Crystal River: Semi-private Manatee Swim Tour With In Water Guide

Amanda and Captain Chris were the dream team🥰

My daughter and I went on this tour, and we were absolutely blown away! Our guide Amanda and Captain Chris did an outstanding job – and so did the manatees! It was an indescribable experience and something we will never forget. The service and the way we were taken care of throughout the entire tour were exceptional as well. We absolutely loved every minute of it and cannot recommend this tour highly enough. It is worth every single penny! Thank you so much for giving us such wonderful memories that we will cherish forever!

Best experience ever!! The meeting point was easy to find and right off the bat Amanda was very helpful and welcoming to get us settled. As we head to out and met with Captain Todd, we were introduced to a plethora of interesting facts and info on the area and manatees. The boat was well equipped with comfort heater and hot beverages that was well needed as we come up from the water. Todd and Amanda was awesome helping us manatees in the morning. We spent so much time with this momma and baby that we wish we didn’t have to go. Overall best experience and will always choose this operator if I come back in the future!

Captain Chris and Jay gave us a perfect tour with an amazing long swim with manatees, the clear springs and we also a gator and bald eagle!!

Captain Chris and Amanda was great and very informative. Highly recommend

Amanda and Captain Chris were wonderful. Friendly and knowledgeable. We were able to swim with a mom and baby even in the off season. We also swam in clear water. All very safe. It was a great experience for our girls trip. Changing room and shower were beneficial considering we had a flight after. Our group definitely recommends them.

Magical day thanks to: Manatees, cap’n Chris & guide Jay. Recommend at least one of the three, if possible, all of them!

Had an amazing experience with Jay as our guide and Captain Chris! The experience exceeded our expectations. This was our first Manatee swim adventure and we saw a baby Manatee with it's mother. The baby Manatee was nursing at times and that was very special to see. Will definitely be back one day!

Absolutely awesome trip. Giggles and TJ did their utmost to find Manatees for us to snorkel with. Lovely trip around the river system. We eventually found a mother and baby to snorkel with and the creatures came up very close to us. Later we had another encounter with a male that entered a natural spring. The water was very clear and gave great views of the Manatee. Some good video footage was taken. Lots of turtles to see on the trip too including one whilst snorkeling. I highly recommend this company and their lovely helpful and cheerful guides. Thanks again for an awesome trip.

Well worth every penny!!! Captain Chris & Giggles were AMAZING! We had soooo much fun! It was slow season but they still found us a manatee & she was beautiful! They both have a great sense of humor & made this an adventure to remember ❤️ When we come back we are 100% only going out again with them!!! Oh & Giggles my daughter got "Sawyer" for her fahlo manatee!

In water guide with Giggles and captain Chris was great, they knew what they were doing made us feel like we were pros. They made it fun with a lot of knowledge to share. I will be back for a winter swim

The tour was fantastic. Captain Chris and guide Giggles (Leah) did their absolute best to ensure we saw a manatee. The subsequent trip to Three Sisters Springs was impressive—crystal-clear water, saw lots of fish and crabs and at the end also 2 alligators. We definitely recommend this tour and give 5 stars.

Due to weather conditions , our tour was rescheduled to the next day. Great service, thank you for that!! Even though the captain and guide warned us that august is not the best time for manatee spotting, they we're able to track 3 manatees. Wonderfull. We also did some snorkeling near springs and got a lot information about the wildlife at Crystal River. Thanks to captain Chris and guide Jay for the service and super experience.

We had a really good experience, even though we went in the off season they made sure we still seen some manatees and were still able to swim with them. We will definitely book them for manatee season

Captain Chris and Amanda were very friendly and helpful! Both were very relaxed with us and knowledgeable about the manatees. The water is very murky but apparently that is always the case in the summer. For the clear water you must go in the winter. But still very fun to see the manatees up close. Thanks for a very fun day.

We had Captain Chris and Jay was our guide. They were both incredibly nice and knowledgeable. They spotted a manatee for our swim immediately after anchoring and we all had an incredible day!

We had Captain Chris & Giggles as our guide! They were very fun and welcoming on our tour & it was our first time swimming with manatees! We saw dolphins along the way too! I would go again on my next trip to Florida!

This was a great way to learn about Crystal River , the springs and the wildlife here. Of course the main event was getting to be up close and personal with a manatee. Todd and Giggles were great and made sure we were able to swim a manatee during the off season. We struck gold when they found us a non resident manatee. Their building is located very near by the marina, changing area, showers and a short couple of minutes drive. The boat was immaculate, defog spray readily available (even though we brought our own masks), Water, coffee, or hot chocolate and great conversation with our guides.

Amanda and Chris were wonderful! Had the best time!

We u stood it was off season to see Manatee but Giggles was absolutely amazing and gave us exactly what we hoped to experience . Loves every minute of it.

Absolutely great! Our guide, (Amanda) give us such a great experience! The manatee we were with was so cute and chill. The captain, (Chris) was super kind and funny, and really tried to find us a manatee on a difficult day to find one. 100/10 experience, definitely recommend.

Had a tour with Captain Chris and Crystal Lynn. It was an amazing tour. Guides got us on the manatees and we spent a good amount of time with them. Excellent trip and would definitely recommend.

Such a great time, got to swim with the manatees of course, saw alligators and dolphins, and swam in a natural spring. Beautiful and amazing trip with guides who don’t act like robots, they are very personable and are fun to be around!!

Staff were super friendly and welcoming, and even in non-peak season, they were very determined to find us a manatee to swim with! Guide takes good photos and makes sure you’re comfortable. Super great experience!

We went to Disney and universal and the manatees were my favorite thing that we did. The boat captain was like an eagle spotting the manatees and the guide was so sweet. She swam with us and pointed out all the cool fish and told us amazing fun facts about the manatees. She was so knowledgeable. The gift shop was so cute too!! We got such adorable merchandise!! Wind chimes, stuffed animals, tracker bracelets, and more! Can't wait to go back.

Had a great experience today! Wonderful crew! Definitely recommend ⭐️

I did a lot of research since so many companies offer similar manatee tours. The research paid off because my family had the best time ever! Our main guide “Giggles” and the boat captain were so knowledgeable of not just the manatees, but all of the nature in Crystal river. The business has been around for years for a reason! They ensure all proper protocols are followed for the safety of customers and the manatees. In warm weather there are not as many manatees around, most of the pictures you see on the internet of large groups are during winter months like January. Even with that being the case, our trip really couldn’t have been any better. Giggles worked super hard to ensure we were in the exact locations and position to see them up close. My whole family enjoyed it and walked away with a once in a lifetime experience. It’s also awesome when the guides are super nice like ours were 🥰 We had such a great time, that our family is already trying to plan when we can fly down just to take this tour again in the winter!

Jay and Capt Chris are very knowledgeable about Manatee and marine life in general. We had a rainy and very overcast day with less visibility of the manatees but they found them and we had a great experience! 🤩

Absolutely amazing experience from start to finish. Captain Chris and Crystal Lynn were spectacular! The tour and staff were personable and welcoming, and they truly made the experience feel customized to us. They spent so much time making sure every location was perfect and not rushed at all. They also gave recommendations along the way. You can tell they genuinely care about creating a great experience for their guests. The staff were very hospitable and attentive to our experience the entire time. We had some awesome encounters with the wildlife as well! Highly recommend checking this company out if you want something memorable, well-organized, and fun!

Crystal Lynn and Captain Pippi were great! We had an incident which required calmness and patience and they were amazing! Would highly recommend.

Captain Chris and Leah were awesome. Enjoyed our time on the boat and learned much about Kings Bay. Saw several manatees up close and a dolphin. Lunch at Sadie’s across the street is also recommended!

This experience was unforgettable. Our family absolutely loved it. We went at the very end of the season and still had 5 manatees swim right past us. My one recommendation is to clarify BEFORE you leave if the photos they take are included in your package. I thought they were included in ours but they weren’t. I didn’t take any pictures myself and didn’t find out it was an add on until after our trip. I think it was a genuine mistake, but for your sake, seek clarification before the excursion.

We had the best time! Crystallynn and Cody were super kind and knowledgeable. We saw so many manatees while snorkeling.

Amanda was a great, knowledgeable guide! And Colt was a wonderful captain.although he spotted one manatee but continued looking until he found a group. Amanda shared a lot of facts about them and was able to get some amazing photos and videos. Highly recommend!!

We had the most amzing trip with our captain Todd, and guide Crystal-Lynn. Even though the official manatee season was over, they made super we had the most incredible experience. We were allowed to take turns, so that the other parent could stay with our toddler, and they made sure both of us had a fantastic manatee encounter.

My family and I went on a manatee tour with Krystal Lynn and Captain Todd and they were excellent. It was very educational and clear that preservation of the manatees and their safety was a top priority. We were so blessed to swim up close with multiple pairs of mother + calf and had an absolutely amazing time.

We had a great relaxing time to search for the Manatees. It was a private tour for our party of 4. Our guides Chrystal and Chris were great.

We had a great time and it is nice that u are in smaller groups!

Had an awesome time with our guide Amanda and Captain Chris. We will totally be back to do it again and also scalloping!

Well were do I being if your looking to do a excursion and want to get up close with a manatee then this is the place to visit and book as they only do tours of up to 6 persons and no larger which makes it a personal experience! So … having travelled over a 2.5hr journey along with a family trip with friends to Florida from the Uk this is experience is something I will keep for forever, At first this experience was something we were unsure of doing but with help of Crystal linn and a friendly welcoming from our tour operator Andy our captain Chris! They made our experience unforgettable and at ease I will be revisiting as they cater all peoples capabilities with clean facilities and also understanding of manatees and safety video provided at the start of tour. we managed to witness many manatees in crystal clean waters, and they were very knowledgeable and informative in the species. They also provided refreshments throughout our tour and gave us fresh clean snorkelling equipment along with clean towels. 100% recommend

If you’re looking for something to do whilst on your Florida trip, this is it! As a mixed group of family / friends we booked this experience as a day out not really knowing what to expect. However from the moment we met our crew, very friendly captain Chris and guide Crystal Lynn, we were welcomed warmly and were impressed with their extensive knowledge on manatees and the surrounding area. We were highly informed prior to getting on the boat about the manatees with a quick briefing before being transported to the boat. The boat was very clean, with towels and refreshments provided throughout, and both captain Chris and Crystal Lynn very happy to chat with us and answer our questions throughout the tour. We had a great time, we saw plenty of manatees which included mother’s with their calves, which was so cute to see. We spent a good amount of time with the manatees as well as being taken to a spring of crystal clear blue water for another free swimming session. Crew couldn’t do enough for us and even let us jump off the back of the boat! Party size is perfect as they only take 6 people per tour which makes it great for small groups as it ended up being our own private experience. They really do value the guest experience and really tailor it to make it special. 100% recommend these guys to anyone looking for an amazing experience! Thank you so much to all the staff, we have many memories and great pictures to take back to the UK with us☺️

Having travelled 2 hours 30 from Orlando this is the best experience I have ever had. Not only did I see a manatee; I swam with 5! This experience is a once in a lifetime!! My host Captain Chris and guide in the water Krystal Lynn made me feel at ease. There were other options I could have gone with but I chose this one as it was limited to 6 people which made the experience much more personal. The other ones I saw had about 20 people per boat, which would have been far too many! If you want the ultimate experience I would highly recommend Crystal River Manatee Adventures for a 10/10 excursion.

Excellent trip today with Captain Tod and Jay. They were so knowledgeable and enthusiastic. The experience was brilliant from beginning to the end. Clean premises, good changing room facilities, warm boat. The hot. Chocolate was very popular. We saw a mama manatee and her cub plus another large manatee. Good shower facilities afterwards. We really enjoyed the afternoon! Thanks so much. Would highly recommend.

We returned to Crystal River to this adventure with my son and wife and granddaughters all of us from England. It was a great experience once again and we saw many manatees and this time we also saw dolphins, turtles, alligators and pelicans. Crystal and Captain Pippy were amazing at pointing out the wildlife. Last time in December it was colder and we had the heaters on, this time we didn’t need them on our return to the boat. Really enjoyed it again and hope one day we can return for the scallop trip.

It was a great expirience, we were so close to the manatees😍. We really enjoyed it! The only bad thing was, that we were told not to follow the manatees, when they swim away and our tour guide did this the whole time🤨. Never mind, the manatees didn't looked stressed:)

Though our swim was the day after the manatee season technically stopped, Captain Colt and Amanda found us a wonderful manatee right away to swim with while also keeping us out of the crowds. They were full of helpful information. Colt kept my dad company as he stayed on the boat, and Amanda was an awesome "manatee buoy" guide in the water. I can't wait to come back in season to see tons more manatees! They even captured awesome footage in the water so I could just be present and enjoy the experience without having to feel the need to capture it.

Amanda and Captain Todd gave us an amazing tour! We saw a bunch of manatees even in the off season. They know all the spots to go!

Giggles and Ryan (Popeye) were the perfect guides for this manatee tour. Both know how to crack a couple of jokes. Giggles knows how to find manatees even when most are gone already. They also showed us the water springs

Capt Chris and Crystal Lynn were the absolute best. Our girls loved it. Highly recommend!