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Guided Small Group Manatee Snorkeling Tour with In-Water Photographer
Crystal River, USA
- 3 hours
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Snorkel with manatees in the Crystal River on a wildlife tour that gets you close to the West Indian Manatees that flock to the Crystal River's many freshwater springs. Learn about the remarkable manatees and the ecosystem they depend on, then slip into the water to see the manatees as they swim and feed. Wetsuits and all snorkeling equipment are included in this Crystal River manatee tour, with warm drinks served on board the boat.
- Snorkel with manatees in the Crystal River
- See a scenic natural habitat where manatees thrive
- Great way to learn about Florida's native wildlife
- Snorkeling equipment and wetsuits provided
What's Included
- Professional guide
- Use of Snorkeling equipment
- Wetsuits
- Gratuities
- Souvenir photos (available to purchase)
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- 406 NE 1st St, Crystal River, FL 34429, USA
Please arrive no earlier than your scheduled tour time. Our captains and guides are busy between trips with the previous tour and readying your boat and our shop for your trip. If you arrive early, you are likely to be waiting for our other guests to get changed and review their photos.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.What To Expect
Arrive at the designated Crystal River dive shop at the time you’ve booked this tour for. Once you check in, get suited up in your gear for this snorkeling adventure and watch a quick video about best practices for when you’re in the water with the animals.
Your guide takes your group to the boat and then gives a safety briefing, too. As you cruise, your guide keeps an eye out for the manatees and anchors the boat when you come across some. Under the supervision of your guide, safely get into the water and swim near the manatees’ natural habitat. Your guide takes pictures and videos of tour goers when asked to.
After ample time in the water, the boat takes you back to the original meeting location in Crystal River.
Your guide takes your group to the boat and then gives a safety briefing, too. As you cruise, your guide keeps an eye out for the manatees and anchors the boat when you come across some. Under the supervision of your guide, safely get into the water and swim near the manatees’ natural habitat. Your guide takes pictures and videos of tour goers when asked to.
After ample time in the water, the boat takes you back to the original meeting location in Crystal River.
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
- Guests with limited mobility are welcome, but must call us to make prior arrangements
- Single travelers may be required to change time or date of tour depending upon availability
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
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Featured review
Ed_S
Amazing afternoon with Gulf Coast Expeditions at Crystal River, Orlando.
Informative and relaxed snorkelling tour with lots of Manatee encounters. Very special for our family to be swimming with these gentle giants, a once in a lifetime treat. So glad we did this. Highly recommend this tour group, staff were super helpful and nice.
Reviews
5.0
1,147 reviews
Nichole_j, Apr 2024
The girls were so good with my 5 year old son, and they were very knowledgeable about everything. It was our first time and it was just great all around
Airrica_U, Apr 2024
It won’t upload my photos to share on here for some reason. Anyway, this was an amazing experience, and Captain Ron and Jade were totally amazing ❤️
Kristen_Q, Apr 2024
Knowledable, very freindly guides, small group which was awesome! Definitely recommend Gulf Coast Expeditions for the swimming with the manatees adventure!
Andrea_W, Apr 2024
Had a wonderful time. I had never snorkeled before so it was a great first time experience and our guide and Capra was both very informative and nd knowledgeable on the manatee and the surrounding environment.
ANITA_D, Apr 2024
Capt Ron great. Smooth ride did a great job of finding the manatees Matt was put in water guide and photographer. Did a great job including everyone and pointing things out manatees fish a snake. Wonderful pictures wonderful memories!!
Kelly_A, Apr 2024
I would say the most memorable part was the poor, sad, sick manatee laying at the bottom. It literally was the only manatee there for us to see. I’m not sure why they scheduled Manatee tours all year. One manatees are not there all year. They leave when it is off-season and head down to golf of Mexico. Basically, we just snorkeled around in Clearwater and saw pretty much nothing.
Jean_B, Apr 2024
Jade was awesome! She made sure everyone had the opportunity to see the manatees! Thanks for a memorable day 😎
Lourdes_G, Mar 2024
We had an amazing experience, Team is absolutely fantastic, they made us feel comfortable and safe in the water. Lauren and Jada are sweetheart.
Xiaofeng_C, Mar 2024
We loved this small group (max 6 people) tour. Jay and the Captain went above beyond to make sure we had all the possibilities to see and swim with the manatees. We saw several manatees and many fishes. The morning view of the crystal river is amazing and the water is not even cold. Everyone had so much fun! Great family trip!
Melissa_C, Mar 2024
Amazing experience. The manatees are not quite as plentiful as all the online videos indicate (at least not in late March). However our captain ensured we would have the best opportunity to swim with a manatee rather than just stopping next to all the other tour boats; our captain wasn’t going to settle for just okay. She found a smaller bay & we were able to be in the water quite some time observing/floating along side a manatee as she ate. Such beautiful gentle giants. Additionally we were able to go explore the Springs which were a magnificent aqua color.
I also want to commend our captain for keeping an eye on the weather, as she had us off the water in plenty of time before the thunderstorms rolled in.
A definite must do & we all hope to do it again our next time in Florida!
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