I went this place today with my baby!It was really amazing! The tour guide was kind and nice.We had so much fun.I would like to go back and see more wild animals again!Thank you!We will come back again!

We had a chance to visit the Ranch Eco Tours last week, The staff was wonderful and the grounds were well kept. What a beautiful piece of original Florida Paradise. Thanks for sharing it with us.

This was an awesome experience! We did the swamp buggy tour and didn’t really know what to expect. Our expectations were definitely exceeded! The terrain is very diverse and we saw lots of wildlife. There was so much to see, the scenery was magnificent. Our tour guide Brad was very knowledgeable and you can tell he has passion for what he does. Bring tip money so you can show your appreciation. Even though it was hot and muggy, it was so worth it. Florida in June is always hot and muggy, so dress lightly. Make sure to have lunch at the Gator Shack. It has some of the best gator tail I’ve ever had! Even the kids ate it up! The gift shop was really cute too, and reasonably priced. I can’t wait to try the local honey I purchased. It made me very happy to experience this tour. I wish there were more places like Babcock Ranch in Florida and more locals like Brad to show you around the real Florida.

Wonderful time! Our guide was very informative and we saw a variety of animals.

I’ve been on this tour twice now. The first time was amazing! Our guide stopped often to point out and teach us about all sorts of things! That trip, I learned more about Florida that I have in the six years I’ve been here.Yesterday I went back and took a friend. The lady guide was a completely different experience. She rushed us through the tour, and rattled off information as though it was a memorized script. She cut me off when I saw the old engine, and got after the 2 kids (total of 5 people) who were excited and having fun. She was sharp with them- for being excited.Yesterday’s trip was a huge disappointment. It felt like the guide didn’t want to be there, and just wanted to hustle us through. She didn’t interact with us much, more talked AT us. Wouldn’t slow down for pictures, She just ‘went through the motions’.It’s a beautiful place where you might learn a lot, if you draw a decent guide. If your guide is a thin middle aged woman with short gray hair, ask to go on the next trip. She isn’t worth the fee, and you’ll miss out on a lot of the information.*Edit*The guide is in the picture of her holding the baby alligator.

This tour came highly recommended and now we know why! Our guide Brad boarded us on the adventure bus and took us into an amazing mostly unspoiled Florida terrain teeming with animals and birds! The swamps with cypress trees and knees were beautiful. We learned a lot about the history of the land, the animal habits, and the people first to inhabit the area. Had lunch at the Gator Shack and it was good. They even serve gator bites! Cute little gift shop and other buildings to explore, too. We highly recommend this tour!

My Family and I had an amazing time on at the Babcock Ranch Eco tours. Our tour guide Carly was amazing. She was very informative and fun. She showed us so many Animals. After the tour we had ice cream and gator bites at the gator shack, which was amazing. We had an wonderful experience.

When our kids and grandkids visit from out of state we always take them on the tour! Every trip is different, depending on the weather conditions and the animal activity. The guides are so friendly and knowledgeable. Its time to buy annual passes, but I dont see info on the website. Looking forward to our next tour.

History, Wild Animals, Zombie Apocalypse worthy bus transport? Just say YES!Entering the Babcock Ranch for our Eco Tour yesterday set the mood. Driving into Florida history, the gift shop/ticket area looked like what we imagined an old Florida homestead might have looked like. The check-in process was super easy, the staff friendly and competent.The wait time for the tour was minimal and the fun started when Brad, our tour guide extraordinaire, pulled up in our tour transport. A school bus worthy of surviving a zombie apocalypse! Brad was warm, friendly, open, and most importantly knowledgeable. His engaging style made the tour time fly by and we were able to enjoy a plethora of Florida wild life! This tour is worthy of revisiting several times a year. I know we will, you should too!

Awesome experience! If youre not sure...just book it! My husband and I had a great time.

Highly highly recommend!!! Our tour guide Brad was amazing, very knowledgeable and truly seemed to love his job! Some of my family is already from the area but we were visiting from Pa and this is a must! GREAT JOB GUYS

I have lived in the area since 1983 and somehow had not made this tour. I went this weekend with family that was visiting and cannot recommend it enough! Experienced our area from such a unique perspective. Brad, the tour guide, was so knowledgeable and added so much to the experience. I highly recommend this tour.

Very informative, are guy was very knowledgeable. Great day!

Our family had a great experience and our you guide was very informative. Everyone had a lot of fun.

This was a wonderful tour! So informative with our guide Ken, as well as fun. As soon as we drove into the ranch, we saw deer and the wild life just kept on coming. We saw a pond full of alligators, great blue herons, wild turkeys, adorable little wild boars along with the adults, cattle and many birds. We even petted a baby alligator. We then had a delicious lunch at the restaurant. Such a great day!

We loved the tour. We were lucky enough to be the only two people on the tour. Lynn our driver was fun, and very informative. We had such a great time that we will be back and hopefully have Lynn again. Worth every penny!!!

Awesome tour. Bring a camera, tons of wildlife. Tour guides are very informative

What a great way to spend an afternoon before our flight back home. Out guide did a fantastic job with the narration.

This was a great tour! Our 3 year old loved it! It was a little bit of everything instead of too much of something: a bit of history, different ecosystems, driving through water, some birds, some gators, etc. It was fun riding in a modified bus. Our tour guide was Young Sharktooth Guy. Ask for him! He lives fossil hunting and had a lot of information. He tried catching a snake for us to see and gave us some shark teeth fossils at the end!

This was a total wow experience! Highly recommend for all! Our guide was Terry and she was very knowledgable about the history of Babcock Ranch and all the animals. We rode on an open air school bus w/o the windows, so youre able to look out the bus and not have an obstructed view. As I took this tour during COVID, I felt very safe and they made sure to social distance guests. We had several stops during the tour and were able to view from both sides of the bus, so I never missed any animal sightings. We saw a lot of birds, pigs (and even adorable piglets), alligators, racons, turtles, deer, turkeys and others who are all free to roam the ranch. While we rode through many different ecosystems, my favorite was driving through the swamp land. I definitely plan to attend again on my next trip back to Florida!

This place was great!! Affordable. No crowds. The staff was friendly and knowledge. Excellent customer service. The ranch is located on a state reserve. Its a hidden gem! We never would have known about it if we hadnt been with family that live locally. It is a cypress swamp but it was drought season when we were there. At first we were bummed because we wanted to see the swamp. What we didnt know, was the drought meant the water was low and thus all the gaters were gathering together in the watering holes. We ended up seeing hundreds of gaters as a result! They also have a Florida Panther or bobcat...its is huge. The kids LOVED it. We all loved it. Ended up being one of our favorite parts of our central FL vacay.

We just got off an awesome tour with Brad!!It was an amazing way to end our six day stay in the area and we definitely will be looking into bringing our entire family of 32 in 2021.Thanks for all the info Brad, and for taking such good care of us! Our visit was capped off with a very good buffet luncheon at the Gator Shack.

My daughter introduced me to this place about a year or so ago. I bought an annual pass for the eco tour so we can go often. The staff here is really friendly and helpful as well as knowledgeable. I have been 3 time already this year and I am going again in a few days with other members of my family. The Gator Shack is one of my favorite places to eat. The staff there are super nice and fast at cooking the food. The food is always so delicious. They dont serve fountain drinks but there is a variety drinks to choose from. I love this place all around! Most importantly, the bathrooms are clean.

MUST DO in Florida - what a great experience! You will probably see more alligators over there than in the Everglades. Terry has been the most wonderful tour guide! The staff has been super super cute! We really enjoyed it and will come back.

The tour was great. The Guide, Terry, was very knowledgeable and gave us the history of the ranch and the land. Saw lots of wild life and lots of alligators. The baby wild pigs running to the bus was super cute. The only thing that was not needed was keeping a baby alligator in a box attached to the back of the bus, inhaling the exhaust fumes through the minimal holes it had for air. All for the guide to be able to bring the baby onto the bus to let everyone touch it. Unnecessary and cruel. It is nice to see all these animals in their natural habitat, we dont need to hand them.

Great day out to see what the southern Florida wilderness like. Tour is about 90 minutes long, our tour guide Rhonda was a hoot, friendly staff all round. Saw plenty alligators, water birds and cracker cattle. Cost about $25, well worth it.

Babcock Ranch Eco Tour is a great experience for the entire family, our tour guide Joe made it fun with his sense of humor, educational with his knowledge of the its history as well as the environment.Every staff member I encountered was friendly and helpful. If you havent been here before, get here.

Great tour, many more Gators than the fan boats in the Glades. Tour guide was really fun and so many cool creatures

Great tour with Rhonda. So many animals to see in their natural surroundings- plenty of stops to enjoy them & take photos. Not a full bus so we were able to move around to get the best viewpoints. Seeing all the alligators was great

We have been here many times and have two more groups of guests still coming this year. Brad was the best guide we have ever had. Hope were lucky enough to get Brad again.

Beautiful and well worth the visit!Had gone a vacation in the Fort Meyers area mid July with my Girlfriend, and we had decided to check this place out! What a blast we ended up having on our bus tour of the preserve. Our tour guide Carly was very knowledgeable about the entire property and was very determined to make sure we had a blast.! Very nice to see the southern outdoors and swamps. Would recommend to anyone staying in the area. 10/10

We had a great time on this tour. Bouncing around through swamps and marshes in an old school bus was a ton of fun in its self, but having a fantastically knowledgeable and nice tour guide Rob taking us around whilst we seen and learned about some great ecosystems and some amazing wildlife was even better. Id reccomend this tour to anyone (but be aware the ride is very bumpy). Excellent value for money.

Today some friends met us at the Babcock Preserve to take the Eco Tour. Brad was such a great guide on our tour. Besides being thoughtful, personable, and delightful, he shared an immense amount of knowledge with us . He pointed out all kinds of wildlife, explained the eco-systems and provided a history of the ranch. We highly recommend this tour.The folks in the gift shop were very friendly and helpful, as were the ladies in the restaurant. Great food!

Fascinating tour. Brad was super! He was friendly, extremely knowledgeable and thorough. Overall a great experience. Can’t wait to bring the kids.

Exceeded expectations as our guide drove us through area. Nature (alligators, wild turkeys, deer raptors, birds, and more alligators). Also learned how area was devemiss this stop. O will visit again and so will you.eloped over last 100 years. Dont

Best eco tour! I really appreciate what this company is doing - showing people the natural Florida ecosystem. I can tell the employees take the reviews seriously and tries their best to make their tour the very best! Great job everyone! We had a blast!

It was our second time and again it was a great experience. Many thanks to our tour guide Rhonda. You can tell that she loves her job and especially the animals. The only thing that is not necessary is the demonstration of a little baby alligator, who is riding in a box outside the bus all the time.

Wonderful time! Rhonda was our tour guide and did an awesome job telling us information and spotting all the animals! We saw so many alligators! Really worth the time and money!

GatorShack has the best alligator bites. The seafood sampler was delicious and large portions for the price. We will definitely be eating there again.3rd time out. Lots of wildlife to see everywhere. The GatorShack restaurant never disappoints. Service is quick, hot, and excellent.

Whilst holidaying in USA from England we visited Babcock Ranch Echo Tour and took the tour with Brad, family of 5 (3 children ages 11, 12 & 16) we were all really impressed with it. Brad was very informative, answered all our questions, made it fun and enjoyable for us and the kids. We got to see loads of wildlife, hogs, deer, snakes, turtle, variety of birds and lots of gators from babies to large. Would definitely recommend.

This spot is not for hiking. It is for a $25 interesting tour. Interesting little Store and restaurant.

We had a wonderful tour with Brad. We saw several birds, alligators,wild hogs and learned about cracker cattle. We would definitely recommend this tour .

My parents treated myself and 3 kids to a Swamp Buggy Tour... BRAD is amazing! He is so knowledgeable about the entire tour. My 6 year old son talked about it the entire week we stayed in Florida. This place gave me a whole new perspective on Florida. Thank you Swamp Buggy Tours for a great day.

This is a must do it visiting the Gulf Coast! A really great tour where you got to see lots of different animals, lovely guides and a good restaurant. We bought out 8 month old son and he had a great time jumping about in the bus and even spotted some of the animals!

The Babcock Ranch Eco Tour is an amazing opportunity to see a variety of animals, birds and beautiful scenery that are native to Florida. The swamp buggy ( it’s actually an old school bus) is an enjoyable ride and the tour guides are always friendly and very informative. The tour lasts for 90 minutes and you are guaranteed to see a wide variety of animals on the tour. I have taken the tour twice and I saw different animals during both tours as I took the tour at different times during the year.It truly is a wonderful experience and I highly recommend others to check it out as it’s both interesting and very enjoyable!We also ate at the Gator Shack restaurant located at the ranch and the food was very good and reasonably priced. We couldn’t resist trying the gator bites just to say we had eaten alligator and it’s true that they taste a little like chicken but they have a different consistency. Definitely give them a try if you go there! The staff at the restaurant were very nice also!

Great, fun and very informative tour. Brad was our guide and he is fantastic.

Tour driver was great however the loud speaker on the bus made it very difficult to hear his commentary. Recommend for the sights and beauty but make sure you get a bus that you can hear the driver.

This was amazing!! Our tour guide Brad was awesome and very knowledgeable about the swamp. I whole heatedly recommend this tour!!

Loved it, Ken was knowledgeable and funny. Great flora and fauna

An extremely unexpected AMAZING time!!! Rhonda was wonderful as a guide, the animals and wildlife were spectacular. We took a 2 year old and a 4 mos old, as well as 3 adults and it was an experience for ALL OF US. Highly recommend this fantastic experience for the family.Ps the restaurant was PHENOMENAL!!!!!!!

A wonderfully entertaining and educational tour - kudos to our guide Brad - his passion for the area and its wildlife evident and infectious. Very understandable commentary and very adequate PA system on the bus. Nice gift shop, diner and area for picnicking. Highly recommended.

My wife, 12 year old granddaughter and I enjoyed this echo tour very much. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about the environment and the creatures that inhabit all areas covered by the tour. We were able to get up close and personal with cattle, wild pigs, deer, storks, alligators, turkeys, an owl (in the wild) and other native and transitory birds, trees, flowers, while we learned about the original (still working) Babcock Ranch dating back to the early 1900s. The 90 minute tour is well worth the price of admission. But keep your camera handy, because photo ops happen constantly throughout the entire tour.

Friendly knowledgeable staff. Great food!

We enjoyed the tour so much. Hubby and I had gone when we were first married, then we went back 12 years later with our 11 year old daughter and the tour was still amazing. Everyone there was so knowledgeable and the land is beautiful. Be ready for a bumpy ride though. But when can you expect when you take an old school bus out in the woods on dirt roads. Bring you appetite too for some down home cooking. Gator bites are even on the menu. My favorite part is seeing the gators in the lake. When the bus pulls up they all come closer to see whats going on. Its amazing to see all the eyes swimming toward you. and you do get to pet a baby gator too. A must see for locals or out-of-towners.

Pretty cool! Boring for young kids.

I’ve lived in SWFL all my life and I can’t believe I haven’t experienced this until now. The Babcock Ranch preserve is such an amazing piece of Florida history and the people that work there are so incredibly passionate about what they do. Brad was our tour guide when we stumbled in last minute hoping to book a tour. Brad was incredible, he had an amazing sense of humor and was so passionate about Florida ecosystems and wildlife it showed throughout the entire tour. He was excited to answer every single question we had and pointed out animals most of us wouldn’t of ever seen due to his well trained eye. We saw multiple snakes, wild hogs, cattle, Turkey, sandhill cranes, deer, alligator and so many other animals I couldn’t believe it. This is the best eco tour I have ever taken, it’s better than any zoo I’ve been too or any other animal experience I’ve done. If you’re in the area, or even a few hours away, I promise this is worth the trip!

Awesome!! All kinds of wildlife. Ken was a great quide!!

We just love everything about Babcock! The food is amazing and every ecotour we go on is even better than the last. Its our #1 thing to do when relatives and friends come visit - weve never been disappointed. Thanks for being there!

Bin many times step back in time to old world Florida ranching and see the beauty of natural florida.go before it vanishes

Our tour guide, Rhonda, was outstanding! We took the Babcock Eco Tour several years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it, but this time it was even better!!Rhonda was very friendly, energetic and shared her vast knowledge of the Babcock Ranch ecosystems and history in a way that made the 90 minute tour pass by almost too quickly.We learned a lot and highly recommend it to anyone who appreciates nature and history of southwest Florida!

I wish I could give more than 5 stars! Truly best tour weve ever been on! Linn is a gold mine of knowledge & an absolutely phenomenal tour guide! Cant recommend enough! Will definitely return on our next trip to Florida. Thank you!!

Babcock Ranch is a great place to see Florida at its finest. The staff are very friendly and full of knowledge about the animals and surrounding area. This would be a great place to take your family away from modern life.

I enjoyed my lunch at the Gator Shack located at Babcock Ranch Eco Tours. The fried shrimp and collard greens w pork were perfect. Its a bit of a hike to get there but well worth the effort. I hear the tour is very nice, though Ive not taken it yet. I make the trip for the food, the atmosphere and the people. John Anderson puts out great tasting food and a generous portion.

Fantastic tour and enlightening. When out of state visitors think of Florida we typically think about beaches or theme parks. This tour shows you the real Florida and give you an appreciation of life in Florida of years past. The tour guide pointed out many non-obvious details along the way. We went in the rainy season and got a unique perspective of the swamps.

Great tour, definitely a must do, BUT, I am sitting here at the eco tour right now waiting for a 11:00 bus after making a reservation for 7 of us @ 10:30 a couple weeks ago. As we were waking up at 10:28 tour bus was leaving with one person on it, we joking and yelling saying wait that’s our bus, seriously not thinking it was our bus would leave early knowing we were coming. But yep it sure was. And the only explanation we received along with another party that had reservations at 10:30 as well was “ well she leaves right on time.” Apparently she leaves early. We have been here 2 other times in the past 6 months and never left early. It is definitely worth the wait, however our grandkids are only here for 3 days and we have a tight schedule that is now affected by this inconsiderate woman. Seriously frustrated right now.

What a wonderful tour! Great guide and yummy food at the Gator Shack!

Awesome experience. Very informative presentation with Rhonda as our guide. Got to see wildlife up close: newborns and bigger. Fascinating museum, interesting items in gift shop, and delicious food at the Gator shack restaurant. (Even as a Noles fan). Even though I am born/raised Florida native, I learned a lot. Am not a cracker, according to the experts, but have always loved the way of life here. Enjoyable.

Great narration from driver. Saw alligators, wild pigs, cows, went through swamps. Kids loved the bumpy ride. Food at restaurant was good too. All employees were very nice. Will go again

Went to Babcock Ranch for the first time and had a wonderful time. Our guide Brad, was awesome and we saw a ton of gators, birds, cattle, horses, and a wild hog! We ate at the Gator Shack on site and the food was excellent!

The tour was great and our tour guide Rhonda made it fun. We had a blast and you will be amazed with the wildlife and history of that ranch.

What a great day! From the quaint gift shop, to the little museum, to the excellent Gator Shack - best ribs and gator bites! - to Linn, our knowledgable and fun guide! Cant wait to come back in the next season to see the differences! I think I liked seeing the baby alligators and baby piglets the most. So cute!

We had a great experience in the Babcock wilderness! We saw a large number of alligators ranging from foot-long babies to 12 footers on the banks near the tour-buggy. Also witnessed wild pigs next to the trail, deer feeding by the trail and many cows/cattle around the trail and among the trees. Not to mention so many birds, we lost count!Thanks to the great tour-guide for a wonderful experience..

We had a very good time and our bus driver Carly was a lot of fun too had a great time and definitely will be back

Our Tour Guide B was excellent. Weve been on many swamp/ecco tours since weve lived in Florida and this was by far the best. The little restaurant had fabulous food. Im looking forward to taking our guest on this tour!

The best place to see the real old Florida and nature. Youve got to go on the swamp buggy tour its worth the money. You see hogs deer turkeys lots of gators and more. If you get Rhonda as your tour guide youre in very good company. Make sure you eat at gator shack chef John cooks up Carolina bbq gator bites its all good.

As a Florida native, I can say this is one exciting trip through authentic Old Florida. The wildlife, the ecosystems and the rich stories of our local heritage - what an exceptional way to spend a few hours! I would highly recommend this for families, couples and especially children - they will have so much fun, they wont realize how much they are learning!

Great tour guides. Staff in shop was really friendly as well. Awesome food. My son, mom and I all had a blast.

This is an outstanding experience! I thoroughly enjoyed the buggy tour and the detailed history provided by our guide/driver along the way. We saw many facets of Florida landscape and ecosystems, flora and fauna. A truly educational and interesting day.

Loved the tour. We saw 3 sets of wild hogs, mama & offspring. Tons of gators, many lovely birds, wild turkeys, and the cracker cattle following the bus for some corn was a hoot. Almost forgot the fishing spider on the tree trunk - ewww!

Beautiful place

Great tour! Our guide, Shark Tooth Stephen, made it even better. Would definitely go again.

Amazing tour and knowledge trip. I will be going back again.

Enjoyed all the plants and animals. Tess is a great tour bus guide. Gator sampler in the restaurant was delicious.

This is the best little eco tour. Must go back with our kids!

We enjoyed the tour and the lunch we purchased after. Great place! Highly recommended.

Grat tour. Recommended for the family. Great food specially alligator bites. Clean restrooms. Great staff

Great Sunday tour ride today...followed up with great food at the Gator Shack.

WONDERFUL! I love the staff. Jessie was such a lovie:) I wouldnt have made it to this location without her. She was very helpful and kind on the phone. The driver of the bus, please forgive me for forgetting her name, but she was extremely knowledgeable, nice and just plain AWESOME!! I would recommend this to anyone who wants to see real Florida Thank you!!! I took my 5 year old son on Sunday July 9th 2017.

Loved this! Tour guide was amazing, fun, factual. Great mix of history and nature.

What a great nature experience.

Enjoyed every second of the trip.

For truck drivers delivery, ugh the mud

Great narrated tour. Small on site restaurant is excellent.

Great experience. I would highly recommend this tour to everyone.

Great fun! April seems to be the best time to go

Tour guide guide did a good job, worth the drive and admission. Was not a fan of their restaurant.

Great place. We love Rhonda

The whole experience, tour and food makes for a great day..

Would visit againPretty and friendly people

Outstanding trip to a very special place.