When To Swim With Manatees In Florida

Manatees were once common throughout florida but their numbers plummeted in the 1960 s as construction boomed in the sunshine state manatees need undisturbed habitat and are extremely vulnerable to injuries from motorboats.

When to swim with manatees in florida. Of course even though it is legal to swim with manatees in crystal river the manatees are still protected under both the endangered species act and the marine mammal protection act. Whether you re on a solo kayaking trip or a manatee swim tour always mind your manatee manners look but don t touch. There s only one place in florida where you can swim with the manatees in the winter and that s crystal river located about 90 minutes north of tampa on the west coast of florida. The headwaters of crystal river are known as kings bay where the water temperature is a consistent 72 degrees year round.

Guidelines and rules for how to swim with manatees in florida. Seeing a large number of florida manatees in one place is an amazing experience but just remember these gentle sea cows are there for survival. We are open to snorkel or swim with manatees starting 65 per person.