Snorkeling with Manatees! William L Schams and I had a fun encounter with many manatees at Crystal…read moreRiver, Florida. Salty Siren Tours and Charters was our tour guide. Our guide, Tyler, was so fun and made sure all of us had the best spot to have clear water and positive encounters with the Manatees. He also made sure we were safe, had pictures and videos. A really nice and thoughtful person. Our captain was Captain Randy. He was very knowledgeable, kind and fun. He made sure we had hot beverages after we got out of the water! He was a very experienced captain. William was loved by the baby Manatee so much. It constantly sought him. It was adorable. Our guide, Tyler, had a really close encounter with the Manatee nibbling his facial hair! Lol. The whole experience, we maintained our instructions to not touch the Manatees. They could touch us, but was had to stay still and be respectful. The Crystal River Community is doing everything they can to protect the Manatees and educate us humans how to respect them. What a beautiful place.

Just an absolute first class experience. From the time we stepped into the shop until the time we…read moreleft the shop after a great tour we just felt like friends and had a wonderful time. The effort of Captain Ed, and our guide Tyler was unmatched. Using the drone to find manatees as well as take really amazing photos and videos of our experience is unmatched. There's nothing I could say bad in anyway and I would recommend this company to anyone, especially given the smaller size of the tours

I loved seeing the manatees. The water is gorgeous and boardwalk is well maintained. It was an…read moreunforgettable experience seeing the calf manatee. The parking is near the ticket purchase area and is a bit of a walk to see the manatees. There's a closer lot but its get filled up during the peak season.

Very disappointing experience at Three Sisters Springs. During our Florida vacation we visited…read moreseven parks from Fort De Soto up to this area and had great experiences everywhere else. When we arrived, the parking attendant directed us to park across the street and said we could pay at the gate or the visitor center. When we returned to the gate it was closed and the attendant had stepped away with a sign saying to wait or go to the visitor center, so we assumed we could pay there. When we reached the buildings we were aggressively approached by a volunteer named Cyndi Stone who immediately accused us of breaking federal laws and sneaking in. We tried to explain the misunderstanding but she was not interested in listening. The interaction was embarrassing and unnecessarily confrontational. We were clearly tourists unfamiliar with the setup and would have happily paid the fee if approached respectfully. Instead, the situation ruined the visit and we chose to leave. On the way out a different person at the gate apologized, which we appreciated, but clearer instructions and a more respectful approach would make a big difference for visitors.

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.

Had an awesome time with my family. captain Sam was a great tour guide! Highly recommend!read more

We had a great time! Our airboat driver was really knowledgeable about the area and we learned a…read morelot! Thank you!

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!!

Awesome time Casey and Jake went above and beyond to ensure we all experienced the manatees…read more They also gave us the history of Kings Bay and explained the conservation efforts taking place Highly recommend

This was our second time using Birds to swim with Manatees and we will choose them every time now…read more Had an amazing experience with Captain Misty and Guide Gina. Highly recommend the 6am tour as you get viewing time before it gets really busy. I really appreciate Birds Underwater as they do a great job educating you about the manatees and how to passively observe. Made the manatees more comfortable and as a result we got to have some amazing interactions with them.

Thank you to Heidi and Andy for the awesome time! So special getting to swim with manatees, and…read morethanks for answering all my many excited questions!

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).

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!

Very nice staff New and training but very nice, helpful and…read moreprofessional Grateful for the bathroom! Thank you for recommending the gps app Pontoon boat we rented is very nice and comfortable!

Dangerous Operation, Dishonest Response - Families Beware…read more We've owned and operated boats for years and have scalloped this area many times. Our experience with Twin Rivers Marina on July 28, 2026 was, without exaggeration, the worst and most concerning we've had on the water. We rented a 22' pontoon for a family scalloping trip with our two young children. The "safety briefing" was basically a walk‑around focused on damages and fees. There was no clear explanation of boundaries or no‑go zones beyond a quick mention of Salt River and Shell Island. No one said we couldn't go toward Homosassa, which is exactly where the scalloping grounds are. No one told us our small children were legally required to wear lifejackets while underway. We had to bring our own for them. Once we left the dock, it became clear the boat was not seaworthy by any reasonable standard. The depth finder, fuel gauge, Garmin/GPS and VHF radio were all malfunctioning or unreliable. In this shallow, rock‑filled area, that isn't an inconvenience, it's a safety hazard. When we reported that the Garmin wasn't working, the response was essentially, "I didn't say it would work." Later, they tried to use those same unreliable coordinates to accuse us of being "out of bounds." We were told they monitored Channel 68; the first boat's radio didn't work at all. On the second boat they hailed us, we answered immediately, and they never responded. We spent large chunks of the day stranded with kids on board, trying to get help from a company that advertises safety and support but couldn't even maintain a basic radio watch. Eventually they sent a replacement boat. They later claimed our coordinates had them headed toward Cedar Key/Shell Island. That's simply not true. We were left after the power plant in the familiar Homosassa scalloping area, not in Salt River and not near Shell Island. When they finally arrived, they found us exactly where we said we were, using the same coordinates we had been giving them. Their own written agreement mentions "No Salt River" and some guidance around Shell Island; it says nothing about Homosassa being off limits. Later, on the second boat, we apparently hit something and they said the propeller was damaged. Even if some responsibility for that impact is ours, it happened after an entire day shaped by their faulty equipment, poor communication and vague route instructions. The captain who handled the situation was rude, sarcastic and used profanity toward us in front of our children. That alone tells you a lot about their "family friendly" marketing. The return to the marina was the final insult. Instead of a sensible, direct route, they took us on a long loop that went close to 15 miles out before turning back in, turning a straightforward return into a 2.5‑hour ordeal and burning a lot of extra fuel. They blamed low tide. We've run this area for years; this route felt more like a joyride and a way to pad fuel time than the only safe option. When we got back, the billing story appeared. The receipt totaled $955.95: rental, fuel for our boat, a prop charge, a late fee, fuel for their service boat and fuel for a second rental boat ("Flying Dutchman"). On the credit card side, they broke this into multiple transactions that do not cleanly match the single receipt. They billed us for fuel on their own service boat and a second rental we never agreed to rent separately, plus a late fee driven largely by their own broken equipment and self‑inflicted delays. Their paperwork references pre‑departure prop photos, yet no prop photo was ever attached to the invoice to actually document the damage. And then came the most disturbing part: their public response. In their reply to our review they implied that both the operator and another adult on board were consuming alcohol while the boat was being operated and that this is why their manager took over. That is false. She took over after we questioned why the second boat was crawling and raised concerns about the prop and performance. With two young kids on board and a captain already acting unprofessionally, we agreed to let her drive to get back safely. To turn that into a public accusation of intoxication is not only dishonest, it's reckless. It's an attempt to smear a customer rather than address their own safety failures, and it sends a chilling message to families: if you speak up about unsafe conditions, this business will attack your character in public. What makes this even more troubling is that our experience is not unique. Multiple other reviews over several years describe the same pattern: broken depth finders, broken fuel gauges, GPS issues, poor performance, unprofessional behavior and customers warning others about safety. We cannot all be "lying" or "confused." If you care about your family's safety, your wallet, time, or piece of mind, think very carefully about trusting this business.