When it comes to picking a tour company in the Manatee Capital of Florida, it can be overwhelming given all the options. To make things a bit easier, we’ve gathered a list of all tour operators in the area and broke them down by price, duration, and quality of the tour.
Captain Mike’s Swimming with the Manatees
$50 – Includes mask, snorkel, and wet suit
Sign up with for the silver package; it provides everything you need to have an amazing morning in the water. This tour departs twice daily at 7 am & 10 am. We’d recommend heading out on the earlier tour to ensure your best opportunity to encounter manatees. Most manatees lose interest in people sometime between 9 and 10 am because they are hungry. At this point, most will start grazing for the day.
$65 - Includes all gear
Duration: 3 hours
This manatee adventure tour is limited to six people per boat to ensure a quality, personal experience. If a group is larger than six people another boat will be taken out and tag along for the whole trip at no extra charge. When the captain finds a manatee, he will anchor the boat and allow you to slowly get into the water. Remember - the quieter and stiller you are, the better your chances of having a positive interaction with the manatees. The younger manatees are very curious and will approach you, they may even give you a hug or kiss! Manatees have algae on their backs and love when you scratch it for them.
Adventure Center (Recommended)
- $65 - Includes all gear and hot chocolate, coffee, water, and towel service.
- Duration: 3 hrs
This tour boat is fully enclosed in the winter to protect you from the wind. The boat can hold up to 11 or 14 people, depending on which one you get. Swimming with manatees is best done with a snorkel and wet suit. Remember to make the encounter as silent as possible. Manatees are timid, gentle giants that don’t like commotion. While they are well known for their laid-back, slow-moving nature, manatees have also been known to body surf or barrel roll when playing. Keep your ears peeled when you are in the water, as Manatees communicate by squealing under water to demonstrate fear, stress or excitement.
Manatee Tour and Dive (Best Priced)
- Groupon available $38
- Duration: 2 hours
While this tour is an hour shorter, they have a fantastic Groupon price, and on colder mornings it might be nice to get out of the water an hour sooner. You will most likely find manatees in shallow coastal areas and rivers where they feed on seagrass, mangrove leaves, and algae. These herbivores munch on food for almost half the day, eating ten percent of their body weight in plant mass every day. With weights of up to 1,200 pounds, that is a whole lot of greenery!
- Price: $59 – includes wetsuit and snorkel gear
- Duration: 3 hours
This boat holds up to 12 people and offers a unique sunset Manatee tour. Heading out later in the afternoon ensures a quieter crowd. Viewing manatees later in the afternoon should be fine during the colder months (November 15th to March 31st) because Kings Bay still has over 700 manatees during this time. Warm water is a must for the manatees. With low metabolic rates and minimal fat protection from cold water, they stick to water that is 60 degrees or warmer. They may look fat and insulated, but the large body of the manatee is mostly made up of their stomach and intestines! In colder months, they find their way to warm river tributaries or warm water outputs from power plants. In 2010 at least 246 manatees died in Florida due to cold stress from the colder-than-normal winter.
- Price $59.45 – wetsuit and snorkel equipment is included
- Duration: 3 hrs
Swim with Manatees Tours is owned and operated by Bird’s Underwater Dive Shop and is located directly on King’s Bay. Bill “Bird” and Diane Oestreich have been operating in Crystal River, Florida since 1989. They have offered family-friendly manatee snorkel tours, and scuba diving instruction in Citrus County for over 29 years, and gained a worldwide reputation for safety, integrity, customer service and just plain fun! In 1983, the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge was established to specifically protect the Florida manatees that consider this area their home. Manatees have no natural predators in the wild but humans have played a large part in making all three species at risk of extinction.
