Swim With The Manatees

My family and I were out this morning and had the experience of a lifetime. The captains are extremely knowledgeable and very friendly. The swim was incredible! And the price is perfect. Highly recommended this company and the experience to everyone.

Meh — I loved the idea of swimming with the manatees. I was super excited to go. But, when we went, there were only two or three manatees swimming in our area, and frankly, the aggressive individuals in our tour group over-​took the manatees. I just cannot understand harassing these animals… and that is pretty much what these ppl did. It actually made me wish that I hadn’t gone on the tour. It was sad, and kind of stressful. It’s cool to be able to say that I swam with the tees. But, I do hope that these tours are shut down. They’re dangerous, and while i doubt that the aggressive tourists were mean spirited people, they too are a danger to the animals.

BE VERY CAREFUL WHEN BOOKING WITH «SWIMMING WITH THE MANATEES» .They are NOT customer friendly AND VERY DISHONEST !! My family and I had the worse experience with Captain Gene .He took our money and did not even give the service he was suppose to provide. We got taken for approximately 170.00. We were on vacation and had everything planned out for our 1 week vacation. We drove from Orlando to Crystal River to snorkel with the manatees. We wanted our grand daughter to have a great time. We were on the way home the next day.
We planned this trip a few months in advance and we knew that we had to be in Crystal River at a certain day before we flew back to home.
We found this company «Swim with the Manatees » through the internet and decided to book with them. We planned the booking on the 13 of March since our flight was scheduled for the 14^th of March. They wanted us to pay in advance which we did. We did not receive any confirmation with «Swim with the Manatees or Captain Gene ». I think Captain Gene is the owner. We payed through paypal. We got a confirmation from Paypal that the payment went through. The appointment was for the 13^th of May at 11:30am. We arrived an half an hour early to make sure we were not late. My family waited for till 11:45 am and yet no one showed up in the store. We waited outside of the establishment for 45 minutes. We decided to call the number advertised and Captain Gene answered and told us that our reservation was for tomorrow. We told him that our booking was for the 13^th not 14^th because we knew we had to fly home. I don’t know how that reservations got screwed. We decided to cancel our reservations which he claimed for the next day. WE cancelled at 11: 45 am on the 13^th of May. He said he would not refund us since he says that there is a 24 hour cancellation policy. It was 15 minutes over the cancellation time. How could we have called him at 11:30 AM SINCE WE THOUGHT WE HAD A RESERVATIONS AND NO PROBLEMS. I disputed this with paypal and he claims he sent us a «ITINERARY» in an email. He also blames us for not showing I NEVER RECEIVED THE EMAIL HE CLAIMS !! This is just so wrong…

First let me say that if you want to touch, play with, or mess with the manatees, don’t waste your time here. Captain Jean and his crew are all supremely respectful of these animals and they won’t put up with any nonsense! That being said, we had an amazing time getting in the water and being able to observe one big manatee. He was a docile and beautiful creature! Captain Jean wards off any other hawks to make sure that you get your money’s worth… But keep in mind that this totally depends on the manatees actually being present for you to witness them. I think even if we hadn’t gotten to see the manatee, we would have had a great time anyway. Cruising down the beautiful river with fellow travelers and listening to Gene tell some stories was great, and we had awesome weather. This guy knows what he’s talking about, and he answered all sorts of questions about the wildlife and nature in the area. His wife and other crew members are all so friendly and fun. They rent out wetsuits and snorkel gear, and sell a lot of fun stuff at their store like underwater phone cases, underwater disposable cameras, manatee merch, plus they have free coffee to get you pumped for the day. Would definitely return! PLUS he gave us a card with a coupon to a restaurant right on the river. A great day!

This was the best experience! We went on a cold rainy day but there were so so many wonderful manatees! On our way out to the spring we saw a dolphin, a bald eagle, and many manatees. Once we got into the water the manatees just came right up to us. One came up and gave me a hug and one used me back as a place to rest his head. We were truly surrounded by these beautiful animals. The crew was so great and informative. They really love these animals and what they do.

We signed up for the private tour at Snorkel With Manatees. This outfit is based solely on word of mouth from what I understand. The experience was great!
We got to the store at 830am and met our guide, Gene (who seems to be part owner). He showed us an instructional video of what we can and cannot do with the manatees. I’m glad he did because I didn’t know a lot of this stuff and probably would’ve accidentally disturbed the manatees. For example, you cannot put two hands on a manatee because that is labeled entrapment by the authorities. They’re endangered animals so we have to respect them and their environment.
Gene was great. Took us out in a pontoon boat and explained what we’d be doing and facts about manatees. I’m a first time snorkeler and so was my gf. Gene was very patient and understanding with us. Made my gf feel at ease and gave us some good tips. Had pool noodles onboard to stay afloat, supplies, etc and gave them to us free of charge (like defogging fluid, etc). Also made us hot chocolate when we came out of the water.
Swimming with the manatees is amazing. They’re such a docile creature and it was great to just be there relaxing with them. I took my gopro camera underwater with me and our friend took his professional camera. Gene helped us test and load our friends big waterproof camera in the water.
Gene took us to lunch, paid for the meal and tip, and then brought us back out to the water to snorkel again. We saw a ton of manatees both in and out of the water.
Overall, the experience was great. Gene was super knowledgeable, patient, and really enjoys what he’s doing. I would imagine that it’s easy to get impatient with new snorkelers but Gene was great. You can tell that a day on the water with manatees is a good day for him. Couldn’t have asked for a much better time. I highly recommend Snorkel With Manatees… give them a call and set up a time. They even have a raincheck guarantee where if you don’t see manatees he will reschedule you for free! He said it’s very rare that this happens. They also have all the gear and wetsuits that you need
Call them and splash around with the manatees!

I hear it’s a great time…
2 of the 4 in our party didn’t get to go however because Capt. Jean was apparently dropping anchor when he took our reservation and as a result he screwed it up.
Reserved for 4 but he only reserved us for 2. Good times, not like we drove 1.5 hours to get there.
Definitely recommended just make sure you schedule something else to do locally in case Capt Jean screws up your reservation.

Best experience ever! Gene was super helpful with booking our reservations. We went out with Captain Erica, she was really awesome. We went to homosassa and had an amazing time. Can’t wait to come back with the rest of the family and do it again! Super chill tour and plenty of time with the manatees. We went out at 11:30 and had up close face to face interactions with the animals and were able to pet them and take photos. A must do for anyone looking for a calm and serene encounter with nature.

We bought a living social for this company over a year ago and it was incredibly difficult to finally settle on a date. Weekends were booked for months in advance. They also do not go out on holidays. The owner, Captain Gene, lacked phone manners and was not very informative. He was down right rude in his communications by phone and emails. For a business owner, this was quite unprofessional and quite frustrating.
The tour was decent, and the boat captain we got was quite personable despite previous experience with the other captain.

Incredible experience swimming with these gentle, giants. The tour was informative and fun, the crew care about the river and these precious animals that live in it. Started off with the information video, got in to wetsuits and headed out down the river on the boat. We had 45minutes in the water and then hot drinks back on board. I’d definitely do this again and highly recommended. Thanks Captain Gene!

Such a great experience. Highly recommended. The only county in North America where you can swim with manatees. The boat captains were very helpful and friendly.

I thought this was going to be somewhat of a touristy thing to do and that maybe you don’t really get that close to the manatees. But wow, what an awesome experience. This place was great with our reservations (recommended we do the early morning trip, to see the most manatees and least people). They waited patiently for us while we arrive lost and late. We had a great time seeing these amazing creatures. Would definitely recommend this company.

My wife and I went out with Captain Gene. A wonderful experience. We went in mid October. The water was 78 degrees, still warm enough to go without wetsuits. However, the captain still brought them with us in case anyone got cold. However, the Crystal Springs water had about a one foot visibility, so we didn’t wear any masks, nor fins. You can tell the love he has for his job. We trolled around for about an hour until he came across a few manatee by a dock. We found a juvenile female. Gene guessed about 3 years old. We were all warned about how to be in the water with the manatee. She approached us. We all touched and scratched her. My wife was quite apprehensive about being in the water with these (gentile) giants, until the manatee gently brushed against her feet dangling by the ladder. She was so taken that she also entered the water. The manatee stayed with us 45 minutes, after eating some algae off the boat. It was a fantastic experience. On the way back, the captain told us of a novel experience on a nearby fishing dock. We all fed some six foot long tarpolene, about six of them.

My husband has called multiple times and left voice-​mails regarding our Living Social deal with them. We wanted to use our deal since we paid for it and have followed the instructions on the website to call to make an appointment. However, no one answers the phone OR the voice mails. I even emailed them and left a message on their Facebook page. VERY disappointed that they basically stole money from my husband that was supposed to be my birthday present.

If you want to swim or snorkel with manatees in the Homosassa or Crystal River area, try this business. Our tour guide, Blane, was fun and fairly knowledgeable (and he kept us out for as long as we liked — most tours are three hours, but he had no tours after ours).
Homosassa is a great place to see Manatees because they are dense and you are allowed to interact with them (they were rolling and frollicking, and they have safe zones if they want to get away from the tour groups).
I rubbed the bellies of about 6 different manatees, and one girl in our group got kisses from one (however that works!).
This is an easy, cheap, fun experience, and I highly recommend the mom-​and-​pop Snorkel With Manatees business.