Did the tour over Christmas holiday to Florida. Plan ahead early, they fill up fast! Great tour, very efficient. Captian and dive instructor did a great job. Nice warm jackets provided between dives which is a great help...gets chilly between dives. Took us to three dive spots and we were not disappointed, manatees everywhere! Big sweet docile creatures, very nice. Water is warm coming out of springs, and very clear in the early morning hour we were there. Would definitely recommend this tour to anyone who love animals and see in their habitat. read more

Crystal River Manatee Tours - Big mama manatee - Tours Near Me - Crystal River, Florida

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Capt Greg was very informative about the area and the manatees. Our guide in the water, Leah, seemed to be the manatee whisperer and she attracted a few to her. It was on my bucket list to swim with these wonderful, gentle creatures and I am more than satisfied with our experience. I think we were a little late in the season because they are moving out of the very clear water toward the warming ocean. If I do it again, I would chose December or January to see hundreds of them in the river. Very positive experience with this company because they truly love and want to protect the manatees. read more

Crystal River Manatee Tours - Captain Greg cruising the Crystal River. - Tours Near Me - Crystal River, Florida

Wow there were over a hundred! What a great spot to observe these gentle giants. It is an easy walk along the path. It wasn't crowded when we visited December 31, 2023 read more

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This was an awesome experience. Expectations were set at the start but our captain far exceeded them. We went with the dry tour cause no one wanted to do the wetsuit one. We learned about manatees and other local wildlife we saw and even some we didn't see. Manatees (sea potatoes lol) are amazing to watch. read more

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This was my second time swimming with the manatees. I had a great time. Check in was easy. We were given our instructions and saw a video. Once all that was done it was time to suit up and head out. It was a picture perfect day, not to hot. We had a 1:30pm tour. As we got to the bay there were right there, just hanging out for us. We saw a few adult female and one or two baby manatees. The water was a little merky from the manatees eating, they are like little lawn mowers, so fast and kicking up the sand from the sea floor. But still beautiful to watch. Captain Kelly and Marissa were absolutely terrific on the tour. They kept showing us where the manatees were, took pictures and answered all our questions (we were a group of six, plus four others on our boat). We also got to see the tarpon and other assorted wildlife. Thank you for a wonderful day. I highly recommend Crystal River Manatee Tours read more

Awesome experience! Great educational informative staff , check in was easy and helpful. Captain Laura and JJ were amazing and made the experience better than any previous snorkeling tour we have been. Highly recommend this company and team! read more

We came to Florida on our honeymoon and spent 2 nights in crystal river just to see manatee ....we had done all the preparation and placed a deposit on the tour had the reservation all set up and....the captain who was supposed to take us was a STRAIGHT UP NO SHOW ! We called and called and called and waited for near an hour, to no response!!!!!! Luckily another captain from another company took us out !!! But how unprofessional!!! And they never even emailed us back about a refund on our deposit . read more

Thank you, Fred and Greg. We loved the private charter to swim with the manatees. Your expertise was well utilized and we were grateful for that guidance. The conversation was great. The attempts to make sure we found manatees was fantastic and appreciated. We are so glad we booked our charter with you read more

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This experience one of the best manatee encounters you will ever have! We drove from Miami aaaall the way here to swim with these gentle creatures. This was my second time swimming with them and I knew I was going to love it from the beginning. We met the captain, were given the encounter rules and sailed away! The goods: Manateeeees!!!! anything I can do to interact passively with an animal, I am in!! The bad.. there were not as many manatees in the river during that weekend, and I think the shop should let you know that before you book the trip and drive for hours. The captain was good, and although it seemed like he was trying to get a lot of pictures himself, for us, he would a lot of the time be in between us and the interaction... trying to get pictures. The experience, with or without the charter, will be amazing, but always do your research before heading out; I made the mistake of not asking questions this time. Overall, something I recommend to try, and this charter was pretty good and fairly priced. Ask about water temperature and previous (days before) manatee interaction.. DO NOT GO IN BETWEEN MARCH-NOV.. you will be very likely to not see any manatees on a closeup. Dont say I didnt warn you! read more

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Check in was a little messy and the lack of showers took away from this experience a bit. But overall, amazing. When I went the managers were so friendly and came right up to the small group of us. Fortunately, our boat only had 6 or 7 people so it was nice to not have a huge group of people kicking and thrashing around to get a closer look. Couldn't have picked a better time of year as there were countless experiences with them. I was fortunate enough to be the "manager whisperer" because they kept coming up to me face to face and just staring at me. I could pet them and really was amazed at the gentle giants. I was glad to see volunteers around the manatees making sure people were acting appropriately because I could only imagine the chaos with all the tour groups and people not following the basic rules. If you have the opportunity to do this, do it. Seeing them up close and getting these experiences are amazing opportunities. read more

We called well in advance because the tours fill up fast. And the colder the water the better. So, winter and spring are great times to your. We stayed at Hampton Inn that is close to Crystal river tours and we got a late check out so we could go back to the room to change when our tour ended at around 1:00. They showed us an informational video and then fitted us with wetsuits. We got our wetsuits on, got in the van with our group of 10 and headed to the bay. When we got onto the boat they gave us masks and snorkels. For a successful manatee encounter, stay close to the guide, float on the noodle that is provided, do not kick your legs or splash, be very quiet or they will get scared away. They also asked that we don't step on the bottom to kick up muck, which clouds the water so you can't see the manatees. We got off and onto the boat a couple of times when the guides spotted manatees. There is a nice ladder with 4 steps to on and off the boat. We had a great experience and touched the manatees! When our tour was over, we checked out the gift shop, played with resident dogs, looked at the great photos that Emerson, our guide, took on our excursion. They were so great that we bought the USB with all the pics for around $36. read more

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The manatee tour was really neat! We got to see 6 or 7 manatees and one of them was a baby playing with something in the water which was super cute! Our guide was very knowledgeable and kind. And they offer free, cold water during the tour too! read more

Shawn and Chad were great guides. We saw multiple manatees! The boat ride was smooth and not choppy at all. We had a great time!

Such an amazing experience! Staff was awesome - friendly, professional and all about the experience. We loved hearing the stories about local conservation efforts, manatee rescues, and learning about the local flora and fauna. Captain Sam, Leah and the owner Mike were fantastic! We got up close to a mama and baby manatee - and saw a few others resting and swimming. Highly recommend it - and totally worth the drive from Orlando! read more

Went with my daughter last December and it was such a great adventure. We got out earlier than the other tours which was great. We had about 30 min in the water without other tours. We're going to try to go again next week. We're from PA and this has just been such a hidden treasure... we love it! The underwater camera (we bought there) didn't really work great for us. Guess we just have to live in the moment next time. read more

We found a Groupon for a discount to swim with manatee so we made the trip from Orlando! We checked in and got our wet suit and snorkel (which were included in the price) After a short video on the dos and don'ts we headed to the boat with Captain Casey. He was professional, knowledgeable and seems to genuinely love his job and care about the manatee. A great way to spend an afternoon! read more

I came for a private boat tour 6:45 for $490 for holiday with 5 friends in total. In general it's is a fantastic experience! The boat can hold up to 6 guests and 1 boat captain and 1 diving instructor. I can during thanksgiving. I was told there are only 7-9 manatees but actually there are more than expected! The welcoming service at the Center is fantastic, the diving instructor and boat captain is fantastic. We have coffee and coco on the boat. The river temperature is hotter than expected. It is warm on the top but colder towards the bottom. But I general acceptable. But two things disappoint me. One is that there are only 2 toilets available at the welcome Center. The other is that they don't have a quick shower place. There are many tiny things in the river and everyone wants to have a shower after, but we can't get it until we go back to hotel. Apart from this two everything else is worth it. read more

Crystal River Manatee Tours - Tours Near Me - Crystal River, Florida

Entire experience was great and seamless. From the office all the way down to the Captain and our guide. Captain Tony and Mark were very knowledgeable about the ocean life and allowed us to have an amazing first time manatee experience. They were also great with the kids aboard the boat that may have been a little timid getting in the water. Will definitely be back. read more

We made the trip in from Jacksonville after purchasing tickets on Groupon. My visiting nephew was super excited to swim with the Manatees. The facility was very nice and the staff was great! I wish that we would have known that June was not the best time to actually see Manatee in Crystal River. We never actually got to swim with the Manatee :( We did see a few and got really close to a dolphin! I am eager to try these guys out again in the winter when the manatees are at their peak. read more

My 16 year old daughter and I went here when we were on vacation this month. It was a wonderful experience we were able to see these gentle Giants up close in their natural habitat. Emily our tour guide was a wealth of knowledge so was Captain Brian you can really tell they love their job and truly care for the well-being of these animals. This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience we will never forget. Once you look into the eyes of one of these animals you are amazed at the warmth and gentleness that they have. They should not be called a sea Cow but should be called The Seas teddy bear. This will be my first stop when we come back to Florida. read more