JacksTravelProfile
May 2021
Bottom line up front: Absolutely go with Garl's if you want to immerse yourself in the nature of the Everglades to see and learn about the cool plants and animals there. Driving through the park, it looked super boring with not much to do there -- but with Mike as our guide, we adventured into seemingly random stop-off points to experience the park and see everything -- gators, crocs, osprey, plants, snakes, manatees -- in the wild. We felt like we lived a day right out of a National Geographic magazine.
Full review: My wife and I did a full-day Everglades tour and had Mike as our guide. Heading into the experience, we were hoping to get to see wildlife more up-close than could be done on the airboat tours, and hoping to learn about the Everglades. We got both of those, and so much more!
Mike was extremely knowledgeable about the ecology of the everglades, and we learned a ton over the course of the day from just talking about the things we were seeing. What were we seeing? Well, we saw pretty much everything you'd expect or hope for -- alligators, crocodiles, osprey, tons of fish (including tons of Florida gar), brown snakes (and several snake skins), plus tons of lizards and really neat plants.
Don't expect to be walking along hiking trails -- we were pretty much just walking into the 'brush' and would've been wading through knee-deep water had it not been so dry recently; instead it was trekking through mudded forests and paddling through sandy waters in the kayaks. So, fair warning - you'll really be out there so expect to get a little dirty on this excursion. That said, I can't imagine really experiencing the true Everglades without being out there, and I sure wouldn't have known where to go or what to look for, or feel totally safe, without a guide.
And Mike was taking photos the entire time with his massive telescopic lens, so at the end of the day we got ~350 photos of our day that put to shame the pics that I took on my phone. It was a really nice touch for us to take home with us.
If you're looking to experience the park, and are willing to get a bit messy while doing it, absolutely take this tour. It was an unforgettable day. Thanks, Mike!!