Swimming with manatees is on the bucket-list for a lot of wildlife loving people.
I recently checked this item off of my wildlife bucket-life by swimming with these magnificent beasts in Crystal River, Florida. I wanted to share the information that I compiled while researching this adventure in addition to describing my manatee-swim experience. My hope is that this article will be helpful to you in planning your own manatee-swim.
Where Can One Swim With Manatees?
In the United States the only place that you can legally swim with manatees is the Crystal River Wildlife Refuge in Crystal River, Florida. That is the ONLY place!
The Crystal River Wildlife Refuge is comprised of manatee-rich spring fed waters that flow into the Crystal River and Kings Bay. The refuge was set-up primarily to conserve manatees, but the waterways and surrounding lands provide plenty of habitat for a multitude of species. Manatees are a keystone specie in that regard!
You can read about the Crystal River Wildlife Refuge here.
Manatees are on a variety of protected species lists including being listed as an endangered species. The state of Florida takes being custodians of manatees very seriously and enforces robust conservation laws. People can only swim with manatees in the Crystal River Wildlife Refuge as the swims are always supervised with strict rules enforced.
You can watch some videos relating to the rules of swimming and boating around manatees by clicking here.
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When Is The Best Time Of Year To Swim With Manatees?
Manatee season starts in November and ends in late March. During the winter months manatees migrate to the Crystal River Wildlife Refuge in large numbers. As the water temperature is cooler at this time of year the manatees huddle up in large groups to share body heat.
If you are planning on doing a manatee-swim this is the time of year to go as your likelihood of finding manatees is almost guaranteed. If you go during warmer months the manatees will likely have dispersed far and wide. Good luck finding them at that point!
Note: for the town of Crystal River, manatee season draws ecotourists from around the world. Make sure that you book a hotel room in advance of your planned trip. When I was in Crystal River my entire hotel was booked solid and most of those people were there to dive with manatees.
What Is The Best Way To Go About Arranging A Manatee Swim?
Google “swim with manatees crystal river” and multiple manatee-swim operations will come up. All of the manatee-swim operators generally provide the essentials: a boat, equipment (wet suit, mask, snorkel), guidance about how to interact with the manatees, and knowledge of where to find them. I cannot say that one is better than another so do your best research.
I paid $65 for 3 hours of diving including the equipment rental, which seemed to be the going rate. If any operators are charging you vastly more than that then be wary.
What Were The Diving Conditions Like?
Like most folks, I had seen plenty of pictures of people swimming with manatees. The manatees are usually huddled together and the water is crystal clear (it isn’t called Crystal River by mistake).
This was my expectation…
During a typical cold winter the manatees huddle in the Three Sisters Springs. The water at Three Sisters Springs is the clearest water I have ever seen in my life. Clear water and lots of manatees huddled up makes Three Sisters Springs the ideal place to see manatees.
However, I went to Crystal River during a warm winter. This was my reality…
Due to the warm winter the manatees did not need to huddle together for warmth. Thus, the manatees had dispersed all over Kings Bay to forage on the sea grass. Not only was it hard to locate the manatees in the entirety of Kings Bay, but the water was incredibly murky. These conditions were sub-optimal for a manatee-swim.
Note: not only is the water in Kings Bay murky, but it is also deep. I’m about 6’3″ and for most of the swim I could not touch the bottom. Keep that in mind if you are not a strong swimmer and have to venture out into Kings Bay.
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What Were The Manatees Like?
Despite the murky conditions we did indeed find manatees in Kings Bay.
Manatees are the most relaxed animals in the world. They have zero aggression, seem to tolerate humans as long as they remained at a respectable distance, and really just wanted to either snooze or graze.
Getting in the water with the manatees gave me an appreciation for how big they really are. Some of the manatees were over a dozen feet long and weighed over 1,000 lbs. Manatees are massive animals!
I never realized that manatees are covered in sparse body hair.
I will say that I did not see many scars on the manatees from boating conflicts. The lack of scars made me happy as I’ve grown up on horror stories about how manatees were constantly getting gashed by boat propellers. Florida is doing a good job of ensuring that boaters obey the speed laws in designated manatee areas.
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Conclusion
Ultimately, I would say that this was a great wildlife experience and certainly worthy of its place on an adventurer’s bucket-list. If you do plan to swim with manatees do yourself a favor and try and go during a cold winter so that you experience optimal manatee-swim conditions.
Have fun and, of course, obey the rules!
