Frequently Asked Questions - swim with manatees

No! We leave it up to the parent's disrection, however children 6 years and under do have to remain in a Coast Guard Approved Life Jacket which we provide and minors must have an adult with them on the boat and in the water.

While Crystal River sees the highest influx of manatees in the winter months, Crystal River keeps a smaller population of our local manatees that stay with us year round. Regardless of the time of year, we urge our guests to keep in mind that manatees are wild animals and we do not control where they go. 

As a tour operator we practice Passive Observation as suggested and encouraged by USFW. So while you cannot reach out and touch a manatee, a manatee can come up and interact with you 

We do require wetsuits for any guests that plan on swimming with the manatees. We primarily use wetsuits to aid in floating as we need all of our guests at the surface of the water floating effortlessly

We run manatee tours all day long as you can have a great experience at any time of the day. However we do suggest the morning times as there tends to be less people out on the water and it is cooler out.