Swimming with Manatees was the activity I was looking forward to most while planning our short trip to Tampa this winter. The experience proved to everything I imagined and more.

We joined the heated VIP tour. Once we arrived at the River Ventures office we checked in and waited to be called by our guide. Our group was called and led into a room where we watched an informative movie about manatees, the areas they frequent and what is and is not allowed during the tour. We were each fitted with wet suits and snorkeling gear before we boarded the bus which took us to the heated boat we were using.

The Staff was really friendly and funny. They made sure everyone was comfortable and went out of their way to make our trip as memorable as could be. We enjoyed the ride in the boat to the area where the manatees usually are. After a quick review of the instructions we all entered the water. We paddled with our hands (in order not to scare away the manatees) while leaning on floating noodles. Our buoyant wetsuits also helped keep us above the water. The guides pointed us in the right direction. It was fascinating to see many fish below us. I especially enjoyed seeing the many striped fish. Before long someone saw the first manatee and we all headed in that direction. It was absolutely amazing seeing the huge but gentle fish up close. It was remarkable! We kept paddling around hoping to see some more manatees but it seems they left the area or were in the sanctuaries which are areas off limits.   

Crystal River has natural springs that is a steady 72 degrees. The manatees hang out during the winter months since they like the warm water.  However, when the weather warms up they often leave the area. When we visited it was during a period of warmer weather so there were less manatees around.

The guides, who were infinitely patient, helped us back into the boat and took us to another area which often has manatees. We spotted a few more at a distance. Here and there one of the manatees would swim closer to us. Our guides wanted to make sure we maximized our visit. They went overtime taking us from one area to the next trying to help us see as many manatees as we could.

We enjoyed it so much we were tempted to join a tour again the next day but we were due to head home the next day.

Posted: July 8, 2024