Clear Kayak Manatee Ecotour: Crystal River Wildlife

606 Ratings

Crystal River

Save

View All (16)

Experience the beauty of Crystal River on a guided eco-tour in clear kayaks. Spot dolphins, manatees, turtles, and more wildlife while exploring over 70 freshwater springs.

Duration: 2 hours

Cancellation: 24 hours

learn more

Highlights

469 NE 1st St - You will enjoy your journey in our ALL clear kayaks with one of our amazing LOCAL guides. You will learn about our ecosystem and possibly spot local wildlife such as manatees, turtles, various birds, dolphins, and many species of fish. This is the NUMBER one tour in Florida as it has the ability to spot manatees on various days….

What's Included

Clear Kayak adventure
Paddle included
Life vest provided

What's Not Included

Optional Picture Package $37.99
Gratuity For Tour Guides

Additional Information

Take part in our guided environmental exploration of Crystal River using our SEE-THROUGH kayaks! Throughout this journey, you will have the chance to enjoy the magnificent scenery and wildlife that is characteristic of our area, including over 70 freshwater springs. You may get to see dolphins, pelicans, tarpon, turtles, otters, assorted bird species,…

Location

469 NE 1st St

Northeast 1st Street

We are located a few hundred feet off of US 19 in Crystal River on NE 1st Street. We have free parking available and we shuttle you to our launch area which is 1/2 mile away. YOU ARE REQUIRED TO ARRIVE 30 MINUTES BEFORE THE DESIGNATED START TIME OF YOUR TOUR. NO REFUNDS IF YOU ARRIVE LATE FOR TOUR

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings

4.6

(606 Ratings)

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

2014vic2ry

Jan 3, 2025

Great manatee learning experience. - RJ was our guide, he was great- attentive to what we want to see while providing rules and safety reminders at the right time when needed. We learned about manatee footprints and how to anticipate which direction the manatee was traveling. We really enjoyed our tour, saw lots of manatees especially ones swimming out to feed from their sleep areas.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

K5925xmamyb

Jan 2, 2025

Chilly and fun - We went out at 8:00 am on a chilly morning. We saw many manatee. Our tour guide Josh was super helpful. He pointed out lots of wild life. Very knowledgeable about the area.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Staci_c

Jan 1, 2025

Kayaking with RJ - We had a blast seeing manatees with RJ on this kayaking tour! It was easy to see he cared about the manatees and their environment which we truly appreciated! Thanks for a fantastic experience!

Review provided by Viator

Colleen_d

Jan 1, 2025

RJ was our tour guide, he... - RJ was our tour guide, he was great a locating manatees and advising the group how to position themselves for the best viewing. It was a wonderful experience!

Review provided by Viator

68kyliel

Dec 31, 2024

Thank you, Kyle! - Kyle was very personable and made us feel very comfortable and involved in the tour. We are so glad we had him for this tour!

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Mali_j

Dec 30, 2024

Enjoyable trip - Kyle was an excellent tour guide, and we had a fantastic trip! We were lucky enough to spot four manatees. For future travelers, we recommend trying the “Swimming with Manatees” tour or paddleboarding. However, we don’t recommend the clear kayaks, as the sitting angle made it difficult to see clearly. The nearby waterfront restaurants also serve amazing food—definitely worth a visit!

Review provided by Viator

C8867kemikef

Dec 29, 2024

Knowledgeable and respectful guided tour of Crystal River - We’re a family who loves the outdoors and has an immense appreciation and respect for nature. With our background in marine biology and conservation, we loved how much knowledge and respect Josh (our POR guide) had for the marine life and habitat. He made an already awesome experience even better. There are tons of “swim with the manatees” companies, but if you’re looking for a locally owned outfit that cares deeply about what they do and protecting the marine ecosystem through passive observation, then choose Paddle Outdoor Rentals.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Cynthia_s

Dec 29, 2024

Kayaking with the chubby mermaids - This is a great way to get close to manatees while maintaining a respectful distance from these beautiful creatures. Our guide Kyle with a Smile was very informative about the wildlife and ecosystem and a pleasure to spend a couple of hours with. It is a lot of paddling, especially while in King’s Bay so if you have back or shoulder problems it may be a bit difficult.

Review provided by Viator

Zhijun_c

Jan 2, 2025

Fun but overpriced with old and broken gears - Like others mentioned, the clear bottom kayaks are pretty old and beat up, no longer clear anymore. Mine had cracks in the middle. Every time I moved my butt I feared that it might break into two... Because of the low sitting angle I could not see the manatees even though it's right next to me. It was a unique experience for which I give it 3 stars. But for $80 per person it's way overpriced. There are cheaper options with better equipments available.

Review provided by Viator

190sergeip

Dec 29, 2024

Select a different provider - The guides from OTHER scuba diving companies happily showed us all places where they found manatees when we were kayaking. Slogan of the Clear Kayaking Tours is "Wild life is a wild life", we all heard these words from each and every staff member when we asked about manatees, which means that they don't promise you anything. We didn't t see any motivation from this company to find us manatees, and it doesn't worth $300 for 2 kayaks for 2 hours of kayaking. At the same spots, at the same time, other providers helped their clients to find and enjoy manatees. You should select another provider if you spent your time traveling to Florida to enjoy manatees. We found many manatees by ourselves in several places without any guide and expected something more from Clear Kayaking Tours. We saw manatees in the Three Sisters area, but our guide decided to select a different route because "not many manatees people saw there".

Review provided by Tripadvisor

From $79

Check Availability

From $79

Select Date and Tickets

up to 10 guests

1 Adult