Orlando Manatee Encounters

Overview

Journey to Blue Spring State Park, winter home to one of Florida’s largest populations of Manatee. Witness hundreds of these "sea cows" relaxing in the spring alone. Observe these creatures from a safe distance in your kayak as your Florida Master Naturalist introduces you to the flora and fauna that make up this wild area. This is a great trip for the entire family!

City: Daytona Beach

Fri 04 Jul

Other dates

You can choose the date already on the booking website

Starting at $80.00

Make a reservation

Fri 04 Jul

Starting at $80.00

Make a reservation

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What's Included

Local guide

Bottled water

Professional guide

Landing and facility fees

Additional Info

Wheelchair accessible
Service animals allowed
Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
There is no minimum age however all participants must know how to swim
It is recommended that you bring a swimsuit, towel, waterproof camera and wear clothes that can get wet and possibly dirty
To ensure a proper size kayak is available, please provide your individual heights and weights at the time of booking
There is no restroom at the meeting location. There is a public restroom at Valentine Park (1511 W French Ave, Orange City, FL 32763) about a mile before you arrive the meeting location that we recommend you use before your tour.

Cancellation Policy

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

Traveler Photos

Reviews (329)

MichelleyCam

Nov 2020

Our guide, Astrid, was great. She was super personable and informative. She had a great eye and pointed out so many different birds, and turtles. We even saw a small gator sunning itself. She gave us some great info on the local plants and vegetation. When she saw my teen losing steam during the paddling she paddles up near him and they talked and she put some wind back into his sails(or paddles). That was much appreciated. The highlight was the Blue Spring lagoon. The water was crystal clear and so picturesque. We saw alligator Gars and order fish. The only manatee that day was O'Neill, the local rescue manatee. He was so cool to watch and he even swam under my kayak. What an experience!!! Not going to lie, I was a tad disappointed that we didn't see the hundreds of manatees migrating to eat like the website had said. However we still loved this tour, had a great time and would certainly recommend it. PS, Astrid took and shared some beautiful pictures of our group and trip, Thanks Astrid! You were great! :)

J8859XOrosemaryd

Nov 2020

You know you are traveling with the best guide when tour guides from other companies approach your guide for advice. Astrid was amazing from start to finish. Our brand new kayaks were set up and ready to go when we arrived. Clear instructions were given regarding how to kayak, how to be safe, and how to ethically interact with the native wildlife. It was very obvious that Astrid and Adventures in Florida care more about the natural world than the occupation of making money. Our tour group was small and we were encouraged to pick up any liter we might encounter on the river. Upon reaching the manatees, Astrid saturated with manatee facts and answered everyone’s questions. We were told to take our paddles out of the water and to just wait for the manatee to approach us and did they ever approach us! I had several manatee rubbing their face and whiskers on my kayak. A mother and calf just hung out under me in clear blue water for several minutes. It was absolutely the most magical tour ever. I can’t recommend this enough, it is a must do for anyone visiting Orlando.

282abij

Nov 2020

Gina was so thoughtful and entertaining. Perfect balance of information, chit chat and quiet moments of observation. The manatees and the area were beautiful.