When they say small they mean it - there were 7 of us plus our guide and an assistant. The itinerary was as described including a 45 min air boat ride in the Everglades, about a 45 minute walk/stroll in a portion of Big Cypress NP, and a coastal boat ride on the gulf coast. At each stop there was plenty of birdlife. On two of the stops lots of alligators and on the last stop we watched a pod of bottle-nosed porpoises romp. And, the lunch stop was pretty cool with excellent food and very good menu choices.
It is a long day - my pickup was at 7:00 am and was dropped off at 5:30 pm. There was also a lot of driving but not an inordinate amount considering what we were to see.
My only nit - the guide could have spent a tad less time on his soapbox - this was a group of people who appreciated wildlife and flora and understood the need for management and conservation. A reminder or two would have been fine - we didn't need lectures. Aside from that, the guide was very knowledgeable and helpful in his commentary as we drove from place to place.
Would definitely recommend this tour!
I made this reservation several months in advance. We weren't sure what to expect but we had the best time ever. We got a late start our fault not theirs .... traffic but the rest of our day was smooth and exciting. Our guide was very knowledgeable and slowed down on the side of the road often to show us all the bird species and the many many alligators. She was very good with my kids when answering their questions about everything that we were seeing. We had 3 wonderful stops with the last stop being the highlight. Our boat captain got dolphins to play in the wake of the boat which produced many awesome pictures and a day my family will never forget. The lunch was very good and the gator appetizers were very yummy. Both of my kids loved it and the rest of our vacation kept asking if other restaurants had it. I highly recommend this group.
Excellent trip to see the three different eco systems within the Everglades and Big Cypress area. The final boat trip proved to be a grand finale. Mark, the guide, was well versed in history and science pertaining to the area. Would highly recommend this trip, especially if only in Fort Lauderdale for a day.