Swim with Manatees — Local services in Crystal River

This experience and this tour company in particular are highly recommended! My wife and I took the VIP tour on March 23, 2018 (3.5+ hours including briefing, fitting wetsuits, travel to/from manatees and gift-shop time) (21 Celsius, sun and wind). The overall feel of this company and its representatives is very laid-back and friendly. Everyone we met was informative and very helpful. They have a well-oiled system set up to get you fitted, trained and out on the water without wasting anyone’s time. The only skill required is some comfort with swimming (floating, really). They will help you with everything else.

Behind all the hospitality we saw lots of professionalism, and care for both the manatees and the area they inhabit. Part of that care is to limit occupancy to 6 guests per boat, to reduce the number of people around any particular group of manatees (groups larger than 6 can simply have 2 boats in convoy). We believe this is also a huge benefit to guests. We had more personal attention from our captain than we would otherwise get, and 1 to 1 encounters with some of the manatees because our boat was the only one anchored at that spot.

Smaller boats and more personal attention was one of the reasons I picked this company, and that paid off big-time. Reviews can mention small, open boats as a negative, but I believe the advantages are well worth the trade. I was a bit cold on the return trip, but my wife had brought enough warm clothing for herself and was fine. The simple rule-of-thumb is to bring more warm clothes/towels than you think you need for when you get out of the water.

Captain Ron was our host. His easy-going manner and humor put us at ease from the start. On the journey out, he pointed out sights, wildlife and the manatees that were either resting or swimming around us. In between, he had time for all of our questions. Once he found a suitable anchorage, Ron helped us into the water and was an active spotter for us throughout the swim. He guided us to the best places for observation, and provided clear instruction for how to behave when they came close. As manatees came and went from our area he kept us up-to-date on who was where. This is an essential service because an individual swimmer can’t see or track nearly as much.

We were very lucky that one manatee in particular was very curious about us and our boat. It hung around nearby for over an hour, grazed from the river bed, grazed from the weed growing on the boat, and approached us many times. This was an amazing experience. I had no idea it should have been on my bucket list!

During the preparation lecture, you are informed that direct encounters are rare and not to expect any manatees to actually approach you. We were lucky that one individual was comfortable with us, but we would have had a fabulous experience anyway in just being there on the river and observing the others going about their business. We really appreciated that this was a real experience, with wild animals that were comfortable with the amount of...

If you are searching reviews trying to figure out which one is the best, I empathize with you. After reading all the reviews out there, I chose here. I'm glad I did. I chose early morning to get there before tons of other tour groups and to get there before the water got murky. I was right. They put us on a cow and calve right after we left the dock and we had an amazing private session with the two manatees. Then the other boats showed up. There is an unwritten law where most charters wait their turn to get in with the manatee.

All the guides eventually work with different companies and actually work with each other cordially to try to make sure that no matter what company you choose, everyone should get to experience the manatees.

Finding the place is a little hard early in the morning. It's in the shopping center. This place is professional and dedicated to their business, meaning they take care of you. Their dive shop has a nice manatee museum or education area that you go through and you watch a video prepared by I think the park service. It's a short drive in a van to the area. They take you around a several acres water area bounded by homes and businesses in a pontoon boat. All groups go to the same small area and basically you have the boats from several other companies following each other around this small area looking for manatees to set their passengers upon. On our day I was glad to have chosen this company and would recommend them. Not sure if those using other companies had as great a day as us. However it is a craps shoot and I think we got lucky as the early birds. This place has plenty of wet suits with high quality masks and snorkels. As far as numbers, there was no more than six per boat and this may be a regulation.

My feeling is 3 hours was just not enough time, especially in the summer when you are left with only a small herd of resident manatees. You have a bunch of tour operators boating around at 2 mph in a small area all trying to find and see the same one or two manatees who were not smart enough to have left the area before all the humans and boats showed back up for the day.

I didn't like the fee to use the lockers although they will keep your car keys for free at the desk. I also didn't like the pictures sales. As cliché as this pictures sales is, it does not rise to the level of tackiness as another company company advertising free pictures and charging $15 per person more than all the other groups.

They have hot showers back at the building after you are driven back, but I did not see soap. Bring...

Manatees have been a life-long love of mine since a report I gave in first grade. I've always dreamed of getting close to these gentle giants for as long. For my 31st birthday, I was gifted this experience from my fiance. I always joked I would cry in my snorkel if I ever got the chance. Safe to say, that wasn't a lie. As soon as we were off the boat and in the water at the perimeter, members of our tour beckoned me over. As soon as I put my mask in the water, a beautiful momma with her calf were right next to me (safely behind their perimeter). I couldn't stop staring and began tearing up. Our kind, knowledgeable guide, Emmett, was leading our group into the springs. Once there at the next perimeter, after we had passed another mom/calf duo and a single manatee, a young adult came out to greet us. They sat with us for a good 10 minutes, coming up two or three times to breathe, again right there just beneath us. I was beyond overjoyed and cried again (respectfully as to not disturb these beautiful animals) and just was in awe. We went further into the springs which were beautiful and incredible. Our Captain, Chris, was also very fun and knowledgeable, ensuring we knew all of the safety protocols before we left the dock, and got in the water. Overall, Sea Daddy's was a great experience and I would highly recommend them. The lengths they go to to ensure all tour members are thoroughly informed as to safety precautions, appropriate behaviors, while delivering a magical experience, was the best tour we could have gone with. I chose them because they said they liked to take smaller tour groups (~6 people). On our way out, I noticed larger manatee tour groups where the swimmers were not following the same rules/instructions we had been given (though no doubt they would have been given the same; not blaming the tour businesses, but the tourists). It's harder to control larger group sizes so I do not fault the guides. The photo/video package is a reasonable price as well. Thank you Emmett, Captain Chris, and Autumn(? I know that's not right, I'm sorry!) for your dedication to providing appropriate, informative, and entertaining tours, and your dedication to education regarding manatees. I will definitely be back...