Crystal River Travel Guides (Updated September 2026)

We took a tour with Crosby in glass-bottom kayaks to the 3 sister springs. It was amazing: the wildlife, the water, and the area were outstanding. The tour was at a great pace; we had 3 in our party, including a 14-year-old. Crosby was knowledgeable and so clearly passionate about the environment and what a special place this was. It made the tour feel even more of a privilege. We also saw a manatee on our travels and fish jumping out of the river; at all times, Crosby remained a good distance away from the animals, which we respected and were glad of. Thank you again for a great trip.

Crystal guide and Lacy Captain were very informative and fun! They both made the trip 5 star from the start but even to the end those lady’s made every minute worth going!

Beyond amazing, life changing experience!!! The captain and in-water personal guide made it above 5 stars!!! We were intimately witnessing creatures in the wild that give you a new appreciation for life in every way 💖

We had an amazing time on the clear kayak tour in Crystal River! The water was beautiful, and the whole experience was memorable. Our guide, Havenly, was professional, friendly, and made the tour even more enjoyable. Highly recommend!

Really great experience, Tommy and Bailey were super knowledgeable, friendly, and communicative, and even though we came at the wrong season, we got to see their resident manatee Billy Idle and follow him around for a while. The three springs were beautiful, and the water was lovely. Such a unique experience, we had a better view of the manatee than the kayakers, and could get fairly up close and personal with our snorkels. There were a lot of other fish visible in the water as well, so there was always something to see. Bailey took some great photos and videos especially of the manatee and I’m grateful to have more keepsakes from this experience.Size inclusive wetsuits - goes up to 5x for adults, photos/videos are free with the experience, the people who work here are all local, and the company is locally owned so you’re supporting a small business.

Had a wonderful tour with tour guide Justin. Was able to see couple manatee and paddle to the three sisters lake.

Mike and Crystal were wonderful! It was a great trip. I will come back again and use river ventures. I will tell all our friends.

Excellent. Operators were very informative and very nice. Store, shuttle, boat and dock excellent. Low season but we still saw a few manatees. Book with confidence.

Ten out of ten experience! Wear your bathing suit under your clothes, no need to have a towel until after the excursion. Captain and guide will continuously try and find you a manatee to observe, but always keep in mind that they’re still wild animals.

Manatee tour was wonderful. Was able to see a mom and a very curious baby. Captain Chaz and Kaitlyn were extremely knowledgeable and made sure you knew what exactly to do at all times. Would definitely recommend and the meeting point is downtown Crystal river where all the cute shops and restaurants are.

Melissa, the ship captain is very knowledgeable and offered lots of insight. She made the trip very interesting and cheerful.

We had a great time with Tommy on the tour. He gave us the complete tour & communicated with other boats to find the manatees (we were early in the season so there weren’t than many yet.He talked about the history of the springs and areas in the bay and river as we toured. He also gave us the lowdown on the waterfront restaurants we passed along the way.We also had the chance to feed the tarpon along the dock, thanks to some folks who were cleaning fish as we were headed to the boat.All in all, we had a lovely tour and saw a variety of wildlife in addition to manatees. Tommy is a great guide and we plan to return during peak manatee viewing season. Very safe and very mellow tour; exactly what we wanted.

Fabulous experience. It didn’t take long to encounter the manatees and we had some luck swimming to the local springs aswell.Kudos to our guide Topher. He had wonderful knowledge of the manatees biology and their behaviors and he was sharp enough to see some of our group trying to go a little bit beyond manatee behavior and called it out.Big thanks to our Captain G.Q for pointing out some impressive local wildlife and good stories.Worth every minute.

The airboat ride was an experience to remember! Thoroughly enjoyed the ride, scenery and the captain. A must do when you’re in the area. Looking forward to December when family visits from Oregon so they too can enjoy the experience!

An absolute lifetime highlight! This tour stands out because of its highly hands-on, educational, and immersive approach. Our guide Shanna and Captain Brody were expert, professional, and knowledgeable throughout the trip. We also greatly appreciated Lauren’s seamless booking assistance and Jacob’s careful guidance to and from the boat. The level of customer service across the entire team is exceptional. If you want the premier tour option in Crystal River, look no further. Highly recommended. 5 stars!

This adventure was well worth the money. Our captain Paul was very knowledgeable and was able to see dolphins and other wildlife and point them out. We saw a lot of dolphins! Beautiful scenery, and overall, just an amazing adventure! I would suggest them to anybody!