Top Orlando wildlife tours

Wildlife tours are a great way to get outside and do something the whole family can enjoy, and there are plenty of exciting tours to choose from within driving distance of Orlando. Whether you're looking for an airboat ride full of gator sightings or a colorful bioluminescent kayaking tour, here are the top-rated Orlando wildlife tours to explore.

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Alligator Cove Airboat Nature Tours
14900 Camp Mack Road
863-696-0406

Alligator Cove Airboat Nature Tours is consistently ranked as one of the best wildlife tour companies in the greater Orlando area. The company offers several different wildlife tours that take guests through some of the most serene and undisturbed parts of the Florida Everglades and marshlands. Guests can choose among the company's nature, birding and alligator tours. Airboat tours typically last about two hours, but one-hour tours are also available. Each airboat can fit up to six, keeping tours small and intimate. Multiple boats can go out at once to accommodate groups that are larger than six. Trips can also be customized based on preference. It's suggested that guests arrive 30 minutes before their trip is scheduled to leave. Life jackets, hearing protection and windbreakers are provided.

BK Adventure Eco-Tours
121 S. Orange Ave., 15th Floor
407-519-8711

BK Adventure Eco-Tours has a wide variety of wildlife tours to choose from, including two-hour dolphin and manatee kayaking trips through the Indian River and the Silver Springs Monkey Tour, in which guests can experience a rare look at Florida's wild monkeys while kayaking down the Silver River — which was used as a location in the movie, Tarzan the Ape Man" — in see-through kayaks. BK Adventure also offers some of Orlando's most unique and exciting wildlife tours with four different bioluminescent kayaking and rafting tours available. These sunset and nighttime tours take participants on a journey through glowing neon lagoons that shine brighter with every paddle stroke.

For anyone who wants to skip the water tours, BK Adventure has half-day mountain bike tours that cover more than 8 miles of mountain biking trails through the wilderness. Along the way bikers can almost always expect to see alligators, egrets, deer and other wildlife. Tours can be customized to biking experience. To book one of BK Adventure's eco-tours, visit the company's official website at www.bkadventure.com.

Spirit of the Swamp Airboat Tours
2830 Neptune Road
321-689-6893
The Spirit of the Swamp Airboat Tour is another top-rated Orlando wildlife tour to consider taking for a guided trip through the Florida swamps and marshes. Using high-tech headsets, airboat captains point out wildlife encountered on the ride and answer any questions about the area and animals seen along the way. Tours can be one hour, 90 minutes or two hours in length. Each luxury airboat can hold up to six passengers, giving each guest plenty of room to comfortably see everything along the ride. Private airboat tours are available for groups of four or more. For more information on tours, visit www.spiritoftheswamp.com.

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