In this blog post I’ll be looking at the options and planning a trip to swim with manatees in Crystal River Florida for 2 adults!
My husband and I are wanting to take a quick trip alone since we haven’t really had the opportunity to do so since the pandemic started. But now that we’re vaccinated and not pregnant we’re ready to git out of the house for a couples trip.
What I really love about this trip is that I can plan a quick winter trip to get out of the house to enjoy some outside time without the cold.
Why wouldn’t you wanted to go swimming with an adorable, mellow, algae fuzzied, gentle sea cow in their natural habitat?
Manatees are extremely social animals that will come up to you in the water to say hello and see what’s going on. They are so docile, and the nature preserve is really quite beautiful that this makes for a great outdoor adventure with or without children.
Our Time to See the Cute Sea Cow Could be Limited
Let me go on my environmental soap box really quickly!
There are 2 species of Manatee, the West Indies Manatee is found around Mexico, Caribbean, Brazil, and the Florida Manatee, a subspecies of the West Indies Manatee, are shockingly found around Florida.
While the Florida Manatee was downlisted from endangered to threatened, it still seems like it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see manatees in their natural habit because of their sensitivity to climatic or environmental changes.
In 2021, the Marine Mammal Commission found an uptick in the number of dying manatees again due to starvation. The numbers were so high that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife classified the event as a Unusual Mortality Event.
The cause? Poor water quality reduced sea grass growth, i.e. one of their primary food sources.
So! All in all, we don’t want to miss the chance to see the gentle sea cows! You never know what could happen tomorrow.
Enough with the morbid info, onwards to the plans!
Where to Swim with Manatees – Crystal River, Florida
The only legal place in the U.S. to swim with manatees is the Crystal River U.S. Wildlife Refuge located literally by Crystal River, Florida.
The Refuge was originally created for the Florida Manatee, and is considered to be one of the largest concentrations of manatees in the world.
The Best Time to See Manatees is the Winter
The best time to see the manatees is in winter, from the the months of November-April.
Manatees cannot tolerate water below 68 F. In the winter the Atlantic and Gulf waters become too cold, so they congregate in the preserve.
The Crystal River Preserve encompasses more than 70 springs which provide ideal temperatures at around 72-74 F for manatees. So in the winter, there can be several hundred manatees living there, which is what makes it a great time to see them. Whereas in the spring/summer, some manatees will stay but most will leave to go foraging.
Tips Booking a Manatee Tour
The best way to go out to see manatees is to take a snorkeling tour, most tours will provide the snorkeling gear and wet suit to swim with the manatees for roughly 3 hours.
Tip 1 Consider a private charter – if you have a group of 6 or more you might want to consider taking a private charter to have a more one-on-one experience, the cost per person does go up but it can be totally worth it to have the boat and the water to yourself.
Tip 2 Pack Snacks /Towels – Make sure to pack drinks, snacks, towels, and try clothes for when you get out of the water it will be chilly and you don’t want to be hungry on the boat.
Scuba Diving – Cave/Cavern Diving Blue Grotto and Devil’s Den
First let me just say that cave diving scare the banana’s out of me for what seems like an endless list of reasons why cave diving can go 100% wrong. Getting stuck trying to squeeze your way through a tiny crack, getting lost, getting virdigo and then getting lost, just having a general panic attack realizing there is not easy way out. Nope! I’m good, I love scuba diving but I really don’t have what it takes to do a real cave dive.
Which is why diving at Blue Grotto and Devil’s Den are great for those of us too scared to do a real cave dive! Both have diving areas that are safe for those with just open water certifications.
Second, this is also a great activity to do in the winter because the water temperatures remain at that 72-74 F.
Let’s quickly talk about picking an operator. You can dive these caverns independently, but there also the option to go with a dive master like any other diving experience. I found the Birds Underwater Dive Center that I plan on going through. I appreciate a good functioning website and responsiveness from the business. I was able to reach out to the shop and get my questions answered, leaving me with an initial good impression. There are plenty of operators in the area so feel free to shop around.
Blue Grotto
There are 2 sides to the Blue Grotto Sinkhole, the Cavern and Cave. With an open water certification you can do the Cavern side, but the Cave side does require cave dive certification.
Being an inexperienced and not certified for cave dives… we’re interested in the cavern side of things. The water is suppose to be beautiful, crystal clear and because it’s a spring, it remains at 72 F all year long. The rock formations look really interesting to see while still considered safe for the non-experienced.
Devil’s Den
This is originally underground spring that welled up inside a dry cave. This is a prehistoric cave, and in one of the underwater passages there were human and animal remains that date back to 7500 B.C. Many of the recovered artifacts can be seen at the University of Florida’s Natural History Museum.
All that aside, Devil’s Den is similarly suppose to be a very beautiful experience due to the crystalline waters. Similar to Blue Grotto, you can dive down to about 60 feet into the cave with just an open water certification.
Rainbow River
According to the team at Birds Underwater Dive Center, this is a popular freshwater drift dive if the experience of going down in a cave/cavern is a little too much.
Recommended for its warm, spring fed, crystal clear waters. The experience is suppose to be beautiful and relaxing where you can experience some marine life, sand boils (spring water is bubbling up through the sand), and towards the end of the dive is a small cavern where spring water flows into the river. The dive depth will range between 25-5ish ft deep and take approximately an hour to complete.
Additional Activities to Do in Crystal River, Florida
Kayaking Tours
There are tons of operators that offering kayaking tours of the multitude of springs in the Crystal River Nature Preserve. The wildlife and ecosystem of the nature preserve is suppose to be equally as impressive as swimming with the manatees, so this can be a great tour to take.
One cool options for the kayak tours, is selecting a tour that uses clear kayaks to get great views of the marine life below.
Some of the operators I found that I would be interested in following up with include:
Boat Cruises
This is a great option if kayaking/swimming is not their cup of tea or parents with children who can’t swim.
If kayaking or swimming are not you’re cup of tea there are boat tours around King’s Bay and the refuge. You’ll have a chance to see manatees from the boat and just enjoy the scenery of the preserve for a few hours.
Catching Scallops
This is a great family friendly activity if your children are comfortable swimming and snorkeling.
If you love seafood, Crystal River is one of the best places in the country to go bay scallop hunting.
Unlike the typical fishing charter experience, for catching bay scallops you’ll be back in the water snorkeling in 3-5 feet of water again. The main equipment for catching scallops are yourself, and a bag for holding your catch. You’ll snorkel around, grabbing scallops from the bottom with your hands and bagging them up! That’s it.
There are a couple of regulations to be aware of before heading out:
First, there is a scallop hunting season. For Crystal River this is usually from July 1 – Sept 24. So, this is not really a winter activity.
Second, there is a bag limit per person that defines how much you catch you can take with you. Naturally, scallops are still a resource that we want to sustainably harvest, which is the purpose of the bag limit.
Last, each person needs a fishing license for scalloping.
As a tourist you’re not going to know the hotspots for scalloping so it’s best to sign yourself up with a guide. Again, just like all the other activities, there are ample operators to choose from.
Our Planned Itinerary
Facts for our itinerary. I’m accounting for:
- Two adults only.
- A 3 night stay in a hotel.
- Travel between the months of February and March.
Fly to Crystal River, Florida
Coming form North Carolina, driving to Florida is doable, but we want this to be a quick weekend vacation so we’ll fly. The nearest largest airport is the Tampa International Airport (TPA). We are lucky that from Concord, NC we can take an Allegient flight to TPA, keeping our plane ticket costs down.
From Tampa it is about 1.5 hour drive to Crystal River, so if coming from TPA we need to factor in renting a car.
Where to Stay – Plantation on Crystal River
Everyone says the place to stay is the Plantation on Crystal River. It’s an eco-friendly hotel that is resides on 200+ acres of land with waterfront access to several of the natural springs. The hotel is considered a highlight for several reasons, namely for the experience it offers for visitors looking for outdoors adventures or those more interested in relaxing by the pool and enjoying the golf course.
For those interested in the outdoors, the hotel has some great amenities: a heated outdoor pool (great for kids), it’s a 15 minute walk from the Wildlife Refuge, and the hotel also has a dive shop directly on site. You can directly book several of the tours described above from the hotel, which makes for planning a trip even easier.
Day 1: Arrive at Hotel
The first day will be exclusively for travel and hotel check in. Fly out to Tampa International Airport, rent a car, and drive up to Crystal River.
Today, the Allegient fight round trip costs approximately 90 $.
For the car rental from TPA for 4 days, using Enterprise, this would estimate around 380 $.
For the hotel, a 3 night stay at the Plantation would cost approximately 150 $ / night.
Day 2: Scuba Dive in Blue Grotto
One scuba trip with all the gear rented should cost approximately 100 $ per person.
Also it is important to note I have this intentionally planned for the first day of activities because we have to fly home and it’s best to wait 24 hours before flying after diving. So we’re getting the dive done day 2.
Day 3: Swim with Manatees
We’ll be booking the tour using the Plantation Hotel Operator, and since it will be just the two of us, we won’t be booking a private charter. The cost of the charter per person is 75 $.
Day 4: Fly Home
Not much to add here, Day 4 we’ll be checking out and flying home.
Total Budget
So I’m happy with the overall plan and budget. Nowlan and I want to be able to relax while we’re out there, and enjoy the charm of the Planation hotel so I really don’t mind putting extra into the hotel stay.
If we wanted to shorten the trip we could cut the scuba trip….hmm but for us this may be the only opportunity we get to do a dive like this. I need to do it before I completely mentally back out of it .
| Expense | Unit | Price Per Unit | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airline Tickets | 2 adults | 90 $ | 180 $ |
| Car Rental | 380 $ | ||
| Hotel | 3 nights | 150 $ | 450 $ |
| Manatee Charter | 2 adults | 75 $ | 150 $ |
| Scuba Dive | 2 adults + gear | 100 $ | 200 $ |
| Food Budget | 200 $ | ||
| Total Cost of Trip | 1560 $ |
Packing Tips
If you own Snorkeling Gear Pack it
We have our own mask and fins that fit us perfectly. If you have your own definitely don’t forget to pack them. It will be worth it because the dive shops don’t always have gear that fits well.
Bring Booties
You are given a wet suite in the dive shops for any tours where you’ll get in the water, but it’s frequently mentioned that your feet will get really really cold. A lot of people recommend having swimming booties for this reason.
Bring a Good Underwater Camera
You’ll want to be able to go back and remember the trip swimming with the manatees, so highly recommend investing in some underwater camera if you can. Keep in mind you won’t be swimming that deep (3-5 feet max) and usually the waters are pretty clear.
We’re finally investing in a go pro, we go scuba diving enough and do enough extremeish activities that we want to have one around.
That’s All We Got!
I’m feeling pretty prepared to make the trip, and we’re hoping to take a mini vacation February/March of 2023. We’ll see how it goes and hopefully update this blog then. In the meantime, happy outdoorsing.