Explorida - Manatee Swim Tours — Local services in Crystal River

My boyfriend and I opted for a private tour on our trip down to visit his family. The folks at Explorida were incredible. I don't think I can come up with the words to adequately explain how amazing the experience was.

First off, our originally scheduled date got rained and thunder-stormed out. They rescheduled us within the same week for a better day on the morning of our originally-scheduled tour. They were honest, and said the day probably wouldn't have been worth the trip.

The day of was incredible. Our friends ended up being unable to make the rescheduled day. The crew took care to find us a place that wouldn't be over-crowded (quite the feat in the afternoon - the springs get BUSY) since it was just the two of us. We got to have our own little private swim with a pair of manatees in one of the smaller coves, well away from other tours. I could not have asked for more considerate, professional, and overall incredible treatment from a tour service. Our guide took incredible photos and it was easily the single best experience of my lifetime.

To top it off (and this isn't to set expectations, but just to show the graciousness of the folks at Explorida), they gave me and my boyfriend our photos for free since we'd paid for the more expensive package and our friends couldn't make it for the rescheduled date. They want to ensure you get your value's worth. The guides assured us they would stay out as long as they had to in order to find us a manatee.

Take it from me, who tends to do a lot of research and weigh different options for special experiences like this one... book with Explorida. You will NOT be disappointed. They know what they're doing, they're incredible hosts, and you'll have the experience...

It's sometimes hard to know if highly-rated places deserve the hype, but this really was a beautiful experience, and Explorida did a great job. We did a morning tour (10:15 am, but they say to get there early, so I wish they'd just put the time as 10 am).

Tour Experience: We went in February, during peak manatee viewing season. Our first spot we went to was a bust, but that was okay, we were "on a safari" as they said, it's not a zoo where animals can always be found in a specific location. Our next spot, we hit jackpot. The manatees are indeed just giant, gentle, sea cows. That resemble gigantic floating potatoes. They were adorable and just didn't care at all that we were there. I will admit, as a first-timer who doesn't swim a whole lot, it's difficult to maintain your position in the water. They give you pool noodles to stay afloat, but it's hard not to drift too close to the manatee or too far away. But eventually you get a little better at it. And it was all worth the effort of the swimming. The water was quite chilly, and the hot cocoa they gave us when we got out of the water was much appreciated.

Staff: Our guide and boat captain were both incredibly friendly and knowledgable. They seemed to genuinely care about the wildlife, about their jobs, and about our experience on the tour.

Store/Shop: My one complaint is the changing area. I wish they had better changing areas with more privacy (and not just dark stalls with curtains that don't fully close). And I also wish they had an area to lock up your possessions. We had to run back out to our car to put our clothes up before we left for the tour. But their shop is quite nice. Lots of fun merch that is mostly...

Was in there 4/26 - the lady could not be bother …. Not once did she greet us. We waited and waited … not a hello /hi … nothing. We decided to walk around the store … then just left… I’d rather give our money to someone that actually is interested.

Updated review to their response.

Thank you for your response. I do appreciate the context you provided around the challenges of running a small, multifaceted business.

That said, as a customer walking in for the first time, even a quick greeting or acknowledgment can set the tone and make someone feel welcomed.

I genuinely wasn’t expecting extensive attention, just some sign that we were seen and valued- as simple hello or welcome!

But as a small business you should evaluate the image your current process is projecting ... if this is happening to me, I assume it's happening to others and people are getting turned off and not doing business with you because of your process. After all, why would one want to schedule a tour if they aren't even greeted upon entering your business.

I understand your point about reviews (hopefully you saw all my positive ones too and you didn't just focus on the negative ones ) and I assure you my intention isn’t to harm small businesses — quite the opposite. I leave honest feedback so businesses can know how their employees are representing their company/image, what’s working and what might not be landing as intended.

Hopefully, this helps you improve the customer experience for others.

But I have to ask- would you want to spend your money with a business that can’t be bothered with a simple...