Exploring the Everglades
Everglades Isle Motorcoach Resort
Everglades City, FL
We traveled down the west coast of Florida to Everglades City and the Everglades Isle Motorcoach Resort. Lush, luxurious, waterfront RV sites and a few miles from the entrance to the Everglades National Park.
Key Takeaways:
- Lush, luxurious, expensive
- Waterfront, paved and spacious RV sites
- Resort amenities with pool, clubhouse, tiki bar
- Fenced dog park and dog friendly
- Perfect spot to explore the Everglades
Our Stay:
We traveled three hours down the west coast of Florida to Everglades City and the Everglades Isle Motorcoach Resort. This luxury motorcoach resort accommodates RV’s greater than 36’ – we barely made the cutoff. At the time of our stay, most of the 61 sites were privately owned so we were fortunate to snag one of the few transient sites. All sites were beautifully landscaped. Our waterfront site was spacious with mature palm trees and brick pavers. We enjoyed watching the airboats come and go at sunset until the bugs came out! From the old Florida clubhouse with bar and restaurant to the beautiful pool and tiki bar, everything about this resort spells luxury motorcoach living. Although most of the coaches were high-end class A motorhomes, everyone was friendly and made us feel very welcome. We walked through the park every morning and evening with the dogs and were thankful for the dog stations located throughout the park and the gated dog area.
What to do:
Everglades City is a few miles from the west entrance of the Everglades National Park. We spent a day driving through the park with the dogs to Shark Valley and the Loop Road complete with several alligator sightings. The park is not dog friendly due to the danger to pets from alligators and snakes. We’re okay with that – don’t want our dogs to be alligator bait. Dogs can ride in cars but cannot be left unattended in vehicles due to the heat. We were able to get them out in parking lots near buildings and at rest stops.
The next day we left the dogs in the RV and took an hour and a half airboat tour. This was the highlight of our stay. Following recommendations from locals, we opted to take a private tour with Down South Airboat Tours. We drove about 45 minutes from Everglades City for the launch spot on the freshwater side of the Everglades. This grassland tour was spectacular! Our captain grew up in the area and was extremely knowledgeable about the eco-systems and wildlife. We had several alligator sightings as well as wood storks, egrets, herons and anhingas. We highly recommend this tour. The cost was just over $300 for two people but well worth it.
The town of Naples and Marco Island are a short drive from Everglades City. We found a dog-friendly restaurant and brew put – the Marco Island Brewery. Lunch was awesome and the girls hung out with us on their large outdoor patio. After lunch we explored the island a bit – you’ll need some bucks to live on this island. Beautiful gulf coast beaches and beautiful homes and condos. Spring break here too so lots of people and traffic. We’re off to the Keys next and Spring Break will follow us there as well.
Red Dog Review: 4Paws (out of 5 Paws)
4PAWS! Well, this was a very foofoo RV park and we fit in just fine. Not one dog called us mountain hicks or asked how we fit into our small RV. The dog park was nice. We really wanted to enjoy the pool but there was a “no dogs in the pool rule.” We had fun traveling in the Everglades and watching the alligators from the car was just fine with us. We took in one brewery – Marco Island Brewery and our waiter was very attentive and quickly provided us water and a shaded place to hang out with mom and dad. We’d go back there again. We give this stop 4PAWS because the dog park was a bit small, and they didn’t let us in the pool. The Everglades National Park was beautiful but there were too many alligators!
Next Stop: Glamping in the Keys – Sugar Loaf Key/Key West KOA
