Manatee Adventure: Explore Crystal River & Homosassa Park

Experience the real Florida with a Crystal River Manatee Swim. Get up-close with gentle manatees and explore the beauty of Crystal River and Homosassa State Wildlife Park.

Duration: 8 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge - The boat will drive into the wildlife refuge where you will hope to see wild manatees on the river. You will be on the boat at least 90 mins.
  • Homosassa River - We will visit the State Park at Homosassa. You will walk around the State Park and see the animals and view the manatees in the underwater…
What's Included
  • Airboat Ride on Tuesday and Thursday tours
  • Admission into Homosassa State Park
  • Pickup and drop-off from designated meeting points
  • Driver/guide
  • Picnic Lunch
  • River cruise to look for the manatees
  • Use of snorkel equipment, mask, snorkel and fins
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
  • Wetsuits must be hired - Mandatory $15 fee
  • Breakfast
  • Airboat Ride on Saturdays - tour is priced lower
  • Half Day does not include Homosassa State Park or Airboat Ride
Additional Information

Come and enjoy the real Florida! Get up-close with the gentle manatee and see the beauty of Crystal River as you explore the Homosassa State Wildlife Park.
The tour heads up to Crystal River where you can snorkel or swim in the rivers where wild manatees live. It’s an early morning departure, so bring breakfast snacks to eat during the journey….

Location
Charley's Steak House
Parkway Boulevard
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.6
(148 Ratings)
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Joana_t
Oct 2, 2024
Fantastic experience - We went just after Hurricane Helene and the water was still very high but the boat crew made a really good job of making sure we found some Manatees. Understandably the water was murky but we got to see those beautiful creatures. Hommosassa state Park was closed so the manatee crew took us out for longer to the three sisters springs. The airboat ride was excellent also despite the Hugh waters.
Review provided by Viator
G2972oepama
Sep 21, 2024
Awesome day trip - Amazing experience. Great guide, very friendly and informative. Definitely a bucket list experience and a great day spent away from the theme parks
Review provided by Tripadvisor
P8737bejong
Sep 19, 2024
Manatee swim - Brad was great, superb service and very accommodating. 5 stars would recommend. Disappointing about the air boat ride being cancelled but it is what it is and we got a refund!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
_m2909tp
Sep 10, 2024
Great time - Went to crystal river today, swam with a baby manatee cause most of them were still in the ocean. And then watched the manatee feeding at homossasa state park. Brad was our tour guide and driver. Very friendly and very fun.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Pinkspideruk
Sep 10, 2024
Good fun lovely to see the manatees - Good fun - had a good swim with the manatees, lunch was nicer than expected, wildlife park was good but small. Airboat was cancelled due to flooding but they booked us on to the little boat at the wildlife park and refunded the airboat cost. Drive there and back was good with Brad.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
D1305fa_
Sep 10, 2024
An awesome 1-day getaway to experience the “true Florida” - Brad was an amazing tour guide! Loved the experience. The manatees were impressive, swimming with these was fun and the Homossasa springs allowed to take photos of those close up and even underwater as well see a lot of other animals of Florida
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dinars9374nv
Sep 10, 2024
Manatee Experience - Amazing trip, amazing to see and swim with the Manatees! Brad was a great tour guide. The whole day was a great adventure for us. :)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Z9796uyrutht
Sep 9, 2024
A unique and enjoyable manatee experience! - The trip was very well planned and good value. Swimming with the manatees was wonderful, although bear in mind that the visibility will not be as it is in the cover photo - the water is very murky and it's difficult to see, but it's a great experience when the manatee suddenly appears close by and you can see how huge yet gentle they are. The wildlife park was really enjoyable - it's only small but we took out time to wander around, read all of the information and join the manatee talk and feeding. It's a rehabilitation centre not a 'zoo' so we really appreciated gaining an understanding of the work they are doing. The airboat trip was cancelled on the day we went due to recent storms and high water levels, but the cost was refunded and we still have a great day out. Thank you!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Fsj99
Sep 5, 2024
Amazing day! - Such a good day, the weather caused the boat ride to be canceled but that was ok as we were refunded the money for that portion of the day. The swim was amazing, we saw only two manatees as we were in the off season, so I’d recommend coming during winter time as that’s when there’s HEAPS of them. The guides were go good. We had Kevin, he was amazing. Lunch was delicious and the Wildlife State Park was incredible! Recommend seeing the Manatee talk and feeding while there. So good! Pick up and drop off was a breeze, the vehicle is easy to spot, a marked van (we had a small group) and is air-conditioned which is so good in the Florida heat! Incredible! I will be back!!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jennleeb72
Sep 16, 2024
Great day with Manatees! - Loved spending the day with Manatees! I knew going in that September is not the best time of year to see Manatees as they are very spread out. Unfortunately, the rain the night before made Crystal River very murky. It was really hard to see the Manatees that the guide was able to locate. Homossasa was great. The resident manatees were fun to watch. The air boat ride was cancelled due to the weather but we got a refund for that part. Overall, I was happy with the day and could spend hours watching my favorite floating potatoes.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $149
up to 10 guests
1 Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).