Gator Park - Miami, Florida

Patrick V.

2024/02
The air boat ride was a lot of fun. We didn't see too many alligators, but the ones we saw were quite huge. The alligator show after the boat ride was fun and informative. The air boat captain and the man presenting in the show were friendly and funny. We were also able to try some alligator bites, which, of course, tasted like chicken. Note that my kid had a slight allergic reaction. Might have been his fish allergy. Just something to watch out for, not blaming the establishment.

N.Y. W.

Great tour that let us see 5 gators, and had a portion that was very fast and enjoyable! The animal show after was fun and informative. Be sure to bring some cash to tip, as we forgot and the card reader happened to break today. If you have a national park pass be sure to bring it to avoid paying the extra park fees.

Jer O.

My parents were here visiting and I had to pick a place to go to the Everglades, and it can be challenging since there are so many places.. I finally went for Gator. What a great choice!
This day was «cold» but we got really lucky! During the boat tour, we saw so many alligators, turtles, and some birds too, cherry on the top: a mama alligator with her babies (in the wild). Our tour guide, Kat, was amazing and so kind! my mom came a wheelchair and couldn’t walk much and she helped us to get her in and outside the boat. Then we had a great time at the show, I forgot the name of the guy, but he was great and funny, he noticed as well that I was translating everything to my parents and our friend, so he was making some little pause in between.
Great great experience!! 🙂

Marco P.

Took the family to gator Park about three weekends ago. Had an awesome airboat ride with the guy that was pretty knowledgeable and nice. His name was Cody if I can recall. Then we went on to have the gator show which was very educational and funny. The wildlife guy, John Jones Was pretty awesome and funny. I really recommend this place if you want to have a good time and a good air boat ride at that national park.

David L.

We visited on a Friday afternoon in late Dec 2024. We purchased our tickets online. Multiple sources said they get busy over winter break. I don't know if they sell out or you just have to wait your turn. We were on a tight schedule coming from a Boat Tour in Flamingo that morning and had our Shark Valley Tram Tour after our visit here at Gator Park.

We arrived to a packed parking lot. We drove pretty far back to find a spot. There are no lines on the ground so you kind of try to fit in where you can. Directions weren't very clear but people standing in line told us we had to go into the shop to check in. The shop was pretty full of people but the line moved quickly.

We go to the front and told them our tickets were purchased online. They had to look up our ticket order individually. I vaguely recall not getting any kind of confirmation number or anything. We had to provide the relative date we purchased them so they could look it up. They were able to find our order but it seemed like a pretty in efficient system. I'm not sure what recourse we would've had if they couldn't find it.

With tickets in hand we went to line up outside. The line was almost to the entrance area and we were concerned about timing but the line moved quick. I don't think we waited more than 20-30 mins before it was our turn.

I saw a number of reviews complaining about the length of the ride so I decided to time it and took pictures of my watch. The ride in total was just over 30 mins. That included us waiting in line on the waterway for other airboats to take turns going through etc. So there was quite a bit of sitting around. Our driver tried to keep us entertained and told jokes and threw out nature facts. We may have been more impressed had we not just done our sailing trip with the Biscayne Institute, boat tour and guided van tour with Everglades Institute.

We got to sit in the second row, which was probably best as the first row had a windshield/screen but was opaque and cloudy. I assume sun damage overtime. I let the kids sit on the sides so they could see and my wife and I sat in the center. It started to rain as our ride started. It wasn't too bad and it stopped right about when we were done. We didn't mind getting wet as we've done "stupider" things when it was raining on vacation.

The ride itself went something like this: you go straight down the first water way (which is also where you will return). You stop and wait in a line and turn right. This turn is where your driver will go full fan mode and you do the fun speedy part. The boat will go fast and you'll drift doing turns in the water. Then you'll slow down and driver will talk about nature stuff or make jokes. Then it's basically just a slow ride back to the entrance.

Overall take for the airboat ride was that it was fine. A lot of people say it isn't worth the cost. If you've been to the Everglades NP sites already with the visit centers and hiked trails or done tours, you have to think of this as just a cost for an airboat ride. So if you're okay paying what they are asking for an airboat experience then you're good. I'm not sure the jokes or nature facts were worth it. We did see 2 baby alligators near the entrance and that was it.

The wildlife show okay. They show you a number of different animals which was cool. They had a scorpion and parrot which was hysterical. Also a frog that they made an audience member kiss. It was cool to see alligators up close without a glass pane in the way. The presenter Tom did a good job but his voice was a little horse and/or soft spoken. We waited about 15 mins from when our airboat tour ended before the next wildlife show began.

Bottom line, I wouldn't do this again. It was worth it to me for that airboat experience. I can see where people may have been disappointed but having had read the reviews beforehand, I was able to set expectations and know what I was paying for. There were many airboat options driving down 41. Gator Park had the best price I could find for what we wanted.

jamie N.

Boat ride is longer than I've seen in older reviews. 30-35 minutes. We saw plenty of wildlife and felt very safe.
The following live animal show is a short 10-15 minutes, informative, cheezy, and optional.
Great activity to do in the morning before flying home.

Brooke P.

It was okay. The guide was knowledgeable. There is a lot of slow riding. Very little fast riding. They need to update the boats. You can not see out of the front plastic shield. It wouldn't take much to replace them with new clear plastic. The wait time was very long, just for the guys that were screwing around, throwing rocks and smoking in the picnic area, to get up and load a boat that was sitting there the whole time while everyone waited. It was very unprofessional. The gators, you see, seem like pets, not wild. It just didn't feel authentic. We didn't stay for the show, because when we got off the boat we were told it was another 20 to 30 minute wait. We had already waited so long for the boat. It seems like a lot of waiting around with nothing to do but sit or stand or go shopping. Maybe you can buy yourself a $10 hot dog. Lol

Also, there is an added $8.00 per person fee for the National Park that I was not told about when trying to book it. We had to pay that upon arrival.

Mark S.

The air boat tour was reasonably priced and was totally worth every dollar spent. The guide was great. The alligator show afterwards was fun and entertaining and educational. I would definitely go here again.