Crystal River

Top Crystal River activities

Top Crystal River landmarks

Crystal River trip ideas

The 'OG' Manatee Snorkel Tour with In-Water Guide/Photographer

Name: The 'OG' Manatee Snorkel Tour with In-Water Guide/Photographer
Brand: River Ventures
SKU: 7336P2
Price: 64.95 USD
Rating: 5.0 (1743 reviews)

Badge of ExcellenceCrystal River, USA

Likely to Sell Out

From $64.95

Select Date and Travelers

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

3 hours
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Explore our promoted experiences

Likely to Sell Out

Crystal River, Florida

3-Hour Small Group All-Inclusive Manatee Swim with Photo Package

598

from $85.00

Likely to Sell Out

Crystal River, Florida

Manatee Snorkeling Crystal River Florida Semi-Private

from $70.00

Crystal River, Florida

Swim With Manatees In Crystal River, Florida

from $84.00

Viator earns higher commissions on experiences featured here

Overview

Get to know central Florida’s endangered manatees on this boat tour. Swim and snorkel with these gentle giants at the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge, located in King’s Bay in the town of Crystal River — well known as the home of the manatee. Photos above and below the water will be taken throughout the tour and can be purchased afterward, if desired. Use of a mask, snorkel gear and wet suit, plus fees and beverages are included.

See Florida wildlife in their natural environment
Take a cruise along the Crystal River, home of the manatee
Swim and snorkel with gentle manatees in their natural environment
Fun for the entire family

What's Included

In-water Guide & Photographer
USCG Master Captain
Introductory/instructional video offered in English, French, German, Japanese, or Spanish
Mask, Snorkel & Full-length Wetsuit
Bottled water
Coffee and/or Tea

Gratuities
Photo Package
Towel and swimsuit

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

River Ventures
498 SE Kings Bay Dr, Crystal River, FL 34429, USA
River Ventures Manatee Tour and Education Center. Please arrive 15 minutes prior to your tour time.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Most travelers can participate
Adult pricing applies to all travelers
Children must be accompanied by an adult

Wetsuits are available in all sizes from toddlers (2 years old and up) to adults up to 5X
It is advised that you have your swimsuit on underneath your clothes for a quicker check-in
Please bring a towel and warm clothes to change into after your tour.
Children under 3 years old are not allowed on this tour. Please call for other options.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 10 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

Stacy_H

This was a great tour. The captain and our guide worked to make sure we saw manatees and had a good experience. They were both knowledgeable and very personable. I am glad I went and would recommend this to others who want to see the manatees up close. I had also considered a clear kayak tour (with a different group) and am glad I chose this instead. Some of the kayaks went by while we were in the water and I am sure they could not have had the view we were having. If I could change one thing, I would have opted for a later tour, since I was driving in from out of town. But that's on me.

Reviews

5.0

1,743 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 1,743 reviews

Very nice

John_A, Apr 2024

Visibility was great in the crystal clear water. The captain and dive master explained everything well and gave us good information about the area. Recommendation: Wear full pocket fins or be very aware of where your feet are after you enter the water. You could lose a fin in the soft sand under the eel grass.

Watch everything because it changes without notice

Diane_H, Apr 2024

I thought I clicked on 10 am but when we got in the car it said 7 am I lost 400 dollars nobody wow even try and help me

Manatee is a Mana-Must See!!

Alexis_L, Apr 2024

Dave and Chris were amazing. All of the staff were so incredibly kind and helpful! The whole experience was more than I could have imagined! The manatee were out in full force, we saw dolphins catching a meal and we even found a baby turtle we named Jeffery! Best experience ever! I cannot wait to come back again Thank you all for making the experience so special!!

Great day on the water… very FLORIDA.

Kathleen_C, Apr 2024

From beginning to end everything was great. The building at the starting point was well laid out with souvenirs room, rest rooms, changing rooms and an A/v room to watch the required video. Then a short van ride to the water. Our guide and captain were so interesting and funny.(Crosby and Jayson) Boat ride was relaxing. Amazing to see the manatees up close!! We did lunch at a local restaurant which was very good. The people at the sign on desk have a list of local places.

Amazing experience!

Barbara_B, Apr 2024

Swimming with the manatees of course, then being able to witness an up close and personal dolphin 'mud ring'

Swim with the Manatee

SusanJohnson_J, Apr 2024

Team member James and Captain Mike were awesome! We saw many manatee on our swim. James was terrific with my 7 year old granddaughter. Captain Mike also makes amazing hot chocolate. Thanks for a great day!

Successful trip

Andrea, Apr 2024

Very good/successful trip. Our guide Joanna was really friendly and made it a very relaxing experience. Brian, the captain was so knowledgeable about the Manatees, you learnt so much in such a short time. It was a great few hours and of course the Manatee were incredible

Great experience, definitely a must do in Florida.

Vitali_H, Apr 2024

It was a great experience! We saw several manatees and could swim next to them. Visibility in water was very poor, but we could see manatees well because it was a shallow place, around 4 ft deep. Our guide said the reason of unclear water were sediments that had been brought to the bay by a hurricane in Aug 2023. We visited the place in April 2024. They also said there are hundreds times more manatees (around 600) in winter while they warm up in the shallow bay. In April there were not many of them, most of manatees went off to open ocean. But we still easily found several.

Worth it.

Micki_N, Apr 2024

Had a great time. Captain Chris and Crosby were excellent tour guides. Was an experience I enjoyed and worth the trip.

Fantastic Day

Yvette_L, Apr 2024

Sheila and Captain Mike were both awesome people to navigate us thru this experience. Both were very knowledgeable about the area and sociable.

Great experience but would be better with clearer water

Jeanna_M, Apr 2024

It was a very unique experience to be so close to these beautiful large gentle giants, but very disappointed that it was so murky they were hard to see until they were practically on top of you, did over hear other tours be offered to go to a clearer spring area (knowing it would not have manatees this time of year) but it would have been lovely just to experience the clear water and see other marine life, we did get to encounter a lot of manatees which was great and what we came for just think it would have been a nice finish to the tour.

Amazing trip

Reena_K, Apr 2024

Best day ever. Had the greatest guides Mike and Emerson who made the trip so relaxing with lots of info and tons of laughing. We saw so many manatees and even 2 babies. I didn't want to leave. So going to do it again next year.

Great tour and a sunny day with many manatees 🦭

Natascha_K, Apr 2024

Sheila was such an amazing guide. Also Tanner was a good Captain of the boat. When we met her it was so fun from the beginning and we felt secure with her. 🙌 Came on the boat Tanner told us also many things about Crystal River. Sheila told us so many information about the nature and wildlife and we had so good conversation. She brought us through the river and search with us for manatees 😀 She made photos from us and the manatees and gave it to us - but with charge (what is a pity) but i made photos myself so it was fine. We could have water on the boat and got a snorkel and a mask from them including a wetsuit. We did the tour at 10:45, and we saw a lot of manatees for this time of the year. Tanner said that this day was great and the opportunity was good to see so many of them. We also saw a baby manatee with her mum 🦭 Would love to go with her again and i can recommend her tour to the fullest. The tour was with 7 other - so we were 9 people in our group. Unfortunately the water was a bit cloudy so we couldn‘t hardly see the manatees but at the second stop the water was much clearer and there it was great to swim with the manatees. Sheila always told us where they are and Tanner from the boat also had a look where we should go to. If you choose a tour then go with them, it‘ll be fun! 🦭❤️😎

What an experience

Rebecca_J, Apr 2024

It was amazing to swim with such gentle giants and experience it with my daughter. Our captain and tour guides were awesome!

Manatee tour with Lyndsay and Captain Emerson

Kaitlyn_L, Mar 2024

Lyndsay and Emerson make a great team! Lyndsay was passionate and educated about all things aquatic, and Captain Emerson always had a good story to share.

Amazing

Heather_C, Mar 2024

This was an amazing experience! We had so much fun! Our guide/in water photographer, James, and I believe his name was Ang?… the boat driver were very knowledgeable and made this experience even better! The best part was definitely being up close with the manatees. I highly recommend doing this through this company because they made us feel so comfortable and everyone was so nice!

Baby hugs.

June_B, Mar 2024

We took our son’s family on the manatee tour and we all loved the trip. A baby manatee swam up and hugged our grandson’s leg and then it hugged our son’s leg too. So sweet.

Floating potatoes with hair

Leslie_L, Mar 2024

Seamless experience with a great guide and boat captain! We upgraded to the guaranteed experience when booking...well worth it! The check-in procedure was flawless and simple. Our guide, Miss Bri, was fantastic, charming and knowledgeable from the jump. Capt Kellz was friendly with wealth of knowledge on the boat ride, making it a point to answer our questions about the area and stopping the boat to make sure we saw manatee noses! She even gave our kiddos a chance to see the floating hairy potatoes with her UV shades. In the water, not gonna lie, the visibility is really low. We were in 5-6' deep "flats,” and could see the bottom but nothing more than a foot or two front of our faces. Miss Bri was OUTSTANDING with her patience and reminders to be calm and quiet. We figured out quickly that the manatee who was hanging with us really liked Miss Bri and she's amazing at keeping up with them! We'd stay back until she was like "OK, she's facing this way and coming towards...YOU" then pointing to the part of our group who would get the best view. We'd all pretty much freeze in place and watch in wonder as the manatee SWAM UNDERNEATH US!!!! HOLY MOLY!!! They are giant floating potatoes with hair. Miss Bri said "watch for the fuzzy rock to float by you." ACCURATE. My husband was close enough to the manatee's face that he could've smooched it. Our daughter was NOT thrilled to be super close, but with a mountain of patience, Miss Bri got her close enough to see the manatee (my husband and I have nail marks in our hands to prove it). Our son was in the middle of the pack the whole time and had a blast seeing the manatee a handful of times. I think she even bumped him! Tips/notes: -the water is COLD (early/mid-March), but that draws the manatees -manatees seem to be a bit like dogs and will go to people who have calm, soothing vibes/demeanor -wear a rash guard, long-sleeved if you can. Helps in getting the wet suit on + extra layer of warmth in the water -bring a bag with towels and quick-drying clothes on the boat. We had two big bags full of towels and used them all between staying warm on the boat and changing at the meeting place -no showers at the meeting place, but a TON of changing rooms -nice wall of cubbies by the changing rooms if you don't want to take anything with you -sunscreen your face, ears and neck! You're on a boat and in the water for 2-3 hours. -two bathrooms on site at the meeting place -the boat doesn't move very fast (no wake zones), but we had Dramamine anyway -you will be COLD and tired when you're done! The van driver blasted us with the heater. Miss Bri and Capt Kellz supplied hot chocolate 🤩 20/10 would do this again with River Ventures!

100% recommend!

Rica_H, Mar 2024

Great tour guides! Really friendly. They made the experience great! Dave and Tanner were totally awesome. They made sure we were able to see manatees.

Excelllent experience! Great staff!

Amirav_D, Mar 2024

Captain Kelly and tour guide James were incredible. They were really knowledgeable and showed great patience to allow us to float with the manatees. The manatees are amazing peaceful animals and the whole family loved it.

...