billie swamp safari

This gives you an opportunity to drive through the reservation. Once there you will find airboat rides and buggy tours. You learn about the plants and animals that live in the swamp. This is a fun place for kids to adults. They have basic accomodations if you would like to rough it for a couple days.

If you are looking for an exciting airboat ride to experience the Everglades, then you should skip the Billie Swamp Safari. The airboat ride and operator were mediocre at best. We received virtually no introduction by the driver, not even his name, and then when he did speak he mumbled so badly that is was impossible to understand him. For those on our ride that wanted to experience alligators up close, that was a waste. We whipped by just one on the bank with no attempt to slow down or provide photographic opportunities. We have experienced other airboat rides (Buffalo Tigers for instance) and there is no comparison. On the other hand, the Safari Buggy ride was very well done. The driver Mindy was good, gave us a terrific ride and photo opps.

We first visited Safari while renting a beautiful cabin located just 3 miles away at Big Cypress R V Park. In the 7 days at the campgrounds we spent 5 days at the Safari taking advantage of air boat ride, swamp buggy rides and all exhibits. Dined at the cute cafe on site and interesting boardwalk purchasing authentic Seminole Dolls from the Seminole ladies who were very cheerful and helpful. Prices were amazing compared to other places to buy authentic tribal articles. Ray was very helpful demonstrating the skills of handling a hawk. Quite a storyteller. Yearning to return to the R V park for 2 weeks .

this is a great day of fun. We rode the airboat through the grassy lake, saw wildlife, birds, and alligators. Rode the swamp buggy through the swamp and woods and saw all kinds of animals, plants, trees, and ruins of the Seminoles. The nature Boardwalk and chickee huts were fascinating. Great cafe, casino, butterfly garden, critter show where you can hold some of the animals, snake, Panther, bear, etc exhibits. It was easy manueveriing the entire park, and was so very interesting. Well done!!!

We heard from other people to go on this safari and wouldn't be disappointed ....they were right. We enjoyed it all. We got there and had about one hour to wait for the ride so we walked the nature trail and met up with a raccoon who decided whether we could continue or turn around. The ride was fun and our tour guide (can't remember her name) was fantastic, funny and knowledgeable We saw so many different animals and birds. The ride is very bumpy but had no problems, even with my bad back

Every trip We try to throw in at least one new adventure. For our recent trip to Fort Lauderdale, this was it! While we tried to find an airboat ride closer but after visiting Billie Swamp, I am so glad we chose this place. The airboat ride was so much fun, the Buggy ride was exciting and we saw so much wildlife! There was so much more than just gators at this place and the staff were all very knowledgable. The nature trail was a beautiful walk through the Everglades so don't miss it! Also, we ate at the cafe - definitely try the gator bites!

Billie Swamp used to be booming. It has gone down drastically. (I don,t know the reason for this). They used to have 5 times the animals and exhibits. I have been there twice recently and it is like a ghost town. People used to line up for the swamp tours. Now there is nobody. Could someone tell me why?

My wife and I left Miami and hopped on i95. When we stopped to get gas we saw signs for this place and decided to give it a try. The drive in was worth it alone. Saw tons of alligators sunbathing on the sides of the canals. It was definitely a much nicer view then what we're seeing on i95. When we got to the place We weren't expecting much, but we were completely surprised that this wasn't some rundown shack offering airboat and buggy rides. We walked into the gift shop to buy tickets for the only attraction we had time for which was the buggy ride. Before we headed to the buggy area we walked around a bit. Saw a panther, a large alligator, and some brown bears. Passed by the cafe and bathrooms but didn't pop in. We definitely need to come back for a longer visit. The buggy tour was outstanding. Worth every penny of the $25 we paid. We saw tons of water buffalo, an alligator, many different species of birds including an ostrich, and wild pigs. The tour guide was very knowledgable and stopped often to explain plants, animals, trees and a bunch of other interesting facts. They said the ride was about 40 minutes but since we were the last tour of the day it was closer to an hour.

we arrived on a beautiful sunny florida day ,the drive to reach the attraction is interesting saw lots of sugar cane fields and processing plant, the staff as you enter the attraction is helpful in telling you where to go first, the air boat ride through the swamp was fun and we saw lots of wild life the quide told stories of indian culture and history, ,the highlight of the trip was the boat ( i believe they are called ducks) was on a slower scale and so much slower so you were able to enjoy the fur and fauna, It was and is a great family outing and at aa reasonable price

I had to get past the cost; guess chalk it up to employ & equipm't costs. This is real, natural, as it was, land. Enjoyed the airboat ride & the buggy rides. The airboat gives everyone an experience of glideing on top of the water & the engine noise. Shades of the 'swamp people'! The buggy is a very rough ride so be wary of your back hurts. It's only in water at the start & end; nothing at all. The buggy is shown in the photos well. Nice over-land ride. You see why & how Indians selected their campsite. You see open land, wetlands, rivers. Rides 46 to an hour. Most of the animals are not native; the guide tells you all. Alligator show good. Good for youngsters to see something other then video-games, technology, etc. There are restrooms & cafe (not gourmet nor should be). Both clean. Good day out.

Air Boat Ride and Swamp Buggy were both really fun. Suitable for the entire family. The buggy is really bumpy and they post warnings if you have a bad back or pregnant. I would advise you listen to the warning. Overall a really fun day. The cafe is just OK...nothing special.The Seminole museum just up the road is worth stopping and touring while you are in the area.

We are staying at the Big Cypress RV Resort a few miles away from the BSS and ventured down to suss it all out at the beginning of our stay. We didn't have time for the airboat ride or the buggy, but did pop into the cafe for a late lunch. Service was terrible, and food took ages to come out. When it did it wasn't great. The chili was ok, but my husband's burger was tasteless and dry. We went back later in the week and did the airboat ride buggy rides. Both were great - loved seeing all the birds, water buffalo, alligators and wild horses. The guides were knowledgable, friendly and informative. Would highly recommend both activities.On the flip side there are two caged bears in very small enclosures who were pacing up and down. The same with a panther - seemed very distressed. It was quite upsetting seeing these wild animals in such confinement. Tonight we went back to the cafe for an early dinner as there is little choice out here, and we thought we'd give them a second chance. Big mistake. My dinner came out but they totally forgot my husband's order. It had to be made from scratch, so I'd long finished my meal before his came out. No apology, and a small discount only because I asked for his meal to be comp'd. He boxed it and we brought it back to our RV. We won't be going to the cafe again during our stay here. Zero stars for the cafe. Five stars for the rides. Averages out at 3 stars. Worth a visit, but eat first or take a packed lunch.

What a great deal THANKS to floridavacationauction.com. So much to do and see!!! You will spend most of the day here. We started with the air-boat ride, informative, educational, fun and lots of gators. The boat Captain was great. He had all the history and info you could ask for. Next we did the swamp buggie, that was an hour. Again our driver was informative, knowledgeable and knew all the history of the everglades. We saw tons of animals, not just gators and birds. The ride was GREAT. There was also a snake and critter show. You could hold a gator and pet some of the other critters. There was a fantastic nature walk through the mangroves, unbelievably beautiful. They had a dozen or more very rustic cabins (cots only, showers in the bathrooms) for campers. We spotted 8 baby gators right near one of them. They are in the process of building a huge habitat for a rescued grizzly cub and a black bear cub that co-exist as siblings. They have a quaint little gift shop, a great restaurant and even a small casino. There are plenty of places to sit a piece or have a picnic lunch. Wheel chair accessible through most of the park. This is well worth the money and time but so affordable because of flooridavacationauction.com. especially on a senior budget. Thank you.

We arrived to this place rather late on a Saturday driving from Ft. Lauderdale. You must take Exit 49 (Snake Road) and drive North. We made several stops to take pictures of alligators sunbathing on the margins of a canal bordering the road, as well as buffaloes grazing in the swamps just before our arrival to Billie Swamp Safari. The road was in good condition, low traffic, narrow and currently under maintenance along several sections.The road changes from asphalt to dirt during the last mile. The buildings and signage were all on wood or wood-like painted material which blended nicely with all the surroundings. The Gift Shop is the most prominent of all upon arrival and it is the place to start the visit and register for the tours. They had a very nice collection of local native handcrafts. A TV monitor shows videos of both the boat (20 minutes) and buggy (40 minutes) tours. We selected the Buggy but before heading to the dock, we explored most of the site.Immediately outside the shop, there is a couple of enormous Galapagos tortoises as well as a beautiful Florida Panther, and a big alligator. There are several places for shows with the animals. Unfortunately, these are scheduled before 4:15 pm. We missed them. Also, there are cabins to stay overnight. They have no services (no water, no A/C, no electricity) in these cabins. Some of them have docks, others don't. The minimum price is $40 per night. There is also a 'Casino' (only slot machines) and a small restaurant. The restrooms, which had showers, were clean but they need more attention in comparison with the rest which looked well maintained and nice.The Buggy Swap Safari was excellent. Our driver was Emmanuel. He did a fantastic job driving the buggy, stopping and dedicating a good amount of time explaining everything from the ecosystem to the domes and lichens, animals to plants, fungi and algae. We saw a lot of buffaloes, wild hogs, deer, an ostrich and about 10 of her big white eggs lying on the floor. If you like sunsets, I recommend you take the last tour to coincide with the sunsets. The ride on this vehicle was a little bit bumpy, swinging laterally in some instances. This was an amazing and unforgettable visit. We are planning to come back soon!

About half way across Alligator Alley (I-75), turn north to the Billie Swamp Safari. If you have done neither, take an air boat and a swamp buggy ride. The rides here are just the right length but long enough to get you close to birds and animals in the "swamp" (it was actually rather dry during my visit). Alligators and Asian water buffalo were common sights. The swamp buggy ride is bumpy, an experience not to be forgotten. The central compound includes a cafe, several chickee huts, a traditional Seminole village, a Florida panther exhibit, and a few other caged animals. From here to Fort Myers via Immokalee, the road passes large cattle ranches and orange groves. A visit here gives a good look at the everglades and back country of South Florida.