Natures Discovery is the place to go in Crystal Springs! After researching several places we chose these guys for several reasons. They seemed to be very enthusiastic about their jobs and after going on tour (10:15am), we could tell they loved their job and they love the manatees and were committed to giving our family of 5 an amazing experience. They were very knowledgeable about the wildlife and ecosystem. Our 3 year old refused to get into the water, so Captain Evan let him hang out on the boat so that my husband and I didnāt have to take turns swimming with our other 2 children. While we were out, he was sure to spot out manatees in the water from the boat so our toddler could see them from a place he felt comfortable. We were the only people on the tour, and another reason we chose this place- their smaller boat size. I think they cap out at 6 or 8, so there could have been another group, but some of the other boats have a larger group sizes which means more people vying for a chance to swim with the manatees. We went around looking for manatees to swim with. We found a few swimming around and got in to see but the water was deep so it was hard to see. So we then went back to the spring area where there were about 15 swimming around throughout. We were the first ones back there and got one on one time with the manatees for a few hours. These guys were on it and working hard to find the best place to snorkel with manatees and with good visibility. The whole time they were pointing out other manatees close by that we could check out. Jake was our in water guide and was with us every step of the way. He helped guide our kids to get good views of the front of the manatees and was taking photos of us and the manatees the whole time. Iām addicted to taking photos and it was so nice not having to worry about bringing my camera and documenting our trip. The other reason that sold us on this company is that they offer the photos as part of the package price and not extra like most others. And we just got home and the photos of our trip are amazing. He got so many great shots of
Our family with the manatees and many of just the manatees themselves. Also, they were patient and helpful with our 6 and 9 years olds. In the water Jake helped them get to areas to see the manatees better and swim with him to see the manatees. They patiently redirected our kids to appropriate behavior while swimming near the manatees. We loved this experience 110% and would definitely book with these guys again in the future.