Crystal River Manatee snorkeling..which shop?

[AquaExplorer]

So the wife and I are going to go snorkel with the Manatees in March. I would like to get some feedback from the group on which outfits:

1) Provide a great experience
2) Have "smaller" boats
3) Actively prohibit aggressive interactions with the manatees
4) Lastly...if the weather holds we will be flying into the local airport and thus want any feedback on the Best Western there near the airport. A shop close-ish to that Best Western would be useful as well as we may not have a rental car.

Finally...I believe that Rainbow River is about the best place to dive, right? All other diving is pretty so-so from what I have been told.

 

[Jayde323]

My husband and I frequently go to CR to snorkel with the manatees. We usually kayak (I highly recommend it!), but Bird's gets great reviews here. I have stayed at the Best Western a couple times and the resort is nice, but for about half the price we stay at the Econolodge (nothing fancy but clean). If you are in the mood for a good steak while your in town, head to Cody's. If you can get a seat at the bar, Faye is a great bartender and makes you feel right at home. If you have a few hours free, I also recommend going to the Homasassa Spring Wildlife Park.

There are alot of manatee watch patrols and also FWC makes a strong presence there, so everyone keeps in line for the most part.

If you can rent kayaks (Best Western rents them, otherwise use Aardvarks), it is well worth it. You can spend the day on your schedule and spend about the same amount of money. Plus you can kayak back into the Three Sisters Springs, otherwise you have to swim it.

Here's a picture of a "little" guy who spend an hour pushing my kayak around in circles and loved belly rubs:

 

[deeper thoughts]

Birds is excellent

 

[scubaskipper]

I can honestly say the Captain makes the trip. Some are good, some are great and some I can't believe anyone would trust them with a boat. Best to call and ask questions. This time of year some shops use seasonal Captains. If you don't go on a weekend, chances are good that any boat will be a 6pk. The closest operation to the airport would be Plantation Inn. The BW is at the other end of the bay. Ask if they'll match room rates. As far as RR dive, it's better done as a drifting snorkel tour. There are 3-6 springs that are deeper than 6-8ft. Not really what I would consider a dive. Still want to say away from here on weekends too, it can be a zoo.

 

[Salmonboy97]

You can rent your own pontoon boat at Crystal Lodge Dive Center. They give you a map of the river and brief you on the safe operation of the boat and handling the manatees.

The other charter I would recommend is Byrd's. I have never used this operator before but he is extremely knowledgeable of scuba and the surrounding area.

 

[deepstops]

Another vote for Bird's UW. They run a good trip but they are not running smaller boats.

 

[Torontonian]

We've stayed at BW there. It's good. We had a van, so was able to drive around. I dove at King's Bay, nothing fancy. We also did dive/snorkel combo at Rainbow River. It was very good drift snorkeling. For diving, it's very good viz drifting. I thought it was pretty good experience, but not something you'd want to do over and over.

 

[sphillips3]

I can highly recommend Bird's Underwater. Really nice folks. Plus, they leave early so you are usually the first boat out to find the manatees.

 

[AquaExplorer]

Well it seems that Birds it is!

The wife and I were looking at flying or driving down on Friday and kayaking that afternoon. We then plan on doing the RR drift dive on Sat and the Manatees on Sunday to *try* and lesson the crowd factor. Is that really a possibility or does it simply just suck on the weekends?

One thing I can say is that I was hoping if we flew we would not need a rental car but it seems we must make our way to the RR on our own, and that is way to far for a cab ride! Ugh.....

 

[moneysavr]

Bird's the word, Great opp and yes they leave early! don't be late to the shop as you will be told,Weekends at the springs can really be busy,BU dose rent kayaks and I think they have some rental places to stay at.
And book your trip in advance they fill up real quick!

We stay at a real joint The Port hotel and marina its a joint! the dive shop on site has great boat rentals and we hop a boat and do our own manatee site seeing tour as they are just out in front from Kings bay, but we use care and this is not for every one.