The first thing my parents asked me when I told them I was going to central Florida last month was, “are you going to see any ‘gators?” That with “bring us home a ‘gator!” began to be somewhat of a joke turned reality when I learned we were going to be gliding over the Florida Everglades in an Airboat!
We visited Boggy Creek Airboats‘ East location on our recent trip to Kissimmee and were bound and determined to find alligators during our ride. I guessed we’d see 6 and after loading in the boat, but talking to Jeff our guide and captain, we weren’t sure if we’d see more than 1 or 2. The best time to see alligators is early in the morning (before 10:00 AM) during hot weather and later in the day in the cold. We set out around 9am, and the weather was already warm but it was December, so who knows.
Climbing aboard we each got our own set of ear protection. Once we got out of the harbor, the fan kicked on and it’s best if you keep your ears covered!
‘Gator hunting as we believe we were doing was amazingly serene. With the ear protection you only get a low hum, the warm Florida air blows across your face, and the speed of the boat across the reeds lulls you into a comfortable place! 
The scenery is so beautiful to take in and then suddenly we spot our first and second and third…alligators! We start adding them up and we even come across a set of babies nestling and soon before we know it, we’re at over 16 alligators spotted!
The tour is amazing, the captain was so knowledgeable and took so much care in protecting us from the gators and vice versa. We even came across a cow standing in the swamp, which is something we said, “only in Florida” can you see an alligator and a cow within feet of eachother! The giant snail shells were a sight to see as well, some giant snails can grow as large as an apple!
At the end of our tour we were treated to holding Max! Luckily his mouth was taped so he couldn’t eat me alive, because I think I could see it in his eyes, I could have been lunch. Ha! Just kidding. (I hope)
Overall a fantastic, fun, education experience! If you’re visiting Kissimmee and want to become one with the wetlands, check out Boggy Creek Airboats!
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Thanks to Boggy Creek Airboats and the Kissimmee CVB for hosting our tour. All opinions are mine.
