We booked a deal via Groupon for this manatee tour. Overall we were satisfied with the experience. However, our dive guide was only 12. He was fine but that seemed a little off. The captain was really nice and knowledgeable. We only saw one manatee, maybe that's due to the time of year but the other tour groups in the area were also very aggressive. We also didn't go to any places that looked like the places advertised in the photos on their website. The time allotted was very generous. The Groupon was a good price BUT you do have to pay extra for wet suit rental. The Groupon does say it but it's in very fine print. If you want any underwater photos, don't buy the pouch at the store, it was a waste of $20. Everyone we spoke to was very friendly. It's kind of hard to get to the building, so navigate yourself to yourself to the metro pcs. It's $5 to park and you have to drive yourself to the marina. It would be super convenient if they offered a shuttle. When we walked in there was a super strong smell of marijuana. I'm not sure if it was the wet suits or what but now all of our clothes smell like weed even 5 days later after they've been washed. No one in our group can get the smell of weed off of our clothes and they're kind of ruined. read more

An amazing thing to do! Staff is very knowledgeable and very accommodating. We brought our two kids and Austin was extremely helpful with making them comfortable around these gentle giants. We will definitely return this summer for some scalloping with Seadaddys! read more

Unhelpful and Careless Staff. Previous Reviews, that were covered by recent other reviews are the best description of the customer service at this place. read more

I set this up for my daughter and family. The grandkids and big kids too loved it! My granddaughter even had a kiss from one of the manatees. She was elated! They had a great time. I would recommend this to anyone! read more

Great time! captain Mike and Tour guide Liz were great. Nice boat drive around until found a mom and two babies. Amazing experience to float with them in their own habitat at Crystal Springs. 2 out of 4 in the water got manatee "kisses".... Breathing out like kisses. Got the picture package and was so worth it. Can't wait to confirm me back! read more

Can't say enough about the friendliness & helpful Staff, Christopher, Candy, & captain Chuy a real good guide. Carlos was so informative & the Manatee were the star but all the other birds, Dolphin & more such a great time read more

We booked a snorkel with Manatees 3 hour tour for Homosassa Springs for my wife and I and our 3 children aged 7, 11, and 13. Our kids have lots of experience in the pool but no snorkel experience but the website assured us that no snorkel experience was necessary and the trip was suitable for children over 2. We saw lots of pictures of people seeing manatees in clear shallow water and were excited for our 3 hour tour. Their website says, "All Manatee Tours are very easy - Anyone can do it !!!!!" After booking the tour we got a confirmation that the trip was actually going to be in Crystal River because the Homosassa location was being "renovated". The Crystal River location was a good 10+ minute walk to the boat in wet suits in our bare feet. They did not offer a dry bag for our shoes, towels, etc. They also did not provide us with flippers. We spent an hour and a half driving around in deep water avoiding going near the roped off areas and shallow water areas near the springs where all the other tour boats were going and where all the manatees seemed to be. Even other SeaDaddy boats went near the roped off areas. Finally after 2 hours our captain took our boat about 100 feet away from a roped off areas where 2 other tour boats were. The water was deep and murky - about 12 feet of visibility with the bottom out of sight. They told us to jump in with no instruction at all even though we told them ahead of time and again when we first got on the boat that the kids had no snorkeling experience. The 7 year old and 13 year old both had panic attacks as soon as they got in the water. My wife tended to the older child while I helped the younger one while our guide, who had flippers, rushed to see and photograph manatees without us! Zero help with our kids. Zero advice on snorkeling despite allegedly operating a "diving school". I finally got my 7 year old daughter calm enough to go see a manatee but we had to swim 100 feet against a current with no flippers. Before my wife could get to the manatee it swam away and she didn't get to see it. Then our captain said it was time to head back and we had to get in the boat after less than half an hour in the water! It was a half an hour ride back to the dock wet in wind and cold. Towels or a dry bag would have been nice. Then we had to walk 10 minutes in our bare feet again to get back to our car. I complained but they didn't care and refused to provide any compensation, not even a chance to come back and try a different captain. To add insult to injury, we got an email with watermarked pictures of manatees that our guide took - without us in the pictures - and offered to sell us the pictures! Uh, dude, if I want a picture of a manatee without me in it I can get it for free on Google. I got a follow up email asking me to review my experience. The email is set up so only 5 stars leaves a review. Anything else doesn't take you to the page to submit your review. Lame. Also, 3 boats went out that day and each had a group of 5 on it, plus there was a young couple. They actually made the young couple split up with the guy going on one boat and the woman going in the other! For 3 hours! It didn't affect me but I couldn't believe someone would do that! Since then we have come back to Crystal River (we live in Florida) and rented Kayaks which is a much better deal. You can get in the shallow water where the Manatees are and you can anchor your kayak and get in the water with the Manatees. It's half the price and twice the hours as a guided tour with much better access to the manatees. We had an amazing time in the Kayaks and the kids loved snorkeling in 4ft clear water instead of 15 foot murky water! We also saw other boat tour companies going into the shallow waters and getting much closer to the Manatees than SeaDaddys does, so if you still want to do a boat tour, there are better ones out there. read more

Had a good time, I personally enjoyed the cave they took us too but I have to give them a low rating cause we paid to have a photographer take pictures of us and they only took pictures of the other family who said they didn't pay for a photograph which was really disappointing, so my suggestion to you is get the tour it's really cool but don't get the photographer the gamble is too high. I'll change the rating if we get our money back for the pictures read more

I had a fantastic time snorkeling with the manatees and my boyfriend greatly enjoyed his boat tour. Captain Chris and guide Colin worked hard to make sure that we got our experience and it was amazing! I highly recommend the small group tour. read more

It was a great day. Me and my boyfriend booked a Saturday 11am tour through groupon. The staff was amazing at answering our questions before booking and before arrival. It was very clear where and when to arrive and what to bring along. We were on a boat with only 3 other people, so had plenty of space (5 + captain). The captain was very friendly and on the 10-15 min boat ride out to the area where the manatees were, he told us all about the location, the area and the manatees and their habitats. Rules: Can't dive under the surface at all. Can't kick feet at all, which is really hard to do for an experienced or inexperienced swimmer to not do. Cannot touch the ones with tail tags/trackers or if they are sleeping or if they have babies with them. KNOW: Our first 20-25 min in the water it was a pleasant temperature in the wetsuit (and I get cold very easily) but then after that both of us were shivering so hard we had to go back into the boat. When you can't kick, it makes it hard to generate heat to stay warm. All in all our boat party lasted 50 minutes, our captain said that this time of year (early Feb) most people last about 45. In the summer/warmer months, people stay out longer but it also takes up to an hour sometimes to find the manatees to see. Pros: Great price. Easy to find/organize. Great staff, super helpful. Got to see a total of 5 manatees and got to touch one. At the dive shop we were able to buy a really awesome cellphone water case that kept my phone dry and I was able to get some amazing photos and video of our experience! Cons: Winter months bring more manatees but less time in the water because its freezing. Wetsuit rental is an additional $10 each. Water boots/shoes are an extra $5. A bit of a drive, once you are done, theres not much around as opposed to some of the other spring areas where you can stay and swim or camp...but if you are going in winter, you probably won't be doing this afterwards either because you will just want to get warm! read more

This was my 3rd manatee experience at the Crystal River. While each and every time that I have been with the manatees is wonderful there was no comparison with Adventure Diving swim. Super professional booking with Candy. She is top notch...there was bad weather and she was terrific getting a hold of us managing our re-booking for the next day. When we arrived Candy checked us in and was super informative and helpful. Our Captain Chaz was absolutely the very best! He was informative, fun (great stories) and super committed that we would have an outstanding experience. He found a place that had 5 manatees and showed us all the ropes to getting close to them. We were literally surrounded. It was pure magic! We had an adult non swimmer in the group and Captain was wonderful at helping him have a great experience and adapting to the challenge! Thank you all so so much I will be back soon! Angie Deters read more

Seas daddy's was a great experience. Our tour guide was awesome as we got a private trip and saw a lot of matinees

My group called about 2 months in advance to book our trip. The only time available for our group of four people was at 9am. We all lived out of town so had to wake up at 6am on a Saturday to drive several hours to Crystal River. One of my friends had an online college exam scheduled for that morning but his professor said he could take the exam later if he provided proof of our reservation. He emailed Adventure Diving Tours to ask for a confirmation email which he received. This was the only correspondence that took place over email. Imagine our surprise when we showed up at 9am to find out trip had been cancelled days before. Rather than calling us to make the cancellation (since we scheduled it over the phone), they sent it to our friend's email address .... only they didn't. They ATTEMPTED to send to his email but made a typo in his email address so we received no warning that our trip was cancelled. When the staff informed of us this (after first accusing us of canceling the trip which we ardently denied), they took no responsibility whatsoever, did not apologize and basically told us tough luck. Eventually they offered to take us out 3 hours later. My friends and I discussed it, and although it would have been possible for us to wait, it would be a tight squeeze to accommodate the three hour delay and still get home and meet our other responsibilities. We asked the staff if it would be possible to comp our wet-suits (rented at $10 each) if we waited three hours for the trip to start. Staff then became overtly rude and told us they lost money on Groupon tours and absolutely would not offer us any discount on the wet-suit rentals. At this point, none of us were in the mood to wait around for three hours or deal with the very rude staff so we left and just asked Groupon for a refund. Very disappointed by my encounter with Adventure Diving Tours. I've never seen such poor customer service before. No idea how they stay in business. read more

My wife and I did the manatee snorkeling tour and it was super chill. Staff were very nice and helpful. We lucked out and saw 2 manatees within less than 5 minutes of leaving the dock. Our boat Captain had a great sense of humor and Trey, our snorkel guide, had a great eye for the spotting the not so elusive "sea cows" and helped some of the less experienced snorkelers in our group. Would definitely do this trip again. read more

We picked this group to swim with the manatee's I had read other reviews and wanted a group that had patience for someone not to comfy in the water of a river. Misty our swim guide was that and more. She offered idea's on how to get comfortable. She never let the group get to far ahead or behind. She gave helpful hints on using the noodles and the snorkel gear. Captain Ray worked and worked to find the manatee's. He could really spot their footprints and adjust our boat so we could get in the water ahead or near them. We got in/out of the water more than I thought we would but it gave us such a great swim with the manatee's I recommend this company and hope to return to again swim with the manatee's. Also, Sam in the office was very capable of answering our questions, explaining how things were going to happen. You could tell she appreciates the manatee's and wanted us to have a good time while ensuring we didn't break any rules read more

We did the manatee snorkeling adventure with Karla and Scott. The experience was so much fun! We got right up close to the manatee and her baby. Would highly recommend paying for the guide, Karla was such a wonderful guide and we can't wait to see how the pictures came out. She shares so much information about the manatees and it was great to see how much she and the rest of the staff at sea daddy care about these wonderful creatures. Scott was a great captain and was very knowledgeable about the manatees and the area. read more

This place is the best! Super legit! Even in the off season they made sure we had amazing manatee encounters. They respect the wildlife and the safety of their patrons. They taught us everything we needed to know and were so nice and personable. We WILL be coming back!! It is the off season so there are fewer manatees in the water but we still got to visit with three different manatees and another group in our batch happened to get to swim with a mother and calf! The captain and swim leader were a lot of fun and shared a ton of knowledge and so was the first guide who prepped us. We were shocked by how long the tour ended up being and it was well worth the money! read more

Ever since I was a kid I have loved Manatees.On a recent trip to visit my parents in The Villages, my dad suggested we go swimming with Manatees. After extensive research, we went with Captain Mike's Swimming with Manatees at Sea Daddy's. I loved it! It was such an amazing experience. I've never really snorkel before, and I'm always a little stuffed up, so I panicked a bit using the snorkel. So the first area we were in I was getting used to trying to take pictures, snorkel, and then float with the noodle while not putting my feet down. LOL. We went to two other areas and the last one was a golden spot! Since manatees are endangered, you are not actually supposed to touch them. But two swim right underneath me, and when I stuck my head under the water one was right in front of my face eating. It was so so cool! I loved everyone a Sea Daddy's, they are very good at their jobs. From Alyssa at the front counter, to Bill and Michelle in the water with us, and lastly, and most importantly Captain Mike. He knows his stuff! And he loves animals, which is a bonus. My mom and dad stayed in the boat and got to take some really cool pictures and videos while we were in the water. A++! I highly suggest going in this toile with Captain Mike and his crew. read more

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My wife and I took the Manatee tour on 7/21 and had a great time. I believe Stacey was our captain and he was courteous and informative. While it wasn't manatee season, per say, we did get to see a few and had the opportunity to scratch a belly and observe one of them up close and person for quite a while. Personnel back at the dive shop were great to work with and helpful with information that my wife and I will use in an upcoming snorkeling trip in the Caribbean. Definitely recommend SeaDaddys! read more

The 4 stars are for the actual experience. We were taken by Captain Joe out on one of the two boats that they have going. It was very overcast which made it much more difficult to spot any manatees, but we were lucky enough to find one! We were all able to swim off to observe and I had a great time! Captain Joe will let you know if you are splashing around too much, swimming away from the manatee (like an awesome manatee spotter!) or walking too hard on the boat which will make noise and scare the animals away. I took away 1 star because I found the whole operation to be a little confusing. The process is not advertised anywhere. What you will end up doing is going to the location provided to check in, watch a film, sign a waver and pick out a wet suit if you decide you need one. Then, you will be handed directions and an address to go to which is where the boat docks to take you out. Our boat was still out when we arrived, so we waited maybe 20 minutes past the time we were scheduled to go. Just a few tips: Make sure you leave earlier than you think you need to. You will have to make enough time to watch the video, try on wet suits to find the right one, and make it to the dock before the boat leaves. Make sure that choose a day that will have nicer weather. The better the weather, the better chance you will have to swim with manatees! I paid with a Groupon for 5 people, including myself. read more

We had an amazing time! I called to make sure we could use the Groupon because we were on a tight schedule. They booked us and we got the confirmation. They were very clear that the wetsuit was an additional $15, no big deal. We got an email the day before our trip saying that we didn't have enough people on our booking so they upgraded our trip to the semi private. Awesome! It was the main thing we wanted to do in FL, so had it been canceled, it kind of would have ruined our trip, but instead we got an amazing tour guide and Captain. The group before had run into a super friendly manatee. The captain took us to her. Another group was playing with her but we saw several other manatees. The other tour group left and so we went over to the area with the playful manatee. Oh my goodness. She was adorable. We tried to just passively observe but she wouldn't let us. She would swim over to us, twirl around. She gave kisses to people. She would literally swim up to you and grab your hand and try to take you with her. It was amazing and it was thanks to a great captain and tour guide. The directions to the place was clear. There weren't any parking fees. They offered hot drinks. Everyone was helpful and friendly! read more

Got my scuba certification here. Ken was a great instructor. Very funny, patient and knowledgable. Made the course easy enough. Had a great group in the dive class. And am definitely excited to do more dive with them and overall. read more

My wife and I had a phenomenal trip with SeaDaddys. Captain Chris and Crewman/Guide Colin were amazing. They took us right to an area away from the crowds and placed us in the water right next to a mother and child. We were well-trained in not disturbing them, but were told it is alright for them to harass us and we were delighted that they found us interesting. The baby nuzzled me and nibbled on both my wife's fingers as well as mine as it checked us out. So, the trip was a huge success in our estimation! Captain Chris continued the orientation we received at the shop and told us a lot more about the behaviors of the manatees on our trip. Additionally, we had thought the trip was going to be a loss as we had brake trouble upon arriving in Crystal Springs and missed our booking while trying to ensure our Jeep could be serviced on the weekend. Yet, SeaDaddys called to check on us, sounded seriously concerned for our welfare, and offered to rebook us if we could make it later and so we got to go on this amazing adventure after all - they rock! read more

Went on two excursions with SeaDaddys. The first was the manatee experience. The safety briefings was very informative. The fitting for the wet suit also went extremely well by far some of the most comfy wetsuits I've ever squeezed into. Was on the boat with Captain Dan who was super informative about the area and even where some manatees would hang out got to snorkel with a LARGE female and also saw a mother and calf but didn't get to swim with them as they were on the move. It was humbling swimming with them. There were some kids on my snorkel trip that were too excited and wanted to keep touching and staying on top of the meandering manatee but the diver in the water and Captain Dan got them together reminding them of the rules. I enjoyed this trip I got a workout in the water swimming to different places and 3 hours went by super fast. The only thing I wish was better was visibility the water was murky. The second excursion was the Rainbow River dive. Drift dived for an hour and 39 minutes my longest dive to date and went to a max depth of 23ft. Captain Chris and Fred drove the boat expertly and Divemaster Mike made sure everyone was good in and out of the water. It was soooooooo fun! The water got a little chilly but we saw sea otters, turtles, birds diving for lunch, numerous flora and many fish! Mike gave me excellent references for more dives in the area. The rental of the gear was very affordable and totally worth it. Highly recommend this place!!!!!!! read more

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We had a crazy cold day - 46 degrees. Visibility was very poor where we were docked at- hard to see more than 3 feet. It would've been a bonus to have towels provided- lesson learned. Staff was nice but didn't really go out of their way to show you manatees under water. It would've been beneficial if the boat captain assisted with spotting them since he was elevated & could see in the murky water. I would strongly recommend bringing your own under water camera. If you buy pictures from them immediately after the swim without seeing them, it was $55. It you buy later after they email you, they are $65. Yes, even 4 photos will cost you $65. That's crazy! I would've liked to have more manatee education on the trip. Nice staff though. read more

Seadaddys delivered! Despite the really chilly weather (the whitecapping west wind) we found manatees, up close and every bit as inquisitive as we could hope, and without any other tours to crowd our space. Seadaddys guides are top notch. Will come back to Seadaddys tours for sure! read more

Great time on a private manatee snorkel tour with Bam, and Adam! Thanks for a memorable day! We'll be back.

Great place to go if you want to see manatees. We went on the off season, summer where there are less manatees around. We had a groupon so the price was right for us. The boat was very spacious and there were only 5 of us so it wasn't packed. There was room to bring your own bag if you wanted to bring drinks or your own snorkel gear. Our guide Joe did everything possible to make sure we were able to swim with the manatees! We went to several locations and we were finally able to find some manatees. We were surrounded by a little manatee family. The baby was probably only a week old and was very curious of us. It was a really great experience. I would definitely recommend this place. We are planning on coming back in the winter when there are more around. I would recommend getting the wet suit. It keeps you warmer and also keeps you more buoyant so its easy to float on the surface when being with the manatees. read more

Extra fees include $15 for wet suits, #5 for parking, $15 because I needed to reschedule and a tip was requested, but it was worth it. I arrived overheated and after 1 1/2 hours in the cool (not freezing) water, I stayed cool for the rest of the day. Truly a mini vacation! read more

My family and I had an awesome time on our 4-Hour snorkeling with Manatee tour. Our captain and tour guide Laura was very knowledgeable about the area, the local wildlife and of course the manatees. She even recommend a good local restaurant "Lollygaggers" which was also amazing. She was able to quickly spot some manatees for us to snorkel with.Showed us some of the natural springs in the area. Then we were able to catch up with a mother Manatee and her pup. The overall experience was amazing and definitely worth the money. read more

This was one of the best experiences of my life! We were able to see a mama and baby (who was so curious everyone in our group got one on one time). Captain Chaz was awesome and really worked to get us with manatees without having 1,000 other people around which is what happens when you go with the larger charter companies. 100% will book here again! read more

We booked a tour with this company through Groupon. We scheduled the tour via their website two weeks before we were to go. A day before our scheduled day and time we got a text message saying the tour had been cancelled. Despite several calls and messages to reschedule we have not heard back. Do yourself a favor and go with a reputable dive center like American Pro Diving. read more

I took my open water diving class certification with this company. Overall it was an excellent experience. There is an online portion you must complete before attending the open water class. They start in a small lagoon the first day, and then continue on to Crystal River the second. I felt that the skills needed to continue diving were well taught, and the dive along Crystal River was excellent. I would recommend getting your diving certification through this company! read more

What a lovely day once we got past the rude customers. The party of 9 review is inaccurate. I'm not sure what happened to my review the day of 12/22. There were two moms that were yelling and swearing in front of their children the minute they checked in. They did not give the staff any respect nor the rest of us in the shop checking in. My 21 year old daughter was afraid to leave the restroom. Police had to be called because they would not bring their level down nor would they leave the shop. All they needed to do was calm down and be respectful I offered for my family to split up on boats since the boat trip is very short. We would all be in the water together. Christopher said all 3 boats would stay together. Christopher said he did not want the rest of the customers to have to suffer with this party. He had difficulty with them on the phone. They had many demand during the 3 hour call it took them to book the reservation. I appreciated the fact that Sea Daddy would rather lose business than accommodating nasty rudeness. The customer isn't always right. To the trip, Michelle our in water guide was amazing. She was friendly and very knowledgeable. Captain Mike was also very knowledgeable and concerned about the environment. My son made a connection with Captain Mike discussing fishing. He said that was the best part. He thought water at 72 degrees was cold! We were very concerned about covid protocols and thought 6 customers to a boat was excellent. Christopher and the other shop staff apologized so many times about what we had to witness. The day was amazing. This was my second and my daughter's third trip all with different companies. We will definitely do future trips with SeaDaddy. Thank you to a very customer friendly staff. read more

Bought a groupon for this place couple months back when I was down in FL for vacation. It was a swim with the manatees for about $29. Called every day for 2 weeks, sent emails and SMS (since their voicemail was full). It took groupon having to call them for them to get back to me. Instead of calling, they sent me a short email saying "do it through the website" (I can post the email of anyone doesn't believe me). The website was messed up. Only gave us the option to purchase the tickets again through them for $200 in order to book a day. Decided to call it quits and had to get a refund (took 7 weeks for it to happen) from groupon. This business is sketchy and I wouldn't ever attempt to buy anything from them again. read more

Poor customer service. Our group arrived for a prescheduled tour to find out that it had been canceled. They had sent an email to an address I had not given them and since it was spelled wrong, it wasn't received. Why not a phone call? Our party had driven almost 2 hours. Employee we spoke to was unapologetic and confrontational. They were unwilling to work with my group or to accept responsibility for their error. Would not recommend. If this situation would have been better handled, this review would have been very different. read more

I bought a diving package for 2 through Groupon several months ago for this company and set up a reservation to go diving. I get an email with a cancellation and rescheduling for the day after our original date. The next night they sent me a text to cancel that appointment also so I said when are they rescheduling it and they said maybe this weekend. A week later and several phone calls later about rescheduling and refund here I sit back from our Honeymoon in our home state and didnt get to swim and still out of the money and had to fill a dispute. read more

Terrible customer service. Do NOT waste your time with this company unless you want to ruin your vacation. There are many other companies in the area that won't mistreat their customers the way this company did. read more

Great experience, nice captain, fun boat ride trough the canals in a heavy trafficked residential area. The water is super clear and we saw some and swam with some manatees. Unfortunately we did not get our photos. Paid for the package there and got photos two weeks latter of a different groups of people. They did issue us a refund, but I wish to have the pictures especially when you travel from far away as my 7 years old nephew did - all the way from Europe. He was a bit scared at first, but he did got in a water after all. Wish I could send him the photos. It's once in a life time experience and to me it's important to have some pictures. read more

We just came off from our tour and it was great! Captain Tim was very knowledgeable and made sure we got to see manatees! Even though it's the summer(not manatee season) we saw a couple of them, including a mother and a baby which was absolutely adorable! Definitely recommend it!! read more