Q: A few years back, I read an article in Outside magazine about 2- to 3-day canoe tours into the swamps of Florida. I've lost track of the article, but I still like the idea of a nature vacation. The tours included a tour guide and all equipment. At night, you pulled up to a sleeping platform with a tent, about 8 to 10 feet above the water. Can you give me some information leads on this kind of tour? What would be the best time of the year to avoid the bugs and the tourists? (Hopefully, the times will coincide.) I've got a family group of 8 to 10 people interested in the trip. We would prefer to do this in southern Florida, within about a 4-hour drive of Miami. That way, we can visit the Keys and maybe do some snorkeling in John Pennekamp Park. Thanks -- Karen (from Pennsylvania)

A: Karen, it sounds as though you read about tours of Everglades backcountry -- the 10,000 Islands area. Paddling is the best way to see the Everglades, really, because most of the Glades is water. The sleeping platforms you talk about are what the National Park Service calls "chickees" -- the word for the traditional shelters made by Florida's Native Americans (Seminoles and Miccosukees).

The best time of year to go is roughly from December through March. These are the cooler months of the year when the usual heat and humidity won't make just sitting in a canoe intolerable. If you go after a cold spell, you may not see any mosquitoes at all, but your guide will probably suggest you bring repellent anyway.

However, this time of year is also when tourists (like you) are visiting Florida. I personally think February is the high tourist point of the season. So you may try the end of March or the month of April if you want to see fewer tourists. The chances are good, though, that in the backcountry, you won't see many people anyway.

The Everglades is close enough to both Miami and the Keys, so your family can make a grand tour of southern Florida. Depending on where your backcountry guide wants to start the tour, you may leave out of Miami or Everglades City (near Naples). The main entrance to Everglades National Park is near Homestead, which you can drive to in about an hour from Miami International Airport. From Homestead, John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is probably less than an hour's drive. Even if you arrive in Miami and need to start your trip in Naples, it shouldn't take you 4 hours to get there.

As for guides who provide this kind of tour, try North American Canoe Tours, Ibis Tours (which may have been in the Outside magazine article you read) or Florida Bay Outfitters.

These all-inclusive tours can be expensive, but they're worth it when you consider that if your family went on your own, you'd have to get the backcountry permits yourselves, rent the canoeing equipment and be able to use the backcountry maps to get to your chickee before nightfall without getting lost among the mangroves and grasses. At least your first time out there, I think a guide is essential. Taking a family group should make it even more fun. How come the Brady Bunch never went on a backcountry Everglades canoe tour? Have fun!

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