Florida Keys Eco Tour: Snorkel, Kayak, Lunch + Transportation!

My wife and I had a great day with Wild Lime Adventures led by Abigail. We did the full day tour that included the airboat, dry hike and 1000 Islands. Abigail was very informative and she enjoys what she does and is very good at it. We saw lots of birds, plants and wildlife which made our first ever Everglades trip very memorable.

My school takes 22-30 students each year on a National Parks trip. This year we chose Wild Lime Adventures to plan and lead our tour to the Everglades and Dry Tortugas. We chose right. Ben, the owner, was very responsive as we communicated back and forth about what we were looking for. Our trip was a Wed-Mon with four full days of adventure planned. Our guides were Lindsay and Darren. They were full service. They picked us up at the airport and stayed with us the entire tour. They each have degrees in the science and are extremely knowledgeable about the vegetation, wildlife, and parks. We had 11 people on each van and had room for our luggage. ( 1 suitcase and backpack each). Day one: Everything Everglades. A wet walk through a cypress dome, a 90 boat ride through the 10,000 islands mangrove forest. Day two: drive to key west. Along the way we stopped at the Wild Bird Sanctuary, Robbie’s fish camp, and Bahia Honda State park. Once we arrived in Key West we visited the Ernest Hemingway house, the African Slave Memorial and the Southernmost Point. Day three: Dry Tortugas National Park. This is a full day experience that you should hands down try if you ever have the opportunity. The snorkeling is unreal. The water was so clear! Day four: we drove back to Fort Lauderdale. We had a kayak tour through mangrove channels and did a 1 hour snorkeling tour of Hens and Chickens reef. The snorkeling was out of this world! The fish and coral we saw was absolutely incredible. The kayak adventure was relaxing and thoroughly enjoyable as well. Day five: Airboat ride through Everglades sawgrass. We met “Gar” the gator and saw a lot of wildlife. Our meals were planned at local favorites. If you are ever in Florida City/Homestead please go visit Fonda Familiar Mexican. We also ate at City Hall Bistro. In Key West we ate at El Siboney and Dante’s. Our all inclusive experience with Wild Lime was top notch! You won’t be worry. Lindsay was my van driver and I cannot compliment her enough. She was professional, fun and informative!!! Our students had the trip of a lifetime. Darren, the driver of the other van, was kind, calm and so helpful. He always put our needs first. Now stop reading and go book your trip!

Great dreamy day, exiting, top organization! Swimming with the sharks is a must! I highly recommend! Thank you :))

Absolutely stunning experience! It was my first tour with Wild Lime Adventures (WLA). Everything worked as swiss watch. WLA people were very responsive and helpful before, during and even after the adventure. We were a group of 5 and Lindsay was our guide. She is very knowledgeable about the local ecosystem and a pleasant person to deal with. On top of it she is great photographer. She made our day when she brought us on kayaks to a creek were we observed 4 adult and one baby manatees. The baby was playful and very curious, she was swimming along our kayaks ling time. Her mom was surely happy that her baby found a company to play with and she had some time for a short nap. Snorkeling around the coral reef in the afternoon was exciting too, sharks, barracudas, jelly fish and countless colorful fishes.

We were guided by the concierge at our hotel to take the Wild Lime Eco tour of the Everglades rather than the one we had in mind, and they were so right! The entire process of scheduling and pickup was seamless. Our guide and driver, Stacy, was such an incredible resource for information on the native peoples, the many Everglades eco systems, and the history of the area. Her outgoing and inclusive personality made the entire day very positive, enjoyable, and memorable. Our boat ride on the Everglades with Randy was incredible - he was also knowledgeable about all of the wildlife and history, and he was so flexible about exploring opportunities that presented themselves in the moment as we made our way through the ride. I would highly recommend any of the trips that Wild Lime offers. In addition to the superb knowledge their naturalists possess and the extensive preplanning they have done, they add little perks such as providing a water bottle, cold water to refill the bottle, snacks, sunscreen, and ear protection for the noise of the boat motor. They have thought of everything!

I arranged a tour for 29 business associates to the Everglades this week. Working with Stacy and Ben on the set up was easy and comfortable. The trip was well organized, fun and enlightening. They are great and I strongly recommend Ben and Stacy for any kind of an eco-tour in South Florida. They know their stuff!

Everything was well tuned. The van is new and all the equipment are top quality. The guide, Stacy, was taking care of the group and manage to provide them the best experience by looking for wild life to observe. I had an amazing day. I recommend it. Probably too demanding for kids.

We had a great time with the tour leaders Ben and Stacey and the small group of fellow travelers on the eco tour. We loved the snorkeling and saw loads of fish, basking sharks and several sting rays. We would absolutely do this again (hope to see a manatee next time! : )

We only had one free a day in Ft Lauderdale so we wanted to make sure the excursion we took were feature packed and had a good use of time. We knew we wanted to go to the Keys and researched several options before deciding on Wild Lime. It was one of the best decisions we made during the trip! We were picked up by Stacey and Elijah at the valet of our hotel early AM. There was zero fuss on the pickup (most uber drivers couldn’t find the valet area). They were on time and despite the early departure, cheery and ready to show us a good time. Along the way and throughout the trip, Stacey was great about mentioning points of interest and interesting tidbits about the area. We arrived at our scuba / snorkel drop off just in time to get fitted for masks and fins before departing for the first snorkel spot. The boat ride out to sea was ~30 mins and, based on Stacey’s recommendation, after the safety briefing was over we made our way up to the front of the boat to keep an eye our for any sea life and enjoy the pretty weather. It is my understanding that there are several spots you may visit so I will keep it brief by saying both spots we went to were really enjoyable. The first spot was deeper and we saw some nurse sharks and of course tons of vibrant fish. The second spot was shallower ( great for free divers!) and the reef was very pretty. Snacks and water are provided on the boat ride back. Back at the dock showers are available so while waiting on lunch we rinsed off and got ready for some well-deserved fuel! Stacey set us up in a quiet spot by the channel and told us to keep an eye out for manatees. We had a quick lunch then departed out on our kayak. My recommendation for this part of the trip is bring a hat and wear long sleeves, you are out in the open for the initial jaunt. After a ~15min kayak trip we reached a place called “the tunnel” which is a shaded, mangrove lined waterway away from the boaters on the open water. It was very relaxing to make our way through the narrow, calm passage. We saw several cool ocean critters in the tunnel- Cassiopea (upside down jelly fish), a school of baby tarpon, and really lucked out by seeing a 5ft croc! The trip back was hassle free. Despite being a holiday (July 4th), we still it made it back in time grab dinner and watch the fireworks. All in all, we felt like Stacey was very attentive and accommodating throughout the trip, always checking on us and making sure we were happy. She took great care of us the entire time and we felt like VIPs. Elijah was very knowledgeable on the local wildlife. The next time we are in the area we will be seeing you guys again!

We had an absolutely wonderful time on the Florida eco adventure! Both Ben and Stacy were so awesome. We called Sunday evening and they rearranged their schedules just to be able to take us the following day as it was our only chance to go. They provided everything. Plenty of drinks and snacks and the lunch was great! Stacy was so friendly and extremely patient even when I struggled to get my kayak out of the current. She paid close attention to my 14 year old nephew and my 7 year old son, showing them as much as she could. And when they were in the water with her she made sure they were safe. The island we kayaked too was breathtaking and we saw several iguanas, needle fish, dolphins, and lots of hermit crabs and snails. The boat ride to the snorkeling sites was really incredible. The staff on the boat were very helpful and a lot of fun! And made our trip all the better. We saw a group of flying fish jumping out of the water being chased by an enormous sailfish which was amazing. Under the water we saw eels, nurse sharks, rays, barracuda, as well as HUNDREDS of beautifully colored fish! I would absolutely recommend going on this adventure if you have the chance even with younger kids! My 7 year old was in his glory!!! As long as they're comfortable in the water and swim well this would be an excellent family activity. I really can't think of one negative thing about the experience. Overall, I thought this was absolutely worth every dollar spent to make the memories we did and I'd do it again in a heartbeat!