Blue Heron River Tours

This is a real great adventure just minute off the beaten path. Lots of wildlife and things to see.

Jessi is a walking encyclopedia britannica! She was a fountain of knowledge on such subjects as the history of Cypress Logging to our extensive native flora & fauna. It was a very interactive trip both with Jessi and with nature. She has a great sense of humor, and really cared about giving us a good experience.

My family and I enjoyed every single moment of the tour. From the manatees and gators to the beautiful cypress groves. Entertaining and educational from beginning to end.
We were lucky to have Captain Gary show us around. It was easy to tell that he loves what he does and has an affection for the natural side of Florida that so few give the respect that it’s due.
I would recommend packing a small cooler with your favorite beverages and snacks since the tour can last 2 ½ to 3 hours in length.
You won’t be disappointed with Blue Herron and their kickass captains!

Wow! A spontaneous trip to Deland, FL, turns into a spectacular afternoon on the water. We were intending to kayak on the Wekiva river, and got all the way to the park, when the rangers closed it as over occupied. Boo! My fellow adventurer, also known as Mom, suggested we might find some fun in Deland. She searched for some activities and found this place. I’d say I Unilocaled it, but I was driving, duh. This boat trip sounded fun, so we went for it. Problem was that we had 50 minutes to get to the place, which was Wazing at 50 minutes away. Add to that, my jeep doesn’t always (ever) like to go highway speeds. The winds were at our back, literally, so we got there with a whole minute to spare. Boy did we ever luck out. The tour was 2.5 hours along mostly natural waterways on the St Johns river. Absolutely beautiful. The guide was one of those stereotypical southerners, who lull you with their drawl, into not realizing until some good time later, that they are actually extremely well informed and a talented storyteller in that fashion we southerners do. He fostered questions from both the adults and children, to the extent most all of us had our curiosity piqued into asking numerous questions. We saw dozens of birds, in their natural habitat. All sorts of plant life. I learned a good deal about manatees, snakes, and edible plants, the history of the region, both recent commercial, and ancient and pre-​european conquest. Honestly, I cannot think of anything I would change about the tour or the staff. Do this and experience the real Central Florida!

Loved the tour, just like everyone else. Don’t forget to BYOB! :-)
A GPS is very helpful for finding Blue Heron River Tours. The tour office /​ticket counter is tucked inside the Ships’ Store at Hontoon Landing Resort & Marina. When you reach the end of River Ridge Rd, you have arrived. Have no fear, park wherever, and head inside the Ship’s Store.
If you’re a little older, you’ll be happy to know there are shiny, clean restrooms inside the Ship’s Store. There are additional restrooms in back by the boat moorings.

Purchased the Groupon to enjoy a little natural Florida for the day. We really enjoyed it, the boat is comfortable and clean, the captain knows his stuff (we had Josh), and the route was scenic beyond words. We’ll definitely head back in the winter to see the manatees and all the other wildlife as recommended. Use your GPS to get there though.

We took our family from «up north» and was not disappointed. The captain was very knowledgeable about Florida wildlife and was entertaining, too. The weather happened to be perfect, and I would recommend the 10:00 am tour for those not familiar with our weather.

An amazing 2 hour tour down the St John’s River. The pontoon is fully covered above you and the cushioned seats are very comfortable. Our captain was very professional & made the trip fun for all. He would get just as excited about all the wild life we saw, trying to get as close as possible, naming and telling about everything we encountered. It was a beautiful, sunny day and we were able to see many turtles, alligators & so many different birds. This tour is most defiantly worth the money. We are looking forward to the next time we can come back. *Note — best to use GPS to get there — not many business signs.

This was the second time we took the tour. The best $ 20 we have spent in Florida. Relaxing, very informative, interesting and beautiful. We saw dozens of rare and endangered species, many alligators and one huge one, and Jordan, our captain and tour guide, was passionate about the environment, knowledgeable, articulate, and made our second trip as memorable as the first. We highly recommend this tour!

My husband and I were staying in New Smyrna Beach on our honeymoon and hoped to find things to do that were in the area that were beyond the resorty, amusement parkesque Florida experience. We chose to go to DeLand and take a river tour with Blue Heron. We were greeted by a man, Capt. Gary. He was friendly and good-​humored. We were actually the only two people, but Capt. Gary said he never turns anyone away! Ryan was our «official» river guide, but Capt. Gary came along, too. We weren’t sure what we would see on an off-​season day (and it is a gamble!), but Ryan and Capt. Gary have sharp eyes and alerted us to all the exciting wildlife. I appreciated that Ryan and Capt. Gary would explain how to identify certain animals (especially different bird species) so that we could learn, too. We saw great blue herons, little blue herons, alligators, anhingas, hawks, turtles, and even a MANATEE! Capt. Gary went above and beyond his role as just a tour guide, but engaged us in conversations about other exciting things to do in the area. Once he saw how excited I was about manatees, he told us about another great place where we would certainly find more! In addition to all of this, he also gave us local restaurant suggestions. There are several options for river tours in the area, but I couldn’t imagine a better experience than the one we had with Blue Heron River Tours.

An excellent experience! Our captain was friendly, cheerful, and very knowledgeable, about the river and wildlife. He took us on a calm and beautiful boat ride and pointed out all sorts of creatures and sights worth seeing. He told some jokes, quizzed the passengers, and engaged the group in conversation. He even extended our trip a bit so we could see more wildlife, take more pictures, and enjoy the beautiful day on the water. We saw deer, alligators (including a 12 ft one!), turtles, all kinds of birds, and even a manatee! I highly recommend the eco tour for tourists, locals, families, and nature lovers of any age!

Bring the kids and a camera. This tour is more than worth the drive out to this slightly out of the way marina. The 2 hour tour will run a little long, because the crew are going to show off everything they can. The wildlife is close and the ride is smooth.
This is a great day trip and get-​a-​way from Orlando.

Captain Gary gave us the «BEST FL BOAT TOUR» today. We saw deer, gators, turtles, snake, birds, birds and more birds! He really knows his stuff! We feel we really got our money’s worth for this two hr tour. We would recommend it for young and old! and hopefully you will get to see a manatee, that’s the only thing missing from our tour today but was told to come back Nov — Jan and we would see some for sure!

A great way to see the «other» side of Florida — the one that’s not paved over with lousy theme parks and Del Boca Vista-​esque retirement communities. This tour is run by a really great couple with a lot of knowledge of the local wildlife, and attaining that knowledge is no small feat. This cruise tools around a state park that’s bursting with dozens of varieties of birds, turtles, plenty of alligators, and — at the right time of year — lots of manatees. Gary loves what he does and takes the time to explain things, back up the boat for nice views of anything of interest (the crowd favorites seem to be gators and manatees), and never rushes. If you’re in the neighborhood and interested in nature, this is something you need to do.

We wanted to see Florida wildlife and we did on the Blue Heron River Tours boat. No kidding, we saw hissing alligator mom and babies, ospreys in their nest, herons and heron’s in their nest, turtles, and fish jumping out of the water. Captain Gary and his deck mate Joan are helpful, knowledgeable, courteous and enthusiastic about the environment and what the describe. I highly recommend this tour. For the price we got more than what we expected.