AirBoat Rides at Midway
AirBoat Rides at Midway
5
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
About
Open daily at 9 am - Experience the beauty of the "Florida Outback" while gliding across the legendary St.John's River marshes. See Florida alligators, American Bald Eagles, and more on your Central Florida Everglades Wildlife AirBoat adventure. Our custom-designed, US Coast Guard certified airboat fleet features elevated seating for excellent viewing opportunities and voice-activated headsets for effortless 2-way communication with your guide, a certified USCG Master Captain. While you wait to depart, check out our Gift shop, reptile, exotic bird exhibits. Hold our baby gator after your ride. "PorkChop the Pig" may greet you at the door! 45 minutes or less from all major attractions.
Christmas, Florida
Meets animal welfare guidelines

Awards
Travelers' Choice
2023

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(67 reviews)
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

5.0
5.0 of 5 bubbles993 reviews
Excellent
889
Very good
82
Average
7
Poor
3
Terrible
12

DateNightOrlando
Orlando6 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2021 • Family
We booked a private airboat tour with Steve as our captain on 2/14/21. We had an amazing hour & saw lots of alligators up close & got great pictures. Steve was super at teaching us about the area and animals, and did a great job entertaining us with his jokes and stories. It was a nice plus to hold an alligator at the end. The airboat ride was fast and smooth, no issues with motion sickness even though I am prone to this. We did not get wet at all. There were great earphones to stifle the sound from the airboat, and the captain’s mic was wired through the headphones so we could hear him talking the whole ride. We live in downtown Orlando, and this was about a 40 minute drive. On the way back we had lots of choices on places within 10 min drive to eat for our teens: Subway, McDonald’s, Twisty Treats, etc. The teens had a great time and I would recommend for any family with kids 4 and over. Bathrooms at Midway were very clean and there was a gift shop with an array of items (toys, shirts, drinks & simple snacks) and an ultra mini zoo with snakes, birds and a pig. We booked and paid on line with ease and called about weather, the team at Midway were easy to reach by phone and very helpful before we arrived. We were sure to bring cash to tip the captain, and were glad we did- he deserved it! Also- use sunblock if you are prone to burn- there was no shade on this hour long ride! As outdoor experience we did not wear Covid face masks on the ride which was wonderful.
Written February 14, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

dennydee348
Ruskin, FL179 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2019
The family wanted to try this as we saw an ad in a local tour book. Reservations are required.

We almost passed the place as it is on the side of the road. Parking is free and it's a bit crammed.

We got there early and saw a few alligators and snakes in a pen along with some tropical birds. Oh yeah...the pet pig too!

Before we knew it, my family boarded an air boat with about 8 others and the ride began on the St. John's River.

We saw gators, eagles, vultures, birds of all kinds, Cyprus trees and to my amazement-beef cattle...thought I was in Wisconsin! The boat captain/operator called them "free range beef"...amazed the alligators did not eat them.

After the ride, we got a chance to hold an alligator and get photos.

The place offers bathrooms, small souvenir store and a place for snacks and water.

Prices are $45 for adults and $40 for kids with a coupon of $6 off in some tour books.

The captain/operator works for tips so plan accordingly.

If you go in the summer, go early as it may be sticky.

It is a great bucket list thing to do. Good for kids of all ages.
Written January 4, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Virginia G
Ormond Beach, FL2 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2020
My son and my two grandkids, age 18 and 19 came down for a week to visit. We took them on the airboat ride at Midway. Our driver and tour guide gave us a great ride he has a great sense of humor and we got to see quite a few big gators, Some beautiful waterways, and wildlife, We also got to see lots of cows, etc. It was a fascinating ride Tony did a great job. This was our second ride with him and plan on doing it again. We have been there 3 times and each time the scenery changes acorrding to the water level. I would suggest if you want a good time and see the true Florida you go and take the whole family.
Written December 12, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

nantahala
Myrtle Beach, SC110 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2021
A great experience, very well done with definite value delivered. The weather was perfect and we saw +100 gators of various size, also 1 eagle and may cows. We waited for 2 cows to actually swim across the river directly in front of our hour boat. We enjoyed touching the small gator and were surprised at how soft the small gator felt. Our captain of the air boat was an informative and experienced lady that could not have been more entertaining. The equipment was in good repair and the facility was an experience on it's own. Friendly staff.
Written April 10, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

PamfromOhio
Ohio78 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2022 • Friends
I highly recommend this airboat experience! The price is very reasonable compared to other airboat rides I have experienced. Online reservations were quite easy to make. The location was easy to find. Upon arrival check in was smooth and simple. Everyone was friendly and welcoming. We viewed birds, snakes, and pot belly pig while waiting for our ride.

Ken, our airboat captain, was exceptional. He was a wealth of information on the area, wildlife, and airboat operation. He was skilled and made everyone feel safe! We saw many alligators, egrets, spoonbill, cows (yes cows) cormorant, anhinga, and a bald eagle. Ken provided a safe ride but still fun!

The headset system made it easy to hear Ken even while speeding along on the airboat! We noted all headsets were wiped down between guests. Ken instructed us to safely embark and disembark from the boat. It was very easy. He took care to be sure everyone's belongings were secure.

This was a fun and educational experience. I would recommend this for all ages, young and old.

After the ride we enjoyed holding a 4 year old gator.
Written January 5, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Adan C
3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020
It was my second time with my family and everything was A+. The Staff was courteous, ride departed as scheduled on time, and the pilot was a very friendly as well as maneuvering the boat. Their mascots were absolutely wonderful. We sure recommend it to everyone!
Written January 19, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Heidi D
3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2021
I scheduled our tour date/time in advance and as the day approached, the weather wasn't looking good. They reached out to me right away seeing if I could come earlier in the day before the storm or if we wanted to switch to a different day. They were very accommodating and we ended up having fantastic weather when we came a couple days later than originally planned! Captain Tony was amazing! He was knowledgeable about the area, the various wildlife that we saw and the history of the land we were riding over. Seeing a HUGE momma gator nesting was the icing on the cake! I would highly recommend taking a tour with AirBoat Rides at Midway!
Written August 11, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Trip513827
Lake Mary, FL4 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2020
There were 7 of us and only 2 of us had ever been on an airboat ride so it was really fun to take in the excitement of the others!
It was a beautiful day and my favorite part was the cypress forest . It is so lovely right now and can only be accessed when the water is higher which it is right now. The water back there was so clear and the reflections of the trees in the water was mesmerizing.
Our captain was Matt and he has excellent knowledge of the area wildlife and was very informative about what we were seeing each step of the way
Do it! Your kids will love you for it 🤗💕
Written August 25, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

thomasmF8905JC
Newfoundland, Canada30 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2022 • Family
This was my mine and my wife’s fifth visit to Midway Airboat rides in Christmas, Florida!! We have a friend who recommended Midway to us years ago. Every time we have family visit our winter home in Tampa Bay, we bring them to Midway!!

We had a scheduling hiccup because of a late flight arriving and David was great at moving things around and bumped the four of us to a later time slot. Thank you David!!

Captain Sami was phenomenal! She guided the airboat with ease showing the flora and fauna…lots of gators and eagles! Our highlight was seeing a blue heron mating pair on the nest!!

We have toured numerous airboats in Florida including the Everglades, and Midway Airboat Rides is the best in my opinion.

A big thank you to the crew for allowing us to experience the St. John’s river. Well Done! 5 stars:)
Written March 29, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

HutchGS
Orlando, FL11 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2022
4 of us enjoyed an airboat ride with Midway on Oct 28th, 2022. There were only 3 other guests on the boat with us so we had plenty of room to stretch out. Tony was our Captain and he was great... plenty of narration along the way thru wired headsets with a lot of interesting background information. From his vantage point, he was quick to point out any alligators that we approached (lots of BIG ones!) as we sped along.

The Midway facility itself suffered a lot of damage from the floods caused by Hurricane Ian so we were happy to see them back up and running again, even while they continue to repair their store and other facilities from the storm. They were all courteous and quite friendly.

Given the water level was SO much higher than usual (the highest in decades!) we were able to travel back into areas that only 2 weeks ago were dry land. It was starkly beautiful. We saw lots of wildlife... gators, of course, but also all sorts of wild birds and a raccoon. Captain Tony was very skilled handling the airboat and while we did get some good speed at times, we never felt at risk. Well done!

After returning to the dock, we got to hold a small 2-year old gator which was great fun. All in all, a fantastic tour which we can't recommend enough for tourists and locals enough. Go now while the water levels are still high so you'll be able to see areas that will never again be accessible by water... at least not until the next 500 year flood!
Written October 29, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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AirBoat Rides at Midway - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)