How to Go for Airboat Rides in Orlando
The Orlando area is a case study in how hard it is becoming to locate authentic Florida as high-rise condominiums keep popping up left and right. Thankfully, airboat rides remain thrilling ways to experience firsthand the complex ecosystems of Florida marshlands.Airboats are propelled by giant fans mounted on the back of the boat. The bottom of the boat is flat, allowing it to careen through swamps and tall grasses with remarkable agility. On an airboat ride in Central Florida, you're bound to see alligators, osprey, bald eagles, deer and many other kinds of native wildlife. There is more to Orlando than the Mouse House; consider taking the family on one of these local airboat tours.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
Kissimmee Airboat Rides
-
1
For airboat rides close to the theme parks, look no farther than Kissimmee. Just south of Orlando International Airport and the attractions, Kissimmee is an escape from the city. It boasts more than 20 parks and hiking locations, exceptional large-mouth bass fishing, two hunting preserves and seven golf courses. The Kissimmee chain of lakes makes for outstanding airboating excursions. The marshy lakes are overgrown with tall grasses in many places, creating watery roadways for airboats to traverse. Because airboats are built like hovercraft, they can pass directly through the grasses and other obstacles at high speeds, without gnarling up any rudders or propellers.
-
2
Only 15 to 20 minutes' drive from the rest of the Orlando attractions and minutes from downtown Kissimmee, Florida Airboat Rides skim across the Kissimmee River and chain of lakes. They offer 30-minute and 1-hour general-admission tours, night tours and private sightseeing packages. (Florida Airboat Rides, 100 Lakeshore Blvd., Kissimmee, Fla. 34741; 321-689-8918)
-
-
3
Boggy Creek Airboat Rides operates in two locations, one at Southport Park and another at East Lake Fish Camp. Both offer continuous tours every 30 minutes, and reservations are not required. Night tours are available Monday through Thursday at Southport and Friday and Saturday at East Lake Fish Camp. Reservations are required for night tours and private tours. (2001 E. Southport Rd., Kissimmee, Fla. 34746, 407-344-9550; 3702 Big Bass Rd., Kissimmee, Fla. 34744)
St. John's River Airboat Rides
-
4
Perhaps sensing the slow Southern lifestyle, the St. John's River takes things easy. The flow is lazy at best, and much of the river is over two miles wide. Lying closer to the beaches of Daytona and Merritt Island than the big city, the wider parts of the river feel like the ocean and are frequented by dolphins and other sea dwellers. The narrower parts are lined with moss-covered cypress trees and are home to manatees and gators. Airboat rides here might lack the twists, turns and high speeds of ones on the Kissimmee River, due to speed regulations that have been imposed to protect the manatees. The incomparable scenery more than makes up for the comparative lack of speed thrills, though.
-
5
Located about halfway between Orlando and the Atlantic coast in Christmas, A-Awesome Airboat Rides operates 90-minute tours along the historic St. John's River. Voice-activated headphones keep your ears safe from the noisy fan, but allow your captain to narrate the tour as you go along. Reservations are required. (A-Awesome Airboat Rides, P.O. Box 333, Christmas, Fla. 32709; 407-568-7601)
-
6
Old Fashioned Airboat Rides tours the St. John's River just minutes from the Kennedy Space Center. See all the wildlife Florida has to offer on this 90-minute tour. Smaller boats allow for a more personalized cruising experience. (Old Fashioned Airboat Rides, Christmas, Fla., 32709; 407-568-4307)
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Did you know that the headwaters of the Everglades begin at the Kissimmee River? The Sierra Club says the river runs 300 miles to Lake Okeechobee in south Florida. The river is a habitat for hundreds of thousands of wading birds, like herons, spoonbills and pelicans.
Touring at night allows you to see the glowing red eyes of the alligators as they paddle through the water.
