What Do the Elevated Seats Change on an Airboat Tour?
Your eye line, which changes almost everything else.
Look where this couple is sitting. Up above the hull, above the grass, with a clear view over the whole slough instead of through a wall of reeds. Marsh grass on the St. Johns runs four and five feet in the summer, and from a low deck that grass is most of what you look at.
It also changes how you see into the water. From up top you are looking down at an angle instead of straight across, so the shape of a gator holding a foot under the surface reads clearly. Guests in the elevated seats spot wildlife well before I point it out, which is how it should go.
Every boat we run is a private airboat tour. Six people maximum and nobody else aboard, so the seats up top are actually available rather than claimed by whoever boarded first.
Where Does an Airboat Go That a Regular Boat Cannot?
That photo is not a boat ramp. There is no water under the hull at all, and we drove up there.
An airboat has no propeller under it and no rudder in the water. The whole thing rides on a flat aluminum bottom and gets pushed by the fan behind you, which means it will run over wet grass, mud, sand, and floating vegetation that would stop a prop boat cold. We came up out of the water, across the flat, and stopped on the rise for the view.
That is the practical reason we can show you country nobody else gets to. The St. Johns headwaters are not a channel, they are a prairie that happens to be flooded most of the year, and depth changes constantly. Half a foot of water in one place and a mud flat fifty yards later.
It is also why we can reach cypress sloughs like the one in the first photo, tucked back in where the canopy closes over and the water goes still. There is no route in there for anything with a prop.
The same hull is what makes our airboat rides possible in the first place. Take the fan off and this is a flat bottomed boat sitting in six inches of water going nowhere.
What Wildlife Do You See on a Private Tour?
We caught this one mid meal on the bank, jaws open, entirely uninterested in us. That is what happens when a boat comes in quiet.
On a good day guests see 30 to 50 alligators, and that number surprises people who assumed we were rounding up. They are on the banks, they are in the grass, and once you learn to pick out a set of eyes on the surface you will find them yourself for the rest of the tour.
Bald eagles are the other one. There is a resident population out here, and the shot further down on this page is one coming off an old cypress stump on the dry prairie. We also see ospreys, sandhill cranes, herons of four or five kinds, turtles stacked on every log, and wild hogs often enough that nobody treats it as unusual.
Nothing out here is fed or baited. This is a working stretch of river and the animals are on it because they live on it.
After dark the cast changes over entirely, which is the whole argument for our night airboat tours. Owls, night herons, and eyes on the water everywhere you point a light.
What You Get on a Private Airboat Tour
Your tour is 100% private. Just your group of up to six and Captain Seth, no strangers aboard and no waiting your turn for a photo.
Elevated Seating
The lifted seats put you above the grass line, so you see across the prairie and down into the water instead of level with it.
Hearing Protection
Every guest gets a proper adjustable headset. You hear the captain's narration clearly while the engine noise stays out of it.
90-Minute Tour
Ninety minutes, not a rushed loop. Stop for photos whenever you want, ask as many questions as you like, or ask for speed if that is what you came for.
Safety Gear
Coast Guard approved life vests in every size including infant, cold bottled water, and covered seating when you want out of the sun.
Pricing for 90 Minute Airboat Eco Tour
* Call for pricing on the night and lunch/dinner tours.
Book Your TourWho Is Taking You Out There?
Captain Seth Whitaker holds a Master Captain license from the U.S. Coast Guard. That is the highest level of professional mariner certification, and it takes thousands of hours of documented sea time, written exams, and regular renewals to hold onto.
He has been running the channels and marshes of the St. Johns River for over 15 years. This is not a side job. He grew up here, raised his family here, and knows which slough holds water in a dry spring and where the eagles nested last year.
All Switchgrass Outfitters boats are inspected and meet U.S. Coast Guard safety regulations, including fire extinguishers, life vests in every size, communication equipment, and maintenance logs.
You are not getting a seasonal hire reading off a script. You are getting somebody who lives on this river.
Real Reviews from Real Guests
"I'm going to tell you, this is the airboat guide you want. We had Seth, he was great. Showed us around and we saw well over 100 gators... A++++"
Erik B., Oviedo
(Google Review)
"Captain Seth has extensive knowledge of the area as he not only grew up there, but he is also raising his family and uses the land for sustainability... I highly recommend if you're in Christmas, Florida."
KeiLani B., Titusville
(Google Review)
"Just amazing, first time and it was the greatest experience ever. Seth was a fantastic guide... You won't regret it!"
Jessica S., Orlando
(Google Review)
Switchgrass Outfitters holds 314 five-star reviews across Google and TripAdvisor. We've earned TripAdvisor's Traveler's Choice Award, which places us in the top 10% of attractions worldwide based on traveler ratings.
Read More Reviews on GoogleFrequently Asked Questions
What are the elevated seats on the airboat?
Seating raised above the hull line. St. Johns marsh grass runs four to five feet tall in summer, so sitting up top means you look across the prairie instead of into a wall of reeds, and down into the water at an angle where wildlife is far easier to pick out.
Can an airboat really run on dry land?
Yes. There is no propeller or rudder under the hull, just flat aluminum, and the fan behind you does the pushing. That lets us cross wet grass, mud, sand, and floating vegetation, and it is how we reach cypress sloughs and prairie flats no prop boat can get to.
How many alligators will we see?
On a good day guests see 30 to 50. They are on the banks and holding in the grass, and once you learn what a set of eyes on the surface looks like you will start spotting them yourself.
How private is a private airboat tour?
Completely. Every tour we run is your group only, up to six people, plus Captain Seth. Nobody else boards and you are not sharing the boat or the photo angles with strangers.
Service Area: Nearby Cities We Serve
Switchgrass Outfitters is located in Christmas, Florida, and serves guests from across Central Florida. We are the premier choice for Port Canaveral airboat tours, offering a quick and straightforward drive from the cruise terminals. We're an easy drive from:
- Chuluota (9 miles)
- Bithlo (10 miles)
- Mims (15 miles)
- Geneva (16 miles)
- Titusville (17 miles)
- Oviedo (18 miles)
- Port Saint John (18 miles)
- Sharpes (19 miles)
- Cocoa (20 miles)
We're also convenient for visitors staying in Orlando, Sanford, and Altamonte Springs.
Book Your Private Airboat Tour
Day tours are $75 per person for 90 minutes, up to six guests, and the whole boat is yours. We launch from 28500 E Colonial Dr in Christmas, FL, right off Highway 50 and about 30 minutes east of downtown Orlando.
You do not need to burn half a vacation day driving to the Everglades to see real Florida airboat country. The St. Johns headwaters start 30 minutes from town and they have not changed much in a very long time.
