Snorkel with Manatee Tour w/ In-water Guide

Captain Mike and Guide Crystal are AMAZING! This is our second time visiting River Ventures and swimming with the manatees! Both times were amazing!! Guide Piper was our guide last year and our dream boat would be Piper, Mike and Crystal!!! Love all 3 of them so much. We came face to face with manatees even though it’s the slow season! The boats communicate with each other so even when there aren’t many manatees to see, they make sure you get to see them!

Awesome experience, everyone from our arrival to getting suited up were great. Our guide Crystal was an engaging, informative and fun guide. Captain Mike was very knowledgeable about all wildlife, the area and took good care of us. Thanks to all for a great day.

Fabulous experience. I wasn’t going to swim because I really don’t like cold water but was encouraged to give it a go. The wet suit made all the difference and with the experience of our charming captain JJ and guide Sean, we saw a manatee despite it being ‘off season’. It was very safe for people and manatees. Strict rules apply to going near the manatee and they were adhered to. I was happy our sleeping manatee appeared undisturbed. Everyone was lovely including the staff back at the base. I strongly recommend this experience

Booked a tour with Crystal and Captain Michael at River Ventures, and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience! Crystal was incredible. She got right in the water with us, personally brought us to two manatees, and swam alongside us through Three Sisters Springs. She was extremely knowledgeable and genuinely passionate about the manatees, the river, and making sure her guests had an amazing experience. She went above and beyond to keep us comfortable, from properly fitting our wetsuits to providing clean, sanitized snorkel gear, pool noodles, and goggles. Captain Michael was wonderful as well and helped make the entire trip smooth and memorable. You can tell they work incredibly well together and truly care about their guests. I highly recommend River Ventures!

Crystal and Michael did an amazing job on their tour ❤️ we had so much fun, it was an unforgettable experience! They were very informative. We swam in three sisters, swam with the manatees and they were very patient with us. If you're looking to book a tour, I highly suggest booking with them! They even took the most amazing pictures for us!

Great experience with an awesome guide Gary, who knew so much about everything. He was very chill also and made us feel comfortable. The captain Gareth found so many manatees so fast. It was a great experience! We came all the way from The Netherlands for this and had a great time!

We booked the very first private cruise of the day (6:30 AM) with River Ventures, and it was the best decision we could have made! Going out first thing in the morning meant the water was pristine, crystal clear, and completely peaceful before the crowds arrived. Our captain, Mike, and our guide, Crystal, were absolutely wonderful. They were incredibly knowledgeable, professional, and went above and beyond to make sure Tara and I had a safe, respectful, and magical experience with the resident summer manatees. The manatees were so active, playful, and curious! The private boat experience allowed us to stay in a calm, quiet environment, which made the manatees so much more comfortable swimming right near us. We are already planning our next trip and will definitely return to do this again in the winter months to see the springs packed with hundreds more. Thank you, Mike and Crystal, for an unbelievable morning! If you are visiting Crystal River, do yourself a favor and book a private morning tour with River Ventures because you won't regret it!

The whole trip was fantastic! The organization was professional and smoothly run. Both the adults and kids in our group of 4 had a blast! We were able to snorkel with a couple of different manatees and saw a few more around the the area from the boat. We even saw a dolphin and a turtle as a bonus! The guide and boat captain were very friendly and did a good job of balancing a fun time for us and keeping the manatees relatively undisturbed. They had snacks and drinks on the boat for us and the giftshop had fun souvenirs. Well worth the price, we would definitely book this activity again!

10/10 experiences! Mike and Crystal were the best! Did a great job guiding all of us they were able to have swim with 3 manatees during the tour. 100% would book again!

This was a wonderful place to book our manatee snorkeling trip with. They were all so nice and accommodating. Communication was great. Captain Mike and our guide Crystal were very knowledgeable and fun a lot of fun. It was like hanging out with people we’ve known forever. I highly recommend this company!!