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Best tour with Captain Wayne Crystal River Boat Tours book it was great time Gave us a tour great one saw four Dolphins playing around grazing and feeding on schools of fish it was the highlight of the trip also spotted Manattee. Crystalriverboattours.com

As recommended by the tour guides, make sure on visiting mid-Jan/late-Feb to ensure a great experience swimming and snorkeling while manatees are around, with the possible activities, I would say a 3-night stay would be great. Getting around the facilities is easy, nearby restaurants are good. Favorite spot definitely the pool, big enough to not feel crowded and with plenty of tables and chairs for everyone. Have fun.

I learned so much about the manatees while I was there and was able to swim with them! Truly an unforgettable experience. Homosassa Wildlife State Park was beautiful and what they are doing for the animals is wonderful. Pictures don't even do it justice! And the people in the area were just so kind :) Also, soooo many waterfront restaurants to choose from that were not expensive but had good quality food and no wait times. I was shocked, especially seeing that it was a holiday weekend!

We had heard about the large number of manatees in Crystal River and came with high expectations, only to discover that spotting these gentle creatures was not easy. On the first day, we booked an afternoon tour and spent two hours searching for manatees until we finally found a mother and her calf in one of the city canals. Unfortunately, the water conditions were not ideal—it was cloudy and contaminated with landscaping grass clippings. To make matters worse, a heavy rainstorm hit just as we arrived, cutting our excursion short. Determined not to give up after traveling such a long distance, we booked another tour. However, the second attempt was no more successful. Despite searching for three hours, the captain couldn't find any manatees until we returned to the same spot as the previous day. Just as we located one, it was time to head back. Apparently, the captain had a schedule to keep. While we did manage to see the manatees briefly, I cannot recommend this activity. The experience felt rushed and the captain and guide were clearly frustrated. Although we understand that these are wild animals and sightings can't be guaranteed, it seems that their numbers are dwindling, making the promise of swimming with them increasingly rare.

Crystal River is a beautiful hidden gem. Everything was in walking distance from our accommodations at Beautiful Beginnings at Bayside. Restaurants, local pubs, shops and the gorgeous springs. Everything you would want to do was within a mile from our stay. St John’s Tavern had the best smash burger I’ve ever eaten. The seafood market at the Crab Plant has fresh snapper, grouper, shrimp and much more. We met delightful locals at the Tipsy Tarpon and they couldn’t have been nicer people.

We booked a trip operated by Nature' Discovery using Viator. They supplied lovely photos of our snorkeling with a manatee. I thought that seeing one was not guaranteed but I believe it happens almost 100% of the time. We had a great time and highly recommend. Go for early trip before other people are up.