Recently Viewed
Manatee Encounter: Personalized Small Group Swim Experience
5.0
715 Ratings
Crystal River
Experience a personalized small group swim with manatees. Swim alongside these gentle creatures for an extended period of time. All equipment and amenities included.
Duration:
3 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
learn more
Highlights
- 9301 W Fort Island Trail - Crystal River offers the best location to see and interact with the Florida manatee, a subspecies of the West Indian manatee, also known as gentle giants. Unlike other areas of Florida, the federal government allows for “passive observation” in the water between manatees and people in Kings Bay. This allows face-to-face interaction with manatees. We provide pre-tour education on passive observation and how to get the best experience during the tour. We also offer a hotel package including accommodations and breakfast with your Florida manatee tour.
Swimming with the manatees and exploring the greater Kings Bay estuary and springs is extremely popular. Manatee tour experiences are best done by snorkeling while wearing wet suits, making the interaction as silent as possible. This way the manatees are more inclined to approach and get close. We maintain new suits and snorkel gear, all included in our manatee tours, as well as full-service facilities for changing. Your in-water guide will be taking videos and pictures of your manatee experience, which will be available for purchase at the dive shop. All our tour boats are fully enclosed in the winter time to protect our customers.
What's Included
- Boat Coats for cold mornings!
- US Coast Guard certified captain and Professionally Insured in water guide!
- Use of Full 5mm wet-suits (for extra warmth), Mask & Snorkels
- Towel Service
- Coffee, Hot Chocolate, bottle water
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
- DVD or Flash Drive (available to purchase)
- Swimsuits
Additional Information
In a similar manner to our standard excursions, you have the opportunity to swim with manatees for an extended period of time. With a maximum of 6 participants per boat, we ensure a personalized adventure. The cost covers all gear, including a full 5mm wetsuit, mask, snorkel, as well as towel service. Additionally, we provide hot cocoa, coffee, warm showers, boat jackets, and a heated changing area.
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Wet-suits available in children’s size 6 up to 3XL
Location
9301 W Fort Island Trail
West Fort Island Trail
Departure Point: Plantation on Crystal River
Address: Plantation Adventure Center
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
5.0
(715 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
643ilseh
Jun 6, 2024
Experience of a lifetime! - Dive master Orville and captain Ryan took me and my son on an amazing trip. They are so dedicated to manatees and the Kings Bay area, know their way around and go out of their way to make the tour unforgettable. Highly recommended!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
493timothyc
Jun 2, 2024
An awesome experience!! Was everything we hoped for! - Melissa and Dave were awesome! If you are on the fence about doing this experience it’s must do!! We had a great time and I can’t believe how close we were able to get to the manatees and we saw a baby! Thank you for a great adventure!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Erin
May 28, 2024
Great experience! - We had an excellent time with Captain Mark and Mermaid Amanda! We had our 3 and 5 year old kids with us and Mark and Amanda made it an excellent experience. They were very encouraging and patient with our kids. We loved the beautiful spring and got to see a manatee. It was a fantastic family experience and we highly recommend them!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Marieke
Apr 25, 2024
Special experience in the beautiful nature of Crystal River! - A great experience, seeing several manatees.
Our captain Corey and divemaster Laura were super friendly and had a lot of nice information about everything you encounter.
Nice photos at the end on a flash drive.
Very special experience
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kdkelley
Apr 8, 2024
A must do - We had such a great time! Orville was our dive master, he was the best. He was so knowledgeable about the area and the manatee. Taught us about their migration, their eating habits, their personalities and how he has bonded with some of them. The boat had a cover and they had plenty of coffee and hot chocolate to keep you warm after you got out and made your way back to the dock.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Joseph_b
Apr 4, 2024
Amazing experience!... - Amazing experience! Michelle and Ryan highly recommended!!! I would do it again in a heartbeat! No issues, valued knowledge and very very skilled.
Review provided by Viator
Katherine_f
Apr 2, 2024
Excellent small group experience - Knowledgeable captain! Found us manatees even though it was the end of the season. Our divemaster/photographer took some great shots! Enjoyed the small group and personalized experience. Thank you Laura and Laura!
Review provided by Viator
Jackie_b
Mar 22, 2024
Fascinating experience, swimming with the Manatees - How informative the trip was. How beautiful it was underwater with the fish and manatees. And how hard Orville and our captain of the boat worked to find manatees for us to swim with so late in the season.
Review provided by Viator
Lawbrittain
Mar 10, 2024
Friendly, knowledgeable, and we saw a manatee. - We did a trip on March 9 at 6:30 am. We realized that we were late in the season and may not see any manatees. Captain Mike and Kendra worked diligently to make sure that we did see a manatee. I appreciate how the groups worked together to make sure that all tours got a chance to at least get a glimpse. We realize that this is animals in their natural environment and not a Disney ride. Captain Mike and Kendra provided a lot of information and knowledge about the manatees while they were searching. We enjoyed that almost as much as the manatee. I was a little nervous while in the close quarters seeing the manatee, but Kendra was very patient with me and insured i got the best view possible while at the same time respecting the manatee's space. We will definitely schedule another trip, but next time earlier in the season.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lisa
Mar 11, 2024
Meh. - I’m really glad to see all these manatee pictures because our experience did not meet any of these experiences.
When considering in doing the tour, I think it’s important to have realistic expectations.
1) no guarantee to see manatees
2) manatees like warm water, but as soon as they are able to leave for the gulf, they do.
3) there are A LOT of boats, snorkelers and kayakers all trying to see them.
4) the water is VERY murky…not clear like the photos.
We departed at 7:15am. It was dark and cold…we were all freezing as we drove around for over an hour trying to find a spot to stop. We had 4 children on our tour and all were very patient, but although no one said it, we were all freezing. We drank all the hot chocolate and 1/2 the coffee to stay warm. We got in the water twice, seeing a manatee for only a very brief moment during the second dive, which 1/2 the boat didn’t want to get back in.
I don’t think any of us were prepared for how cold it was going to be, or how murky the water was. I wish we could have at least seen crystal springs and snorkeled where visibility was better. We made the best of it, but I would never do this again.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
