All you need to know about swimming with Manatees

Of the many things I wanted to check off of my bucket list in Florida, probably the most important to me was to swim with manatees. When I say "swim with manatees", I'm not talking about a wildlife encounter at an aquarium or a zoo where a trainer holds your hand while you feed an animal or fish. I wanted to swim with manatees in their natural habitat..

   The only places you can really do this legally is Crystal River (both the name of a river and town) and Homosassa Spring (a spring and community). Crystal River is the better place to see the manatees. There are more there. However, there are also more people and tour companies. The best time to see the most manatees is the winter. Manatees can die of hypothermia when water temps go below 68 degrees. Even though we consider Florida warm, the Gulf of Mexico does get chilly in the winter. The manatees come to Crystal River in huge numbers because of the warm water springs in the river. The springs pump out thousands of gallons of water a day that is seventy degrees.

There are a lot of of tour companies that go out to Crystal River to see the manatees. You could easily spend an afternoon googling them and reading reviews. I know, because I did. They all have a few things in common. If you go with a tour company, they will all make you watch a video of the dos and don'ts when you are in the water around manatees. I'm pretty sure this is a requirement by the National Wildlife Refuge. Secondly, you will most likely be required to wear a wet suit. The water is only 68-70 degrees and the wet suit does keep you warmer. Lastly, you will be snorkeling in a wet suit, but you most likely won't be wearing fins. Fins stir up sediment lowering visibility, so from what I can tell, most companies ban them.

The companies want you to stay on the surface so you don't stir up sediment. Staying on the surface will also keep you from bothering feeding and sleeping manatees on the bottom. Because of this, the companies give you a pool noodle to put under you to keep you buoyant. Personally , I thought the pool noodle was a pain in the ass but its a rule to use it. So you put the noddle under your arms and you doggy paddle from the boat to the manatees, Despite the slowness of doggy paddling, you're still going to see a bunch of manatees. I also could tell that some of the tourists could barely swim, never mind snorkel so the pool noodle is a real advantage to people not comfortable in the water.

Laurie watching a manatee pass by

There are roped off zones where you can't disturb manatees. I assume these zones are where springs are. It is really irrelevant, because there are plenty of manatees outside of the protected areas.  When the captain anchored the boat, we all got out and followed the in-water guide, Rosie, about 50 feet. We came up to a sleeping manatee.

   Before I go on, I have to say that I am usually the first one to be upset when people get to close to wildlife. I had a fit last year when people were practically petting the Snowy Owl. But, as long as people follow the rules about not harassing them, the manatees do quite well with people around. In fact, manatees like people. They will come right up to you and check you out. They will kiss your mask and even hug you. I saw one woman have a manatee put its face right into her mask for 20 seconds. That didn't happen to me, but I did have one manatee swim right under me  upside down, we looked each other in the eye. I was within inches of sleeping and feeding manatees, and they don't mind at all. It is a great experience.

There are ways you could see manatees for free, but honestly, this is one time where I feel it is worth the money to go with a group. For one thing, the wet suit helps keep you warm. The cost per person ranges from $60-100 depending on the length of the tour and the company you choose. You could get a private tour for a family that could run you four hundred dollars, but that is asinine. We went out on Captain Mikes. This is one of the bigger companies in Crystal River. There are also one of the cheapest. Cost was a factor in our decision. We took there 3 hour tour (okay, Gilligan) that cost $65. Because of the proximity to the manatees from the marina, we were in the water for over two hours of the three hour trip.  We saw over a dozen manatees close up and more while we were heading out.

One thing to keep in mind is that most of the boat companies go to the same areas. So, don't expect to be alone. There were three boats in the same small bay each with a dozen passengers. Luckily, there are enough manatees that the boats keep some distance from each other.

After our tour, we watched a slide show of pictures that Rosie took. They were very good. I splurged on the package. It cost $37 for about 180 photos and five short videos. Not every photo is a winner because they haven't edited out the bad ones, but none the less the real good shots were worth the money.

All in all, swimming with manatees was everything I hoped it would be. I wasn't a fan of the pool noodles but I understand their purpose. Looking back on the trip, the manatees was probably my favorite thing I did on a vacation where every day was a highlight. I seriously doubt it will be a once in a lifetime experience. It was incredible.

The photos below were taken by the guide. Three of the photos I took are below them

I took the three photos below