The Best Airboat Ride In Central Florida

Florida is known for some pretty amazing outdoor attractions. However, there is one attraction that is becoming increasingly more and more popular… airboat tours. If you have been searching for the best airboat ride in Central Florida, we have found the ONE!

❤️A huge thank you to Airboat Rides at Midway for the two complimentary tickets and the discount on our remaining tickets purchased. ❤️

Airboat rides are an incredible opportunity to see the real Florida. Who wouldn’t love to get out in nature and see some of Florida’s most beautiful, and mysterious, wildlife?

This post may contain affiliate links and we may earn compensation when you click on the links at no additional cost to you.

Welcome to Christmas!

Christmas, Florida that is! Yes, you read that right! Airboat Tours at Midway is conveniently located between Florida’s Space Coast and Orlando, in the city of Christmas. And I can tell you that the excitement we experienced on our airboat ride was very similar to Christmas morning.

Airboat Tours at Midway sits along the St. Johns River in an area that is sometimes referred to as The Central Florida Everglades. The name Midway came from it being “midway” between Orlando and the beaches. Midway started out as a fish camp in the 1930’s, then in the 1970’s they added airboat tours. Even though the fish camp is no more, the airboat tours are still a thriving business to this day.

Why We Chose Midway

During my search for the best airboat rides in Florida, I noticed that some companies have you meet at a public boat ramp or along the side of the road. Midway offers a permanent air-conditioned location with clean restrooms and ample parking.

Midway’s airboat captains are U.S. Coast Guard Master Captains and their custom airboat fleet is U.S. Coast Guard Inspected and Certified. Each airboat has stadium seating and can seat up to 15 people. Because of that, there was perfect visibility for everyone which resulted in incredible photo opportunities throughout the tour.

Plus, at the end of your airboat tour you get to take part in an Alligator Encounter. That’s right, you can hold an alligator AND live to tell about it!

Hold Onto Your Hats!

Midway offers a one hour thrilling, and educational, ride where you are able to see the REAL Florida. Not the theme parks and entertainment, which we love, but the wide open blue sky, birds building their nests, alligators soaking up the sun’s warm rays, and towering cypress trees “decorated” with Spanish moss, blowing in the wind. This is WILD Florida.

As you venture out into this section of the St. Johns River, one side is a privately owned cattle ranch and the other side is state owned property. You can see the cows grazing along the river in the picture below. Oh, and don’t worry, the alligators don’t usually attack the cows due to their massive size compared to the alligators.

As we cruised along the river, with speeds up to 45 mph, our captain, Steve, shared his knowledge about both the wildlife and history of the area. Midway provides you with noise-cancelling, two way headsets so you are able to hear your captain and ask questions during the tour.

WILD Florida

During our tour we were able to see many different types of birds like bald eagles, osprey, and egrets. We were blown away at how many alligators we saw that day. One place we stopped, my daughter counted 28 alligators! Which means, if you are obsessed with alligators, like my son is, this will be “the best day of your life!”

One of my favorite parts of the tour is when we ventured back into a cypress forest. There, you are surrounded by towering cypress trees with beautiful Spanish moss swaying in the breeze. Along the shore, the roots of the cypress trees extend out into the water, making the perfect hiding places for baby alligators.

If you look closely at both of these pictures, you will notice that the cypress tree bark is darker toward the bottom. This is actually how high the water level was a few years back due to a hurricane.

Another fascinating spot during our tour, was an Indian shell mound called a midden. The mounds consist mostly of shells, bones, and broken pottery left behind by native Indians. Hundreds, and even thousands, of years ago, Indians that traveled these rivers would create camps along the way. Since they were surrounded by water, their main food staples were shellfish like oysters, snails, crabs, clams, and mussels. The middens not only hold answers to what Indians ate hundreds of years ago, but they could possibly tell about climate changes throughout history.

Our Experience With The Best Airboat Ride In Florida

Our Airboat Tour at Midway turned out to be one of our family’s favorite activities that we took part in during this vacation. Whenever someone mentions Florida, we immediately think theme parks and beaches, but there is so much more. Being able to have the opportunity to see some of the animals, and history, that make up Florida during our tour, was amazing. Captain Steve was very friendly, knowledgeable, funny, and we highly recommend him. If you ever travel to Florida, make sure to book an airboat tour at Midway. PERHAPS it will be the highlight of your trip also.

Know Before You Go

• Website: https://www.airboatridesatmidway.com/
• Phone: (407) 588-6168
• Address: 28501 East Colonial Drive, Christmas, FL 32709
• Ticket Info/Reservations: https://www.airboatridesatmidway.com/airboat-tours/index
• Social Media: Facebook
• WEAR your sunscreen! You will be out in the Florida sun the whole tour so make sure you lather up! If you wear a baseball hat on the airboat, you will have to turn it around, otherwise it blows right off your head.
• All of the boats are equipped with life jackets, and children ages five and under are required to wear one during the tour.
• You are allowed to bring a camera/phone for photographs, but make sure you hold on to it or it might end up on the bottom of the St. Johns River.
• Also, there are quite a few animals at Midway including a 13-foot Burmese Python, birds, and a pig. Yes, a pig named Porkchop and he can usually be found sleeping by the back door.

Read about our other adventures in Florida:

• Insider’s Guide to Planning Your Kennedy Space Center Tour (Titusville)
• 6 Reasons We Love The Brevard Zoo (Melbourne)
• Kayaking Along Florida’s Space Coast (Merritt Island)
• Family Friendly Cape Canaveral Vacation Rental (Cape Canaveral)
• The Ultimate Guide to ZooTampa at Lowry Park (Tampa)
• EVOS Restaurant (South Tampa)
• Step Back In Time At The South Florida Museum (Bradenton)
• Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium (Sarasota)
• Sand & Sea Vacation Rental – Family Friendly (Anna Maria Island)
• Happy Paddler Coastal Island Kayak Eco Tour (Anna Maria Island)
• Bradenton Beach Marina Dolphin Eco Tour (Anna Maria Island)
• How Our Family Of 5 Flew Roundtrip To Florida For Less Than $325
• Top 10 Toddler Friendly Rides at LEGOLAND Florida

Also be sure to check out our Top 30 Gift Ideas for Travelers. It is full of unique gift ideas for those in your life who love to travel… or to add to your own personal carry-on.  We’ve even included the one item we won’t go to Disney without! It might surprise you!