swim with manatees

Another, larger, manatee later joined us. My whole family scratched(they like this)and stroked all three manatees for over an hour. Baby was playful. This was better than any of the Universal parks we went to in Orlando by a long shot.

Have already made reservations for this for next week, as we are going to Florida and are making plans to spend a day at Crystal River, where the West Indian manatee can be found in the wild.

Such a cool experience!

It´s something I´ll never forget! I was only 11 or 12 and our family took a vacation to Florida. I was obsessed with Manatees at the time, and my uncle suprised me with a boat tour to swim with them! I was so excited. And I´ll never forget that even though I was one of the youngest passengers, I was the only one who was actually able to swim up to one and pet him. I was in complete awe, and when it started moving I froze with terror. They´re enormous! Especially when you´re only 12! But it was amazing and I´ll never forget it.

I was at the beach with my family, and there were two just off shore, they are beautiful creatures, but my family who is all from FL, just called them Sea Cows and didn’t seem very interested. Oh well, I liked it.

Just make sure you go with a tour group that respects the manatees’ privacy.

Best times to go are November through February. That’s when the manatees tend to migrate in from the ocean and hang out in the warmer inland waters. And try not to go right after a storm – makes for murky water.

They are MUCH larger in person than I anticipated. Even though it was a beautiful experience, when the first one got close, it scared the bajeebus out of me!

I got sharks off the list this winter, now I’ll go for something more cuddly. :)

I at least saw manatees up close now.

I’ve been so busy all the time, but my parents are going to get here on Tuesday and we can do a lot of tourist stuff together. Crystal River should be on the list.

Estimated travel time 1.5 hours, depending on traffic

Travel north on the Florida Turnpike until it merges on 1-75 north a short distance to the Wildwood exit 329 (S.R. 44). Go left (west) on 44 until it ends at U.S. Hwy. 19 in Crystal River. Turning left at this traffic light (south) on Hwy. 19. American Pro Diving Center is 7/10 of a mile on the left. Large lighted dive flag sign with American Pro on it.