Buttonwood Canal, Florida, United States

3winindc 5:00 PM Jun 5, 2015

Backcountry Boat tour from marina at Flamingo area
We did the 2 hour backcountry boat tour of from the Flamingo area of Everglades National Park. (There is a different boat tour from this marina of Florida Bay.) The tour leaves from the marina and goes up the Buttonwood Canal to Coot Bay. (There are maps of the trail the 2 boat tours take at the marina, so you can see the routes before you decide.) We found the trip to be very scripted. There was lots of information, but not a lot of variety to the sights. We did see one crocodile and 2 dolphins. The narration was about history, plant and animal life. We had wanted to see some of the interior of the park, but you can rent canoes on your own, so that may be a better option. This was our third day in the park, so maybe we had a lot of background knowledge already, so we wouldn't recommend this or do this trip again. Perhaps if this was the first thing you did, you would find it more interesting and worth the price. (Thought the Shark Valley tram tour was much better.) If you have younger kids, they do let them steer the boat briefly once they reach the bay. We missed the mosquito season but caught the biting fly season--the boat provides several fly swatters. Go to visit the marina though, area around the pier is great for seeing manatees, early afternoon on the canal side, and later on the bay side. There is also a little store where you can get snacks, sandwiches and drinks.

3Marybeth D 5:00 PM Feb 17, 2015

Man-made canal tour
The canal here is man-made, wildlife is sparse, and the tour is too long for what little you see. If you visit Everglades City on the Gulf Coast and take any boat tours, do not spend your time in Flamingo on this tour -- we were disappointed and bored with this experience after having seen so many birds on the gulf side. To be fair, the Flamingo backwater tour operators are friendly and knowledgeable, but you would do better to take the Florida Bay tour here and then drive to the Gulf Coast entrance to see the mangroves if you can.