Everglades City can be reached from the Tamiami Trail, a short distance south down highway 9. If you are concerned about driving into a “city” don’t be, it is the size of a large village. Evergaldes City is a good jumping off point for boat trips and canoe / kayak hire and personally I much prefer it to Flamingo. We have done both the boat trips operating out of this area and prefer the Ten Thousand Islands tour.
The Mangrove Wilderness tour is fun. It goes into the shallow backwaters of the Gulf, unsurprisingly given the name of the tour, as this is where the mangroves are. If you have never seen a mangrove swamp before it is very interesting and the tour is well run and led by a naturalist. They use a shallow draft, small 6 person boat so you do get to be up close to the edge of the water and can see some interesting birds and shore dwelling animals. For more information go to
http://evergladesnationalparkboattoursgulfcoast.com/
The Ten Thousand Island tour goes out into the bay amongst the islands (by the way there are loads
Dolphin Jumping
of them but apparently not ten thousand). The tour is also naturalist led and we enjoy it as on different trips we have seen dolphin, osprey, eagles and manatee. One of my favourite holiday memories is of two previously stolid looking, middle aged ladies getting so excited at the sight of dolphins that they turned into animated children, squealing, pointing and running from side to side.
On a more prosaic note, for rates and the schedule visit
http://evergladesnationalparkboattoursgulfcoast.com/index.php
Canoe / Kayak Trails
As in Flamingo, it is possible to rent canoes and kayaks around Everglades City to go off and explore on your own. Several trails of varying duration and difficulty run from the Gulf Coast Visitor Center. Please note that the seemingly benign looking water can be misleading. The tides can be very strong so seek advice on what is safe to undertake, especially if you are inexperienced. Both the Ranger Station and the concession staff will be happy to help.