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The Best Eco Tours in Naples
(also featuring top picks in nearby Bonita Springs)
Mangrove kayak trails, Everglades airboats, manatee and dolphin cruises, and swamp boardwalks: the best guided ways to see wild Naples.
By Scott Carr and Kelly Carr
Updated
Paddling through a mangrove tunnel near Naples
Naples sits between the Gulf and the Everglades, and some of Florida's wildest country starts a few minutes from Fifth Avenue. Mangrove tunnels wind behind the barrier islands, dolphins work Naples Bay and the passes, manatees drift through the backwaters toward the Ten Thousand Islands, and the cypress swamps inland are full of alligators and wading birds. A good guide makes the difference: they know where the animals are, and they explain what you're looking at.
Want to go deeper on one kind of trip? See our guides to kayak tours, Everglades airboat tours and dolphin watching. Here are the best eco tours in Naples, Florida.
5.0716 Google reviews
Good forClear kayaks · Ages 3+
Paddle over the water and see straight through it. Get Up and Go Kayaking leads small groups in clear-bottom tandem kayaks through the mangrove tunnels of Wiggins Pass in North Naples, watching for dolphins, manatees and wading birds, with a shelling stop on Barefoot Beach. Tours leave from Cocohatchee River Park, run about two hours, and top out at six kayaks, so the guide has time for everyone's questions.
Editor's Tip
Book the Sunset/Glow tour for sunset from the beach, then a paddle back in LED-lit kayaks. Children ride with an adult, from age 3.
4.5141 Google reviews
Good forHalf day · Airboat · Alligators
The Everglades in a morning, without having to plan a thing. Everglades Excursions leaves from beside Tin City and drives you out with a guide who explains the swamp along the way, then an airboat ride across the sawgrass and an alligator show, where brave guests can hold a baby gator. Allow four and a half to five hours.
Editor's Tip
It's a morning tour, so it fits neatly before a lazy afternoon on the beach.
Good forSmall groups · Ten Thousand Islands
For a wilder day on the water. Adventure Paddle Tours runs small-group kayak trips through the mangrove tunnels of the Fakahatchee's East River and around the Ten Thousand Islands, where manatees, dolphins and alligators share the backwaters, plus a three-hour pontoon tour from Port of the Islands for no more than six guests. Good for active travelers who want quiet, untouched water.
4.61344 Google reviews
Good for3 hours · Dolphins · Keewaydin
The classic Naples eco-cruise. Pure Florida's Dolphin Watch / Eco Tour leaves Tin City aboard the M/V Naples Explorer and runs down the Gordon River and Naples Bay, out through Gordon Pass and into Rookery Bay, where dolphins often ride alongside, ospreys and herons work the shallows, and bald eagles are a regular sight. It finishes with beach time and shelling on Keewaydin Island. About three hours.
Editor's Tip
The beach stop means some walking on sand. Bring water shoes and a bag for shells.
4.9723 Google reviews
Good forShelling · Small groups
Captain-guided shelling trips to quiet barrier-island beaches, with dolphins and birds along the way. Sand Dollar Shelling and Boat Tours keeps public trips to 12 guests and spends about two hours of each three-hour trip on the sand, at Keewaydin Island from Naples or in the Ten Thousand Islands from Goodland, where junonias and lightning whelks turn up. The USCG-licensed captains know their shells and teach you what you can keep.
Editor's Tip
Morning, midday and late-afternoon trips run daily. Low tide is best for shelling, so ask which slot lines up with it.
525 Newport Dr, Naples, FL 34114
Good forManatees · Covered boats
The best bet for manatees. Manatee Sightseeing & Wildlife Adventures runs covered-boat tours from Port of the Islands Marina, east of Naples on the edge of the Ten Thousand Islands, where manatees gather in the harbor. Choose a 90-minute manatee and wildlife cruise or a three-hour trip that adds dolphins and a shelling stop on an island beach. The boats are wheelchair accessible, and dogs are welcome.
4.71664 Google reviews
907 Dupont St, Everglades City, FL 34139
Good forAirboat · Since 1982
An Everglades original. Everglades City Airboat Tours has guided visitors through the mangroves around Everglades City since 1982, now with a fourth generation of the family at the helm. The small airboats seat six, and two-way headsets let you talk with the captain over the engine. Rides last about an hour; it's closed on Sundays.
4.71421 Google reviews
20610 Tamiami Trl E, Naples, FL 34114
Good forAirboat · Close to Naples
The closest airboat ride to Naples. Corey Billie's Airboat Rides, out on the Tamiami Trail East, runs 45-minute rides through a roughly 200-acre private preserve of marsh and ponds, with native Florida guides pointing out alligators and wading birds. Afterwards you can hold a baby alligator for a photo. Open daily; call ahead in season, from December to April.
1 Shell Island Rd, Naples, FL 34114
Good forDrive your own boat · 18+ drivers
An eco tour where you're the captain. KoolCat Eco Tours puts you at the wheel of a two-seat CraigCat catamaran and leads a convoy through the mangrove islands south of Naples, with the guide on the radio pointing out dolphins, manatees and shorebirds, plus a shelling stop. Tours last about two and a half hours; drivers must be 18 or older with a driver's license, and Florida's boater education card rules apply.
4.72127 Google reviews
Good forBoardwalk · Old-growth cypress
A 2.25-mile boardwalk through the largest remaining old-growth bald cypress forest in North America, with trees nearly 600 years old. Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is a walk at your own pace, watching for alligators, otters, wood storks and painted buntings in winter, and it's flat and stroller-friendly. For a guide, book one of its ticketed programs, from early-morning birding walks to sunset strolls.
Editor's Tip
Buy tickets online and arrive early: wildlife is most active in the morning, and last entry is earlier in summer and fall than in winter.
Good forFree · Boardwalk and trail
Free, wild and rarely crowded. CREW Bird Rookery Swamp starts with a 1,500-foot boardwalk into the swamp, then continues as about 12 miles of flat old logging tram roads with water on both sides, where alligators, otters, barred owls and wading birds are common. Bring water and bug spray, and check CREW's calendar for volunteer-led walks in season.
Editor's Tip
The trail is open from an hour before sunrise to an hour after sunset. Early morning is cooler and best for birds.
4.685 Google reviews
Good forImperial River · Rentals or guided
An easy paddle from downtown Bonita Springs. CGT Kayaks rents kayaks and paddleboards and runs guided eco tours on the Imperial River, past mangroves and waterfront homes, with manatees and birds along the way. A good first paddle for beginners.
5.0444 Google reviews
County Rd 865, Bonita Springs, FL 34134
Good forPedal kayaks · Bonita Springs
No paddling required. Mike's Coastal Expeditions leads tours from Big Hickory Island in Bonita Springs in Hobie pedal-drive kayaks, so your hands are free for binoculars and cameras as you wind through the mangrove tunnels of Estero Bay, watching for dolphins and manatees. Ask about its sunset glow tours.
550 Port O Call Way, Naples, FL 34102
Good forPrivate charters · Fishing too
A private boat with local captains. Ms. B. Haven Fishing & Eco Charters, based at Port O Call Marina on Naples Bay, is best known for fishing but also runs dolphin, shelling and eco trips, so a family can mix a little of everything on one charter.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an eco tour in Naples?
A guided trip into the area's natural habitats, led by a captain or guide who knows the wildlife and explains the ecosystem as you go. Around Naples that usually means the mangrove estuaries and barrier islands south of town, Naples Bay and the passes for dolphins, the Ten Thousand Islands for manatees and shelling, or the Everglades and the cypress swamps inland.
When is the best time to see manatees near Naples?
Manatees are easiest to find in the cooler months, when they gather in warmer, sheltered water; Florida's seasonal manatee protection zones in Southwest Florida run from November 15 to March 31. The tours from Port of the Islands, at the edge of the Ten Thousand Islands, report sightings all year.
What are the Ten Thousand Islands?
A maze of mangrove islands stretching from Cape Romano, south of Marco Island, to Everglades City. Despite the name there are hundreds rather than thousands, and much of the area is protected as a national wildlife refuge and, farther south, part of Everglades National Park. Tours reach it from Port of the Islands, Goodland and Everglades City.
Which eco tours are best with kids?
Get Up and Go Kayaking takes children from age 3 in an adult's clear kayak, and the boat trips from Pure Florida and Sand Dollar include beach time and shelling. Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary's boardwalk is flat and takes strollers. See our kids activities guide for more.
Can I keep the shells I find?
Empty shells, yes. Anything with a living animal inside (including sand dollars and starfish) should go back in the water where you found it, and the guides on shelling trips will show you how to tell the difference.