One of the most beautiful parks I love coming here even just for a walk.Workers there always…read morefriendly

Had a beautiful day! Got to see turtles and alligators and even the monkeys! Worth our time and…read moremoney for sure! My 11 yr old had an awesome time and was happy to have gone! She asked the boat man 100 questions and he politely answered them all .. which was super nice. Also he informed us about the museum that was close but not in the property and it was very informative for our visit and homeschool information! Definitely go there too if your visiting

We had a great dinner with local red fish tasty hush puppies everything was great eat right on the…read morewater

Today Captains Stephanie and Chris and dog Chevy gave our group a wonderful tour of the waters of…read moreOzello, the surrounding keys, Homosassa River and into the Gulf of Mexico. The showed us many creatures including pods of dolphins, sea turtles, Manta ray, schools of fish, some type of shark and sponge, eagle, trout, osprey and other birds. These gals are extremely knowledgeable and are happy to share their knowledge and love of the area. Do not hesitate to book a trip with them. We were booked at 10 am on the pontoon boat tour and it was informative and relaxing.

(I'd give 10 stars if I could!)…read more Highlights: *FREE pictures and videos! *Smaller boat & group = more personal and attentive experience *If you're from out of town, these are the knowledgeable locals we all hope to find on our travels *AMAZING experience! Truly delightful *chef's kiss* This experience was the absolute highlight of my trip to Florida! The captains did an amazing job -- they were so knowledgeable, friendly and playful. I learned so much about the wildlife and felt like they genuinely went out of their way to make sure I had an unforgettable time in the water. The smaller boat and smaller group size made the whole experience feel personal, lots of attention to detail. If you're thinking about swimming with the manatees, there's really no choice -- you have to go with Go Local. Thank you all so much for making my birthday trip incredible. I'll definitely be doing this again!

We had the best time today on our manatee swim. Captain Misty is very knowledgeable and tons of…read morefun. Derrick did an excellent job of getting us all up close and personal with the manatees as well as keeping our group all together. We will definitely come back!

We had an amazing time on our manatee tour! We got to see several manatees up close. Our guide,…read moreJohn, was fantastic. He was funny, informative, and just an awesome guy who clearly knows how to make the tour fun for everyone. He shared so much interesting information while keeping us laughing the whole time. Highly recommend this tour, especially if you get John as your guide!

As a Florida native, it is absurd that I have never had any sort of manatee interaction! My…read morelongtime friend booked us a semi- private tour for my birthday and we could not have had any better of a time. As luck had it, we were the only ones on the tour! Even though we went during the low season (August) when not as many manatees are present in the water, it also happens to be the time of year where the babies are around. Our Captain used a drone to locate a mother and baby manatee where no other tour groups were located. We were in very shallow water, and the manatees literally swam underneath of our bodies, pushing us up to the surface and rolling us around where we were completely powerless and stuck within the mangroves. It was absolutely amazing and brought tears to my eyes! Our guide Zach and Captain Ryan we're fabulous and I really look forward to doing this again. I cannot recommend this company more and I'm so glad that we booked with them!

I have probably been on the island girl cruise at least a dozen times in the past several years…read more Whenever I have houseguests from out of town that is on our agenda. Captain Joe and his first mate Janey are absolutely wonderful! It's a fun trip for any age. It's a narrated tour on a pontoon boat that even has a bathroom aboard for those that need one. Water and soft drinks are provided. It leaves from Seagrass restaurant on Halls River Road so you can have a meal before or after the cruise. Captain Joe will also drop off and pick up at Crump's restaurant if that's more to your liking.

Went with my 91 year old Father and we Loved it!!! Very informative, got to see Monkey Island up…read moreclose, got to see Bird Island close up with all the Blue Heron, huge houses that you can only get to by boat and a trip to Manatee Pub for a quick beer. Overall great experience and very inexpensive, only $25.

What a fantastic guided tour to see manatees up close. We went today with the grandkids had a…read moreblast. The Captain and diver were amazing . They brought us right next to it and we got to see it eat and move around underneath us. Loved it would recommend this tour to everyone.

This was a fun day. It really was a small group and we got to know each other and the manatees…read morereally well. Aubrey and Captain Ron were great guides.

My 13 year old granddaughter & I visited Florida to see Disney World and Universal Studios in 2014…read more The highlight of our trip was going out on a boat with Sunshine Tours to swim with the manatees. They provided us with wet suits & snorkels for swimming in the slightly cool river. The boat took us to a several different places on Crystal River to provide us whit as many opportunities as possible to see the manatees. The captain of the boat was ever so careful to turn off the engine when we were near any manatees. He was a wealth of knowledge and taught us so much about these wonderful creatures.

It was just my wife and three kids on the boat. It was a big boat and it was very cool they were…read morewilling to take out such a small party. The other boats we saw out there were packed. The manatees came right up to us. It was awesome!!! Such gentle creatures.

While in Crystal River, we took 2 boat trips: a private sunset tour with Manatees in Paradise, and…read morea private swim tour with a different company the next day. Both of the companies we used are Save the Manatee Club Guardian Guides, which was important to us. Our sunset tour with Manatees in Paradise was infinitely better than our experience with the other company, for a few reasons. First of all, Captain Jake is awesome -- super knowledgeable, personable, laid back and obviously respects the area and the wildlife. The boat was extremely clean, organized and comfortable. Plus, their boats have a cage around the propeller, which further protects manatees (most other companies do not have this, including the other Guardian Guide company we used). We also loved that Captain Jake was flexible and tailored the trip to our interests. The entire experience was what we expected from a private tour and seems to be the highest quality option available in the area, yet the prices are exceedingly reasonable. This was our first time visiting Crystal River, but we will absolutely come back soon for a manatee swim tour with Manatees in Paradise. I wish we had booked both of our boat tours with them in the first place!

My girlfriend and I came to the port not knowing what to expect, being from Chicago. We met Sandy…read moreon the pier and found her to be both knowledgeable and extremely personable. Once on board, Captain Jake led us to all the popular hang-outs to see Manatees up close and personable. In a nutshell, the three hours we spent with Jake and Sandy was truly an enjoyable experience. If you want a personal tour and not the big business rush job, book these people!!

I was the lucky beneficiary of my friend booking a tour for the two of us with Backwater Fins. We…read morehad a wonderful time, from walking into the store to check in, to saying our goodbyes and giving a tip that was probably not enough. (Please people, remember to tip your captain!) Captain Randy was our fearless leader. And we thoroughly enjoyed him. He is kind, knowledgeable, AND interesting Weather discussing manatees, boating, cracker cattle, or just about anything! You can only hope that you get to ride on Captain Randy's boat. Thank you Captain Tim, and thank you Captain Randy. We will be back when we have more visitors to bring on a tour!

We had a fantastic time. What a great tour. Laura, our Captain, shared so much knowledge. She made…read morethe trip amazing. Tonya and the rest of the group were wonderful. We even scheduled another tour on Friday with them. Can't wait to go swimming with the Manatees!! Highly recommend this company.

All of it. We had Nat and Emerson lead the way. She answered questions to a young boy and everyone…read more She was fun and informative. Emerson too!!

I don't know where to start…read more This was the absolute best day. We started at the River Ventures Dive Center at 6:30AM, where we were offered coffee, tea, hot cocoa and snacks, and spent the next bit with an educational video and a wetsuit fitting. From there, we took a bus to the dock, in the most gorgeous sunrise light. let by our Guide Nat. Captain Emerson met us at the covered, heated pontoon, and our group set off through the water, for the protected manatee zone. The water was FULL of our sweet sea potatoes... in fact, it was difficult to even get off the boat because our new friends swam right up to the ladder. Nat had given excellent instructions. We immediately leaned into our pool noodles and gently followed her lead through the water. It took just moments before manatees were all around us. We stayed calm and quiet, and they either continued snoozing, or swam up to investigate us. Nat was on point with the camera, and with showing us things like the tarpon and sheepshead fish, and she was also shared little details about the manatees as we floated. Of course, with nature, there are no guarantees, and I really had no idea what to expect, but I was absolutely delighted by the interactions we had. The cold snap absolutely played into our favor, and I am so glad we showed up with our adventurous spirit. When we returned to the boat, there were more snacks, as well as hot cocoa, coffee, tea, and a variety of drinks in the cooler (water, beer, wine, soda, and white claws). We were so grateful for the boat covering and heater as we made our way back to the dock, and we had great chats with Nat, Emerson, and the other group on our tour. Was it cold? Sure. But the water felt great at 72ºF, and our wetsuits did a wonderful job of protecting us and keeping us buoyant. Our experience was incredible, from booking, to engaging with the staff with any questions we had, to the actual tour itself. The photos and videos were absolutely phenomenal, as well, and we were happy to purchase the package, as well as some gifts from the souvenir shop. We will be back for more manatee viewing, or to try one of their other tours. Thank you so much for the best day!