Billie Swamp Safari

We caught the last swamp buggy tour of the day, originally intending to opt for the air boat. I suppose I didn’t realize that the swamp buggy drove through such high water. I was very satisfied with our tour and pleasantly surprised by our tour guide’s knowledge of the local flora. The tour itself was great, but when we got back to the base, the gift shop was closed and many of the animals were gone (taken in for the night?). I would still recommend going and leave plenty of time to get out there.

Swamp Buggy = Awesome; Air Boat = Meh
I took my son to Billie’s Swamp Safari today and it was awesome. The swamp buggy ride really exceeded my expectations, and when they safari, they mean it.
My son had gotten honor roll at his school so they gave him a bunch of coupons for local places, Billies Swamp Safari was one and the deal was a free kids package with an adult purchase, so it included the buggy ride, an airboat ride and 2 animal shows. The adult price is $ 50 and the kids are $ 36, so it was a great deal, but next time I’ll just get the buggy ride.
First thing we did was the buggy ride. When they call this place a safari, I assumed it was just an Everglades Safari, but they had crazy animals like bison, water buffalo, wild hogs, ostrich, deer, and even zebras. They had zebras WTF. And of course all the native animals like crocs, gators and turkeys. Apparently it was originally going to be a hunting park, and they thankfully switched it to a safari. The buggy ride was about 45 minutes and awesome. I want to go again.
Next was the airboat. The airboat ride wasn’t bad, but it just wasn’t as awesome as other airboat rides. The cool thing was that it was a small boat, it only had 3 rows, so you really felt like you were basically in the water. The not so great part was that it was a very short ride, only about 20 minutes. It was very anti-​climatic after that awesome buggy ride.
After that we went to the critter show. The presenter was great. My son loved it. We saw some really cool animals and learned a lot.
Overall, Billie’s was great, and we will be back, but if you’re just looking for an airboat ride, try Sawgrass Recreation Park, or one of the other places, and if you’ve done airboats before, skip the multi-​attraction pass and just do the Swamp Buggy ride.

We had a fun filled day at Billie Swamp — fantastic airboat ride, unique swamp «buggy» tour, and very friendly staff. Hans (airboat tour guide) and Natasha (buggy guide) were awesome and made our rides very enjoyable. The critter show and the snake show are fun too! Especially kids love them.
We found the Swamp Café be reasonably priced, considering it is almost 50 miles deep in the reservation. Service was a bit slow, bit we weren’t in a hurry either. And they had a «veggie» burger on the menu (soy pattie), a pleasant surprise.
Overall, highly recommended. Don’t miss the Swamp buggy ride, that literally tests your core stability! :-)

We had a wonderful time here. Paid $ 50 (less $ 5 AAA discount) for the day pass, which included a 20 minute airboat ride, critter show, snake show, and 60 minute swamp buggy ride. The highlight was the buggy ride. Granted, it is VERY bumpy, and you drive thru water, which was kind of scary, but we saw such an array of wildlife and the scenery was beautiful! They also have a small zoo area and many picnic areas. They have done many upgrades since our last visit years ago, and the place looks great!

An interesting way to spend a night in the Everglades. This is a hard one to review. It’s not spectacular –except for the people that work here. I think they were all amazing, helpful and courteous. Hans our tour driver for the swamp buggy ride was fantastic. Knowledgeable and very accommodating.
The girls in the restaurant were also wonderful. Very friendly! Even when handling my family of 6, four boys, my wife and I. We can be a pain in the ass. Well, they are anyway. I am a pure joy to have around.
We stayed in the VIP Log Cabin and it’s nice. Clean. But there is not much else I can say about it. it’s a bit plain. No television and our cell service only worked in one spot on the front porch. Fortunately, our family gets along and can entertain ourselves with our own ridiculousness. Plus we had brought our skateboards so at night we went down to the parking lot and skated.
The park itself kinda fell short of my expectations. The views are amazing though. But I was a little disappointed with all the non-​native wildlife that were there. Admittedly they are in the process of trapping and removing some of the non-​native animals. That being said my family was undeterred by this. My wife really liked the swamp buggy tour And did I mention that the views are AMAZING?
If you’re not put off by the fact that many of these animals are displaced and are able to provide your own entertainment at night then I highly recommend Billie Swamp Safari. It is very nice to see the stars at night for a change!

Only because I can’t give less than one star. Very disappointing. Drove all the way out there yesterday for nothing. No shows, barely any animals to see. Food at the restaurant was EXTREMELY overpriced and the service was TERRIBLE. Server never greeted us, and it seemed as though there was somewhere else she would rather be. She got our order wrong, and food took forever to come out. Server didn’t bring enough straws, then forgot how many to bring back, and finally I just got tired of waiting and I had to get up to get my own straw. She never once checked back with us to see if we were okay or even if we wanted a refill of our sodas, and it seems she forgot about us completely. Finally, I had to stand up to go ask for my check. In the mean time, we missed what was probably the last swamp buggy of the day due to inclement weather. It seems as though management really just doesn’t care anymore.
I was there about six years ago, and it was really a cool experience. I wanted to share that with my kids. Instead they were left wondering why we had driven out to the middle of nowhere for a really expensive and mediocre lunch.

I had a good time at this place it was an experience. Cuz of me being from the west coast. Great place descent nice attractions my fam had a good time. My son loves gators so this was a must do if u have kids.

This review has been long over due! But went there when I went on vacation to Florida from California! This place is a must to see. the Everglades! Super cool place to visit but the only thing is that it is a long drive from fort lauderdale. They have different animals besides just he gators… The fun part is that you get to get on the boat ride and see all the crocodiles. Even though I was kinda bummed that the ride was short but still enjoyed it. Super fun! And they have a small deli there and from what I seen on the menu they sell gator meat and they looked like chicken nuggets lol… didn’t try it. But cool experience. They have shows certain times and it’s an interaction with a baby gator that you can take pictures with! I recommend it!

Visited this place while staying at the Big Cypress RV Resort. Quite a long drive unless you’re overnighting in the area. The employees were friendly for the most part. Went on the swamp buggy ride which was probably the highlight of the entire place. Mostly everything else was a huge expensive disappointment except for the alligator show. Majority of the zoo animals are not even native to Florida… ostriches, lizards from So America, otters from SE Asia, and a grizzly bear? c’mon really? Pretty depressing actually. Even the gift shop contained maybe 10% native Seminole craft at best. The rest was Navajo and the usual touristy hats & tee shirts. I can understand the need to raise money but why do so under pretense of local flora fauna and American Natives. If you are looking for an authentic experience this is not the place you will find it.

Drove 2 hours for a birthday celebration for my boyfriend and I. Big disappointment!!! Airboat ride was slow and boring! The swamp buggy ride was actually pretty good. The girl who drive it was very knowledgeable! One thing I really didn’t understand is they had animals there that are not native to Florida! BIG DISAPPOINTMENT THAT THE PERSON WHO WAS SUPPOSE TO WRESTLE ALLIGATORS WAS NOT THERE! Big waste of money and time! Made me extremely depressed on my birthday!

We are fresh off of our Air Boat ride with Andrew the boat operator and we couldn’t be happier.
We arrived around 4:30 and had the whole boat/​tour to ourselves and Andrew was a great tour guide.
Within a couple minutes on the boat we saw a gator with a couple babies and lots of wild life there on out. Andrew stopped the boat near the end and made my wife a neat necklace out of a swamp flower and he treated my 4 year old kindly and let him assist with some duties.
We cannot wait to return and highly recommend!

We spent the entire day at Billie Swamp. It was great! We bought the wristbands and were able to ride the airboat as much as we wanted. The kids loved that. The buggy ride was great. The guide gave lots of details about the animals, trees, habitat and the Native Americans that lived on the land. Because it is on an Indian Reservation you also learned about the Seminole Indian Tribe. We saw alligators, water buffalo, deer, wild boar, egrets and many more animals while on the buggy and airboat. It was worth the money and it gave a great overall picture of what the everglades are really like.

This is such a great place to go visit, on the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation. It’s nice to get away from the city of Fort Lauderdale, and drive through the everglades on a winding street appropriately called Snake Rd. I consider it one of the few cool South Florida trips to take on your motorcycle. Not too far, not too close, with fun scenic roads to ride on. Once you arrive, you can park and take a walk on a short nature trail, or you can buy tickets for a fun airboat ride. If you prefer they also have a cool Swamp Buggy Tour and the usual alligator show or other entertainment. If you want to really be adventures, you can stay overnight in one of their straw huts. That might not be for me, but if you do ride a motorcycle, I guarantee you’ll like the ride and the place.

Bille Swamp —
Have been here 3 times. The first two were years ago, and I just returned recently.
The tour guides were very friendly and helpful. The park itself is located deep in the Everglades, easily 20 miles off alligator alley so be ready. There are airboat and buggy rides that both take you trough the swamp.
Years ago when I was here we literally saw 30 alligators. Around the docks swimming across the channel, basking in the sun, and they were large This last trip sadly enough we did not see a single alligator, airboat or buggy ride. I was truly shocked! Beautiful either way.
The grounds of the facility are well kept and the café is pretty good. The only thing was that we didn’t see the gators, and for the price I would have preferred to see a few in the wild.
Tip — look in the canals on the side when drivin to this place. We saw several decent size gators, and even a few more on a recreation stop on I-​75.

Classic Florida attraction and, I think, a must for anyone who wants to see the real Florida. This is so much more than just an airboat ride. They’ve really done a good job showcasing Florida Native American life.
Yes, there are airboat rides and they keep it fun and exciting. Be prepared to get a little wet. They have a few shows — live and video in their theater. The animal collection was not great but you can see a few different species.
The real highlight was the swamp buggy. This four-​wheel buggy takes you into the Everglades and shows you local animal and plant species as well as a reproduction of a Native American village. Our guide — Crystal — was awesome. She had a real sharp eye and didn’t miss a thing — pointing out gators, deer, birds, wild pigs and even ostrich. She really knew her stuff! It’s a bumpy ride so be prepared.
The best part was every employee we encountered was extremely friendly and helpful. The place was clearly under renovation so many of the exhibits weren’t operational. For that reason, they were a little expensive. Fortunately, we had a 2 for 1 discount. We didn’t get to the café/​casino but they had one if you want to check it out.

I visited Billie Swamp Safari as part of a visit to the Seminole Reservation through an FSU alumni group. The airboat ride was a lot of fun! I had never been on one before, so I didn’t really know what to expect, but I really enjoyed it. We did have a pretty long wait, as some other reviewers have mentioned. I think the organization of the tours could probably be improved a bit, but still, they definitely give fair warning that you might have to wait a while, and everyone is friendly and so that helps a bit.
They provided us with earplugs, and I was so grateful for that, because the ride is pretty loud. Our airboat driver took us around for about 20 minutes, and gave us some descriptions along the way of plantlife and different nature-​ish things that we came across. Who knew there are such beautiful nature-​y things in Florida? I really enjoyed getting in there, into areas where all you could see were trees and there were no buildings in sight.
After the airboat ride, we walked around a bit. There are alligators, a Florida panther, and some other native Florida creatures that were really cool to see. We saw some kids in cabins so it seems like you can rent a place to stay there. It was a nice end to our fun day! (See my review of the Ah-​Tah-​Thi-​Ki Museum for another cool place to go in the area!)

Not lot of attractions, Extremely long wait for a 10min air boat ride. They keep letting people ahead of us when we were in line first. Poor Service. Never coming back!

I was hesitant about this place. It’s in the middle of nowhere, and they charge $ 49.95 (with no refunds) for a day’s worth of un-​air conditioned fun. But it really was pretty great.
For the price, you get to go on a 30 minute airboat ride (be prepared to get wet) and a one-​hour buggy ride, both through the swamp, where we saw alligators, egrets, deer, water buffalo, and all sorts of other creatures. Both the airboat guide and the buggy driver knew a lot about Seminiole culture and the local wildlife. There was also a snake show and a «wild critter» show (although I don’t consider tarantulas and ferrets especially wild, they did bring out an alligator and an alligator turtle). The place is pretty basic, but I appreciated the lack of the amusement park atmosphere, and we were supporting the local Seminoles. Most of the employees were very friendly and helpful.
Be prepared for a hot day. Bring your sunglasses. There’s a vending machine for drinks in the gift store, or you can go to the sit down café. Or bring your own food/​drinks. If it rains, the rides close down until the rain passes. Young children (under 3) cannot ride on the airboats.

If you have a long afternoon or day to spend, don’t mind driving a bit to get there and can never get enough of the sights of South Florida, which I can’t, this is a great place to go see and spend a day. The best part about it is that it doesn’t seem to have that Florida typical overblown touristy carnival atmosphere about it. It’s more like visiting a tour park, which in fact is what I would categorize it as being.
Nothing is rushed; everything is relaxed as well as leisurely. They have a restaurant, which isn’t all that bad, not great either, but ok and if you like nibbling on alligator or such novel items of local cuisine they have it though I found their barbecue to be the better.
Because of its laid back more down to earth feeling, the freedom to roam, lack of overly pushy tourist promotions, the experience of their tours and the friendliness of their staff, I’m a fan. Four Stars.

I recently ventured to Billie Swamp Safari during a recent weekend trip to Fort Lauderdale with friends. I had remembered seeing this place showcased on the Real Housewives of Orange County several years back, so I figured that if it was suitable for them, it couldn’t be that disastrous of a place. Fortunately, all turned out well and it proved to be an overall worthwhile experience.
Billie Swamp Safari is a 2,200 acre eco-​heritage wildlife park featuring a host of attractions, including airboat rides, swamp buggy tours, snake shows, animal exhibits, and even overnight sleeping accommodations. The clear standout attractions during my visit were the airboat ride (20 minute duration, ~10 persons per boat) and the swamp buggy tour (45 minutes, ~30 persons per buggy). The staff were friendly and knowledgeable on both rides and we had the opportunity to see countless wildlife, including alligators, ostriches, and water buffalo. In addition to the main attractions, the park also has a restaurant (Swamp Water Café), but I wouldn’t recommend going there unless you’re ravenous to the point of mental imbalance.
During my visit, I opted for the day package, which included unlimited access to all the attractions for $ 49.95. Discounted day packages are available for seniors (62+, $ 45.95), children 4 – 12 ($ 35.95), and children less than 4 (free). Reduced rates for all day access are also available after 3:30PM ($ 30 per person). One-​time airboat and swamp buggy rides can also be purchased a la carte for $ 25.
Billie Swamp Safari is located approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes from downtown Fort Lauderdale. Hours of operation are 9AM-​6PM. Potential patrons should also know that no pets are allowed in the park, no refunds are provided, and children must be 4 years and older to ride in an airboat. Weather conditions can also prevent the operation of certain attractions, so you’d be wise to call before venturing any long distance to get here.