okefenokee adventures

We were in the area so took the boat trip despite unseasonably cold, misty rainy weather. Big mistake. Was not very enjoyable even though we had on plenty of cool weather gear. Saw no wildlife except for a few birds - nothing exotic. Nice film in the visitors center.

Jenn was our guide and she made the 90 minute trip fun and exiting. There was not a plant, bird, or animal that she could not describe in detail. The grand children, 8 & 10 had fun, they even put down their phones and tuned in as Jenn described the mysteries of the swamp.We were advised(not by Jenn) NOT to take this trip in the summer when it is very hot and buggy. Saw alligators up close and personal.

We took the 1 1/2 hour boat trip into the swamp. The guide, Joey, was a local with deep knowledge of the swamp and an entertaining way if presenting it.

Okefenokee Adventures is the group licensed on site to provide boat tours of the swamp. It's easy to find right by the visitor center. Our guide was a 7th generation native to the area. He offered information in a casual manner, telling his stories and very open to questions. It was a perfect way to see the alligators especially with two young children who weren't going to paddle a kayak.

Driving down the road to Okefenokee Adventures in the dark had us wide awake without coffee. Our guide, Jen, was ready for us and prepared for the tour. We were the only ones on the boat and the only boat going out that early. Easing through the early morning fog and into the swamp was eerie and incredibly serene. I'm a photographer and was delighted by all of the options the trip provided. The swamp looked beautiful in the fog for landscapes and there were plenty of critters to shoot as well. Jen was very knowledgeable and gave us all the important information in a conversational tone rather than the lecture format that some guides use. She was also good about stopping the boat to allow me to shoot animals we saw, like bitterns, red shouldered hawks, a white ibis, a barred owl and even a raccoon perched atop a tree. Unfortunately the sandhill cranes were hiding from us, but no trip into nature comes with guarantees. Jen did everything she could to make sure we had a great experience. The four hour tour was a real treat.

This is probably silly, but I always expected the swamp to smell. It doesn't. The air is very fresh. We went on a warm winter day, so we saw a good number of gators sunning themselves on the banks. We took the 90 minute boat tour in the afternoon. Our guide Steve was great about giving us time to admire the different gators we saw and get some pictures. Steve shared a lot of information about the swamp's ecology and how it develops, the history of how it became a wildlife preserve, and the different plants and animals that we saw. I liked that we heard a lot of information on the way out, then we stopped and heard some more, and on the way back we all soaked in the beautiful scenery in silence. The boat is open air but covered, so dressing for the weather is important. You'll get a fair bit of sun on a sunny day, so it's handy to bring a hat and some sunscreen. The movie inside the visitor center wasn't very informative, but it had some decent images of local wildlife and pleasant music. It's only 14 minutes long. The homestead house was closed, but we enjoyed walking around the property and seeing how the property was set up with a smoke house and so on. Overall, I think this was a worthwhile day trip from St Simons. Georgia has some beautiful and fascinating ecosystems that are well worth exploring. This is one of them.

Took the boat trip into the swamp. Very informative guide. He explained about the wildlife, plants and history of the swamp. Showed us where the wildfire had burned the trees and about the peat in the swamp. Saw two large alligators take down prey just by chance. (That circle of life thing). You can rent canoes also.They have bathrooms and a small café where you wait for the boats. Everyone was very nice. Will go again!

We spent three afternoons on the refuge in December. Took the boat tour with Charlie, who has lived here for 40 years and loves the swamp. He knew all the birds and had great stories about the gators. The tour was $18 for adults about 90 minutes, worth every penny. Our 9 year old had a ball. He gave us tips for our canoe trip the next day. Rented for 4 hours, it was $32 which is a great price. Gear was great, and we saw tons of gators, from a few months old to 12 feet and everything in between! Lots of waterbirds, even a bathroom platform on the canal! Absolutely magnificent. We only saw two canoes the whole day. Literally we were a few feet from the gators. Having the tour the day before meant we felt a little more comfortable, and knew that when the gator starts hissing, you move away... We did not eat here, but the prices at the concession were very reasonable ($3.25 for a burger) and other folks said it was yummy. It was cool in the mornings, but sunny and warm by the afternoons. Loved it!!! Our 9 yo had a ball, and enjoyed a treat when we got back (nearly 4 hours sitting in a canoe in the middle is a long day, but there was almost always stuff to see!)

We loved our private sunrise swamp tour with the delightful Jen. It's hard to describe the experience, but words like magical, thrilling, beautiful, peaceful, stunning and exciting are words that might help. What an experience! That first glimpse through the low swamp fog as the morning light dawned, the trees and hanging moss in silhouette, just lovely. Alligators, birds, unique flora and a knowledgable guide (who knew when to just sit quietly and allow it all to sink in) combined to create an experience we will never forget.

I booked a private 4 hours kayak tour on the swamp over the phone after reading the reviews from Tripadvisor. I expected a nice outdoors visit but never such a wonderful experience!I arrived before 7am as requested, to a large facility located on the canal right after the main park entrance. The lady at the front desk (which happened to be my tour guide's wife) greeted me with a hot coffee, must needed at those early hours. Chip, my tour guide, a tall strong guy with long bear in his mid 50's took me to my assigned single kayak while he led the way on his canoe.We were greeted by alligators as soon as we started the tour. This is alligators' alley! They come in all sizes and looks. A little scary at first, then you quickly learn that they are as scared as you are, so they disappear underwater as you get closer. Many birds of all kinds, some migrating South, others claiming the swamp as home, were named by Chip as we progress on the Main Canal. This guy knew the swamp and its wild life as a real expert; and he loves to share his knowledge in a easy way.Then we entered a side trail, much more shallow and lush, with several interesting native plants.I was expecting much more mosquitos, but I did not see too many. I guess the early morning and the end of the summer made my day mosquito-free! We paddled through narrow alleys, tall wooded tunnels, shallow grassy areas, in an easy pace so I was never tired of rowing.By 11 am, when we got back to the base office, I had learned a lot about this amazing swamp.I highly recommend this trip if you are an outdoors person that enjoys watching wildlife from a kayak.

We drove over from Saint Marys to see the Okefenokee and ended up booking the 4:45pm tour. We had time to kill so we went over to see the old Chesser Island Homestead built in 1927 (it closes at 4:00pm). What an amazing old swamp homestead. You can see how the swampers lived and the tools they used to process sugarcane. The old pump well still works (but don't use it to fill your camelbacks, it's non-potable).We met our guide, Charlie West, at the dock and we were the only passengers. If you can, ask for him as a guide. He has lived out there for over 40 years and he knows nearly everything there is about Okefenokee history. From Army/Native American skirmishes and guerrilla warfare to logging to moonshiners to ex-Confederates building a shipping canal to connect the Mississippi to the Atlantic, that man is a wealth of information. At nearly 900,000 total acres, the swamp is so vast and enigmatic even Native American hunting parties have gotten lost out there over the years and that's saying something.And the wildlife--we learned so much about the diverse ecosystem. Charlie knew the names of and pointed out things like pitcher plants, carnivorous bladderwort and "houses" of old growth cypress trees that are cool sanctuaries for gators during the heat of the day. Honestly, our tour was the first time I have ever been that close to a decent sized alligator. We saw a few baby gators, turtles, herons--all sorts of animals. Charlie recommended we come back in January when the Okefenokee is loaded with birds, especially all species of ducks.We want to return for the night tour because it is supposed to be very eerie. Not only that, but the night sky and stars aren't contaminated by any nearby ambient light. This place is amazing, we learned so much and can't wait to return!

Great outfit, go there before they retire! Unlike the zoo affair at the North entrance, these guys have a 10 year concession from the government to provide access to the open waterways of Okefenokee. They do NOT have beasties captive or semi-captive on hand, but they have parking places, trails and boats - guided boats through to kayaks and canoes. They also have a little souvenir store and cafe. These guys KNOW the place, are friendly, great fun and immensely helpful. Guided tours are fine, lots of high-level info about the place and what it's about, but if you want deeper, talk to the team and discover that many of them have families that have been in the swamp for a zillion generations. There is NOTHING worth knowing about the place they don't know, even if the standard lines seem superficial or lightweight. Remember, the guides don't know you from Adam, and most visiting folk have a general interest and not much depth of local knowledge, so the tours are appropriately pitched. However, they can tell you about the intricacies of civil war politics behind the canal development through to the distribution of genetic variances in Cockaded Woodpeckers if you choose to let them.As for the animals, it's not a zoo. You may or may not see things - they are wild and make their own decisions about whether or not to reveal themselves. In part that's also up to you. Noisy boat tours tend to scare things away. In hot weather most things sit it out in a hidey-hole. A silent canoe trip at day-break opens up another world though.I advise to do both, if you want to see stuff. Use the boat trip as an intro to the place, drive/walk the various trails, then return first thing the next day and go paddling. Don't take music with you...Mosquitoes generally aren't a problem, but in the early-mid summer they have some biting flies.Park entry is $5 for a week, payable at the gate or shop. Boats, kayaks, canoes etc are payable locally. Probably best to reserve boat tours in advance. I didn't.

I had never been to the Okefenokee Swamps before and I was really looking forward to the 90 min. boat ride. The guide was fantastic, he was very educational about the swamps but he made the trip fun. There were a small number of gators out and about due to the heat, but for every one gator your see 8-10 see you. There are a number of Sandhill Cranes during certain times of the year, along with Great Blue Herons and many other birds. During the summer months the early morning trips out are the best, but I would also recommend the sunset trip also and don't forget your camera and bug spray. If you like hiking there are numerous trails that your can go on and they also offer kayaks for rental

During our trip through the waterway of the swamp, our tour guide was very knowledgable about the swamps history, the animals and the history in general of the area. The information he provides are of his own. One of the nicest tour guy ever. Oh, you will see dragonfllies. We had one for part of the tour.Besides the boat ride they also offer canoeing, walking the trails and, yes, the public can bring their own boats. They also allow fishing. I would call them to see if there are any restrictions on boats.Access is available for wheelchairs.

We visited in late afternoon and was able to get on the 3:30 boat. A very hot day, the ‘gators were not in abundance nor were the other inhabitants of the swamp. The trip was 90 minutes long and we encountered 3 ‘gators, one turtle and no other “creatures”. The boat stayed in the canals (good thing) so we saw very little of the 500,000 acres that the swamp encompasses.While our guide was responsible for training the other guides, it was his third time out with the public and I sense he had a little stage fright. I also sense that there was a lot to tell us about the swamp, but that didn’t come across. We also had one passenger who had a loud, piercing voice and tended to monopolize the conversation. She did most of the talking on the return trip.Surprise, no bugs. When we stopped and shut off the motor, the serenity was overwhelming and welcomed. The water is black from the peat on the bottom.