Join River Venture’s 5-star crew and dive into the ‘OG’ swim with manatee experience with our HD photographer. Our full service, one-stop shop can guarantee manatees and more!
The ‘OG’ of Swim with Manatee:
Dive into the world of manatees with the largest and most experienced center in Crystal River and Homosassa – since 2004!
Manatee Guarantee Optional Upgrade($):
No manatees? No worries, we’ll refund you.
Tour options for any budget:
Save money or splurge, we have a tour for you.
Manatees, Dolphins & Airboats:
Combo-Tours, book for the manatee and stay with the dolphins
Over 5000 5-star reviews online!
Need we say more?
Your A-Team:
Expert guides, pirate captains, underwater photographers and booking wizards
Eco-Edutainment: In-classroom presentation. Learn from our passionate guides.
Posted By : Leslie_L
Seamless experience with a great guide and boat captain! We upgraded to the guaranteed experience when booking...well worth it! The check-in procedure was flawless and simple. Our guide, Miss Bri, was fantastic, charming and knowledgeable from the jump. Capt Kellz was friendly with wealth of knowledge on the boat ride, making it a point to answer our questions about the area and stopping the boat to make sure we saw manatee noses! She even gave our kiddos a chance to see the floating hairy potatoes with her UV shades.
In the water, not gonna lie, the visibility is really low. We were in 5-6' deep "flats,” and could see the bottom but nothing more than a foot or two front of our faces. Miss Bri was OUTSTANDING with her patience and reminders to be calm and quiet. We figured out quickly that the manatee who was hanging with us really liked Miss Bri and she's amazing at keeping up with them! We'd stay back until she was like "OK, she's facing this way and coming towards...YOU" then pointing to the part of our group who would get the best view. We'd all pretty much freeze in place and watch in wonder as the manatee SWAM UNDERNEATH US!!!! HOLY MOLY!!! They are giant floating potatoes with hair. Miss Bri said "watch for the fuzzy rock to float by you." ACCURATE. My husband was close enough to the manatee's face that he could've smooched it. Our daughter was NOT thrilled to be super close, but with a mountain of patience, Miss Bri got her close enough to see the manatee (my husband and I have nail marks in our hands to prove it). Our son was in the middle of the pack the whole time and had a blast seeing the manatee a handful of times. I think she even bumped him!
Tips/notes:
-the water is COLD (early/mid-March), but that draws the manatees
-manatees seem to be a bit like dogs and will go to people who have calm, soothing vibes/demeanor
-wear a rash guard, long-sleeved if you can. Helps in getting the wet suit on + extra layer of warmth in the water
-bring a bag with towels and quick-drying clothes on the boat. We had two big bags full of towels and used them all between staying warm on the boat and changing at the meeting place
-no showers at the meeting place, but a TON of changing rooms
-nice wall of cubbies by the changing rooms if you don't want to take anything with you
-sunscreen your face, ears and neck! You're on a boat and in the water for 2-3 hours.
-two bathrooms on site at the meeting place
-the boat doesn't move very fast (no wake zones), but we had Dramamine anyway
-you will be COLD and tired when you're done! The van driver blasted us with the heater. Miss Bri and Capt Kellz supplied hot chocolate 🤩
20/10 would do this again with River Ventures!
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Posted On : 2024-03-12 10:39:59 
Posted By : Rica_H
Great tour guides! Really friendly. They made the experience great! Dave and Tanner were totally awesome. They made sure we were able to see manatees.
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Posted On : 2024-03-08 09:19:37
Posted By : 119LisaR
What an amazing experience! From start to finish we had so much fun. James is an incredible guide, knowledgeable, warm, and has a great personality. Captain Kelly was wonderful too, professional but still lots of fun! We had reasonable expectations of what to expect based on the website’s description & having read reviews and everything was as enjoyable as promised! We lucked out with a gorgeous day, River Ventures provides all the essentials & information for the day to be both safe & super fun. We were able to see a few manatees and it really was magical! Having a giant manatee swim just below you is pretty awe inspiring! We spent plenty of time with the manatees, enough for everyone in the group to get close & we still had time to visit one of the springs which was also really cool. A great day for sure - highly recommend, totally worth it to make some really special memories!
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Posted On : 2024-03-05 10:27:25 
Posted By : Amirav_D
Captain Kelly and tour guide James were incredible. They were really knowledgeable and showed great patience to allow us to float with the manatees. The manatees are amazing peaceful animals and the whole family loved it.
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Posted On : 2024-03-04 14:53:47
Posted By : Suzanne R
It truly was worth the drive!!! We had Liz as our water guide. There were 6 of us and she was fantastic!! It was funny, when the Manatees swam under us she kept us calm. She stayed in the water the whole time directing us to the Manatees. Definitely worth the money.
AND, the store is awesome.
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Posted On : 2024-03-03 18:20:06
Posted By : Robert_N
A must book 1000% Yes! Even at the end of the season and an afternoon booking Captain Wade and in water guide Trisha still found us manatees including a pregnant momma! Also worth mentioning I travel with a small service pup and the entire staff could not have been more accommodating. Bruiser the service pup also gives everyone five stars!
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Posted On : 2024-03-01 18:32:40
Posted By : taraTLH
This is our second time doing this tour with River Ventures. Wade and Trish were so helpful in pointing out manatees and helping us behave in ways that are inviting to manatees. We saw manatees of all ages and sizes!
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Posted On : 2024-02-27 09:52:35
Posted By : verucasalt_78
Very disappointed. Mind you, I know they can’t guarantee that we’ll see manatees. However even before the tour started, prior to watching the safety video, our tour guide told us that we mostly likely will not see any manatees. So…..why take us out then? Why not have us reschedule or give us that option? So really, we paid almost 300 dollars to swim in cold water staring at muddy water with a guide telling us “ There’s a manatee right below us…you can’t see him so you’ll just have to believe me” 🙄
I’ve been swimming with the manatees with a different tour company and it was an incredible experience. In comparison this was just ridiculous.
My suggestion would be to go early in the morning ( so the waters are not congested with people, boats and canoes) and to do a little more research than I did.
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Posted On : 2024-02-26 17:21:08
Posted By : 213skylerj
This tour is WORTH IT! Captain JJ and our in-water guide James were so INCREDIBLE! I felt our group was by FAR the most well prepared for how to interact around the wildlife, respect them, etc. Not only that, but James was so wonderful with our 5 year old who preferred a piggyback ride though the water as he was having trouble with the snorkel. James had him hop right on his back and put his face in the water when we were around the manatees so mom and dad could enjoy them as well! I HIGHLY recommend this tour group and would come again if we’re back!
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Posted On : 2024-02-26 13:53:14
Posted By : nncybarnes
It was an amazing experience. A couple of tips...wear water shoes,you'll leave your street shoes at the building. Go as early as you can. We went at 7:30 and could see by the end that the water wasn't as clear as more people arrived. Take good beach towel-we FROZE after getting out of the water. (Water was 71, air 56) I would take an under water camera next time if I went again.
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Posted On : 2024-02-19 08:35:35
