Ride an Airboat in Style in the Everglades - Fort Lauderdale, Florida

The Florida Everglades is a special place. If you cruise out of Fort Lauderdale, don't miss it.

After our seven-day cruise in the Western Caribbean on Celebrity Cruises, Bunny and I had decided to stay in Florida an extra 1.5 days to experience a bit of the sunshine state. We had wanted to go to Harry Potter World, but Orlando is far from Fort Lauderdale. Miami is close, so away we went!

Instead of taking a private car from the port dock in Fort Lauderdale to Miami, Bunny had the idea to sign up for one last Celebrity excursion. Doing so was less costly and the excursion dropped us right at the Miami airport.

The last day of the cruise, we woke up at 6:30 a.m. to get cleaned up and meet our tour group. This was way too early. We were headed to the Sawgrass Recreation Park in the Everglades for a ride on an airboat, but as I realized with most excursions, we got up early to wait. We waited on the ship to disembark. We waited in customs. We waited on the sidewalk at the port dock for our tour bus. 

The bus ride to the Everglades was about 30 minutes. During the ride, we were treated to facts and history of the Everglades and the alligators by our tour guide. \

I didn't expect the quietness and warm breezes in this place where alligators live.

On site at Sawgrass, we enjoyed a quick tour of the facility’s rescued animals and even met a pet skunk named Flower. We saw a couple of the captive, rescued alligators and Bunny held a baby alligator. I passed on that.

We had a quick moment for lunch, so she and I grabbed a bite at the food truck on site. I had grilled cheese and she had alligator bites. The alligator was surprisingly good! Though most things that are fried are delicious.

Then, it was time to hop on the airboats! We were given ear plugs and directed toward the boats. Bunny and I sat in the front row. The weather was lovely, but it was windy on the boat, so long sleeves and a hair tie are recommended.

Our captain had a delightful sense of humor and warned us that because it had been windy, tours hadn't spotted alligators in a couple of days. He reminded us that it was an Everglades tour, and not an alligator tour and to adjust our expectations.

The water is shallow, about 3 to 4 feet deep. And the grass is allegedly so sharp that if you run your hand across it, it will cut you, hence the name saw grass.

The Everglades are peaceful. Despite the airboats, it's so quiet. The water is shallow, about 3 feet deep, and full of straw-colored grasses where the alligators lay their eggs. I was enjoying the boat ride when the captain slowed us down to show us the small brown head of an alligator hanging out in the grass. He educated us some more about these huge reptiles and then we moved along. We were out on the water for about 30 minutes and then we were back on the bus.

Verdict: Sign up for an excursion when you are off the boat. Doing so got us off the boat in one of the first groups and we didn't have to get right on a plane and fly 8 hours in our exhausted state. Regardless, waking up that early was terrible. The Everglades was a great pick to see a Florida feature that is totally unique. There were a lot of children with their families at the Sawgrass Recreation Park, so bring your patience and please let the little ones hold the baby alligator first. And definitely pet the skunk named Flower, no matter your age. 

Don't worry! Ear plugs were given to passengers as we boarded the boars.