Top Crystal River Shore Excursions

Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! My husband Tom and I had the absolute pleasure of sailing with Captain Tyler and our wonderful Guide Faith. We had an amazing time swimming with the Manatees in their own environment and then boating in areas where we were fortunate enough to see dolphins, more manatees and lots of birds/wildlife. Tyler and Faith are knowledgeable, personable and fun! They shared a lot of information about the area as we were first time visitors. I highly recommend this tour!

Capt Bill and Capt Tyler were amazing! Very nice and knowledgeable about the area. We found a manatee fairly quickly and stayed in the water for what seemed like a good amount of time. They took us to another area to just get out and enjoy the water. On our way back, they provided lunch recommendations too! Our daughter was a little nervous about getting in the water and Tyler was excellent at making her more comfortable. Maddie says you’re the goat Tyler! 😄 Would definitely recommend them for a manatee swim-knowledgeable, respectful of the environment and the animals, and a lot of fun!

Awesome staff and the boat ran great. We went fishing and took a good tour of the area. We highly recommend this outfitter. Jamie and Levi were awesome.

We had the most amazing family experience with Capt Ed and Capt Kim on this trip! The scalloping was awesome, but the education about the area and vital ecosystem was just as exciting! They both are an amazing amount of knowledge and you can tell how passionate they are about what they do. It was an experience that our family can’t wait to do again!!! I never knew how competitive my family could get about finding scallops and we would not hesitate to book with SaltySirenTours again!!! We are hooked! Thanks again Capt’s Ed and Kim!!! You guys knocked it out of the park!!

We had a great experience renting a pontoon from Crystal River Preserve Adventures with our family of four. The check-in process was simple and quick, and the staff gave clear instructions that made us feel confident. Launching from their quiet canal made it really easy to get in and out onto the river without feeling rushed or stressed. The boat itself was in excellent shape—clean, comfortable, and handled smoothly the whole trip. Having the GPS system onboard was a real lifesaver, especially for navigating back through unfamiliar turns. Out on the water, we were lucky enough to see dolphins swimming in Kings Bay, which was definitely a highlight. Back near the rental, we spotted an alligator lounging in their canal, which felt like a real Florida moment. We also passed a tree absolutely full of roseate spoonbills, and there were fish jumping all around us throughout the day. It felt peaceful, safe, and like money well spent. I’d absolutely recommend this place for anyone looking for a relaxed, scenic pontoon adventure.

Going out with Capt. Ed and Capt. Kim felt like going scalloping with old friends. Thankful for their expertise and generosity. We learned a lot from our time on the water with them. Definitely coming back!

10/10 would recommend booking Seacow Safaris. We went with our young children and literally had the best time. It was off season, which meant manatees were sparse, but Megan and Mac did everything to make sure we got to enjoy our experience while still maintaining the utmost respect for the environment and animals. They were very kind to our children, fun, knowledgeable, did not rush us, and provided great pictures. I cannot say enough good things about them! If you're trying to decide which company to book with, this is the one!

We had an amazing time from the minute we stepped on the boat till the very end. Tyler and Faith were the best. Within 10 minutes we were in the water swimming with Big Bertha Boudreaux! He/she was an amazing host as well by taking us on a feeding frenzy through some pristine clear waters. My encounter was all that I could have imagined. Being able to swim side by side to this magical animal is a check off of my bucket list and more of a memory that will last a lifetime. Thank yall Seacow Safaris for an awesome time! Kelly and Chris

There are no better captains on the river!!! We have been sailing with Capt. Ed & Kim for many years. There make you feel like family and always get the job done!

Both captains were amazing I would definitely them to anyone that wants a fun day of scalloping. We plan on coming back again in the future. Both of my daughters said they want to come out again before we even made it back to the marina.

Went on the 1 1/2 hour tour with Jamie. He was very entertaining and knowledgeable. I would recommend the tour over boat rental if you are not experienced. The area has some specific issues that may be problematic if you are not familiar with the area. Overall the family had an amazing time and really enjoyed our tour guide.

This was by far one of the highlights of our trip! We intended to try to see the Manatee but we saw all kinds of wildlife and dolfins up next to the boat. The rental was so easy and the employees were so helpful. We got a little lost and someone called us on his day off to get us back in the area we wanted. Very clean, new boats. We really couldn’t have asked for a better boat or a better company to rent from. We highly recommend!

Matt and Meagan are great tour guides! My granddaughter and I were on a quest to snorkel with Manatee, we only found one and was a great experience! both were very knowledgeable about manatee and crystal river area and 3 sisters spring which we also snorkeled in. Book your tour! they are great!

This was definitely a bucket list opportunity for us. We went on the 10 AM trip. The scallop season had just started here so the parking the marina was pretty difficult so just make sure to allow yourself time to find a space especially this time of year, our guides, Tyler andFaith were excellent unfortunately this time of year there are only somewhere between 10 and 20 manatees in the spring as permanent residence so they did have a difficult finding manatees for us to see however, we did get to an experience and up close encounter with a adult and a baby manatee it made our kids day if I had any other recommendations, it would just be to do this tour during the winter time where manatees are more plentiful in area.

Seacow Safaris is a wonderful tour boat, highly recommended. Faith and Trever were wonderful guides. We had an amazing 45 minute experience with a manatee almost immediately. After swimming with the the sweetest, hungriest manatee ever we learned a lot more about the area and the ecological preservation efforts. Beautiful sunny day with a nice breeze and good company. Always a win, even in the off season. We learned a lot and enjoyed every minute of the entire experience.

The crews are excellent. We had 3 boats and all the crew were amazing. Soo much fun. Everyone was amazed with the manatees and getting to see them. We had kids from 6 to adults as old as 75 and we all had a blast. Travis was our captain and filled us in with all we needed to know about the river and about the manatees. Learned soo much and wished we just had more time because it seems to go so fast. Can’t say enough about the guides on all the boats with us. We swam some danced and sang and others just enjoyed the beautiful scenery and all the wildlife. Highly recommend them to anyone looking for a swim with the manatees excursion. Well worth the money and memories you can never forget. A big thanks to ALL the crews. Hope to return and do it again.