Our third day in Miami, we left the city and headed to the wetlands for an experience that had been on my bucket list since I was a kid… We were going on airboat tour through the Everglades at Gator Park!
Located about 45 minutes outside of the Miami City limits (but technically still located in Miami-Dade County), Charles and I were up with the sun and out the door by 8:00am determined to get to Gator Park before 10am.
Why before 10am? Because I had seen on Gator Park’s site that they have a BOGO deal if you 1) visit the park on weekday and 2) book an airboat tour before 10am. BOGO meaning “buy one, get one FREE” and if you know me, then you know I am very much motivated by the word FREE lol.
Two tickets for $24.99 instead of $50? = Oh hell yea. That’s that “set 3 alarms in the morning to make sure we don’t accidentally sleep in” kind of motivation.
Despite leaving out by 8:00am, we found ourselves caught in rush hour traffic which extended our commute to an hour and a half as opposed to 45 minutes (thank goodness we gave ourselves a little buffer for time – Miami rush hour is no joke). We arrived around 9:30am and promptly went to purchase our tickets for the next available tour.
^^ Ayyyyyyy. Tickets purchased (total came to about $28 with tax) and ready to board the airboat!
Upon loading onto the airboat, our guide handed everyone ear plugs to help drown out the loud noise of the humungous propeller on the back of the boat. And after his standard safety spiel…
1) Don’t stand up until he said so it was good 2) No leaning over the edge of the boat 3) Be on the lookout for alligators and other wildlife 3) Take as many pictures as you want.
He turned on the boat and we slowly made our way through the river passage into the Everglades also known as the “River of Grass,” due to expansive prairies of sawgrass that rise 3 to 10 feet above the surface of the water throughout 1,509,000 acres that make up the National Everglades Park.
^^ On the way, we spotted our first gator!
Once we made it through the river passage and into the open prairie, the guide told us to put our earplugs on because it was about to get loud as he hit the pedal to the metal and we zoooooooooooooomed through the sawgrass!
^^ Call me corny and cliche but I couldn’t resist dressing “on theme” with our excursion. I got this shirt 5 years ago when I lived in NYC and somehow couldn’t bring myself purge it… I think subconsciously I was holding onto it just for this moment lol. Thank goodness it kind of still fit.
After a fun ride around the prairie, we made our way back to the park entrance and spotted TWO alligators.
^^ Gator #1. Can you find it?
^^ Annnnd Gator #2 who decided to swim up alongside my side of the boat. That’s my thiiiiiiigh! It was so close!
Back at the park entrance, our group made its way to see the wildlife show that was included with our ticket purchase.
The wildlife show wasssssss… I don’t know. Kind of entertaining/corny, kind of educational, and kind of cringy considering the number of caged alligators that the park had. Liiiiike, why weren’t they out in the wild???
But, after asking our guide, I learned many of the alligators at Gator Park were problem gators that the park took in so they wouldn’t be killed and have been breeded over the years. Others were injured or blind or were brought to the park from people who had them as pets and were no longer able to take care of them (crazy!).
^^ Our guide showing us a legless lizard that I could’ve sworn was a snake.
^^ This turtle was so cute! <3
^^ The guide collected our entry tickets with a scorpion in his hand…
I was like “helllll naw” when he came our way and I gave our tickets to Charles so he could give them to the guide instead lol.
^^ Insert The Lion King’s “Circle of Life” song here. Totally fell for this tourist trap but it was worth the $3 holding/photo fee. My one and only time holding an alligator. The skin on the top part of its body was rough and scaly like I expected. What was unexpected was how smooth and soft its belly area was.
Overall, we spent about an hour at Gator Park, 30 minutes for the airboat tour and 30 minutes for the wildlife show.
I came away from our experience with a healthy respect for nature and alligators annnnnd the people who choose to work in the Everglades. The kind of knowledge and survival skills you need in order to make it day to day in the wetlands is just sooooo beyond me.
I would probably walk into a sinkhole or get attacked by a gator or bit by a snake within the first couple of hours of being left out there in the wildlife… It’s a whole different world located less than an hour away from the industrious, beachside city of Miami and is totally worth the visit if you’re ever in town.
More on Gator Park HERE and the BOGO coupon we used HERE <- make sure to print it out beforehand.
xo, Setarra
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