I was born and raised in Florida and up until last weekend, I had no idea just a short drive away I could swim with manatees! I always knew there were plenty of manatees in springs around here and there were plenty of opportunities to see them gather during the colder months, but I never knew there existed excursions where you could actually get in the water and swim with them!

On Saturday, that's exactly what I did with my 7-year-old daughter Norah!

I went to a place called River Ventures but there are literally DOZENS of companies that do the 'swim with the manatees' tours. I paid about $50 each ticket. We drove to Crystal River which was about 1 hour and 15 minutes from my house in North Tampa. It's a little farther North than Homosassa Springs. When you arrive, they loan you snorkels, wetsuits and show you an educational video about manatees and proper 'manatee manners' so you can have a good experience with them and not bother them.

You were not allowed to touch them unless they came to you. You had to float still if you got within a few feet of them.

We went out on a pontoon boat with only 3 other people...the snorkels were disinfected in diluted bleach water right in front of us so we felt pretty safe about that...The wetsuits were also highly disinfected and there was always plenty of outdoor fresh air to breathe in during the open air boat ride.

Everyone said we shouldn't go because they only come around during colder months but BOY DID WE PROVE that wrong! We saw probably 6-10 manatees in an hour's time! We saw our first one just about 2 minutes into the boat ride and we all jumped into the 72 degree water!!! It was cold but the wetsuit helped SO MUCH!

It was a hot day so the cold water was actually refreshing.

The manatee we saw was clearly a 'resident' manatee who was used to humans and she didn't migrate at all. The Crystal River springs were her year round home. Our guide said she seemed pregnant and just chomped on grass the whole time. She was so at peace. She let us swim around her and she was calm and happy. We had nothing but clear water and we had such an amazing experience. It was one my daughter will NEVER ever forget. The manatee swam up and touched my daughter's outstretched hand. It was incredible.

We went on July 4th so we decided to do the 7:15am tour. That meant we woke up at 5:15am to get there on time. WORTH. IT. Had we not done that, the water would have been packed with other people and boats and we would not have had that one-one-one 30 minute experience with the manatee. We were so lucky so my advice is to do the 6:15am or 7:15am tour. Any later and you're fighting with so many others on the water.

We also saw a BABY!!! It was so cute! He was sleeping so we couldn't bother him but he would come up for water every 10 minutes or so (they do that while sleeping) and it was remarkable.

Highly recommend this if your kids are bored to tears like mine are and you want a kid friendly, covid friendly activity. The only reason my husband and 4 year old son didn't go was because my son didn't want to get up at 5am when the time came so Daddy stayed home with him but he could have enjoyed it very much. I wouldn't recommend under the age of 4. There was a lot of swimming involved so they would tire out. But, you can always go back to the boat to take a break.

The company we used allowed us to keep our two unused tickets and we can use them again anytime. I thought that was nice and they didn't have to do that. They also had our tour guide take underwater pictures of the whole thing so we could be in the moment. I was able to buy the pictures they took as a package for $30. Worth it. I was happy to not have to be Momarazzi for once and my daughter and I got some great shots of us holding hands underwater. Just can't say enough great things about the experience.

I think for our next outdoor adventure we'll try scalloping!

Hope you had a great 4th of July! Stay safe!

About Mix Mornings with Laura Diaz

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