This is easily one of the best experiences I've ever had. My girlfriend and I wanted to be able to do something truly 'Florida' and I'm somone who enjoys the outdoors. So, hopped on the maps, and saw this as an 'Everglades Tour'.
While you can visit the park and pay for everything out of pocket, I highly recommend booking ahead of time for the tours through Al, of Alligator Tours. After making a reservation, the site prompts you to call and confirm your pickup location. Do this with plenty of time, as there's 4 dedicated locations but they change based on different conditions.
Al is super responsive via Text. He is nice, and an amazingly gregarious person. He arrived 5-15 minutes early, had a great shpeal about the adventures ahead. During the bus ride, he plays some "Gator Boys", an educational and fun Animal Planet channel show that references the park.
At the park, we had an amazing time. It was busy, but Al did great hitting the major attractions. Because it was busy, he changed some of the order to make sure we never really dealt with a crowd.
Photos with the Baby Alligator were amazing 🤩 He was so soft and calm. My girlfriend and I have a souvenir, that was honestly waaaaay cheaper($) than any other photo I've had.
On the airboats, we had Chaos as our Captain. He was an amazingly good pilot, and had fantastic skill at finding Alligators in the wild. He was super funny, and definitely one of the best pilots at top speed. NOTE - if you want a more docile pilot, look somewhere else!
Afterwards, we saw an Amazing Alligator wrestling show with the star of the Gator Boys, Paul. Don't worry, there is no animal violence! Paul demonstrates love, compassion, and fearless respect, and helps teach the audience an appreciation for what is incorrectly named 'nuisance gators'.
The boat captains, as well as Paul's rescue all run off of tips. Bring cash to help show appreciation in the moment - it goes a long way.
Al wrapped up the trip by getting us all on the road on time, and even navigated around traffic as an expert Floridian to get us all back to our hotels safely.
All in all, I would come back to Florida just to do this tour again.