Peace River Airboat Tours & Charters - Arcadia, Florida

Emily Wyatt

Booked an airboat trip for 22 people on Saturday Feb 1st for my family that flew in from out of state. The experience was GREAT from our booking to the day of the experience! Our captain’s were awesome, the weather was great and the kids really enjoyed the animals after. Thank you peace river charters for an enjoyable afternoon!

William Orr

Captain Mike gave us an amazing tour! From the time we jumped on the boat with him, he made the tour fun and informative for everyone on board. He was able to tell us about the different birds on the river to the habits and fun facts about the gators 🐊 we saw. Being a local to the area you can tell he loves the river and we saw about 15 gators along the way! We even got to hold a baby gator at the end of the tour!

Jessroo444

I had a wonderful time on the Airboat Tour. Our Captain was very nice and knowledgeable. I went early morning and unfortunately it decided to be cloudy and overcast so we didn’t get to see a lot of gators except small ones mainly in the water, but the tour itself was very fun. He explained where to look for the gators showed us interesting things and explained about river levels and the life of an Alligator. They also have a small wildlife park with a few nuisance Gators and a few exotic animals and birds. They had big signs pointing you where to go to check in and everything was easy from the start to the end. They offer tons of different tours and even some up
Close Encounters with some of the exotic animals. Don’t forget to check out the wildlife park and ask to hold the baby Gator. The only downside really is I would have loved to book a combo tour and on the website they say they offer combo tours but there is no way to book it ahead of time you have to send them a separate email to add it on. No big deal it ended up being really busy so I opted for just the Airboat tour and figured I’d do another tour again hopefully soon.

Mary McQuaide

Would definitely recommend peace river airboat tours! Captain Dewey took us out and gave us an informative and helpful tour of peace river. Our kids (8 and 6) enjoyed seeing the alligators, birds, other wildlife and cracked up at all of Captain Dewey’s jokes. Afterwards they got to hold a baby alligator and see some really cool animals at the little zoo/gift shop on site. Would definitely come back another time. Thank you!

Rebekka Nichols

Would highly recommend Peace River Airboat Tours & Charters. Had a great experience doing the airboat ride and seen tons of gators. Our Capt Dewey made the ride fun and provided information about the wildlife and trees. Will definitely book again when we come back to Florida!!

Kirsten Tate

Captain Dewey was the perfect tour guide for our kids! They are 6 and 3 and said they had the best time. We saw a lot of gators, got up close to a couple, and Dewey told us stories about them (whether they were true or not, who knows, he made us laugh!) He even gave us a little history lesson on all of the other wild life and trees we saw.

Ann Graham

After spending time in Florida for 20 years, and living there full-time for 8 years, I've seen and done all kinds of fun things.
This fossil dig is, by far, the most fun thing I've ever done. It's "real Florida", it's authentic and I learned so much.
You should know there is a fair amount of physical work involved, as you will be digging down through a gravel river bed and hoisting material to the floating tray on the surface. My brother accompanied my mother and I and did all the digging for us. Mom (70's) and I could have done it on our own, but it would have been a lot, physically.
We went in November and the river was 3-4ft. In the winter, the water drops to 1-2ft, depending on rainfall, so digging would be easier then, I think.
Also be aware the water is cold. Like really cold. In November the air temp was 84 and the river was 65 degrees. I was not cold then, but when I go back in winter I will take advantage of their wet suit rental.

Tip 1: wear ankle or knee socks with your water/tennis shoes. You'll think you look silly, and you will 😂😂, but the skin on your feet will appreciate not getting sanded raw by the end of the day.
Tip 2: SUNSCREEN!
Tip 3: if you're aged like fine wine, as I am, don't forget your reading glasses. Some really cool things are tiny!
Tip 4: If you're the "digger", take a pair of gloves.
Tip 5: At the end of the trip when your guide tells you to record him identifying your finds, do it! You think you'll remember, but you won't.
Tip 6: Book the moment you decide to do this. I think they sell out quickly.
I cannot wait to go back!

Lance K

Came by Saturday January 4th at 1 with my family and had an incredible experience.

Our guide was quite knowledgeable about the local ecosystem including seasonal changes in, environmental concerns, and local plant and wildlife.

In total we spent roughly an hour on the airboat going up and down the peace river and saw plenty gators, turtles and different species of birds.

The airboat itself is a very cool machine as well. I’d highly recommend this experience to anyone. It is about 90 minutes outside of Tampa but worth the drive, which is also quite scenic and a nice break from the city.