Backwater Adventure Guided Wildlife Tour

Marco Island and The Ten Thousand Islands Boat Tour

Backwater Adventure offers a unique way for visitors to have the freedom of their own self-drive motor boat yet still enjoy all the benefits of a local guide! Each 1 1/2 and 2-hour tour starts with a short lesson on water safety and how to drive the boat and is led by an experienced boater and local naturalist.

MustDo.com | Drive your own boat to explore the 10,000 Islands with Backwater Adventure tours Marco Island, Florida

Photo courtesy Backwater Adventure

The two-person motorized catamaran is just over 11 feet long and has two side-by-side seats and a Bimini top for shade. The boats are surprisingly stable and quiet – a significant plus for seeing local wildlife while cruising through the mangroves.

Load up with water, drinks, snacks, towels, and sunscreen essentials and your nature cruise adventure is good to go. There is a small dry compartment for keeping keys, wallets, and cell phones safe and dry.

Wildlife Sightings in Marco Island and The Ten Thousand Islands

The water around Marco Island and The Ten Thousand Islands offer an opportunity to encounter egrets, white ibis, great blue herons, little blue herons, pelicans, seagulls, sanderlings, and rarer species such as roseate spoonbills, glossy ibis, ospreys, and bald eagles. You may even spot some nesting birds in the spring season.

Dolphins and manatees frequent the warm waters. Dolphins love to jump and splash in the wake left by the boats – a fantastic way to get close enough to see their smile-like expression. Manatees feed on seagrass, so look out for these slow-moving gentle giants.

MustDo.com | See dolphins and other wildlife on a Backwater Adventure nature tour Marco Island, FL

Photo courtesy Backwater Adventure

The mid-point of this nature-friendly boat tour is marked with a visit to your own private sandy island where you can step ashore and collect seashells or have a refreshing swim.

The trip continues to explore the unspoiled waterways and uninhabited islands that make up this scenic area known as The Ten Thousand Islands, covering up to 40 miles in comfort and style.

CraigCat boats are surprisingly zippy, and there is a good chance you will get wet!

Book a Backwater Adventure Tour! 

Written by:

Nita Ettinger is Co-publisher for Siesta Publications Inc. and the Editor in Chief for Must Do Visitor Guides. Must Do Visitor Guides provides Southwest Florida visitor information through printed magazines and the website MustDo.com. Must Do magazines are published bi-annually and are available at no cost in Sarasota, Lee, and Collier County Chamber of Commerce, visitor information centers, select Southwest Florida hotels, and wherever free publications can be found.