I cannot say enough about our guide and captain, Mark and John. They are an awesome team, we felt right at home with them. While swimming with the manatee is the number one goal, these guys are most respectful of the animals and explained to us why we were getting in with some manatee and not others. For example, we saw a mother and calf together, but this team was careful not to get in the water with a baby that was too young because it's earliest experiences need to be with the mother-not people. We also saw a pod of +10 manatee just down the canal from where we boarded the boat, but did not get in then because they were very active (with each other). Later after this pod settled down and spread out in the bay we were able to swim with them for as long as we wanted. I appreciated that we were passive observers of the manatee doing what they do naturally. Mark was also very good at reading people and their comfort level and guided people accordingly. Everyone on our boat had an incredible experience. Even the most timid in our group who did not want to get in at all, ended up swimming with Mark and seeing the manatee up close. I appreciated the love and respect this team has for the animals and habitat, along with their desire to make sure we had a great experience. I would highly recommend this company for the high quality wetsuits 5mm (no pool noodles needed to float), clean equipment and boats and a warm drinks aboard the boat and of course the warm shower and changing space available at the end of the tour.