Spend a day in one of central Florida’s natural manatee habitats on this guided cruise and Everglades airboat adventure. Begin with a boat ride on the Crystal River. Then, swim and snorkel in an area known for manatee sightings, and before an exciting airboat tour on the Withlacoochee River. Breakfast and a sit-down lunch, plus an Orlando-area hotel pickup and drop-off are all included.

Wildlife adventure to the Crystal River and Withlacoochee River from Orlando
Take a narrated boat cruise along the Crystal River, and spend time hanging out in a natural manatee habitat
Enjoy a thrilling Everglades airboat tour on the Withlacoochee River
Breakfast and a sit-down lunch at a restaurant are included
Orlando-area hotel transfers included

What's Included

Professional guide
Packed breakfast and sit down lunch at local restaurant
30-minute Airboat tour
Boat cruise with snorkeling
Premium Scuba Pro Masks
Convenient pick up locations throughout Orlando
Local taxes

Gratuities
Hospital grade sanitized wetsuits are mandatory and payable at $15.00 directly to dive shop

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting points

Select a meeting point

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Start time

07:30 AM

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

The day of sightseeing begins with breakfast in Orlando. Meet the guide and the rest of the tour group on a pickup from select locations. Then, head to Crystal River, the gem of Florida's beautiful coast and home to one of the world's largest populations of endangered West Indian manatees.

Out on the water with the provided equipment, take an optional swim or snorkel. Spend time hanging out in the manatee’s natural habitat alongside certified dive masters. Learn more about this harmless mammal and why it’s under threat due to a loss of habitat.

After the cruise, enjoy a sit-down lunch at a restaurant.

The adventure continues in the afternoon with an airboat tour along the Withlacoochee River. Keep an eye out for manatees, dolphins, and a variety of other wildlife.

The tour ends with a return trip to Orlando and hotel drop-off.

Crystal River

Your day starts in Orlando with breakfast. Then, it's off to join a team of manatee experts for a narrated boat cruise on the picturesque Crystal River, home to one of the world's largest populations of endangered West Indian manatees. Learn how this large, harmless aquatic mammal is under threat due to loss of habitat. With your provided mask and snorkel, you are encouraged to go for a swim in an area known for manatee sightings while under the guidance of certified dive masters.

2 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Wild Bill's Airboat Tours

After your cruise, enjoy a picnic-style lunch overlooking this beautiful sanctuary. Your adventure continues in the afternoon with a 30-minute airboat tour on the Homosassa River. During your airboat ride, keep your eyes peeled for manatees and dolphins, as well as a host of other wildlife.

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking, unless booked within 5 days of travel. In this case confirmation will be received within 48 hours, subject to availability
Not wheelchair accessible
Minimum age is 3 years
Items recommended to bring: towel, bathing suit, sunscreen, insect repellant, camera

Infants must sit on laps
Post COVID-19 Safety Updates - We politely request that you refrain from taking this tour should you start displaying any of the symptoms associated with COVID-19, or if you are at a high risk of contracting the disease. Face masks are recommended but not mandatory, so please bring your own if you wish to wear one.
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 50 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

about cancellations.

Frequently Asked Questions

The answers provided below are based on answers previously given by the tour provider to customers’ questions.

Q:What is the policy on face masks and attendee health during Crystal River Tour with Manatee Swim and Everglades Airboat Ride ?

A:The policies on face masks and attendee health are:

Face masks required for travelers in public areas
Face masks required for guides in public areas
Face masks provided for travelers

Q:What is the policy on sanitization during Crystal River Tour with Manatee Swim and Everglades Airboat Ride ?

A:The policies on sanitization are:

Hand sanitizer available to travelers and staff
Regularly sanitized high-traffic areas
Gear/equipment sanitized between use
Transportation vehicles regularly sanitized

Q:What measures are being taken to ensure staff health & safety during Crystal River Tour with Manatee Swim and Everglades Airboat Ride ?

A:The policies on staff health & safety are:

Guides required to regularly wash hands
Regular temperature checks for staff

Traveler Photos

Traveler Tips

Also, meals are provided but they are not great and food allergies are not well accommodated.

Not the best choice for 2 growing boys and a person with diabetes.

If you enjoy the water and connecting with nature, this family friendly trip is for you.

Reviews

4.5

237 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 237 reviews

Great family adventure!

Penelope_W, Jul 2022

Full day of fun, everything was taken care of. Got to swim with manatees and the crew clearly cared about them and their well being. The air boat was fun too!

Response from Host, Jul 2022

Thank you for your comments!

Awesome day tour with Manatees nd Aligators

Pratik_P, Jul 2022

Manatee viewing is star in this package,, boat crew was awesome, Captain Glen and Sailor Mia were awesome. Everglade boat ride was awesome too, Boat pilot I think is best, he did few tricks with boats, was awesome experience. Our tour guide , Luise, was awesome, he did take personal care of us, as my daughter needed special food and he went to length and arranged for it. He was super helpful to all and promptly followed up for any question or support to all of us tourist. I highly recommend this tour.

Response from Host, Jul 2022

Thank you so much. We do our very best and are proud to work with some amazing people.

Incredible experience

Robert_B, Jul 2022

Swimming up close to manatees was incredible! An experience that we will never forget. We will absolutely do this again.

Response from Host, Jul 2022

Thank you for taking the time to comment! We look forward to seeing you again

Bucket list checked

Aaron_D, Jun 2022

We had an amazing time in this adventure. We'll beyond our expectations! Never thought we would get this close to the manatees. Big thanks to Captain Glen and guide Zach. Then to top it off with an absolute exciting airboat ride. Captain Aaron was awesome.

Response from Host, Jul 2022

Thank you for sharing! We are glad you had a nice time

The manatee swim was...

Mary_A, Jun 2022

The manatee swim was great. It wasn’t the tour I signed up for and we didn’t go to the Everglades for the airboat ride but it was still a fun experience. I don’t know if there is a different price for the tour I actually booked or not. My husband was unable to attend. We had reserved the first row of seats since he used a scooter but that wasn’t available if he had come. The lunch was good.

Response from Host, Jun 2022

Hello Mary, Please contact our office. We would like more information to look into this matter further. reservations@citysightseeingorlando.com

Worth it!

Tracey_G, May 2022

Everything was great except the driver. Such a fantastic experience, so glad we decided to do this. We waited a long time to do it and was grateful that this was available.

Response from Host, May 2022

Thank you Tracey. We love this tour too. It really is the best one we offer

Great experience for all.

Nicole_P, Apr 2022

Snorkled with the Manatees guides did a great job finding them. Guides also took pictures of the trip with underwater camera that were available to purchase. The kids had a great time and as an added bonus they took us to Crystal River.

Response from Host, Apr 2022

Awesome! Glad you had a good time!

Shambolic Chaos!

Michelle_C, Apr 2022

The trip did not start well! The pick-up time communicated was 0800 and we had to get an Uber to get to the hotel. The hotel chosen was not convenient as advertised and you can’t get a Disney shuttle that early! We arrived at 0700 because I was worried about getting there and went and got a coffee. We then walked round to get the coach at 0740 to find it was there and pick up was 0730! Not a fantastic day! Then our tour guide Robin was very dismissive as thought we were late! We were not, we were given the wrong information. Then more stops and more confusion wrong customers on coaches and again chaos! The breakfast and lunch was not great and very basic. The tour guide was using Google and could not actually tell us anything my 9year old could tell you! The actual experience with the team at Crystal River was amazing and they were organised and spot on. The positive to it was that we got 2 extra experiences a trip to a State Reserve to see hippos, alligators and more manatee and then Alligator hunting on fan boats.. this was not advertised but was fabulous! All in all absolute chaos and the guide a waste of space but worth the upset as the experiences were amazing!

Response from Host, Apr 2022

Thank you for your feed back. We are glad you had a good day. We will address the issues with the guide right away.

Experience Central Floridas natural beauty and habitats.

DanielH_S, Apr 2022

We will never forget the face to face encounters with the Manatee. The whole day was. The entire day was very well organized, informative and entertaining for our family. We would for sure go back again for this day trip. Thank you Dave and Carlos!

Response from Host, Apr 2022

Thanks guys! We are glad to here you had a good time. We hope to see you again sometime

Horrible experience, will not recommend to anyone

HARPREETSINGH_L, Apr 2022

Horrible experience as the operator was rude and not willing to show or guide. He looked like annoyed with us as we were not good enough at swimming. He didn’t give us any life jackets, just advised to take noodles. When one of our guy struggled in the water to come back to the boat, he said I m not allowed to help as I m a boat person and not allowed to leave boat.

Response from Host, Apr 2022

I am so sorry to hear of your experience. Please contact our office at reservations@citysightseeingorlando.com so that we get more information to look into this matter further.

Enjoyed riding in the...

Shannon_J, Apr 2022

Enjoyed riding in the boat and looking more manatee along with watching my children get a new experience swimming with the gentle giants

Response from Host, Apr 2022

This is our best trip! So glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for your comments

Great family experience

Amanda_S, Apr 2022

Great experience. Manatee swim as magnificent and the airboat ride was so much fun. The tour guide was the perfect combination of witty and knowledgeable on everything from Florida history to which bathrooms to avoid.

Response from Host, Apr 2022

Manatees are magnificent...I agree! Glad you had a good time....and hey knowing what pottys to avoid is a good thing right?

Dave was an awesome tour...

Jeremy_M, Mar 2022

Dave was an awesome tour guide, very knwledgable and spontaneous personality, all 3 excursions were well worth the money, to put the icing on the cake we got an adrenaline rush and shower on the airboat ride. AWESOME TRIP!

Response from Host, Mar 2022

We're glad you had a great trip. Thank you for sharing and traveling with us. We hope to see you again soon.

Amazing

Joseph_C, Mar 2022

Great experience start to finish your guide was the best you can ever ask for kind a caring and their for your needs and keeps you happy and excited the hole way the snorkeling was Amazing and the guys showing you the way were awesome definitely want to experience it again

Response from Host, Mar 2022

We're glad you had a great trip. Thank you for sharing and traveling with us. We hope to see you again soon.

Awesome trip

Elaine_R, Mar 2022

Manatee swim. I did it actually go in the water but I could see the manatees from the boar below the surface and bobbing up for air

Response from Host, Mar 2022

We're glad you had a great trip. Thank you for sharing and traveling with us. We hope to see you again soon.

Amazing day for the family

Edward_M, Mar 2022

Dave and Tirson were nothing short of amazing. They were great guides and made sure we taken care of. It was a truly great day for myself, wife and 16yo daughter. Also the staff and captains crew at Birds dive shop were awesome. I would highly recomend this tour to anyone.

Response from Host, Mar 2022

We're glad you had a great trip. Thank you for sharing and traveling with us. We hope to see you again soon.

Manatee swim adventure

Samantha_F, Mar 2022

Helen and Tirson were amazing! They really made sure we got the full experience and enjoyed ourselves the entire time. The airboat was the best!

Response from Host, Mar 2022

Thank you so much for sharing! We’re glad you had a great time. Thank you for traveling with us. We hope to see you again soon.

First a thank you to our...

Katherine_H, Mar 2022

First a thank you to our host Helen, she was very warm and welcoming and kept us informed. Also a big thank you to Carlos our driver who managed to get us there safely thru the horrible traffic and despite the rain storm. We had a wonder time, only seen one Manatee but was able to spend lots of time watching her. Captain and mate on boat were awesome. The air boat ride was so much fun and our captain was very informative and took the time to show us and educate us on the everglades. Highly recommend this trip.

Response from Host, Mar 2022

Thank you so much for sharing your experience! We're glad you had a great time. We hope to see you again soon!

Overall pretty good would recommend some changes though.

cynthia_r, Jan 2022

Overall neat experience . Manatee swim was great. Captain Gary was very nice and so glad he took pics of my daughter and husband and myself from his phone , because we were not provided with a swimmer in our boat or someone to take pics, so we will have to remember the in water experience with out any pics . Rushed from Homosassa Park ( was supposed to be a few hours was less than an hour, (really wish we had longer there ) to go on a very lame airboat tour where we only saw maybe 3 alligators. It was nice to not have to drive there but during the bus ride ,part of the bus ceiling started falling down midway and we had to rearrange seats which did not lend itself to social distance as much as we would have liked . I would definitely recommend swimming with the manatees, but would arrange a different tour and stay closer to Crystal river so we could be there earlier to witness a greater amount of manatees . By the time we had picked up at all our stops and gotten to Crystal river it was like ? 1030 or later . It was a fun experience but definitely could have been much better. Total cost of trip for the three of us . 504.97 (139.99- tour, $15 each for wetsuits ( was told it would be $10 each) and tips .

Response from Host, Jan 2022

Thank you so much for your valued feedback. We're glad you enjoyed your manatee swim. Regarding the sighting of wild animals, our boat captains at both locations always try their best for you to see the most wild animals as possible. It is unpredictable to say of how many wild animals you'll see, as we visit their home in their natural environment. The cost of the wetsuit is $15 per person, which are required for you to swim with the Manatees. Not sure where the information of a $10 wetsuit came from, but please feel free to share any additional feedback with us (reservations@citysightseeingorlando.com). Regarding the time at Homosassa State Park, it is on every tour between 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the time of return from the Manatee swim. So sorry you did not have enough time at the Homosassa Park, we will certainly look into the timings of the reservations. For the safety of guests and staff, we do require facial coverings whilst on the tour vehicle. Gratuities are not expected on any tour, but I'm sure certainly appreciated by your guides of the day. Again, please feel free to reach out with any additional feedback and we hope to see you again soon! Thank you for booking with us.

Brilliant Trip!

Hannah_M, Dec 2021

We had a MAGICAL trip to swim with the manatees, our trip was later in the day than I had done before (it’s my recommendation to go early morning as you see more manatees that time of day). We swam with two, the company used by this tour provider are smaller and not like some of the larger companies out on Crystal River so you don’t suddenly crowd the manatee. Helen on the tour bus was knowledgable and so friendly, we thoroughly enjoyed her occasional tid bits shared on the microphone and she made sure to check in with us often. The airboat ride was also great fun, the drivers are very skilled so did tricks on the water and also stopped to highlight the cypress trees and gators. Overall the day was fantastic value for money and it’s much cheaper than renting a car and having to do all the driving yourself, especially coming from overseas!

Response from Host, Dec 2021

Thank you so much for the kind words. We are really happy you had a good time!

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Questions?

Product code: 2855MANATEE

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