Torontonian
Contributor
In this same trip we dive/snorkeled at Crystal River, then Rainbow River. So this is the last leg of the trip. There are 5 of us, two couples and my mother-in-law. Im the only diver and the others are snorkelers.
We booked the trip with Adventure Diving in Crystal River. Before the Aug. 26 afternoon trip to Rainbow River, we already went with Adventure, to Crystal River manatee snorkeling and Kings Spring diving (including one night dive the night before). Ive posted reviews of the Crystal River night dive, and manatee snorkeling and day dive Kings Spring
It was great that they used the same big pontoon boat from the morning Crystal River trip, to go to the afternoon Rainbow River trip. Because it was just the 5 of us, it was like a private charter. They said we could leave all our gears on the boat, just need to secure them, then theyll set up and tow the boat to Rainbow River.
After checking out of the Best Western hotel and grabbing some quick lunch, we went back to Adventures shop. The shop co-owner Carl (who I had communicated thru many emails) told me Rainbow River is just beautiful and whereas diving in Crystal River may rate a 3/10, Rainbow River is 10/10. He explained I may need to kneel down, or grab something if I need to stay at a certain place during the drift dive. Also, overweight while diving there. After finishing all the paperwork and payments, it must have been around 2pm when we were on our way. (I had recorded 3:30pm as the start time of the dive.)
We followed Dave and Shawn in their big truck towing the big pontoon boat. It was about ½ hr drive through the country side and small towns. The park entrance had parking for maybe 40-50 cars, maybe more. At first we were concerned about leaving our luggage in the van. But seeing the way the park is, and that we can park near the park entrance where the offices are, we felt it should be fine. We walked to the park entrance and paid the $3/person entry fee. There is a rule of no disposable bottle or containers on the boat while in the river, so we only brought re-usable bottles.
Dave and Shawn drove through a different entrance as they had to lower the boat into the ramp to the river. They were 3rd in line, as there were other boats. We then took it easy strolling around the park. There were people swimming, doing shore diving, some people in tubes, and some people kayaking (you can rent them). The park and river was beautiful. The river is indeed very clear. We could easily see sea grass underneath and fishes swimming around.
Anyway, after they moved the boat to the water, we got in and were on our way up the river. This is to be a slow drift snorkel/dive back down. The water temp is a constant 70-71F year round, due to the constant spring water coming out. We all wore 3mm full wetsuit. I used 10lbs of weight, with 80cf tank. There seem to be a bit of traffic at the beginning, with a few other boats and people kayaking, or playing/swimming in the river.
A few minutes later we saw a boat and a bunch of divers, and noticed it was from American Pro (another Crystal River shop that runs snorkeling/diving trips). As we continued on, several hundred yards away, there was a lone diver down there by himself, quite a way from the other bunch of divers and the boat. I pointed it out to Shawn and asked isnt that dangerous because he was by himself and did not have a dive flag floating up. He said sure is, that is a recipe for accidents. If this straggler is with American Pro, it looked like they didnt notice a diver missing, because they certainly werent looking for him.
We continued upstream, and saw way fewer people/boat/kayak in the river. The water looked very clean and clear. A bit later we reached the place we where get down. Shawn and I went down first and started our drift diving. Shawn carried the reel for the dive flag float. The snorkelers followed later. Dave and the boat would follow the snorkelers.
The drift diving wasnt totally effortless. There is a lot of sea grass. Hmm, maybe they arent called sea grass because its not sea but fresh water river. In some places the water gets shallow and the sea grass is near the surface. I tried to swim away from those places, to stay down. The water flow is faster than I thought, and its not easy to try to stay at one place. Kneeling down is often not enough, you almost have to lie down or grab onto a rock.
At a few places Shawn pointed out bubbles from the sand bottom and had me feel it. The spring water coming out felt a little colder. There were lots of those bubbles all over the river. There was a lot of fish. I also saw a big fish head, which must have been bitten off. Later on I asked Shawn and he said its due to alligator. He said alligators do exist there but if they grow to 4 they will be taken away (to where I forgot). Also alligators usually stay away from humans, and they are usually not a bother, if we dont bother them. He said we dont need to worry about alligators, it is crocodiles that would be harmful to human but there are no crocs there.
Once a while I would see the snorkelers above us, but most of the time I was looking down or sideways. At one place Shawn found some type of bone and began to dig. He seemed excited and was really digging. He then pointed to me, to help him dig around it. It looked like white fossil. After some time, Shawn and I surfaced and he yelled to Dave at the boat. We then went to the boat and Shawn told Dave we found some bones and would be digging. It was raining at that time.
We went back, and kept digging for a while. The current was strong, and I had to grab onto a rock to stay there. Shawn then took one piece to bring back. When we continue drifting and catch up to the boat, they had finished snorkeling, they were all on the boat. Shawn wanted to show me the long gar fish. I think I had 600psi left and he said that's enough. It was just a short drift down and the underwater scenery changed. The viz decreased a bit, water was deeper, and we saw a painted box turtle. There we saw quite a few long gar-fish. I think they are also called alligator garfish, some were 6 long.
The water viz in this diving trip is at least 100. The air temp was 85F. It was hot and humid. But at the end of the dive, being cloudy, a bit of drizzle and wind, it was feeling a bit chilly. Dave and Shawn said in the winter it can feel cold, and the water at 72F is like soup.
All of us thoroughly enjoyed this snorkel/dive trip to Rainbow River. The beautiful scenery, clear spring water, and being in water to see a lot of fish, was quite an enjoyable experience. It rained during the snorkeling, but they all stayed in water during the 45 min. drift. For my MIL, this is only the first day of snorkeling trip experience (first time in the morning in Crystal River), she also stayed in the water the whole time. The shallow water, and being in a river, knowing you wont be swept away to the ocean, and good company, certainly helped. My own diving clocked at 65min., the longest dive I've ever had, and I still had 400psi left. I can see why this place would be good for beginners to learn, and also for experienced divers to enjoy as well. With Adventure, the cost was only $35/p (plus tax and tip), and very much worth it. Our gear rental from the morning trip can still be used, so no extra rental cost. Ill certainly recommending diving at Rainbow River, and would certainly recommend Adventure Diving. Dave and Shawn were great.
As we drove back to Crystal River, we went back to Best Western to return the towels we borrowed (we did ask them, to borrow 5 towels and promised to bring back). Then my MIL (being from Taiwan, and was Japanese educated, I guess it was her style) insisted that we need to stop by Adventure Divings shop again, to say thank you to Dave and Shawn, for giving us a great trip.
P.S. We had to drive back to Tampa right after. Carl did suggest to us to also go to the Homosassa Park as it is beautiful. We had a dinner booking with Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City that night, so we just drove straight back. Next time would dive Rainbow River again, and manatee snorkel, and hopefully have a chance to go to the Homosassa park.
We booked the trip with Adventure Diving in Crystal River. Before the Aug. 26 afternoon trip to Rainbow River, we already went with Adventure, to Crystal River manatee snorkeling and Kings Spring diving (including one night dive the night before). Ive posted reviews of the Crystal River night dive, and manatee snorkeling and day dive Kings Spring
It was great that they used the same big pontoon boat from the morning Crystal River trip, to go to the afternoon Rainbow River trip. Because it was just the 5 of us, it was like a private charter. They said we could leave all our gears on the boat, just need to secure them, then theyll set up and tow the boat to Rainbow River.
After checking out of the Best Western hotel and grabbing some quick lunch, we went back to Adventures shop. The shop co-owner Carl (who I had communicated thru many emails) told me Rainbow River is just beautiful and whereas diving in Crystal River may rate a 3/10, Rainbow River is 10/10. He explained I may need to kneel down, or grab something if I need to stay at a certain place during the drift dive. Also, overweight while diving there. After finishing all the paperwork and payments, it must have been around 2pm when we were on our way. (I had recorded 3:30pm as the start time of the dive.)
We followed Dave and Shawn in their big truck towing the big pontoon boat. It was about ½ hr drive through the country side and small towns. The park entrance had parking for maybe 40-50 cars, maybe more. At first we were concerned about leaving our luggage in the van. But seeing the way the park is, and that we can park near the park entrance where the offices are, we felt it should be fine. We walked to the park entrance and paid the $3/person entry fee. There is a rule of no disposable bottle or containers on the boat while in the river, so we only brought re-usable bottles.
Dave and Shawn drove through a different entrance as they had to lower the boat into the ramp to the river. They were 3rd in line, as there were other boats. We then took it easy strolling around the park. There were people swimming, doing shore diving, some people in tubes, and some people kayaking (you can rent them). The park and river was beautiful. The river is indeed very clear. We could easily see sea grass underneath and fishes swimming around.
Anyway, after they moved the boat to the water, we got in and were on our way up the river. This is to be a slow drift snorkel/dive back down. The water temp is a constant 70-71F year round, due to the constant spring water coming out. We all wore 3mm full wetsuit. I used 10lbs of weight, with 80cf tank. There seem to be a bit of traffic at the beginning, with a few other boats and people kayaking, or playing/swimming in the river.
A few minutes later we saw a boat and a bunch of divers, and noticed it was from American Pro (another Crystal River shop that runs snorkeling/diving trips). As we continued on, several hundred yards away, there was a lone diver down there by himself, quite a way from the other bunch of divers and the boat. I pointed it out to Shawn and asked isnt that dangerous because he was by himself and did not have a dive flag floating up. He said sure is, that is a recipe for accidents. If this straggler is with American Pro, it looked like they didnt notice a diver missing, because they certainly werent looking for him.
We continued upstream, and saw way fewer people/boat/kayak in the river. The water looked very clean and clear. A bit later we reached the place we where get down. Shawn and I went down first and started our drift diving. Shawn carried the reel for the dive flag float. The snorkelers followed later. Dave and the boat would follow the snorkelers.
The drift diving wasnt totally effortless. There is a lot of sea grass. Hmm, maybe they arent called sea grass because its not sea but fresh water river. In some places the water gets shallow and the sea grass is near the surface. I tried to swim away from those places, to stay down. The water flow is faster than I thought, and its not easy to try to stay at one place. Kneeling down is often not enough, you almost have to lie down or grab onto a rock.
At a few places Shawn pointed out bubbles from the sand bottom and had me feel it. The spring water coming out felt a little colder. There were lots of those bubbles all over the river. There was a lot of fish. I also saw a big fish head, which must have been bitten off. Later on I asked Shawn and he said its due to alligator. He said alligators do exist there but if they grow to 4 they will be taken away (to where I forgot). Also alligators usually stay away from humans, and they are usually not a bother, if we dont bother them. He said we dont need to worry about alligators, it is crocodiles that would be harmful to human but there are no crocs there.
Once a while I would see the snorkelers above us, but most of the time I was looking down or sideways. At one place Shawn found some type of bone and began to dig. He seemed excited and was really digging. He then pointed to me, to help him dig around it. It looked like white fossil. After some time, Shawn and I surfaced and he yelled to Dave at the boat. We then went to the boat and Shawn told Dave we found some bones and would be digging. It was raining at that time.
We went back, and kept digging for a while. The current was strong, and I had to grab onto a rock to stay there. Shawn then took one piece to bring back. When we continue drifting and catch up to the boat, they had finished snorkeling, they were all on the boat. Shawn wanted to show me the long gar fish. I think I had 600psi left and he said that's enough. It was just a short drift down and the underwater scenery changed. The viz decreased a bit, water was deeper, and we saw a painted box turtle. There we saw quite a few long gar-fish. I think they are also called alligator garfish, some were 6 long.
The water viz in this diving trip is at least 100. The air temp was 85F. It was hot and humid. But at the end of the dive, being cloudy, a bit of drizzle and wind, it was feeling a bit chilly. Dave and Shawn said in the winter it can feel cold, and the water at 72F is like soup.
All of us thoroughly enjoyed this snorkel/dive trip to Rainbow River. The beautiful scenery, clear spring water, and being in water to see a lot of fish, was quite an enjoyable experience. It rained during the snorkeling, but they all stayed in water during the 45 min. drift. For my MIL, this is only the first day of snorkeling trip experience (first time in the morning in Crystal River), she also stayed in the water the whole time. The shallow water, and being in a river, knowing you wont be swept away to the ocean, and good company, certainly helped. My own diving clocked at 65min., the longest dive I've ever had, and I still had 400psi left. I can see why this place would be good for beginners to learn, and also for experienced divers to enjoy as well. With Adventure, the cost was only $35/p (plus tax and tip), and very much worth it. Our gear rental from the morning trip can still be used, so no extra rental cost. Ill certainly recommending diving at Rainbow River, and would certainly recommend Adventure Diving. Dave and Shawn were great.
As we drove back to Crystal River, we went back to Best Western to return the towels we borrowed (we did ask them, to borrow 5 towels and promised to bring back). Then my MIL (being from Taiwan, and was Japanese educated, I guess it was her style) insisted that we need to stop by Adventure Divings shop again, to say thank you to Dave and Shawn, for giving us a great trip.
P.S. We had to drive back to Tampa right after. Carl did suggest to us to also go to the Homosassa Park as it is beautiful. We had a dinner booking with Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City that night, so we just drove straight back. Next time would dive Rainbow River again, and manatee snorkel, and hopefully have a chance to go to the Homosassa park.
