Airboats and the Everglades just go together – the image of an airboat gliding across the waters in this wetland are iconic. People have been using airboats to get around in the Everglades for decades.

Captain Mitch House of Captain Mitch’s Private Airboat Tours has been in the airboat tour and tourist attraction industry since he was knee-high. Captain Mitch was and raised in Everglades City, Florida where he ended up following in the footsteps of his Father Captain Doug and great grandfather Barrel Head House, who was the pioneer of airboats.

Airboats have evolved over the years and now take tourists and visitors around to view the beauty that is the Everglades.

For this article, we wanted to share with you some fun facts about airboats:

• Airboats are also known as “fanboats.”
• Airboats are propelled with either aircraft or automotive engines.
• Automotive engines are preferred for airboats, as automotive gas is much less expensive than gas for aircraft.
• Airboat hulls are made from aluminum or fiberglass.
• Airboat propellers can produce prop wash behind them of around 150mph.
• Propellers must be enclosed within protective cages to prevent injury to riders and operators.
• Airboat operators must have extensive operational safety knowledge.
• Airboats do not have brakes and cannot move in reverse.
• Airboats are steered by passing forced air across vertical rudders.
• Airboats have no operating parts below waterline.
• Airboats have elevated seats for operators and passengers that allow for better views.
• Modern airboats are built with mufflers to reduce the loud noise from the engine and propellers.
• The first airboat was built in 1905 in Nova Scotia, Canada, and was nicknamed the “Ugly Duckling.”
• The first airboat registered in Florida was brought to the area in 1920.
• The first commercial airboat in Florida appeared in the early 1930’s.
• Today’s airboats are used for eco-tourism, fishing, hunting, and rescue.
• Airboats were used to save thousands of New Orleans residents and flood victims after Hurricane Katrina.
• The U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Military, and U.S. Special Forces use airboats.

Ready to experience an airboat for yourself? They provide a fun ride! Our captains are trained, experienced, and knowledgeable on airboats and the Everglades. Ask us questions!

Our guides and team know the Everglades well! Our airboat tours are fun and educational for the whole family! Get excited you’re in for a fun ride!

Call Captain Mitch’s Airboat Tours at 800-368-0065  or visit our Everglades Airboat Tours page. Captain Mitch’s Everglades Airboat Tours are open seven days a week 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. If paying by cash, adults cost $40 (plus tax) and children 12 and under cost $20 (plus tax. If paying by credit card, adults cost $45 (plus tax) and children cost $25 (plus tax).

If there’s one plant the Everglades is know for, it’s its mangroves. You know those trees whose roots stick above the water and look like long fingers? Yup, those are mangroves and they are extremely important to the ecosystem of the Everglades. They are magical in appearance and when you glide by them on an airboat tour, you feel like you’re in a fairytale or enchanted land.

Currently, Florida is home to about 469,000 acres of mangrove forests. The Everglades is home to largest mangrove forest in North America. Mangroves thrive in tropical and subtropical climates. These trees produce seeds that drop and get carried away by water or winds, and the mangroves will grow wherever the seeds land.

There are about 50 species of mangroves. Three species of mangroves are found in Florida: the red mangrove, the black mangrove, and the white mangrove.

The most well-known, and easily seen in the Everglades, is the red mangrove. It’s the mangrove we were describing above. It’s a salt-tolerant tree that grows in areas with low-oxygen soil. They can take freshwater from the saltwater to survive. These mangroves have prop roots that make them look like they’re standing on the water. With these roots, the forests can handle rising tides in-and-out of the Everglades. The roots are reddish in color.

The black mangrove sits at a higher elevation than the red mangrove. This mangrove has finger-like projections that protrude from the soil around the trunk of the tree.

The white mangrove can be found at the highest elevations of these three species. This mangrove’s roots do not show; it has light, yellow-green leaves.

Mangroves help protect the Florida coastline, the Everglades, and in turn, help protect human developments. The mangroves’ roots stabilize the coastline and higher lands by reducing erosion. These trees also block winds, waves, floods, tides, and storm surges from damaging the land – think of them as a fortress wall. The bigger, wider, and thicker a mangrove forest, the more protection to the environment it can provide.

Not only can mangroves protect land, they can also filter water and keep water quality high.

Another major benefit and quality to mangroves is that they also provide a habitat for a variety of birds and marine life. Many fish and animals use the mangrove forests as protection, shelter, or a place to find food.

Unfortunately, mangroves and mangroves forests are disappearing. According to American Forests, the oldest national conservation organization in the country, almost half of the world’s old-growth mangrove forest have disappeared in the past 50 years. Humans are a major cause to the loss of the mangrove forests due to industrial shrimp farming and coastal development.

Now, in Florida, state and city laws have been established to protect these forests, which are a key role in Florida’s ecosystem. It’s important we do what we can to protect these plants as they are key to not only the Florida ecosystem, but the protection of us!

Ride Through the Mangroves on an Airboat

Do you want to see the beautiful, protectors known as mangroves up close? An airboat tour can take you up-close-and-personal to these plants!

An airboat ride through the Everglades can allow you to see vegetation and animal life you won’t see anywhere else!

Book an airboat tour  with Captain Mitch’s Airboat Tours by calling 800-368-0065  or visiting our Everglades Airboat Tours page. Ask us about the mangroves!

We are open seven days a week 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. If paying by cash, adults cost $40 (plus tax) and children 12 and under cost $20 (plus tax. If paying by credit card, adults cost $45 (plus tax) and children cost $25 (plus tax).

What’s more “Florida” than an airboat tour? If you’re planning to visit, spend time, or live in southern Florida, we recommend you get yourself to Captain Mitch’s Private Airboat Tours.

Airboats gliding through the waters of the Everglades is iconic as it gets. Airboat rides and tours are a fun and unique way to explore the Everglades and catch glimpses of some mammals, fish, birds, vegetation and more!

An airboat tour gives you the chance to see a part of Florida that you may not get to see otherwise. Our airboat tour guides are friendly and knowledgeable on the area and airboats for any and all questions you have along the way.

We know a Florida vacation may include some theme parks, beaches, and golfing, but an airboat tour is the quintessential way to experience real, natural beauty of Florida and a way to connect with nature. The ecosystem that the airboat will bring you through is truly unique and you will see nothing like this elsewhere in the world.

Captain Mitch and his crew are passionate about sharing their home and expertise with others.  Captain Mitch has been involved at Private Airboat Tours in the tourist industry for more than 30 years here in Everglades City, Florida.

An airboat ride with Captain Mitch and his crew will be one your greatest memories of Florida’s and the Everglades’ ecosystem and swamplands.

Whether you are visiting or a year-round resident, we look forward to seeing you soon!

Schedule a Private Everglades Tour on an Airboat

Come experience the Everglades and nature like never before! See wildlife and plant life you will never see anywhere else!

Our guides and team know the Everglades well! Our airboat tours are fun and educational for the whole family! Get ready to have the time of your life!

Call Captain Mitch’s Airboat Tours at 800-368-0065  or visit our Everglades Airboat Tours page. Captain Mitch’s Everglades Airboat Tours are open seven days a week 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. If paying by cash, adults cost $45 (plus tax) and children 12 and under cost $20 (plus tax. If paying by credit card, adults cost $50 (plus tax) and children cost $25 (plus tax).

Have you heard of the term “brackish water?” If you’ve been to southern Florida, you’ve likely heard it mentioned. What is it? Brackish water is a combination of saltwater and freshwater – it’s where the two types of water meet. Brackish water has a higher salinity level than fresh water, but it is not as high as sea or ocean water. The salinity of brackish water can vary, but usually, brackish water contains between 0.5 and 30 grams of salt per liter.

Brackish water can exist on its own in nature, or it was made due to human construction. When found naturally, brackish water can be found around estuaries where a river meets an ocean. Many areas of southern Florida contain brackish water  and it flows into the Everglades.

Many water species can survive and live in brackish water and can go back and forth between fresh and saltwater. In brackish water, you can find trout, bull sharks, tilapia, alligators, some species of crab, shrimp, and more.

Within the Everglades ecosystem, there needs to be a proper balance of fresh and saltwater for water species and plant species to grow. In recent years, salinity levels have risen in the Everglades, which has been a problem. Restoration programs are putting freshwater into the Everglades to combat rising salinity levels.

Jump on an Everglades Tour on an Airboat

A great and safe way to see the variety of wildlife and vegetation in the Everglades’ brackish water is on a ride through the Everglades on an airboat with Captain Mitch.

Our guides know the Everglades well! Our airboat tours are fun and educational for the whole family!

Call Captain Mitch’s Airboat Tours at 800-368-0065  or visit our Everglades Airboat Tours page. Captain Mitch’s Everglades Airboat Tours are open seven days a week 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. If paying by cash, adults cost $40 (plus tax) and children 12 and under cost $20 (plus tax. If paying by credit card, adults cost $45 (plus tax) and children cost $25 (plus tax).