KAYAKING

EVERGLADES AREA TOURS Everglades City, Florida United States www.evergladesareatours.com
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Overview

Sea kayak the Everglades and camp its magnificent beaches; Enjoy a guided boat tour in the 10,000 Islands; Experience kayak fishing in the Everglades National Park backcountry; Kayak through magnificent mangrove tunnels; Enjoy a guided bicycle tour amongst old-growth cypress hammocks; Catch tarpon and snook on a guided fishing trip; Hike into the prairies, wetlands and sloughs to find rare orchids; Take a guided birding trip; Rent a sea kayak or fishing kayak for the day; Take an Experiential Adventure Course with fellow students or simply enjoy a fresh cup of coffee and hang out at JT's Island Grill and Galley on Chokoloskee Island.

Located just over a half hour from Naples & Marco Island; 1½ hours from Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Ft. Myers, and two hours from West Palm Beach, Everglades Area Tours is a great destination for a day tour or one that lasts a week. Combine tours in a single day or over several days to enjoy the small town ambience of the waterside community. Be it on foot, bicycle, kayak, canoe, power boat, and/or airplane, you will enjoy a complete experience with Everglades Area Tours.

Everglades National Park, the 10,000 Islands, and the Wilderness Waterway are very unique and diverse ecosystems and world-famous sea kayak destinations. There simply IS no other Everglades. Everglades Area Tours operates all year long in this wonderful and wild environment... not seasonally like all others. Everglades’ guides are formally trained Florida Master Naturalists, passionate and eager to share their knowledge of the park’s unique, hidden-away places, its diverse eco-environment and its rich, colorful local history. They want every guest to have a wonderful, but safe experience. Re-supply shuttles with their fleet of power boats, radio communications, and satellite phones add a level of safety that is offered by no other outfitters. But, it is the attention to detail, meals prepared with fresh, local seafood and the knowledge and experience of full-time local guides that make your tour special. Exquisite sunrises, magnificent sunsets, playful dolphins, and curious manatees come at no charge!

Everglades Area Tours’ sea kayaking expeditions are the most popular multi-day tours. However, hands down, it is the boat assisted Kayak ECO Tour that is the most popular day tour. This tour uses a specially designed kayak transport boat to safely and comfortably whisk guests and the kayaks very close to wildlife (no long paddles!). The kayaks used are very are comfortable, easy to paddle, safe, and fun for all ages. Most importantly, however, they are very silent and unobtrusive to the wildlife allowing you to get closer to the wildlife than by any other means. These tours truly are the best way to experience Everglades National Park. Seating is limited to six guests, so reservations are recommended. Prior kayaking experience is not a requirement.

Their Commitment
Everglades Area Tours is as passionate about this very special part of our planet as they are about sea kayaking. Everglades Area Tours feels that they are very fortunate to be able to live and work in a place that they love so much. They commit to you to do whatever they practically can to provide you the best possible Everglades Experience. As such, Everglades Area Tours only utilizes experienced, local guides and environmental professionals for tour services. They prepare and serve fresh local cuisine on all tours so your experience is true to the area. Everglades uses only state-of-the-art equipment that is personally maintained by the owners and guides. Safety is of the up most importance to Everglades Area Tours, so they carry all needed safety equipment, but most importantly plan well and pay attention to the details so the trips run smoothly. Everglades Area Tours wants you to enjoy your first tour with them as well as your tenth.

Safety Equipment
Your safety and comfort is paramount. The park's expansiveness can make navigating the area daunting. However, rest assured that each guide carries the state-of-the-art in safety, navigation and communications equipment including GPS units, VHF marine radios and cell/satellite phones. You will be in good, experienced hands.

Kayaks and Equipment
They say experience is the best teacher and Everglades Area Tours believes it truly is. In addition to traditional sea kayaks by Seward, Current Designs, and Wilderness Systems, Everglades Area Tours also utilizes very stable, state-of-the-arts, sit-on-top sea kayaks. They are fast, stable and very easy to paddle. Most importantly, they are much easy to enter and exit and provide a safe paddling platform. (Getting on and off the backcountry chickees is very difficult from traditional sit-inside kayaks, but a piece of cake from the sit-on-tops.)

Individual two-person Eureka dome tents, Therm-A-Rest sleeping pads/beach chairs, inflatable mattresses, Columbia camp pillows, Ozark Trail sleeping bags and dry bags are provided are provided (most guests prefer to bring their own sleeping bag, however). All you really need is your personal gear.

Meals
Everglades Area Tours completely provisions your trip. An important part of any good camping trip is good hearty meals. However, a "Complete Everglades Experience" must include local the wonderful local seafood of the Everglades. Being the only year round outfitter, they take pride in preparing fresh local cuisine on every trip. If conditions allow, guides will even catch fresh fish for your meals. Prepared by your guide, fresh each time, the meals make your trip complete. A meal option plan will be emailed to you as part of the planning confirmation process so that Everglades Area Tours can tailor the meals to your desires. However, on your tour, you can expect fresh locally caught fish, stone crabs, shrimp, and homemade seafood chowders.

Itineraries
Paddle routes and itineraries are adaptable and variable. They vary depending on the time of year, length of trip, preferred destinations, and the make up and desires of the guests. If you are a returning guest, please be sure to communicate to about your past trips. You may wish to paddle a different area or be sure to return to your favorite campsite. Unlike all others, Everglades Area Tours has the experience and local knowledge to take you off the beaten path... to places where others simply do not know.

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