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Old 19 Jan 20, 07:00 PM  
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Princess Alison
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Originally Posted by sarahly View Post
Thanks Rob, I think it'll be an early morning, not sure if we can fit another night. Was fun2dive the company you used? I've been looking at that one, think I must have seen it recommended elsewhere on here and some of their tours is limited to 6 people. I like the look of their guided paddle tours as well.

Can I ask how strong a swimmer you think you have to be for the manatee swim? We can both swim but we're not swimmers and have never swam anywhere other than a pool.

.
We went to crystal river last August for the manatee swim. August is the low season for manatee spotting so we decided to have the early morning swim to maximise our chances of seeing one.

Our slot therefore was 7am to 10am. It took us about 1 hour 45 to 2 hours to drive from sunset lakes - dark the whole way but the drive was fine - obviously meant a very early start!

We went with fun2dive and I'd thoroughly recommend them. They have a little shop in crystal river that has some really lovely gifts at good prices. We were me and dh and our 11 and 12 year old son and daughter.

We went with a small group and in total there were about 10 of us. The group size was fine and didn't at all get in the way of the experience.

You start by watching a video about manatees which essentially reminds you about how to swim with them and what not to do such as touching, swimming over them, crowding them etc. Then time for any questions - our son asked about the A word - apparently the water is too cold for them - (something a little disputed by the lady running the nearby bakery we went to for breakfast! )

coffee and tea and hot choc available for free.

Then you get wetsuits on - they have a set of small changing rooms, and put on your water shoes.

They recommend you don't take anything on the boat - so all belongings are left in the shop in a basket area.

I took my sunglasses and there was room on the boat for them. No towels though.

Then you get into a minibus and they drive to the quayside - about 5 mins! Then everyone gets on the boat and you meet the skipper.

Then you are off searching for
Manatee!

In terms of swimming ability, you don't need to be a great swimmer but you do need to be able to swim.

Everyone gets a mask and snorkel provided and a flotation device - a noodle! - which you position under your arms so all you need to do is paddle.

The water in August was cool but not shocking! Our guide wore flippers and swam fast as a result! I did well to keep up !

It's an amazing amazing experience and in the low season we saw about 7 manatees including a couple of mums and calves. They are just beautiful and to hear them munching away grass was wonderful.

I'd definitely recommend the experience but we were a bit tired afterwards as it's a lot of treading water and after the early morning start! So id stay overnight somewhere if you can to break up the day.
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Old 19 Jan 20, 07:02 PM  
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Princess Alison
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I should add that the guide takes videos and photos throughout that you can purchase as an added extra at the end. We did and there were some lovely shots of our children near the manatee.

But the experience itself is the main attraction and as said, I am so glad we did it
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Old 19 Jan 20, 08:31 PM  
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sarahly
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Aw wow that sounds amazing Alison! I have just added water shoes to my shopping list, my daughter has some but I don't.
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Old 20 Jan 20, 07:47 PM  
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thisismickey
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We are off to Crystal River in May, we can't wait either.

If we do the disney parks we always pop down to Clearwater for the day and leave late at night. Stay on at night for the local sellers, selling all sorts of crafts on the pier. Also there are all kinds of entertainers doing one thing or another, quite a chilled vibe but plenty going on. Last year we did a road trip from Miami and finished in Clearwater. So many fantastic places on the Gulf side to see. Back to Clearwater, We went out on the Seascreamer (always see Dolphins playing in the waves at the back of the boat), visited the Marine Aquarium to see Winter and Hope from the film "Dolphin Tale", had a day on the beach (mind the greedy Seagulls). We stayed at Pier house 60, on the 10th floor and watched Dolphins playing in the waves. We had drinks and dinner at Jimmy's crows nest and watched the sunset from there. (fantastic). We had a spare day so went to Busch Gardens, great coasters and rides also lots of animals to see. St Petes is not to far either and has a great vibe as well. Saying that so does, Treasure Island/ Johns Pass, Fort de soto, Naples, Siesta Key, Marco Island, Anna Maria Island, Lido Key, don't get me started on the Key's, fantastic place. Shame we are only doing 2 weeks this year!
Enough babbling on, you will have a fantastic time.
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Old 22 Jan 20, 12:54 PM  
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Lisbon
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theDIBB Guidebook
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Hi
We used this company and they were excellent , only a small group, thick swim suits and they take lots of photos that they email to you.
manateesinparadise/index.html

Swimming wise, you really just need to float rather than swim and our tour guide made sure everyone got the hang of it before going to the manatees .

We have also used crystalriverkayakcompany/ - with these you can just kayak to the springs, tie your kayak up and go for a swim

One bad thing was where we ate , Codys original roadhouse, it was a terrible meal and service
Rob
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