About Private Manatee Swim For Up To 6 With In-Water Divemaster/Photographer

Itinerary

Crystal River offers the best location to see and interact with the Florida manatee, a subspecies of the West Indian manatee, also known as gentle giants. Unlike other areas of Florida, the federal government allows for "passive observation" in the water between manatees and people in Kings Bay. This allows face-to-face interaction with manatees. We provide pre-tour education on passive observation and how to get the best experience during the tour. We also offer a hotel package including accommodations and breakfast with your Florida manatee tour.

Swimming with the manatees and exploring the greater Kings Bay estuary and springs is extremely popular. Manatee tour experiences are best done by snorkeling while wearing wet suits, making the interaction as silent as possible. This way the manatees are more inclined to approach and get close. We maintain new suits and snorkel gear, all included in our manatee tours, as well as full-service facilities for changing. Your in-water guide will be taking videos and pictures of your manatee experience, which will be available for purchase at the dive shop. All our tour boats are fully enclosed in the winter time to protect our customers.

Stop At:

â€¢ Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge, 1502 SE Kings Bay Dr, Crystal River, FL 34429-4661
â€¢ Plantation Adventure Center, 9301 W Fort Island Trl, Crystal River, FL 34429-5376

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OPERATES

See Availability

INCLUSIONS

Use of Full 5mm wet-suits (for extra warmth), Mask & Snorkels
Coffee, Hot Chocolate, bottle water
Towel Service
US Coast Guard certified captain and Professionally Insured in water guide!
Boat Coats for cold mornings!

EXCLUSIONS

Gratuities
DVD or Flash Drive (available to purchase)
Swimsuits

ADDITIONAL INFO

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Wheelchair accessible
Children must be accompanied by an adult
Wet suits available in children's size 6 up to 3XL
Near public transportation
Transportation is wheelchair accessible
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
Hand sanitizer available to travelers and staff
Regularly sanitized high-traffic areas
Gear/equipment sanitized between use
Transportation vehicles regularly sanitized

DEPARTURE & RETURN

9301 W Fort Island Trail, Crystal River, FL 34429, USA

TERMS & CONDITIONS

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.

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Overall Ratings

5.0 based on 10 reviews

Reviews

baytools 5
30 Jan 2022
Our guide John was not only super friendly but most knowledgeable. It was a cold morning so the 5ml wetsuits were wonderful. We have many grandchildren & plan on bringing them all down to swim with these gentle manatees.
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Terraboo7474 5
27 Jan 2022
What an amazing tour!! Capt. John & Christian are the best. We booked for a private tour for up to 6 but were lucky 🍀 enough to have them & the boat all to ourselves. They knew right where to go. The encounter surpassed our expectations. Capt. John was so attentive & had gentle reminders along the way!! The weather was perfect & we even got to experience a “stampede”. These gentle giants are so cuddly and loving 🥰. We’ll do this again. Thank you Capt. John & Christian.
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Alziahangel 5
25 Jan 2022
Laura and Kip were fantastic!!! It was just myself, my 70 year old mother and two preteens on the boat. Laura was the dive master and was very patient with my mother who was having a difficult time getting adjusted to snorkeling. She took tons and tons of great pictures of our tour. We saw tons of manatees and all had a great memorable trip! I highly recommend this company and Kip and Laura. We liked them so much that we are planning a return trip in July for scalloping.
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sheilarI674NG 5
24 Jan 2022
My daughter and I went on the private tour with Kip and Courtney. It was the coldest day of the year, but the wet suits kept everything tolerable. In the water, the temperature was perfect. We actually got lucky because the cold made all the manatees gather in one spot, so we saw too many to count. They are affectionate and lovable, gentle and welcoming. No words for this experience. We highly recommend this tour to everyone looking for a once in a lifetime experience. After the swim, they had coats for us, hot chocolate and a warm shower. we would give higher than 5 stars if we could!!
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sspencer212 5
19 Jan 2022
We saw many Manatees (10+). They were swimming, feeding, and even mating. The y truly are gentle giants. They all but ignored us us as they went about their business. NOTE: Bad weather came in and almost washed out our experience. Fortunatley, a divemaster there named Henry saved our trip from total disaster. He found a opportunity for us to book the next day after we were told that everything was booked up. He understood our issues and was super at trying to accomodate us.
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leeannm874 5
18 Jan 2022
Kip and Courtney were awesome guides!!! We would highly recommend this amazing experience swimming with the manatees.
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johnwH3965IW 5
15 Jan 2022
Amazing time out with the manatees! Our captains were very knowledgeable, and you could tell they loved their jobs! Prioritized proper behavior to keep the manatees safe and comfortable. We can't wait to go back again!
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Sfhmgusa1 5
12 Jan 2022
This is a really special trip! The manatees are so serene, and you really do feel a guest in their world.. the team at the Adventure centre are knowledgeable, confident and great fun to be with we were fortunate enough to have Henry as our Guide and Mark as our Captain .. this is certainly THE A team but we know that they are not alone in having great knowledge etc to make the trip a real day to remember
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Julia5729 5
09 Jan 2022
Captains John & Kip went above and beyond for our tour. They bypassed the crowds so we could truly have a private manatee tour. Not only manatees, but a great tour and swim of the beautiful local area.
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pepperspoppa 5
07 Jan 2022
Great experience w captain’s Misty and Kip! Both made sure to make us comfortable and take to all the best spots! Highly recommended!
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