airboat

[toothy26]

Can someone tell me more about the airboat ride. I heard it is very loud. Do you wear ear coverings?

Is it a worthwhile excursion??

[driftwood]

We did an airboat tour in the Everglades after a cruise. There will be a safety briefing and orientation period. You will be provided with hearing protection, usually in the form of disposable plastic foam earplugs with or without a string between them. You roll each one at a time between your thumb and forefinger until they are about the diameter of a spaghetti strand and insert them one at a time in each ear, whereupon they will expand to fill any gap. Do not remove them at any time until you return and the engine(s) are shut down. :eek: No, seriously! ;) They will not be difficult to remove after your tour. Generally you can hear people next to you talking, but the enormous roar of the engine(s) will be damped to a safe level. Do NOT underestimate the importance of wearing hearing protection at all times.

 

I have only seen a combination "Airboat Adventure & Belize City Tour" offered at $110 US per person, and a combination "Airboat Adventure & Belize Zoo Tour" offered at $137.50 US per person. Both are classed as "half-day tours," which I think is about all the airboating you will want . . . . But you will probably have more fun in Belize than we had in the Everglades--and we had a lot!--Although the temperature dropped to 56º F. that day and all of us were still wearing our Caribbean cruise very lightweight outfits . . . . Ft. Lauderdale sold a LOT of sweatshirts THAT day! :D

[toothy26]

Thank you for the information and I would never consider removing the earplugs.

Has anyone else done this in belize. We will be on the Jewel of the Seas in March

[driftwood]

"Arrive at the Airboat Outpost for a short safety briefing and orientation before boarding the 450-horsepower airboat. Feel the breeze tugging at your skin while your boat zips across the water. Approach Almond Hill Lagoon and quietly drift so that you may catch a glimpse of the manatees as they feed. Speed across the lagoon to Indian Creek where you will discover the unspoiled beauty of the area protected by the lack of access. See the beautiful water lilies, the wading birds and turtles. Glide over hundreds of acres of open marshland lined on all sides by mangroves. Return to the Airboat Outpost for a cool complimentary beverage."

 

He might have said, " . . . quietly drift so that we don't inadvertently murder any manatees feeding near the surface," but you get the picture. In the Everglades we were only amused by one alligator and some birds, but I suppose mammals make their own schedules in Belize as alligators do here. Good luck!