Afisha Life Homepage
Crystal River
Explore
Walking Tours
Small Group VIP Manatee Pontoon Tour in Crystal River

Small Group VIP Manatee Pontoon Tour in Crystal River

Overview

We will let you in on a secret! You can get the high-end experience, with an affordable price tag! Our new heated (during winter), luxury pontoon aims to amp up the manatee sighting and deliver a more personal event! Observe the endangered West Indian Manatee in Crystal River’s idyllic Kings Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Your US Coast Guard licensed captains and guides will take you into the 600 acre spring fed refuge waters for viewing and snorkeling with these slow moving wild giants. All equipment, fees, snacks and beverages are included.

City: Crystal River

Sun 17 Nov

Other dates

You can choose the date already on the booking website

Starting at $101.38

Make a reservation

Sun 17 Nov

Starting at $101.38

Make a reservation

New York City Tours

Unique Activities (21) Transfers & Transportation (103) Tours, Sightseeing & Cruises (113) Entry Tickets (47) Sporting Events (1) Good for Small Groups (6) Seasonal & Holiday Tours (41) Walking Tours (697) Outdoor Activities (20) Limitied Availability Tours (6) LGBT Friendly Tours (4) Family-friendly Activities (7) Solo Travelers' Tours (147) Food & Drinks (27) Travelers recommend (73) Good for Groups (8) Top Activities (18) Guided Audio Tours (3) Art, Culture & History (135) Attractions to explore (38)

What's Included

Professional guide

Use of equipment (mask, snorkel gear and wet suit)

Introductory/instructional video offered in English, French, German, Japanese, or Spanish

Beverages (bottled water, coffee, hot chocolate, tea and adult)

Additional Info

Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Adult pricing applies to all travelers
Children must be accompanied by an adult
Wetsuits are available in sizes from toddlers (2 years old and up) to adults up to 5X
It is advised that you have your swimsuit on underneath your clothes for a quicker check-in
Please bring a towel and a plastic bag to hold your belongings
Children Under 3 years old are not allowed on this tour. Please call for other options.
Post COVID-19 Policy- We are mindful to thoroughly clean water vehicles between visitors.
Hand sanitiser available to travellers and staff
Social distancing enforced throughout experience
Regularly sanitised high-traffic areas
Gear/equipment sanitised between use
Transportation vehicles regularly sanitised
Guides required to regularly wash hands

What To Expect

River Ventures

Embark on your journey with a Coast Guard Certified Master Captain who will be your in water chaperon, educator and photographer. Your tour will run four hours from start to finish and everything you will need is included for one price. You will begin at our full-service tour facility, where you will be educated about the animals in a classroom type setting and receive tips for your snorkel tour to make the most of your day. You will be taught the in’s and out’s of ‘passive interaction’ as this ensures that the animals enjoy the experience as much as we do! You will then be suited up and transported to the dock, where a Coast Guard certified covered pontoon will be waiting for you. This rich estuary will amaze…..birds, fish and wildlife abound! Submerge yourself in the manatee’s world! Finish your adventure by viewing your Captain’s photos back at our facility and be sure to visit our one-of-a-kind gift shop! Our well-informed staff will direct to other local attractions, restaurants and answer of your questions before you are on your way.

Cancellation Policy

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

Traveler Photos

Reviews (565)

annabelle_c

Feb 2022

We had an amazing time. Wade and Trish were so fun to spend a few hours with. We learned so much and we also had a great experience with the manatees . We cannot wait to do it again.

831annabellec

Feb 2022

We had an amazing time with Trish and Wade. Not only did we learn so much but we got to experience the manatees in their natural habit with two people that care so much about them. Our guides where fun, funny, and very passionate. We had an amazing small almost private tour and it did not disappoint. We interacted with multiple manatees but one in particulate hung out with us for an hour. It was a pretty unbelievable experience. We will recommend them to anyone who is looking to swim with manatees. Thank you Trish and Wade so much again, until next time.

dougd414

Feb 2022

We took a semi-private, Crystal River Manatee Tour with River Ventures on January 30th, which happened to be the coldest day of the year! Manatees come in from the ocean to warm themselves in the 72°F (nominal) spring water in King's Bay, so the colder the air temperature, the more manatees there will be. We wanted to beat the crowds, so we had booked their first boat of the morning which left at 6:30 am. Although it was expensive, I had booked a "heated" boat, and I'm very that glad I did because it was only 28°F that morning! The "heat" consisted of a small propane-bottle fueled heater on the floor of our pontoon boat, but it made a huge difference. I can't imagine how cold it must have been for people in the other (unheated) boats, especially after getting out of the water after an hour or two of snorkelling! Our manatee snorkelling guide was Kelly. She played a U.S. Fish & Wildlife video for us, and explained the regulations for the protected manatee species. Basically, you can't chase, block or harrass a manatee, but if they approach you (as some of them did!) then you can touch them. After the video, Kelly showed us a rack of wetsuits and where we could change into them. Their SEAC wetsuits are good quality, perfect for snorkelling with silicone rubber seals around the neck, wrists and ankles. Unfortunately, they don't provide wetsuit hoods, booties or gloves. I can understand why, as these are more likely to be lost. But it was freezing cold when we went, and I really wish I had my own! Our boat captain was Peter. Peter was great--he was very helpful, and took some photos of us with my wife's cellphone. The shock of climbing down the boat ladder into that cold water absolutely took my breath away, but Peter reassured me, and the shock subsided after a minute or so as I slowly began warming up the cold water in my wetsuit. If I hadn't invested so much money into this trip, it would have been too tempting to climb back out and stay on the heated boat. But, I toughed it out for those first few difficult minutes, and I'm glad I did. We hand-paddled over to King Spring, staying outside the roped-off areas that are reserved for manatees. There were plenty of manatees swimming all around us, some rolling over and exposing their stomachs for us to scratch. Others were just sleeping or resting on the bottom or in the water column. We paddled around them there for some time, passively observing and taking photos and video of these fascinating gentle giants. Peter had explained that sometimes a manatee might come up from behind you and hug you to share in your body warmth, and may even pull you down slightly. He said if that happened, "don't freak out" and to just "let the manatee do his thing." This actually happened to me--one came up behind me and started hugging my right leg. Because I realized what was going on, I wasn't worried about it and didn't even bother submerging my head to look behind to see him (it was that cold!), although my wife did. I could feel his body warmth through my leg, and he was a lot warmer than I was! After two or three minutes he let go, and I resumed my hand-paddling around, taking more underwater photos and videos. Later, another one surfaced between my legs, exhaled and submerged again. I told Kelly, and she commented that "there are no private areas." Maybe you can imagine how cold it was to be hand-paddling around with your bare hands (no flippers) in fairly cold water, with nothing on your bare head or feet, in 28°F air temperature! After a while I got too cold and paddled back to the ladder at the pontoon boat's transom. I asked Peter if they had a head, and he so no, but that I could go in my wetsuit. I did and finally felt warm for the first time! The others came aboard about 10 minutes after me, and we headed back towards the dock. Peter was very knowledgeable about the sea grass that manatees eat. Apparently, the salinity in Kings Bay had increased in the past and the original sea grass was dying off, threatening the manatee's food supply. So they transplanted a strain of sea grass that had been genetically modified to tolerate the increased salinity, and it worked. The genetically modified sea grass in Crystal River flourished and spread, and the manatees were saved from starvation. They're having a different problem with the sea grass on the Atlantic coast, but that's a different issue. Swimming with the manatees was a very special experience for us, and we're both so glad that we did it! Of course, no one can guarantee that you'll even see a single manatee, epecially if you go later in the spring or summer when it's warmer, or later in the day if it gets too crowded or the water is too murky. But we were lucky and were able to see dozens of them, and even touch a few. I can't recommend the experience highly enough.