Swimming with manatees was one of the coolest things I’ve done, and honestly, unlike anything else!
These amazing animals, nicknamed sea cows due to their similarities in diet and movement (ironically, elephants are the species manatees are most closely related to) are sadly a threatened species.
Because of this, there’s only one place in the US where it is legal to swim with them, and that’s in Crystal River, Florida! It’s no wonder it’s nicknamed the Manatee Capital of the World.
Crystal River is a bit over an hour and a half northwest of Orlando, and in addition to being a hot spot for swimming with manatees, it’s also home to insanely clear water!
So whether you’re looking for a day trip from Orlando, or are making a trip to Crystal River, Florida, just to spend some time with manatees, you’re in for a treat.
I’ve compiled a guide of everything you need to know before going on your aquatic adventure!
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What to expect
First, you’re going to want to choose a guided tour for your experience. I highly recommend using Explorida. The guides were very knowledgeable and personable, they were able to guide us to many manatees, and made sure we interacted with them responsibly.
But, do your research, and see if there’s a better fit for what you’re wanting out of this! The tour we did with Explorida was a group tour with a few strangers, but there are private tour options. Just expect a heftier price tag! Most group tours cost about 60 USD to 85 USD per person.
While I’m going to go through our tour with Explorida, when I was researching other options, they all seemed pretty similar. But, just know there may be some variation if you do a different tour!
Our adventure started at the tour center, where we arrived a bit early to make sure we made it. We strolled the gift shop while waiting for our official start time.
Once our official tour started, we were offered coffee and sat to watch an instructional video on how to properly interact with manatees! More details on how to do that later.
Next up, we suited up in our wetsuits! They didn’t have lockers, so we put belongings we didn’t want to bring with us we put in our car. Although, some of the people in our group didn’t have a car, and they were allowed to leave their stuff in the tour center.
Then, we piled into a van to drive us from the center to the dock, where we then boarded a boat with our guide, and met our capitan. As we were headed towards spots to swim with the manatees, we were given goggles and reminded of the instructions we learned during the video.
Finally, we started to see some manatees, then it was time to swim with them! Although, the word “swim” may be a bit deceived. In reality, this is more like “floating” with manatees. Which is still an amazing experience, and honestly more relaxing!
One by one, we entered the water after our guide and followed him as he lead us to places he expected manatees to be. Mostly, we stayed by their enclosed areas, and along the edge of them.
Since it isn’t really a swimming experience and you’re not supposed to walk at all as it disturbs the ground and makes the water foggy, nor kick as you don’t want to risk kicking a manatee, we all pretty much doggy paddle as we made our way.
The actual floating/ swimming experience was about an hour, maybe a bit more! And honestly, I thought this was a perfect amount of time. It was plenty to see a lot of manatees, but by the end I was starting to get a bit cold and ready to go back as we were starting to see less manatees.
During this hour, I think I saw up to 10 manatees!! A lot of them were in pairs too. Since I was floating horizontally, I had so many go right under me! I honestly thought they were going to touch me with their backs they were so close. I filmed A LOT during this time, and I’m so glad I did.
It’s so amazing to see this amazing, gentle creatures just going about their day. It put me in awe when they just swam by, especially when they got so close, and this is a once in a lifetime experience I think everyone should do.
respecting the manatees
First things first while on your tour… don’t touch the manatees!
Manatees are a threatened species, so you need to be very careful when interacting with them.
If a manatee approaches you and touches you while you’re floating and being still, that’s one thing. If they touch you, this is allowed, and must be an incredible experience! However, you can’t touch them. There is a fine if you do this.
Don’t touch them, don’t chase them, don’t pinch them, don’t step on them. There’s a lot of things you need to be cognizant of when being around these amazing animals, and Crystal River has a lot of good guidance. You’ll also get additional guidance on your tour’s instructional video.
There were also blocked off areas when we went. Don’t cross these boundaries, as they’re there to give manatees their space. They’ll come out of them if they want to.
Humans are manatees biggest threat, as they have no natural predators in the animal kingdom, so please be respectful.
The bottom line you should follow is, don’t mess with them, and practice passive observation! Give them space and let them do their own thing. If that happens to be around you (which it likely will), then you’ll get a cool wildlife watching experience!
when to swim with manatees
Most tours offer tours year-round, but peak manatee season is from November to April.
We went during December, and saw so many during our tour! The colder the weather, the better chance to see manatees.
The temperature of the water at Crystal River, Florida, stays at 72 degrees Fahrenheit year round, so the manatees migrate here during the winter for this warm water. When watching the manatee count before our trip, I noticed the numbers going down during warmer days, and going back up again when it begun to get colder again.
As for the time of day, most tours recommend going in the early morning when the manatees are more active. However, our tour was at 1 PM, and there was no lack of these creatures!
What to Wear
Whatever you choose to wear, you’ll be provided with a wet suit to wear over it. With that being said, I’d recommend wearing a bathing suit, or some sort of active wear you don’t mind getting wet, and whatever you want to wear over it, as you won’t wear it during the swim.
For shoes, wear sandals or some sort of slip on water-proof shoe. You’ll just be wearing these in the boat on your tour, so no need to wear something super comfy as they’ll be off for most the experience.
For those with long hair, I’d recommend putting your hair up! This was helpful, but annoyingly my bangs kept getting in my way.
What’s provided with a tour
While I can’t with 100% accuracy tell you what’s provided with a tour other than Explorida, I will say when I was researching tours, most seemed to provide around the same things, with slight variation.
All snorkeling gear will be provided for you. This includes a wet suit and snorkeling mask. Don’t worry about the mask fogging up, our guide had a spray that practically made all fog disappear. A pool noodle is also given to you to help you float.
Also included is the boat ride and capitan to get to your swimming location, as well as a guide for when you’re in the water to help spot the manatees! Since it was chilly when we went, our guides also brought hot cocoa on the boat for us for when we were done.
what to bring on your swim
A lot of these tours also take pictures and/ or videos on your tour, but for most of them, they’re an additional purchase if you want them.
If you want pictures or videos of your experience, I’d recommend getting a waterproof phone pouch to bring with you and take your own. They’re a bit tricky with the buttons in the water, so your best bet is to take a video before you go under water and take screenshots as photos. I did this for basically the entire swim.
For the boat, bring a towel, and also I’d bring a sweatshirt or a sweater for when you get out of the water. 72 degree water in the cold is most intense than you’d imagine, and you’re going to want to find a way to get warm when you’re out of the water ASAP!
If you’re wanting to buy a souvenir, bring some cash or a card! I of course had to get my dog a toy, and an ornament since I collect them from my travels. A tip for your guide is likely not included in your tour price, so bring some gratitude! The guides are awesome, they deserve it.
Honestly, you don’t really need to bring too much. We were in the water and out of the boat for the majority of the tour. Bringing a dry pair of clothes for after is a good idea, though.
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Swimming with manatees in Crystal River, Florida, is something I think any animal and adventure lover should do at least once!
Seeing these animals up close and personal was unlike anything I’ve done up to this point. Since it’s so close to Orlando too, you can even make it a day trip from there!
Pack a bathing suit, grab a waterproof phone case, and gear up for a memorable experience!
