During a trip to visit friends in Miami, we made sure to visit Everglades National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States (per the National Park Service) spanning 1.5 million acres. Located at the southern tip of Florida, Everglades National Park is home to the American crocodile and the rare Florida panther.

Everglades Alligator Farm

Spending 1 day in Everglades National Park starts with a 1-hour drive south from Miami. Stop over at Everglades Alligator Farm to get up close and personal with alligators and experience the famous airboat ride through the watery gator territory.

Everglades Alligator Farm charged $33.00 per adult for combination ticket granting access to the animal sanctuary, alligator show and feeding, and an airboat ride. The alligator show is pretty short but enjoyable. This only lasted 10 minutes but you can watch the handler interact with a male and female alligator. The handler performed a few nerve wracking stunts including handling the alligator’s mouth and holding the jaws open with his chin, hands free.

The airboat ride was a 25 minute experience on a boat powered by a giant fan as it glided through shallow marshy waters. Wild alligators, birds, and iguanas live in abundance in these grassy waters. We saw a couple of wild gators, one of which was 10 feet long! The airboat’s fan is quite loud and protective headphones are provided for when the boat goes to high speeds. The airboat is able to perform tricks including 360-degree turns which splash water into the boat so be prepared to get splashed if you sit in the front! All in all, the airboat was a good way to experience the everglades for a short time. This park offers frequent airboat rides which did not need advance reservations to get a spot. Private airboat tours are also available.

Everglades National Park

A short 10 minute drive east from Everglades Alligator Farm takes you to the entrance of Everglades National Park. The park fee is $30 per car, or the America The Beautiful parks pass also grants access. Everglades National Park is quite a docile park, with most “hikes” being gentle, flat walkways much shorter than the average national park adventure. We chose the most popular trail, the Anhinga Trail, which is less than 1 mile round trip. This trail is made up of pavement and elevated boardwalks and is accessible by wheelchairs and strollers. Wooden boardwalks elevated above the grasslands give up close views of the water covered with lily pads and studded with grasses. The Anhinga Trail is a good place to spot wild gators, egrets, and fish.

Everglades Gator Grill

Lunch was at Everglades Gator Grill, a no-frills roadside restaurant with outdoor seating. We ordered the gator bites and frog legs, both of which were not bad. The gator bites were smoky from the grill, but the portion was pretty small for $14. The frog legs ($20) portion size was generous, with 4 pairs of frog legs atop yellow rice.

Robert Is Here Fruit Stand

The legendary fruit stand, Robert Is Here is home to a wonderful smoothie/milkshake stand, various food trucks out back, and of course the star of the show- a multitude of tropical and exotic fruits. The tamarind-cherry-strawberry smoothie was honestly amazing. The flavor was tart and **gushy** with bright, mouth-watering, berry flavor and a near salinity umami flavor from the tamarind. The smoothie had no added sugar and was very refreshing! We also bought some fresh tamarind to nibble.