Definitely NOT worth the money, especially if you dont take the boat tour. $30 with, $20 without. And dont mistake this for the national park! If youve ever taken a tourist train, seen a pioneer village, an alligator exhibit, or a nature/reptile/snake talk, then youve seen it done better than it is done here. It looks like it might have been interesting 40 years ago but its not now.The boat tour might have redeemed it, but by arriving a little before 1:00 with a closing time of 5:30 there were no tours left for me to take. Boat tours go out every half hour but they sell out fast on the weekends. I visited on a Saturday and apparently all spots were filled before 10 am. So definitely plan ahead if you want to do a boat tour which might be the only worthwhile thing to do at this park (and other reviews say its a lot shorter than it used to be.)The only thing I really enjoyed on my impromptu visit was the walk out, and up, to the observation tower. Theres a section of the boardwalk that is a low walk right on top of the water (and sometimes just below it by a couple inches.) Then there are two platforms on the tower, one halfway up to catch your breath and the very too. Going all the way to the top is a must! Its a great view and a good breeze.

This is a really fun, condensed way to enjoy the Okefenokee swamp! It is fairly expensive, but it is also very educational and entertaining! They have a few alligators in captivity, but you also see wild ones basking on the banks next to sidewalks! The train tour is interesting, and it takes you through some old homestead replicas. Don’t forget to hike out to the observational tower! The walk alone is unforgettable, but it is also beautiful to see from the top of the tower.

Certainly a unique experience! I guess it depends on you perspective and expectations. I really had none going in, as my wife encouraged it as she went as a child. I thought it was really a special place. 70 percent authentic swamp wilderness and 30 percent cheesy 1950s Hollywood studio set. Maybe 60/40. Whatever the ratio, the mixture worked for us.

This late in the season the alligators were hibernating we still took the boat ride and went to the fire tower and exhibits. Ive bee once before will be back agian. Awesome experience.

Went on a Sunset Tour through OkefenokeeOur Guide Alex was awesomeVery knowledgeable and friendly

We entered at the Suwannee Canal Recreation Area (MAIN Entrance). We only walked a few trails, saw the homestead, and walked the boardwalk to the overlook tower. We had no idea there was so much more to the park.It was very hot so we recommend hats, water, sunglasses, and sunscreen.Also. We were chacos but wished we wore tennis shoes or hiking boots .There were also A TON of snakes. Be careful with little ones.I would not recommend taking a dog due to the heat, snakes, alligator potential and I don’t think they are allowed at the park anyways.Take your tome and do this park right!

This was a really nice visit with small people. Alligators, a train ride, some history, and a nice taste of the scenery of the swamp. Several buildings of exhibits to look through. The train ride was good and informative and we really enjoyed the animal presentation. Great way to spend the afternoon.

Neat but not worth the $$. Paid $60 for 2 people. 4 people total in the whole park. Rode the boat with a very nice informative capt. Enjoyed that! Waited 10 minutes for the train conductor who never showed up so decided to walk around the park. Came back to conductor who was leaned back in his chair in the bldg. Was told he radioed in and was told he had nobody for the train. Hello....theres only 4 visitors here. Get up and start the train! Very disappointing visit.

We stopped for info because it was raining. They have lots to do and Im planning a few days to go and enjoy it all. Beautiful place and the people there were very friendly and informative. Im pretty sure this rate will turn into a 5.

Great, friendly, knowledgeable staff great wild life, family friendly, big joe the train conductor made our day!

Absolutely loved it!! Staff was very friendly and knowledgeable. If you want to see a gator in its natural habitat this is the place for you. They do roam free in the park so no pets are allowed for safety reasons. The staff go above and beyond to make sure you have a safe visit but do your part and follow the rules.

Was beautiful lights.it is nice to take the children threw to see the beautiful lights.

Had a great time. Boat guide was cool.Climb the tower. Im 68 y.old, and its higher than I thought, but the view was worth the climb.

Beautiful place to spend the day. The boat tour is worth it as well as the train ride. The park also puts on a Christmas light show in Dec.

The staff are amazing and the park is sooo cool.

It has changed a lot since the last time I went. The boat tour was EXCELLENT, but it isnt the original path. Much shorter. Miss the live folks at the old homestead. Need to get more/different sizes in shirts and hoodies and jackets. Very FRIENDLY folks

We just got back home from vacation there. I simply wish we could have spent longer there. We hiked, took the train, and went on guided boat tour. I learned so much from the guide about the swamp & its history. The natural beauty of the swamp was just awesome to us. I had one concern though, in the gift shop I went to buy some hot sauce & bottle had baby alligator foot attached so I didnt buy it. Then I saw baby alligator heads for sale, they looked real so I asked employee, they were real.... The employee assured me they bought from a gator farm & for educational purposes. That didnt reassure me. For me, perhaps there could be a better choice of ornaments for sale. We will be back, I just hope gift shop rethinks their inventory.

Awesome day trip. Boat tour was chock full of amazing information and tons of gators from a few months old to 90 years old. Awesome trails, observation tower...def. a great day trip destination!!!!!

This place was amazing, so peaceful! Very scenic. Saw plenty of gators, but no pitcher plants sadly. The observation tower is definitely worth checking out.

This is a wonderful park for a family day trip! Staff was friendly, helpful, and informative. My son really enjoyed the entire experience, from getting hands-on with some of the animals, to the boat tour, and the train. Priced reasonably for the experience that you get. Would also highly recommend the honey from the gift shop and miss Connies jam on Pioneer Island. Great stuff!

Friendly staff great scenery interesting exhibits fun and informative train ride and boat tour many interesting items for sale in Visitor Center

Beautiful place. Could look better but they dont receive the funds needed to keep it up more due to it only being funded by donations

Great place. Must take a boat tour when you go.

Beautiful park. Far away from decent grocery outlets so planning is required. No Verizon. AT&T is spotty but works decently with a booster (surecall). Gators everywhere, boars, turtles, snakes etc.Dark skies with ample it stars. Campground had grassy spots but does get muddy during rain.

This was my first time as an adult with my family to the Okefenokee Swamp and we all enjoyed it. Its a must see! The staff were excellent!

This was our first visit do not take the train ride a waste of money better off doing the boat ride . They did have hand sanitizer throughout the complex that we visited.

Super fun and educational. Boat ride, train ride and reptile show. Learn about the swamp and the history of the area!

We had the best time. We got there early and spent 6 hours there. Staff was very nice and helpful planning the day and seeing everything. Great place to visit if your in Georgia! It was a pretty dry when we went but there were still plenty of amazing things to see. The train ride was pretty cool too. Will definitely go back. The buildings and trails are starting to show age, however, this park is still just as awesome. Didn’t get to see many alligators due to low water levels (world suggest boat tour to see more) but the train ride and nature show was great. Really enjoyed the park and staff was great. Okefenokee Swamp Park is a best past time and childhood favorite, so coming back after many years of being away, it definitely did not disappoint. I love the park and everything that it has to offer.

Pack a lunch and head out to the swamp. There are picnic tables and a snack bar(got a decent hot dog) check out the bear observation area and visit the two resident bears. Interesting exhibits(see explanation of Land of the trembling earth) take the board walk thru the swamp to the tower....theres a guided swamp boat ride(extra fee...worth it) we saw gators Snakes and birds. The kids will love the train w/a stop at a old fashion homestead.

I took the train ride and attended the nature show. The employees were nice. Plenty of alligators to see.

Great. Loved every minute of it. The boat and train tours were fantastic. And the animal show was amazing.

The boat ride was best. Terry was a great guide. If you want to hear the train conduct sit closer to the front.

Social distancing reinforcing with masks and hand sanitizer available to the public.We went with my husband and teenage kids and had an awesome time. The boat and train rides are fun and very informative.Our boat tour guide, Alan, was a pleasure to be with. He knew all about the reserve and was willing to answer all our questions. We took the COVID-19 boat tour which allowed us to be by ourselves in the boat with the guide. Alan stopped to show us paths, plants, and gators when he spotted them. He also knew amazing details about the refuge and gave us information on environmental preservation and animal protection.It was my husband’s dream to visit the swamp park and the entire family is glad to have visited it. The nature show was also fantastic. I could tell that the employees care for the animals and they are good at it.I hope to go back there during another vacation.

Great experience and a must-see when in south Georgia. The facilities and exhibits could used some updating. Even a simple cleaning would be a good start

Great way to see and learn about nature and swamp life. The guides were fun and knowledgable!

Good place to visit while in Waycross. Bring the kids and bug repellant.

We parked and walked around but we did see 6 different gators. Ive lived here in Waycross for 3 years now and it was my first time seeing a gator up close. It was a surreal experience. Cant wait to go back and actually experience the whole place. Its very peaceful and beautiful. The gift shop is adorable and has a bunch of nifty little trinkets to buy at reasonable prices.

Excellent place to see nature!!! Alligators as close to you as they are comfortable getting and as close as you are comfortable letting them get to you, using common sense. :) Turtles, train rides, interactive reptile show. Snack center with concessions but I would highly recommend bringing a picnic!!!! Super nice staff, also. Bathrooms are spotless.

Best vacation EVER!!! We had an awesome experience. All of the staff was friendly and knowledgeable. To be IN the habbitat of these alligators, snakes and other creatures without a fence or glass window was incredible. Our boat driver was Terry.. he was amazing ( the man behind me in the photo). I would love to tell you about what happened next but you wouldnt believe me... Stop down at Okefenokee and ask Terry about what he and Sally the alligator did that day.. Thanks everyone down at the swamp.. we hope to see you soon. Brian W.

Great little park, geared towards younger kids. Friendly staff. We enjoyed our visit.

Loved the visit here. Didnt know what to expect when we stopped in but very pleasantly surprised. Very nice staff that explained the park and inside staff that shared stories and knowledge.

Had a great visit here today. The guides are very knowledgeable and the tours were fun. If you want to see the Okefenokee but dont want to take a canoe or kayak, then this is the place to go. Great place to take kids.

It was cool to take a little boat ride and see the different swamp ecology. Big gators too!! Its slow and steady and probably boring to teenagers....but I love wildlife so this was fun for me.

Cant say enough about this place.. February was the perfect time to go.. No bugs and had our river boat guide to ourselves..

Really enjoyed this venue. This is a private company and they do a very good job. The guide in the boat tour was very knowledgeable about how the people who used to live there utilized the different plants and how the animals live. They were helpful to people with disabilities also I went in February so very few bugs and comfortable temperatures.

Biggest waste of $150 ever. Attractions are dilapidated and not kept up at all, the train ride was mediocre and the boat ride had nothing to it. Dont waste your time or money, our kids were even disappointed.

Would be 5 stars but boardwalk was closed.

I love this place. I take my kids a couple of times a month just to walk around and see the alligators. Its a little expensive to go in the actual park if you have a bunch of kids. My kids loved it but I prefer the jacksonville zoo for the price.

Its a great place to take someone to get up close and personal with nature. The staff was very friendly. Its not like the zoo. The alligators are pretty close.

I expected a mediocre boat ride through the swamp with a guide that would just repeat the same ol facts that they all learned long ago....BUT WHAT I GOT WAS...The best freaking boat ride tour Ive ever been on. Our guide was so informative without throwing out baseless and boring facts.He was so enthusiastic and witty. He was nice enough to stop and let everyone on the boat take the scenic pictures they wanted and even gave us kudos for spotting out the wildlife. Our tour was great because there were lots of juniors out and 2 yrs along the way. I liked the thrill of no barriers around the swamp. And the different exhibits that they offered as well as the reptile show. One of the best experiences in life.YOU WILL NEED BUG SPRAY...may the odds be ever in your favor

So much fun for a Christmas treat! My daughters little stuffed puppy jumped off of the train during the ride. The train staff graciously faced all the woodland animals at night and found him! They surprised my daughter who nearly cried and wrote a very thoughtful thank you note to the train guys! Will go every year forever

Cool place to visit. Beautiful even in the heat. Great glimpse into Old Florida.

The train ride to see the Christmas lights was a lot of fun! Comfortable seats on the train, beautiful nature trails.

I havent actually been here because they upped their fees almost 10 PER PERSON, and theres a $50 BOOKING FEE! This is only for 1 hour! I called to ask about their military discount because the website states that its active military. The woman on the phone confirmed that the discount was only for active military. So I guess military service members who spent 20 years serving, Vietnam vets missing limbs, and reservists who just got back from a tour in iraq shouldnt be included. Whoever is running the show here needs to be fired.

Great visit. Lots of gators. I the boardwalk is really nice.

Loved being able to see the gators up close. However, when we were purchasing tickets they did not have the courtesy to let us know that the boardwalk was completely flooded. It felt very dishonest (which I am assuming is why they have the no rain checks/refunds policy on their brochure) That was the specific reason we had driven 2 hours and the rest of our experience (getting eaten alive by deer flies on a long train ride to the water that you can see from the parking lot) certainly did not make up for this.

It was the week tween Christmas and New Years Eve when I visited. The place is a geological wonder. The staff is gracious and courteous, owed to the fact that most everybody in Georgia is such. I wasnt in time for one of their evening tours so all the lights that had been strung were not on.

We stopped here thinking it was the National Forest headquarters and realized that it was a privately owned tourist stop. The entire staff at the gift shop was sitting in their little office on their phones. No one even welcomed us. We used their facilities, toured their gift shop and still no one talked to us. On my way out of the building an elderly man asked ME if I had a place he could sit for a minute. I explained to him that I didnt work there and that the staff may be able to help him. One of the staff members got out of his chair and said I dont think so. Let me see if there is some where in the gift shop. He was sitting in a folding chair! Couldve given the elderly gentleman his chair? Do not recommend this place to anyone!

Looking back over a 40 year career I saw a lot of happy faces. Its time to share the most memorable experiences with all of you. How many times have I been there? Well all the way back to the 1980s. In the hundreds I guess. Never boring. The damage from wild fires really impacted the tour in a negative way. Ever wanted to swim with the gators ?THIS AINT THE PLACE! Take a sip of swamp water. Its like tea.

This is a huge place! When we googled it we ended up going to the Northern part which has a boat ride, train ride and very small walking trail through a pretty garden (small). It was beautiful though. But, we were looking to hike and kayak so it was disappointing that we ended up at the wrong end. The alligator that greets you at the beginning is impressive! Cute gift shop and friendly staff.

Too high of a price point for a train ride through the woods where you can’t hear any of the information. The walk to the fire tower is terrifying. Highly recommend if you get a thrill from a narrow plank of wood being the only thing between you and gator teeth.

No comment just emojis. ️️️

Really nice place, friendly staff, train and boat tours. Almost everyone survived the boat tour (Just Kidding on boat tour).

Kitchy, friendly with nice Christmas lights, one of the few places to get a glimpse of the swamp

The train ride was fun and informitive

I have to admit this is a very old review as I went there about 30 years ago its only come up because I was looking at it on the internet but when I did go the place was fantastic I love wildlife and you can get very close or you could then get close to where the alligators were and it was a really fun few days I spent there at the time I went you were not stuck in crowds of people it covered a massive area so it was the kind of place that suited me as I dont enjoy crowds whether its still like that I hope so and maybe somebody will put a post up or a reply to this let me know its still the same I would be interested to know

Fun and relaxing. Sweet and informative staff. Nice day in nature.

Knowledge staff and a great place to spend the day, enjoy nature, and see some alligators.

This place is terrific. By itself, the unique foliage is worth the trip if you’re in area. However, I think the prospect of walking by wild alligators, the train rides, and the boat tours are enough for anyone to enjoy. Go during late fall, winter, or early (March) spring unless you hot weather.

Pretty fun little side trip, yellow flies where bad and that made sitting still a little uncomfortable and the bug spray they sold didnt work either. But overall fun, little learning experience

Was interesting, with by boat and train, we toured the swamp. Saw live alligators, turtles, snakes, lizards, bears, etc.

If youre adventurous then this is the place for you. We did the boat ride and saw a lot of gators, turtles and birds. The tour guide was very interesting and informative. We watch also the feeding of the gators. Was amazing. Some are massive. We went to walk towards the tower and seen a bunch of gators along the way. It was scary lol . Their gift shop sells souveniers. Friendly staff. Do not bring your furry friend here. Also looking forward to kayak the swamp and camp in the park here.

It was good I like it

I have lived in Georgia for 27 years and this was my first time to the park. It was great. All the staff were very knowledgable and friendly. If you are in the area and have the time it is well worth the time and price of admission. The boat tour is a must.

I loved it! I concurred 2 of my biggest fears that day! The staff was super friendly! I got to see alligators with their babies, snakes, turtles, spiders and a scorpion. I am going to visit again!!!

Take all the tours theyre worth the money. We had a great time.

Great place to visit if your in Georgia! It was a pretty dry when we went but there were still plenty of amazing things to see. The train ride was pretty cool too. Will definitely go back next time were in Georgia!

Our boat guide was very knowledgeable and answered every question we may have had!

Didnt get to see any gators at all... very nice staff members but the prices are very high

Great place to see alligators and love the park and tours.

The guides were so knowledgeable and it was an absolute blast

The light show was great

What a great 3 days on the swamp! The staff was very friendly. If you enjoy nature and wildlife you will not be disappointed!

The only thing more dangerous than the alligators are the horseflys! Dip yourself in insect repellent before walking away from your car and be prepared for heat, humidity, and lack of a breeze. After all, it is a swamp!

I like how loud the Quaker oats man screamed when he ran into a wasp nest. 10/10

Love this place, the history, and the guides are very knowledgeable and interesting to listen to!!

Wasnt sure about going to a place with the name swamp in it but it didnt disappoint. We ended up spending the entire day and still didnt get time to take the boat ride. The staff is friendly, the facilities well-maintained and the presentations educational. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Great place for a nature walk and to have a relaxing day, boat tour is great!

This park has a long history and a lot of heart. But honestly, other than the reptile house and the boat tour, it is *very* run down. I would love to see it after a serious renovation.

Great place with lots of wildlife. Reminds of the Everglades back home..

Love this place.

Excellent boat tour through the swamp. Not too crowded in the early spring and wonderful weather.

This park is okay, its more of an controlled type park. Most Gators are in fenced in areas. The tours dont really take you into the swamp since this is the head waters of the Okefenokee.

Over priced on everything. Do not and I repeat do not do train ride its a joke dont waist your money.

Wow loved seeing the alligators! Prices not too high. Educational park.

Such a cool place! Great spot to stop for a picnic, and then hike along the boardwalk through the swamp. Climb the 90 observation tower if youre brave (can be quite windy at the top). And, yes - youll see gators everywhere.

Gators! They have a lot of them. The staff is kind, funny, and knowledgeable about the wildlife and history of the swamp it is great for familys and kids of all ages. the yellow flys didnt slow us down, bring plenty of bug spray. I definitely recommend the boat and train tour Im definitely bringing the rest of my family to enjoy this awesome experience

We took our group of seniors from church. Would like to see some type of assistance to train ride for those who have difficulty walking. If you are going to advertise lights, have lights. Dark area on the train ride. I asked the group if they wanted to walk around, I was told numerous times that the walking areas too dark and no signs of what was happening or where. Staff very friendly, This group of seniors did not appreciate. Maybe better suited for younger folks.

Great place for gator watching and friendly staff... cool little hang out. Train ride was fun and the boat tours are great..

We had the best time. We got there early and spent 6 hours there. Staff was very nice and helpful planning the day and seeing everything.