Tigertail Airboat Tours

We wanted to experience an air boat tour and enjoy the experience!
Riding on the air boat was fun, we saw two wild alligators on two seperate occasions and we were happy for the boat driver to briefly stay with them for a short period of time.(just long enough not to cause distress to them.) I was quite content with the short boat ride and did not want our presence as tourist to harm any animal in any way.
But then he took us to a small hammock which is a small island out on the Everglades. He explained the hammocks are owned by the native americans and past down from generation to generation.
What a shock we had. — We saw in a small muddy enclosure a poor fully grown alligator with a muddy small pond/​puddle. We asked if this was an alligator farm to which the driver got very defensive and replied «No. We find an alligator nest collect several young alligators and care for them here. Once they are a few months old we release them back into the wild where they have a better chance of survival since they are bigger and older. »
Again l asked about the captured adult alligator. He replied «you want to see an alligator — so there he is.» Pointing to the filthy enclosure.
Then he showed us the young alligators — they were only a few weeks old and looked very fragile. About 10 + in a small tank. He said l could hold one. So l did and felt really sad for these young alligators. How many people man-​handle these fragile babies on a daily basis l wondered???
Then we were shown a wild pig the poor thing!
We were told the native american shot the pigs mother and kept the little piglet — so he/​she will have witnessed his/​her mother being shot.
He/​she was in a small enclosure in a very dimly lit part of the surroundings He/​she is, the size of a fully grown wild boar. He/​she had no enrichment toys and just lives in this enclosure. We understand he/​she has been there for the last 7 years and will remain in this mere existance until the poor animal dies. The driver threw in some doughnuts and the pig ate them with gusto. Pigs are very intelligent animals, to see this poor animal with its head lolling down with no spirit and no hope — just LIVING A LIVING DEATH was heart breaking.
To some people the Tigertai airboat tours may seem a fun and interesting trip out. But look under the surface and you will see the abuse these animals suffer for the airboat business and tourism. Please take this review seriously and do your research carefully BEFORE booking ANY airboat trip.

This was my first airboat so I don’t have much to compare. It’s was awesome, Burt was very knowledgeable about the animals they had and the efforts to get them back into the wild. He showed us their rescued animals which included alligators, snapper turtles, box turtles and a boar. We also got to hold Quasimodo their little hump back alligator that had previously been trapped in a small cage. My only complaint would be that I would like to have seen more alligators in the wild and a larger area of the swamp lands. Def recommend if you’re into animal rehabilitation. Thanks Burt!

I loved it! This was my first airboat tour and I would definitely recommend it. I really liked it included the tour of the animal rehab center and learning about the ecology. The boat ride itself was super fun, and the stop at the island with the native Americans was great. Burt had lots of knowledge on the animals and the area. We got to hold some of them too.

Outstanding! Really enjoyed our time at Tigertail Airboat Tours. Saw several alligators and learned a tremendous amount about them from our guide. Such a beautiful area and the tour could not have been better. I recommend Tigertail to anyone looking to have an enjoyable time checking out the landscape, looking at wildlife and learning about them. Truly amazing!

I was horrified by my experience with Tigertail. This is a business involved in animal cruelty.
Our experience started out when our guide took us on a too-​fast airboat ride during which our guide didn’t stop once to point out any of the surroundings nor big birds that we zoomed past.
We went to an island where animals they had captured from the surroundings (our guide told us this is how «their» animals were obtained) were caged in tiny enclosures and tanks. These creatures included 3 young alligators in a tank the size of a kiddie pool — they do not get out to larger enclosures according to our guide. The island’s inhabitants also included a pig with an open wound on her nose, about the size of a silver dollar, to whom they fed stale bagels and cheap supermarket cookies right in front of us, saying «oh, she’ll eat anything»…Our guide put this «meal» out near a gate where she grabbed the food, and then I noticed a piece of the gate had rusted off and left a jagged edge where she was rubbing her nose against to get food. I asked about the wound, and our guide’s response was: «oh, guess she got a cut».
This business has no regard for animal welfare; I am not an expert but given the blatant disregard for animal welfare I suspect not all aspects of this operation may are 100% legal. I find their practices deplorable and recommend a more reputable business — or better yet, everglades national park– where you can see the animals in the wild.

Excellent choice. Went here years ago on a work trip. Authentic. Highlight is the rescue center they have where you can hold an alligator (baby).

One word — fantastic! We had a great time. Kenny was very interesting and really went out of his way to make sure we had a great time. We didn’t feel rushed and I feel like he would have done his best to show us whatever we had a hankering to see. Was so nice to have Kenny all to ourselves and not stuck in a tourist mass of humanity. Wish we had time to go back for their sunset/​night trip.