy to book yourself on line (roughly $50 each). The flat boat operator ended up yelling at our main guide that we all "stiffed" him, even though I know at least 4 of the couples gave him tips. The lunch was adequate - but again, just a restaurant on the side of the road you could easily chose from if driving yourself. Although our "Naturalist" guide was nice, she was not very well informed compared to eco guides we have had for day trips in other areas. You learn a lot more from the park rangers and boat operators just going on your own. She thought the Shark Valley was named because it looked like a shark, rather then telling us about the Shark River Slough. She didn't know what "scat" was, and rather referred to it as the animals "No. 2", and she referred to Anhinga birds as "Anahingas", just to give a few examples. We saw lots of different animals, but from our travels around the park the day before, we had already discovered how easy it is to see lots of animals just driving up to a variety of points in your car, getting out, and walking a short distance. So in the long run, we were expecting something more unique to what we had already done on our own, and ended up feeling like we paid almost $250 each for things that would have cost $100 ea had we just done it on our own.
Ответ от хоста
Jan 2020
Thank you for coming on our tour. We are sorry to hear about your disappointment. We will definitely review the day with the guide. The guide's job is to go in depth, and to allow insights into at least 7 of the 9 ecosystems present in the Everglades, which we cover on this tour. I am sorry that even though she was nice, you felt you didn't get that level of insight. As you may see from other reviews, we usually hit the mark with this and other aspects of the tour, so we regret that you felt we didn't do so in your case. In particular, we sincerely apologize for the comments made by the boat captain at one of the places you went to. That person does not work for us, but we partner with them on a daily basis, and if those comments were made, that is certainly not appropriate. We can assure you that we will look into it right away. The boat trips you went on weren't commercial trips, however. For example, there is no air boat that would take you that far out and for over an hour on a regular commercial ride. We have a unique relationship with them that provides for such special treatment. Also, there is no way we can pick up in Florida City. That information is indicated online, and there is no one from our office who would inform guests that we do pick up there, since this trip takes place in the north area of ENP, and through Big Cypress, which one cannot access from the southern Everglades region. If you add up some of the costs that you are mentioning for boat trips and so forth, you will see that this all-inclusive trip, including transportation, is still a good value. And the rate for this tour is nowhere the amount that you stated in your review. Not sure about the pronunciation of the bird's name as a thought for criticism as well. But nonetheless, we sincerely appreciate your comments, and we appreciate the feedback.