Trip Report Crystal River Manatee Snorkel- November 27, 2021

[Jake 10]

thanks for sharing, very interesting tour for family with kids

 

[Jaan]

Finally got around to editing my GoPro footage from the trip and figured I would post a report.

We visited my in-laws in Sarasota for Thanksgiving this year and finally checked off one of our bucket list items- Snorkel with manatees at Crystal River!

We stayed at the Plantation on Crystal River. Hotel was convenient, but definitely dated.
We only stayed one night, I don't think my in-laws could have lasted another. Their tastes are a little more refined- I thought the place was OK, but they felt it was dirty and uncomfortable. To each their own.

The onsite restaurant was disappointing- we arrived around 3:00 pm and they still had brunch leftovers sitting out, along with dirty linens, dirty plates and food all over the floor. We walked right back out the door.

We ate at Waterfront Social, right across the street, which had excellent food and service.

We booked back-to-back 3 hour private charter for our group of 6 with Adventure Center at Plantation on Crystal River. We ended up with about 7 hours on the boat.

Plantation Adventure Center: Amazing Florida Water Recreation on The Crystal River

Make the most of your Florida fishing vacations at Plantation on Crystal River, where we feature boating, diving, snorkeling, and more at our Kings Bay resort and marina.

www.plantationoncrystalriver.com

This worked out extremely well for several reasons.

-We boarded the boat at 6:00 am and beat all of the other groups out to the springs, which gave us alone time with the manatees
-We could leave sites as other boats showed up and continually had spots all to ourselves
-We got to tour the entire area, and if we saw manatees, we would stop the boat and ease in

The other, larger tours would pull up and dump out 12-20 guests and they would all be bumping, kicking and fighting each other for views. We did not have to deal with any of that.

This was easily one of the coolest things I have ever done. Manatees are such interesting creatures, and I really felt they enjoyed seeing people as much as we enjoyed seeing them. They are very inquisitive, curious and, well, goofy to watch.

The tour company was very professional, respectful and committed to protecting the manatees. Some of the manatees recognize the guides and go up to them specifically.

We also saw schools of snook, mullet, bass, a stingray, pelicans and several other bird species.

Would definitely recommend this trip to anyone in the area. Great for kids, adults and non-water people alike.

Nice. Hey so does anyone know if the manatees are still there? Typically to mid or end Jan yes?

 

[Redfoot]

Nice. Hey so does anyone know if the manatees are still there? Typically to mid or end Jan yes?

Thanks!

They have about 50 manatees that are year round residents, so you can see them anytime.

From what we were told, the highest concentrations come in December-January and taper off by March as the gulf warms back up.

This is all weather dependent- If it is a warm winter, they may start heading back out earlier. If it is a cold winter, they may be there in high numbers through April.

Give them a call if you are planning on going and they can tell you what to expect as you plan your trip.

 

[Steve Roquemore]

Finally got around to editing my GoPro footage from the trip and figured I would post a report.

We visited my in-laws in Sarasota for Thanksgiving this year and finally checked off one of our bucket list items- Snorkel with manatees at Crystal River!

We stayed at the Plantation on Crystal River. Hotel was convenient, but definitely dated.
We only stayed one night, I don't think my in-laws could have lasted another. Their tastes are a little more refined- I thought the place was OK, but they felt it was dirty and uncomfortable. To each their own.

The onsite restaurant was disappointing- we arrived around 3:00 pm and they still had brunch leftovers sitting out, along with dirty linens, dirty plates and food all over the floor. We walked right back out the door.

We ate at Waterfront Social, right across the street, which had excellent food and service.

We booked back-to-back 3 hour private charter for our group of 6 with Adventure Center at Plantation on Crystal River. We ended up with about 7 hours on the boat.

Plantation Adventure Center: Amazing Florida Water Recreation on The Crystal River

Make the most of your Florida fishing vacations at Plantation on Crystal River, where we feature boating, diving, snorkeling, and more at our Kings Bay resort and marina.

www.plantationoncrystalriver.com

This worked out extremely well for several reasons.

-We boarded the boat at 6:00 am and beat all of the other groups out to the springs, which gave us alone time with the manatees
-We could leave sites as other boats showed up and continually had spots all to ourselves
-We got to tour the entire area, and if we saw manatees, we would stop the boat and ease in

The other, larger tours would pull up and dump out 12-20 guests and they would all be bumping, kicking and fighting each other for views. We did not have to deal with any of that.

This was easily one of the coolest things I have ever done. Manatees are such interesting creatures, and I really felt they enjoyed seeing people as much as we enjoyed seeing them. They are very inquisitive, curious and, well, goofy to watch.

The tour company was very professional, respectful and committed to protecting the manatees. Some of the manatees recognize the guides and go up to them specifically.

We also saw schools of snook, mullet, bass, a stingray, pelicans and several other bird species.

Would definitely recommend this trip to anyone in the area. Great for kids, adults and non-water people alike.

Nice video! We went there for Christmas this year and so crowded we felt guilty for crowding them and left. Got some distance and did a drone flight over some of the side channels outside of the park. ?sub_confirmation=1