Crystal River Tour with Everglades Airboat Ride and Optional Manatee Adventures

An ample sack Breakfast and Lunch were provided (thank you!). Our boat Captain was Alex, in-water guide was Tayla, both did a great job answering questions and keeping the group together. We enjoyed a cool day, 64 degrees and a water temperature of 72 was the perfect combination to see a large number of manatees. We were able to swim with the manatees and saw a mother and pup among the herd. Our airboat Captain Craig (I think) must have the very best job in the world, beautiful river and airboat. What more do you need?

Great fun. Everyone helpful and friendly. Nice sack breakfast and lunches. We did bring extra snack and water, since teens eat a lot. Thank you!!

Tyla was our snorkel guide and she was amazing. The airboat captain was amazing as well. The tour guide who drove the bus was nice, but you could tell he didn't want to be working. I understand why, being Christmas Eve and all, but it still was sad. He rushed us and made us feel bad if we werent on time. If time is such an issue, then they should make the tour have longer parameters. I still would do it again.

Great tour saw lots of manatees Maddy and Nicky great guide and driver Only disappointment was air boat ride being at slow speed due to flood area

My son and I loved the experiences on this trip but it could be more organized. The biggest frustration was the lack of information or itinerary, and the fact that many of the details are incorrect. Also, meals are provided but they are not great and food allergies are not well accommodated. That being said, my son and I would do it again in a heartbeat! First of all, hotel pickup is not provided. We walked twenty minutes to be picked up at Rosen Points Hotel. Our pickup time was 8:10, but we were picked up at 8:20 in a huge tour bus with a restroom and Wi-Fi . Unfortunately, we were then driven to Senior Frogs to get in a mini van. Breakfast was passed out (croissant, peach yogurt, Sunny D and a peanut butter granola bar) and we left at 8:40. As we were pulling out we learned that the wetsuits were mandatory and Cash Only. This was the first time I heard mandatory and cash only! We arrived in Crystal River at 10:30 after a restroom stop at 9:40. The boat ride and snorkeling was from 11:00-1:00. It was pretty incredible and we saw quite a few manatees. We changed and were able to purchase photographs and souvenirs. We left at 1:30 and lunch was eaten on the bus (Capri Sun, water, ham sandwich, BBQ chips, mandarin oranges and a bag of cookies). We arrived at Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Springs Park at 2:00. We did not get to see any of it because we had to eat lunch at the park due to my son's peanut allergy. It looked pretty neat. At 3:00 we left for the airboat ride. That lasted from 4:00-4:45 and was very fun and beautiful! We arrived in Orlando at 6:00 but there were several different stops. We were dropped off across the street instead of Rosen Pointe by 6:30. My biggest suggestion would be to wear swim clothes under your clothes and take whatever you need to change afterwards. I would also bring extra food and cash. I had a large backpack that I left on the bus and a smaller bag for valuables that you can carry with you. I also wish I had brought a disposable waterproof camera for the manatees. My cell phone was perfect for everything else. Also, there was a lot of tipping involved. The dive shop and airbags ride allowed tipping on credit cards. The bus driver Nikky told everyone that he expected at least 15% of the tour price but it was hard to decide how much to tip everyone else since I had no idea of prices. With all this being said, my son and I loved the trip!

Though the trip with dolphin tours was fun, the booking agent, Viator, needs to get their act together. When I booked our manatee snorkel and airboat trip, I called Viator instead of booking on their website as I had questions. One question was, do they offer pick up at our hotel? Their website says “pick up at select hotels“ The lady on the phone said we were staying at a selected resort. I asked several times and she assured me we would be picked up at the hotel. Well, when I called to confirm pick up, Dolphin Tours told me they do not pick up at hotels and had to meet at a designated location. So, we had to hire a taxi to take us to the meeting point. A 15 minutes ride and an added expense we weren’t planning on. Also, I asked about the breakfast. The Viator website say, “all you can eat breakfast”. We thought that was a good deal as we were traveling with to teen age boys. We told the boys not to eat as we were headed to a breakfast buffet. Well, when we got on the bus, we were handed a sack filled with a cold (almost frozen) crescent roll, jelly, Capri sun, sunny d and yogurt. Not the best choice for 2 growing boys and a person with diabetes. I wish I could copy and paste the Viator ad where it clearly states hotel pick up and all you can eat breakfast. The breakfast, lunch and excursion that dolphin tours provided was good, but was not as advertised by Viator. Viator definitely needs to get their act together and update their ads.

The guide was not familiar with the excursion and mentioned this a number of times, there is no where to practically change at the Dive centre and things felt a little amateurish. That said we had a really enjoyable day overall. Saw Wild Dolphins as well as lots of Manatees and a calf.

I gave this tour 4 out of 5 stars because everything is not clear about the trip.. it was very confusing.. the snorkeling was fun. Our guides were amazing. The water was 72 degrees which is very cold so I'd recommend the extra wet suit for 10bucks. The diver for a take pictures which are very nice. You have to pay for them not sure how much they were. The airboat tour was a let down .. too short and you don't get to stop at all to see the wildlife.. you have to pay for a photo with the baby gator which they don't tell you upfront and you use your own camera. The wildlife reserve was nice.. overall is say it was worth the 120$

I booked the review online and was excited to swim with tons of manatees. Unfortunately nowhere did it mention peak and non peak months. This would’ve been more helpful because apparently Winter are better manatee months than July. But we did see a few, including a mother and calf. And the experience itself was fantastic in the water and the airboat was fun too. They should let you know before you get on the airboat you’re going to get wet, because then we might left the phones and wallets on the bus or somewhere dry. I read online unlimited breakfast buffet so we came hungry in the morning. The breakfast was abismal. Very low quality croissant and nowhere near enough food. For a day full of swimming you need more than that and a juice box and a yogurt. The granola bar also had peanuts which I am allergic to. Very risky to put something like that in a bag that’s given to children and adults alike without asking if there are allergies prior. The lunch had more food, but still wasn’t enough. Especially after I had read what I did online, perhaps it changed recently? I was impressed with the driving of the bus driver Donald and his guide Madeline they were very knowledable and friendly. I felt guilty not tipping everywhere and everyone but we weren’t aware we needed to have so much cash on hand. Plus, this excursion wasn’t cheap! Over the day was very positive, but by 7:30pm when we departed the bus we were starving. They should include dinner or a pm snack for consumption on the way back to Orlando.

So, this is not...jump in the water and there are manatees...one must look for them, find them...and then proceed cautiously and carefully so as not to disturb them in their natural habitat...do not touch them says the guide...what to do if one little one is so curious about these 'new friends' it snuggles up and 'tastes' your diving mask...what graceful and totally amazing creatures. Thanks a million for allowing us to experience this part of the Everglades - it was an amazing experience. Together with the fun of the air-boat ride we had a wonderful day away form the rides and other experiences of Orlando.