experiencing the wildlife in everglades

we are coming from Buxton derbyshire in UK to stay 2 weeks at beginning of april. my husband and 14yr old our really interested in wildlife and looking forward to staying near the everglades in last week. daughter wants to see dolphins and other marine life in the wild- any suggestions about where to go or contacts. i have seen the dolphin research centre advertised and that you have to book. she wants to study marine biology in USA university !! . my husband works as a ranger for our local national park , so would really appreciate keeping away from the tourist hot spots and seeing the real everglades. any suggestions greatfully received. also the hotel we have booked in naples has a poor rating on trip advisor so want to change it, would like to experience real local hospitality.

many thanks .

experiencing the wildlife in everglades

Some suggestions of places you should check into:

Fakahatchee Strand

Everglades City (you can take a boat tour into the Ten Thousand Islands or rent kayaks/canoes and explore on your own)

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

Big Cypress Preserve

Shark Valley (The tram tour is informative, or you can rent bikes and check it out yourself)

Go to the park%26#39;s southeastern entrance in Florida City and explore the trails along the way to Flamingo. The deeper you go, the fewer people you%26#39;ll encounter on the trails.

Visit the Seminole and Micosukee museums

It%26#39;s hard to truly get away from the touristy spots on your own because you%26#39;d get lost if you strayed from the trails, but there are plenty of roads less traveled out there. The Fakahatchee in particular has a lot of little used trails/old logging roads that you can safely explore without getting lost.

Early in the day and late in the afternoon are your best times to view wildlife, although it%26#39;s mating season for the waders and many other birds right now, so they%26#39;re quite showy and active all day.

experiencing the wildlife in everglades

whaleseekers,

When are you coming?

We are going to Fort Lauderdale this weekend and have booked an all day eco tour. I will let you know what I think when I return.

CTR

Whaleseekers, You may want to re-post your question in the Naples and Florida Keys part of the forum. I see you are staying in Naples. That puts you near the Everglades City entrance to the Florida Keys. The national park website ,

nps.gov/ever/鈥lternativetours.htm offers canoe rentals that would let you explore that area on your own. There are also ranger run boat tours. You should also consider renting bkes at the Shark Valley entrance. Once you get past the first 2 miles of the trail, you will be away from croweds. You will have to move over from time to time for the tram. But you%26#39;ll be thisclose to gators, birds, etc.

The dolphin research center is in Marathon Florida in the Florida Keys. It would be a several hour drive from Naples. You would want to spend the night there. Dolphins in the wild are frequently seen off shore in Naples but I don%26#39;t know if there is a season to that.