One Day in the Everglades

By Joshua Lawrence Kinser, author of Moon Florida Gulf Coast

Image of boat and swimming alligator in calm waters reflecting bright blue sky and puffy white clouds. — Everglades National Park. Photo © Allouphoto/Dreamstime.

For this trip, you’ll want strong bug spray, plenty of water, sunglasses, shoes you don’t mind getting wet or muddy, comfortable clothes (preferably quick-dry lightweight pants and a long-sleeved shirt), and a hat to protect you from the sun.

Morning

Image of mangrove trees lining a waterway — A mangrove forest in The Everglades. Photo © Betsy Kristianna Lee Verb/Dreamstime.

Start the morning off with breakfast at HavAnnA Café, and then take a sunrise paddle through Everglades National Park. It’s a wonderful place to observe birds, alligators, and other native wildlife . Then do something a bit more thrilling and take an airboat ride with Everglades City Airboat Tours. The tours are offered on a first-come, first-served basis . Be cautious around wildlife when adventuring in the Everglades, and do not feed the alligators!

By clicking ‘Sign Up,’ I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Hachette Book Group’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use

Afternoon

Image of large white bird with yellow beak perched on a tree branch — A Great Egret in Big Cypress National Preserve. Photo © Dimitrios Timpilis/Dreamstime.

Drive to Turner River Road in the Big Cypress National Preserve (3 miles east of the Big Cypress Welcome Center, U .S . 41) and spend the rest of the afternoon spotting wildlife and enjoying the scenery . Return to Everglades City and have lunch at Triad Seafood Market and Cafe.

Evening

Stay the night at the Ivey House Everglades Adventures Hotel, a relaxing inn that’s beautifully landscaped and has an excellent screened pool and waterfall area. Have dinner at the waterfront Rod and Gun Club Restaurant.

Related Travel Guide

Moon Florida Gulf Coast

by Joshua Lawrence Kinser

by Moon Travel Guides

Whether you’re kayaking through mangroves, bodysurfing with manta rays, or sunbathing with a piña colada in hand, soak up the Sunshine State with Moon Florida Gulf Coast.

$23.99

$30.99 CAD

Format

Also available from:

Joshua Lawrence Kinser

About the Author

Joshua Lawrence Kinser is a native Floridian from Pensacola who spends the better part of each year traveling the entire length of the state's Gulf Coast. After bouncing between jobs for more than a decade, traveling around the world as a writer, a wildlife biology research technician, and a professional drummer on cruise ships, he returned to Florida to write full-time.

Joshua honed his writing skills working as a staff writer for The Pensacola News Journal and publishing articles for magazines such as SAIL and Times of the Islands. As a wildlife biology tech, he has worked in Florida, Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, Glacier National Park in Montana, and in the forests surrounding Yosemite National Park in California. He is passionate about the outdoors and is always searching for the best freshwater springs, hiking trails, campsites, and fishing spots along the Florida Gulf Coast.

When he isn't writing guidebooks, Joshua is busy writing fiction and nonfiction. He currently splits his time between Black Mountain, North Carolina, and Gulf Breeze, Florida.

Learn more about this author

Pin It for Later

Image of mangrove forest with text One Day in the Everglades