SeaDaddy’s Adventures located at Florida’s Crystal River offers intimate outings with manatees.

December 30th, 2022

by Kevin Willse

During the winter months Crystal River is graced with the flock of the manatees. Whether you are a native to Florida or just visiting, swimming with manatees is always a special and unique experience. Located in the heart of Crystal River, SeaDaddys offers an incredible and relatively private diving experience that gives an excellent opportunity to learn more about and unite with these gentle giants.

The SeaDaddys experience begins as soon as you step foot in their shop. They have a full display of the ecosystem of the area, which helps explain why each part of it is so important. The education and preservation of nature is a huge part of the SeaDaddy experience. The entire tour is rooted in the belief of preserving not only the manatees, but nature as a whole. After touring the nature display you will be given a presentation about the state and federal rules of the manatee tours. The short video explains the area you will visit and the reasons behind the sanctuary areas as well as the proper ways of interacting with the manatees. The SeaDaddys’ staff focus on passive observation of the manatees. You will hear this idea presented several times during the tour as it is part of their mantra in how to treat and help preserve the manatees. Although, these creatures are very large (up to 3,000 pounds) and resilient, their populations have decreased over the years and are considered endangered. The staff goes over how to prepare for the tour as well as going over the do’s and don’ts of what to do in the water to optimize our experience as well as the experience of the manatees. Following the chat, we were then fitted in our wetsuits and ready to go.

A quick shuttle ride from the shop took us to the marina where we got onto our watercraft and were given masks and snorkels. SeaDaddys keeps the tours small to enhance each guest’s experience. The maximum number of occupants is six giving everyone a fair shot at getting a great view of the sea cows. We had the pleasure of having our tour with Captain Lenore and guide Colin. They did a great job of explaining King’s Bay and answered any questions we had. They had great knowledge of the area, which was essential in finding the hot spots the manatees liked to hang out. However, we learned a lot about the area as well as the potential environmental issues that it’s facing and the ways they are attempting to remedy them such as the constantly mentioned passive observation. This is one of the many great things that separated SeaDaddys from other manatee tour companies in the area. Each time we stopped we had a great opportunity to get in the water and get up-close and personal with these amazing creatures. Just an incredible experience. Although, it was pretty chilly outside, the water was very comfortable. We got a chance to see many different manatees and spend a good amount of time with them. One of them actually seemed as interested in us as we were in it and came right up to us. This was a great time to take photographs and videos of the experience. SeaDaddys also provides trip photos for a fee after the trip.

SeaDaddys gave an excellent manatee diving experience. From the second you walked in their shop you could sense the passion they have for these amazing creatures. The staff is very involved in the local communities in protecting and assisting the conservation of the environments the manatees live in. They continually train to help in rescue efforts and are involved in rescues when necessary. This dedication is felt throughout the manatee tour is and is a main reason why SeaDaddys is who to go to when in the area of Crystal River.

For more information on Seadaddy’s Adventures visit HERE