I drove through here on the way home from the Panhandle. It reminded me of what I thought Florida…read morewas like when I was a child growing up in Massachusetts. Forrests and springs, fishing, canoeing, swimming, and yes, gators. There are over 400,000 acres in the Ocala National Forest. It needs more than one visit to fully explore this wonder. There are many opportunities for camping and backpacking. I want to come back soon to go on a nature hike. Like Dave O. says, this is the wilderness so don't be naive. You must go in prepared with water, protein snacks, and emergency supplies. This is not Disney, this is the real Florida adventure.

Another spot of beautiful nature in Wild Florida…read more I love going on nature hikes, and this trail has plenty of wildlife and plants to see. Even with the paths seeming wild and free, they're easy to follow and I wasn't afraid of getting lost.

My wife and I dove with Ocala Dive Center twice and had Jeff, the owner, as a guide. We also had…read morethe pleasure of meeting his wife, and multiple people in the shop. All of these folks were amazing and so down to Earth. We had an excellent experience learning with Jeff. We are fairly new to diving and had never dove fresh water. What makes Jeff stand out is his teaching style; calm, observant, and confidence-building. He gives you space to find your own way while subtly guiding you toward doing things correctly. He uses small mistakes as a teaching opportunity and will never let you get in the water without checking that you're sure about what you've done is right. You never feel micromanaged, instead, you feel supported, capable, safe, and empowered. His gentle, relaxed voice and steady presence create the perfect environment to learn from your errors, and truly understand what you're doing. I can't recommend him highly enough for anyone who wants to become a confident, safe, and thoughtful diver.

Just needed tanks filled. The Scuba Shop in Leesburg closed unfortunately. I bought a tank there…read moreand needed my other tank recertified. Got everything I needed!! Thanks!

This company took very good care of us and made sure we had the best experience. Juan and Ralph are…read moreknowledgeable about the manatee and wildlife in the area It was a very chilly morning but they made sure we were comfortable with blankets and hot chocolate! They take care of the photos which means we were just able to take in and enjoy our time with the manatees.

Great experience and knowledgable friendly staff. Gorgeous day and boat was clean and safe.read more

Me and my 14-year-old son signed up and took scuba diving lessons. Our instructor was Paul, and he…read morewas fantastic and knowledge, safety training, pool dives, freshwater dives at devils den, blue grotto, and he was very patient and helpful making sure everybody understood and passed. We really enjoyed this experience, it was once of a lifetime. Paul was just above and beyond and helping my son understand safety, and everything that goes along with scuba diving. Thank you to this facility for all your patience and we had a blast I would definitely recommend this facility. We for sure made everlasting friends.

When coming to florida a big thing my boyfriend and I wanted to do was scuba dive! We came into…read morethis place one day just trying to get an idea of equipment pricing and pricing for Open Water certification. The owner informed us they had a class coming up in a few days and we jumped at the opportunity. Our instructor was Paul and he was incredible. Paul was easy to talk to and made the experience super welcoming and easy. The class size was small (3 people including my boyfriend and I) which i appreciated because it helped us get a more thorough explanation of everything and we were able to have a more personalized learning experience. I can be a bit nervous and he never once pushed me out of my comfort zone and if i felt like something was too much for me he never made me feel bad about it and I'd highly recommend him to anyone.

Good morning, Yesterday, my son Lee, his fiancé Ashley and…read moremyself Theresa went on the boat tour through Kings Bay to see the manatees. Captain Marty, our guide, provided a beautiful history about how the manatees group together in the warm water at winter time. We also had the wonderful opportunity to see the manatees and a garr fish.. We all agree it was one of the highlights of our day.. Many thanks to Captain Marty for showing all of us a great time... Theresa from Vero Beach

I think it's important to note that there's a good change you will only see one or potentially none…read moreat all. The crew was extremely nice, but for the money, I would have done something else. We went into the cove area and there was 1 manatee that other boats were waiting to see. After one group left, we swam up, saw it for about 5 min before it swam off. That was basically the extent of it. I swam to see one of the springs. But for $500 for a family of 5; I wish there we could have seen others or at least tried to go and see other ones. It also would have been helpful if we could have had an option to cancel if they had tours that didn't see any or really low exposure that day (or been able to reschedule for a colder day).

Garrett was a blast! We are just coming into the warm season and most manatees are back in the…read moregulf, he still got us to 7 manatees, 2 gators, and we caught a dolphin in kings bay towards the end. He gave us plenty of time to look for things to come up out of the water which was great for my 2 year old. Boat was shaded and was enjoyable even with a small child. Other tours wouldn't let me book because she was under 3- we brought our own lifevest but they did also have some on board that were her size.

Thank you Piper and Wade (best guide and captain combo ever!) for an experience my wife and I will…read morenever forget! Amazing! We learned so much and got to go face to face with a big old male. Piper's encouragement and direction kept us calm when things got exciting! Would recommend to everyone who loves nature. Also the office staff were gracious and made great recommendation for lunch at a local deli. 100% glad we chose these guys.

My parents were reminiscing about when they were middle school aged and came here for field trips…read more I was surprised to find out that Silver Springs State Park and the glass bottom boat tours have been around for that long! It was about a 1.5 hour ride from Orlando. Woke up real early on a Saturday (on honestly one of the coldest days of the year) to arrive at the park around 8am. I highly suggest purchasing glass bottom boat tour tickets online about a week in advance atleast since time slots fill up! We purchased the 1.5 hour tour on the boats. Our tour guide was incredible and shared so much knowledge and facts about the wildlife and park. I got to see tons of manatees! Plus getting to see gators, turtles, birds, and even monkeys! The glass bottom gives such a cool perspective on viewing the wildlife and plants underwater. Aside from the tour, we walked several trails to enjoy the great outdoors. Also, we had coffee in the morning when we first got here and lunch after the tour. The food was pretty good and filling. At the gift shop I made sure to leave with a magnet and Christmas ornament to remember such a great day here.

What a breathtaking location! From the parking lot, it doesn't look like much. They are redoing the…read moreentrance sign, and from the outside, it seems like the place might be pretty rundown. However, once you walk through, you are quickly transported. The entrance to the park is only two dollars per person, and honestly, in my opinion, they could charge just a little bit more. The glass-bottom boat tours run faster than you might expect, so if you have the time (which we didn't during our visit), opt for the longer boat ride; it doesn't cost much more. They also have little shops to explore and plenty of outdoor seating so you can take in the beautiful surroundings. If you're a water lover, make sure to plan ahead and reserve a crystal-clear kayak or paddleboard to enjoy the water--it'll be worth every penny. The only hiccup in our plan was that we booked everything on the day of our visit, so we ended up with a shorter tour on the glass-bottom boats and got locked into the last kayaking time slot. The woman at the reservation desk for the kayaks was not very pleasant. She told us that despite showing a 5 o'clock slot, they were no longer taking reservations. I showed her the option on my phone, but she still refused to let us sign waivers. Luckily, we found the manager in charge of the rental hut, who advised that we could still make our reservation online. I showed him on my phone, and although we'd have to pay full price and probably have less than an hour, that was perfectly fine with us since we were in the last slot. The lake was practically empty, so we had the entire waterway to ourselves--so beautiful and peaceful. Honestly, it felt like we were in another country, surrounded by nature. If you don't have the chance to kayak, there's also a walking path where you can see monkeys left behind from one of the movies that was filmed on location. We walked part of the path, and it was just as beautiful. Any chance my kids and I get to be outside in nature, we gravitate towards it, putting away our phones to enjoy everything around us. What a great way to spend your day and your vacation!

Very friendly and knowledgeable staff, easy entry point for a day on the river. Great time…read morekayaking with the manatees!

MANATEES ARE MAGICAL! We saw well over 30+ manatees on our late January kayaking outing. We rented…read morea 2-seater top kayak (comes w paddles and life vests). And from the staff to the dock hands, to the quality of the vessel and cleanliness of the shop: 10/10. A guide handed us a laminated map (nice touch) and told us where to head for manatee sightings. And even pointed us to a cove that homes a lot of turtles and alligators. We saw it all! They have volunteers overseeing the 3 sisters springs, to help monitor the safety of the manatees (and scold ignorant people lol). Great time! If you're unsure, let me assure you.. just book.

One of the best things about the trip was Captain Sean. He was a great guide. He was filled with so…read moremuch information and so many fun facts. He had a great sense of humor. He also knew where to find all the manatees. Also our photographer Serena was great. The photos she took were unbelievable. Well worth the money spent. Which was not a lot considering the amazing pictures we got. It's going to capture our memories at snorkeling with manatees forever. It was on our bucket list of things to do and I totally am amazed by the experience. It wouldn't have been the same without the captain in the photographer. It was just the perfect day.

Awesome adventure they took our time with us and the tour guides really take such special care of…read morethese precious manatees. We loved it!!

The girl at the front desk was an air head when I first arrived I went inside because it was…read morefreezing and she made me walk around to the outside front of the building so that I could grab a clip board and walk inside which she could have easily handed me. That was weird Then she didn't tell us we had to pay for parking at the dock neither did the guy that was at the dock when we got there! I overheard him telling someone after we were done for the day he said that they can park at the rental place and walk so they don't have to pay but we were already unloading and done with our rental. We got back to the car and had a $50 ticket. I would be fine with paying but I didn't see any of the signs or where to meter even was. I also told her I wasn't swimming and she said to get in the water you have to have an wetsuit which costs extra and I kept saying I'm not getting in the water but I she just ignored me and then I saw SO MANY PEOPLE not in wetsuits so that was irritating. And the wetsuits were in terrible shape they had holes and stains all over it she handed it to me and I was like thins is what I paid $100 for ? And she was like yeah they are all old. This is a CRAP Buisness!!! Especially what you get for the price!! The manatees are cool and I recommend doing it but NOT using this company.

Pros: easy online registration and scheduling; Front desk…read moregirl for check in was great super sweet. Very nice and informative. We were a bit late and she extended our reservation. I was quite thankful. The kayaks were fun and we were left to our devices to explore. Isaiah was cool and very laid back. We were also a half hour late coming back and they were totally cool with it. Thank you! I can't believe I saw the baby manatees. I literally cried. Cons: I was surprised they just let us out with no real guide! It was cool but I'm surprised they trusted us. We kinda got lost the first 90mins and didn't know where we going but eventually we got to the area where the manatees were gathering. A bit crowded and I felt bad everyone so close to the protected species. Overall a super a cool experience. We went during manatee festival in January so it was a bit crowded but not overwhelming. It was a beautiful day with beautiful site seeing. Def recommend!