Seamless experience with a great guide and boat captain! We upgraded to the guaranteed experience when booking...well worth it! The check-in procedure was flawless and simple. Our guide, Miss Bri, was fantastic, charming and knowledgeable from the jump. Capt Kellz was friendly with wealth of knowledge on the boat ride, making it a point to answer our questions about the area and stopping the boat to make sure we saw manatee noses! She even gave our kiddos a chance to see the floating hairy potatoes with her UV shades.
In the water, not gonna lie, the visibility is really low. We were in 5-6' deep "flats,” and could see the bottom but nothing more than a foot or two front of our faces. Miss Bri was OUTSTANDING with her patience and reminders to be calm and quiet. We figured out quickly that the manatee who was hanging with us really liked Miss Bri and she's amazing at keeping up with them! We'd stay back until she was like "OK, she's facing this way and coming towards...YOU" then pointing to the part of our group who would get the best view. We'd all pretty much freeze in place and watch in wonder as the manatee SWAM UNDERNEATH US!!!! HOLY MOLY!!! They are giant floating potatoes with hair. Miss Bri said "watch for the fuzzy rock to float by you." ACCURATE. My husband was close enough to the manatee's face that he could've smooched it. Our daughter was NOT thrilled to be super close, but with a mountain of patience, Miss Bri got her close enough to see the manatee (my husband and I have nail marks in our hands to prove it). Our son was in the middle of the pack the whole time and had a blast seeing the manatee a handful of times. I think she even bumped him!
Tips/notes:
-the water is COLD (early/mid-March), but that draws the manatees
-manatees seem to be a bit like dogs and will go to people who have calm, soothing vibes/demeanor
-wear a rash guard, long-sleeved if you can. Helps in getting the wet suit on + extra layer of warmth in the water
-bring a bag with towels and quick-drying clothes on the boat. We had two big bags full of towels and used them all between staying warm on the boat and changing at the meeting place
-no showers at the meeting place, but a TON of changing rooms
-nice wall of cubbies by the changing rooms if you don't want to take anything with you
-sunscreen your face, ears and neck! You're on a boat and in the water for 2-3 hours.
-two bathrooms on site at the meeting place
-the boat doesn't move very fast (no wake zones), but we had Dramamine anyway
-you will be COLD and tired when you're done! The van driver blasted us with the heater. Miss Bri and Capt Kellz supplied hot chocolate 🤩
20/10 would do this again with River Ventures!