Clear Kayaking Tours — Attraction in Crystal River

UPDATE: Read the reviews on the TripAdvisor before paying them. They are abusing their clients in their comments, calling names, saying to the unhappy customers that they need mental help! Now they are abusing me and my wife exactly the same way, like the did to other reviewers on the TripAdvisor, only forgot to abuse children. Beware. All aspects of my review are facts from my experience. I see that they are trying to hide a fact that one of the clear kayaks had a leak during out tour. I've visited almost all famous places in the US and sometimes, very rarely you can meet bad businesses like this one. Disappointed. The worst tours in the area, they are lying in their comments to my review.

1. I've checked their positive reviews, and they are mostly from not real people, they are from 1-4 review accounts. They just make money.
2. Their staff had a boorish attitude from the very beginning.
3. The Guides from OTHER scuba diving companies happily showed us all places where they found manatees.
4. The Slogan of the Clear Kayaking Tours is "Wild life is a wild life", we all heard these words from each and every staff member when we asked about manatees.
5. The front desk girl was rude.
6. In the middle of nowhere, one of the kayaks started filling with the water, and the guide left the whole group along, so we had to continue kayaking by ourselves.
7. I didn't see any motivation from this company to find us manatees, and it doesn't worth $300 for 2 kayaks for 2 hours of kayaking. At the same spots, at the same time, other diving companies helped their clients to find and enjoy manatees. You should select another provider if you spend your time coming to Florida to enjoy manatees. We found many manatees by ourselves in several places without any guide and expected something more from Clear Kayaking Tours. I put mostly 5 stars reviews on Google, but these liars...

If I could give you/this activity we did more stars, then, I would! Our original tour was cancelled due to inclement weather, however, we were sent an advisory email two days in advance by Paddles to let us know that although bad weather was coming, we were easily able to rebook for another day convenient to our schedule. It was as easy as calling!

We arrived at the time told, and were greeted by friendly staff. As we didn’t bring anything g to keep our valuables dry, we were able to rent a little box to put our phones/car keys in to keep dry for $15. Considering you’re out on the kayak for 2 hours, I think that’s a bargain!

Our tour guide Seer (I’m so sorry, I don’t know the spelling!!!) was friendly, warm and extremely happy to guide us on our tour. We were the only ones booked at 9:30-11:30 so it really was a VIP experience! We weren’t guaranteed a manatee sighting due to it being the time where they head out but luckily for us we saw several, including a mama and her baby!

Then we headed around the gorgeous, crystal blue springs. Unbelievable beauty! Our tour guide was equipped with so many facts through out this experience and even gave us ideas for local places to check out/go eat.

This was an amazing opportunity for us, and it has added an extra layer of magic to our vacation.

We 100% recommend Paddles as the only company to trust for this...

We recently went on a guided manatee kayak tour, and it was absolutely amazing! Our guide Jax was very friendly, knowledgeable, and passionate about the local wildlife. She provided a great introduction to kayaking and shared lots of fascinating information about manatees and their habitat.

The experience of seeing these gentle giants up close in their natural environment was unforgettable. The water was mostly calm and clear, allowing for excellent views of the manatees as they swam and occasionally surfaced right next to our kayaks! Jax did an awesome job pointing them out and made sure we followed ethical wildlife viewing practices, ensuring a respectful and responsible encounter.

The tour was well-organized, with clear, high-quality kayaks and safety gear that were provided. The pace was relaxed, making it perfect for our “rusty” skill level. We also spotted other wildlife, like birds, fish and turtles which made the trip even more special.

Overall, this was an incredible experience that we would highly recommend to anyone looking for an up-close, eco-friendly adventure with manatees. We look forward to...