[senior citizen]

Manatee Tours Crystal RIver Florida Manatee Swim Tours | fun2dive

Who has ever taken their grandkids on this tour, or to swim with the manatees in Crystal River? It's near Homassasa Springs in Citrus County.

Seems like a very natural area.......that's one part of Florida we have never seen. It looks like children as young as 3 are allowed to go along......

[784caroline]

Sounds like fun...another option is Homasossa State park. They have Manatees here also. No swiming with the manatees but a nice orientation while they feed them. Alot of other animals to view also

[asianthree]

i thought the law was you could not touch a manatee?

[My Daily Run]

I did the swim with the Manatees last Feb. with my son, daughter in law and 10 year old grandson. They have done it all ... they have swam with the dolphins a couple of times on the islands on cruises, sting rays and just about everything so I thought this might be fun and it was really inexpensive so I tried it...after all the things that they have done the LOVED this the most. Of course in the winter there are lots and lots of manatees but in the summer the go to Mexico so I don't know how it would be right now...I did my tour with Manatee Tours - Florida and they were fabulous. They are husband and wife and they are manatee environmentalist and they are very protective of them but they also give a teaching lesson on them and gave my grandson a handout all about them that he took back to school with him...I would highly recommend it...in fact they want to do it again on their next visit.

[wmkhut]

There are manatees there year around, if your grand ids are 10 or over I would recemend it. If they are younger probably not.

[kittygilchrist]

I did a manatee ID project with Fish and Wildlife back when I was a whippersnapper in my 40's. I got to touch them, and many of them loved it, bless their whiskers. My brother lives on a manatee preserve between two springs and I've seen up to 40 at a time there, but not in summer.

This time of year there ARE captive manatees at the Homosassa park that you can easily see from the banks and an underwater viewing aquarium, but not in the other springs.

I highly recommend the Homosassa trip...with the boat ride. you get a safe taste of wild florida, bird and possible wild gator sighting, sunning turtles for sure, and many, many other animals at the park, including a (chuckle) native hippopotamus.
Would not recommend the swim tour this time of year, and I hope the tour company doesn't either.
btw, at Homosassa you will be inches from the coast, and it might be worth an additional $$ to take a ride into the gulf, but not for manatees. go fishing.

[lpkshop]

My brother and his two girls 7& 11 went last year? They loved it talked about it for weeks. The little one was scared at first cause they are so large

[beachgirl]

My husband and I have been going to Crystal River and Homosassa for years. We have usually taken our own boat. (Speed is idle.) Both are spring-fed water, so the water temperature is a constant 72 degrees. Since manatee season is November 15-March 15, I usually wear a wetsuit if I plan to get in the water. Manatees come in usually after the first cold snap when the gulf water is cooler than the river/spring water.

As far as I know, you can only touch a manatee with one hand to lightly touch or pat it. Sometimes they will roll over for you to rub their tummies - still one hand. You can not chase or corral them or feed them. I use snorkel gear to look at them under the water. I found out last year that they are requiring a "diver down" flag when you are snorkeling. The reason I am being so specific is that the Wildlife Officers are there and write tickets for violations.

All that being said, your trip guide will inform you of the latest regulations. Manatees are wonderful animals!