Manatees in Paradise — Local services in Crystal River

Our first tour with Manatees in Paradise was fantastic! Although it wasn’t scheduled as a private tour, my husband and I ended up being the only ones on the tour that day. We went to a couple different springs and saw an insane number of manatees! Derek (our guide) and Sean (the boat captain) were very knowledgeable about manatees and about wildlife in the area in general, and they were very personable and willing to share their knowledge. On our way back, they spotted some dolphins feeding, and they were willing to take a few minutes so we could stop and watch even though we were already past the scheduled end time.

We decided we wanted to do a second tour before we left town, so we booked with them again. This time Sean was our guide and Jacob was our boat captain. It was just as good as the first tour, although it was definitely different. We hit the same spots, but we saw significantly fewer manatees. This meant we slowed down and spent more time with the ones we saw. The highlight was probably watching a mama and baby nursing! We also had four other people with us on this tour. It was fine, but it made me appreciate how small the group was – I think with a larger group, it would be much harder to navigate seeing the manatees without disturbing them and without bumping into anyone else.

We learned a few useful tips from our guides that aren’t necessarily specific to the company, but they might be useful if planning a trip: -Manatees sleep in the springs at night. This means finding manatees for the early morning tours is a little more predictable (although nothing is guaranteed), but they’re likely to be pretty sedate. -There are more manatees at the springs in the winter, but manatees are more active in the summer. This means it’s easier to find manatees in the winter, but they might not do much besides sleep. In the summer, they’re harder to find, but they’re likely to be more active. -The slowest time of the year in terms of tourists is September. That’s when the person-to-manatee ratio will be best.

All in all, it was a fantastic trip, and these tours were the highlight. I’d highly recommend this company to anyone interested in swimming with manatees! (And if you’re not interested in swimming with manatees, you should reconsider, because it’s an amazing...

Skip the crowded big boats! This trip is 6 people maximum and very one on one personal! Dec 2023 I took my 9 year old grand daughter and my 7 year old grand son. It was just us on this particular day., so perfect! Jake and Shaun were so sweet to the kids. Grandson was a bit nervous about everything but after he got in the water, Jake got him to relax and he really loved the interaction with the manatee. Jake and Shaun were so knowledgeable about the area and the wildlife in the bay. They are also very in tune to the welfare and safety of the manatee! Jake showed us how to let the manatee interact wth us! A baby one and his mom played around with us for about 45 minutes! (Bc we were quiet and didn't spook them) We also encountered numerous manatee near Three Sisters Springs. The kids learned so much. I have been on 4 manatee swims. THIS was by far the best! It was nice not being in a huge group! We got great one on one attention. The wetsuits were really nice and warm. One thing I think they should change? Hot coffee and hot chocolate should definitely be on board! Shaun was great with grandson after he got back on the boat. Got him warm and dry and found him a snack. Grandson said he LOVED it all! Grand daughter and I stayed in the water as long as we could. Lol. She has decided that she wants to be a manatee when she grows up! I hope I have lit a fire in them and started a love affair with nature for them. Seriously could not have asked for a better experience! Thanks to Jake and Shaun and Manatees in Paradise for our awesome experience swimming wth the manatees! I can not praise Jake and Shaun enough. The captain and the first mate make or break a trip like this and believe me...these guys MADE our trip great! (We even shared our snacks wth the guys! The kids enjoyed that part too!) If you want a great experience, this is the company to pick! Nature might not cooperate (weather, manatees, no one can predict that) but Jake and Shaun worked to make our trip the best! ♥️ ♥️...

We went on a trip on Monday with Jacob and Shawn. We had such a good experience on that trip that we booked another trip for Thursday this same week. Both days were great experiences but also totally different.

Monday we had great water clarity and conditions and saw a few manatees sleeping and few moving around. We were able to see plenty of wildlife as well. Swimming into Three Sisters spring we witnessed a mom and baby manatee swimming out. About that same time a cormorant came swimming by. Looking below a small school of snook quickly swam by. The spring was beautiful with lots of aquatic wildlife swimming around and a few manatees resting.

Thursdays trip was post cold front the night before and the air was crisp and chilly. Heading to our first swimming location we witnessed a mating group of manatees. Our first swimming location the water clarity was not very good but it did not matter. Shortly upon entering the water we were greeted by a curious manner that wanted to interact with our small group. As we continued to swim we ran into several other curious manatees and the first one we met continued to follow us. At one point I was surrounded by manatees that were curious and wanted to interact.

Shawn did a great job both days at teaching us how to swim and proper interaction with the manatees. Jacob did a great job at finding manatees and piloting the boat. The two of them are very knowledgeable about the wildlife in the area and work very well as a team. Will be back for sure and brining more family and friends to enjoy...