Everglades Airboat Tours for Key Largo Visitors

Why Key Largo visitors add an Everglades airboat day

Most people come to Key Largo for what's under the water: the coral reef, dive and snorkel boats, and John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park at mile marker 102.5. The Everglades is the other half of South Florida. It's a shallow, slow-moving sheet of fresh water, sawgrass and tree islands, and it sits less than an hour and a half from your hotel.

An airboat is the natural way to see it. The flat hull and big rear propeller let the boat glide across sawgrass and water only inches deep, where a regular boat can't go. Every tour is private, so the boat carries only your group and your captain. You decide the pace: slow drifts to look for alligators, turtles and wading birds, or fast runs across open marsh. Wildlife sightings vary with the season and water levels.

And since Key Largo is so close, you won't need an overnight stay.

Because we run outside Everglades National Park, along the Tamiami Trail, your captain can legally take you closer to alligators and wading birds than park rules allow.

Staying farther down the Keys? See our Islamorada and Key West trip guides.

Driving from Key Largo to our dock

Put 5334 FL-90, Miami, FL 33185 into your map app before you leave the hotel. The usual route is simple:

• Take US-1 (the Overseas Highway) north out of Key Largo and over the Eighteen-Mile Stretch to Florida City.
• From Florida City, go north on Krome Avenue (SR 997) through the farm country of the Redland to the Tamiami Trail (FL-90/US-41), then turn west to the dock.
• If your map app suggests it, you can instead take Florida's Turnpike north to Exit 25 (Tamiami Trail/SW 8th St) and head west on the Trail. Compare live traffic first.

About 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes from central Key Largo in normal traffic. From the southern end of the island, add a few minutes. Heavy traffic makes it longer, especially on Friday and Sunday afternoons and on holiday weekends, when the Eighteen-Mile Stretch is the only way in or out of the Keys.

Card Sound Road option: If you're staying in north Key Largo, you can take County Road 905 to Card Sound Road (CR 905A), cross the Card Sound Bridge and rejoin US-1 in Florida City. In light traffic it's usually a little slower than US-1, but it's a quiet two-lane alternative when the Stretch is backed up. The toll is fully electronic, with no cash accepted. It's billed by SunPass or Toll-By-Plate, and rental cars pass the charge on through their toll program.

Best tour choices for a Key Largo trip

A short drive means you don't need a long tour to make the trip worthwhile. Our daytime private airboat tours are priced for the first two guests:

• 1 hour: $250
• 1.5 hours: $350
• 2 hours: $450
• 2.5 hours: $550 (the longest daytime tour)

Each extra guest is $60, and kids 5 and under ride free. For most Key Largo visitors, 1.5 hours is the right length: long enough to get deep into the sawgrass, and short enough to be home by mid-afternoon. Choose 2 or 2.5 hours if wildlife photography is the main goal. Most boats hold 6 to 7 guests, so groups larger than 7 book more than one boat. Call (305) 766-1929 and we'll help you set that up.

Sunrise, sunset and night tours from Key Largo

Key Largo is the one Keys base where a sunrise tour works without staying on the mainland. Sunrise in Miami runs from about 6:30am in June to about 7:25am in March. We recommend starting 30 minutes before sunrise, so plan to leave Key Largo roughly two hours before sunrise.

Sunset tours and night tours give you cooler air and a quieter marsh after dark. Sunrise, sunset and night tours cost $450 for 1.5 hours, $550 for 2 hours and $750 for 3 hours, with start times set around your plans. We're open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. After an evening tour, you'll drive back down the Eighteen-Mile Stretch in the dark, so pick a designated driver. Alcohol is allowed on board, but the driver should skip it.

Make a day of it on the way

Florida City and Homestead are where US-1 meets the mainland, and several good stops are only minutes from the highway:

• Everglades National Park, Homestead entrance: Follow Palm Drive (SW 344th St/SR 9336) west from Florida City to the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center. It's open daily, 9am to 5pm from April to mid-December and 8am to 5pm from mid-December through March. The park charges its own entrance fee and is a separate stop from our dock.
• Robert Is Here: This fruit stand at 19200 SW 344th St is on the way to the park entrance and known for its fresh-fruit milkshakes. It usually closes for part of the early fall, so check before you go.
• Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park: This park is just off CR 905 near mile marker 106, so it's an easy walk in a tropical hardwood hammock if you take the Card Sound route.

Here's a simple plan: leave around 9:15am for an 11am, 1.5-hour tour. Have lunch in Homestead, visit the Coe Visitor Center or the fruit stand, and be back in Key Largo in the late afternoon.

Getting there without driving

Groups of 4 or more can skip the drive. Our van transport is $400 round trip per van for up to 13 guests, with a 1.5-hour or longer tour. Keys pickups cost the same as our port pickups. Because Key Largo is farther out, call (305) 766-1929 before you book to talk through the distance. Pickup and drop-off locations can be different. For example, if it's your last day in the Keys, ask whether we can collect you in Key Largo and drop you in Miami. The details are on our pickup and directions page.

What to bring

• Sunglasses, sunscreen and a hat that fits snugly or can be stowed.
• A light jacket for winter mornings and night tours, because it gets breezy at speed.
• Bug spray for sunrise, sunset and night trips.
• Your reef-day flip-flops are fine. There's no need for special shoes.
• Drinks if you like, and alcohol is allowed. Ear protection is provided in all sizes.

If anyone in your group uses a wheelchair, tell us when you book so we can have everything ready. Our what to wear and bring guide has more tips.

Book your Key Largo Everglades tour

Every tour is run by USCG-licensed, CPR and first-aid certified captains and all of them are local Gladesmen. Full payment is taken when you book, and you get a full refund if you cancel 24 or more hours ahead. Book your tour online, call (305) 766-1929 or email info@airboatadventureseverglades.com. For general questions, see our Everglades airboat FAQ.

Key Largo questions

How long is the drive from Key Largo to your airboat dock?

About 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes from central Key Largo. Take US-1 north over the Eighteen-Mile Stretch to Florida City, then north on Krome Avenue or Florida's Turnpike to the Tamiami Trail (FL-90). It can take longer in heavy traffic on US-1, especially on Friday and Sunday afternoons, so leave extra time.

What are good stops on the drive from Key Largo?

Florida City and Homestead sit right where US-1 leaves the Keys, so they're the natural break. Robert Is Here, the fruit stand known for its fresh-fruit milkshakes, is a classic stop. If you want to add Everglades National Park, the Homestead entrance and Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center are a short detour, but they're a separate trip from our dock.

How should we time a tour with the drive back to Key Largo?

A daytime tour is easiest. Leave Key Largo mid-morning, take a 1.5- or 2-hour tour, and you're back by mid-afternoon with daylight to spare. If you choose a sunset or night tour, you'll drive home after dark, much of it on the two-lane Eighteen-Mile Stretch, so allow about 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes, or more on busy nights.

Can you pick us up in Key Largo?

Yes. Keys pickups cost the same as our port pickups: $400 round trip for up to 13 guests, with a minimum of 4 guests and a tour of 1.5 hours or longer. Because Key Largo is farther out, please call (305) 766-1929 before you book to talk through the distance and timing. Parking at the dock is free if you'd rather drive.

Questions about prices, extra guests, kids, pickup, cancellation or weather? See our main Everglades airboat FAQ.