Sunset eco-tours and island-hopping through the Ten Thousand Islands, guided by people who genuinely love this water.
Chokoloskee sits at the edge of the Ten Thousand Islands, where the Everglades meets the Gulf, and Smallwood Store Boat Tour puts you right in the middle of it. These aren't scripted, follow-the-same-route trips. The eco-tours run without a fixed path, so your captain takes you where the wildlife actually is that day. Dolphins, crocodiles, stingrays, birds you'll need to look up later. It changes every time.
The guides here are the real draw. Gary, Aaron, Dave, whoever takes you out, these are people who know this water the way most people know their own neighborhood. Reviewers keep coming back to the same word: knowledgeable. But it's more than facts. It's the kind of enthusiasm that makes you care about a place you'd never heard of an hour ago.
The sunset tour is worth planning your whole evening around. The sandbars and beaches out in the Ten Thousand Islands don't look like anything else in Florida. If you've read "Killing Mr. Watson" or know the Chokoloskee area's history, that context adds a whole other layer to the trip.
This is the Gulf Coast side of Everglades National Park, about two hours from Miami and a short drive from Everglades City. If you're making a loop through the park, or heading down toward the Keys, building a tour here into your itinerary makes a lot of sense. It's a completely different experience from the airboat tours on the east side, and a good complement if you're doing both.
262 reviews
7 months ago
One-of-a-kind experience. If you love beaches or history (or both) this tour should be on your bucket list. We went for the Killing Mr. Watson book lore. We returned with so much more. I've never seen such beautful sand bars and beaches in all of Florida. This is the only way to experience the 10,000 islands and its rich history. Did I mention the Dolphins?
5 months ago
My brother and I shared an amazing and informative sunset tour of the 10,000 Islands this week getting our week in the Everglades and Florida Keys off to a great start. Our captain was superb and his love for the water, park and its history showed up big time. Well done.
a month ago
Came with friends who did the trip last year. Gary was our guide. He was the nicest most knowledgeable guide I’ve ever met. His knowledge of the area is unbelievable. We saw a crocodile, numerous dolphins and other critters within feet of the boat. Thanks Gary!
7 months ago
Highly recommend doing one of these tours instead of an airboat tour. We had a really great ride with Aaron! We saw a lot of dolphins (and even got them to jump behind our boat), birds, and even a sting ray. The eco tour doesn't have a set route, so Aaron was able to take us to different places based on what we were interested in seeing. He was really knowledgeable about the history of the islands, too. I would definitely do this again!
7 months ago
We did the eco tour with Dave and it was amazing! He was very knowledgeable and navigated us into many scenic spots. We were shown so many different birds and multiple pods of dolphins!!
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