Swim with the Manatees Trip

[feline figaro]

Has anyone been on this trip?
Have just been watching some footage on youtube & it looks amazing, my dfs not a very confident swimmer though but by the looks of it the river is nt too deep.

Can anyone give me more info about this trip, do you need to be a confident swimmer? Do you get much interaction with the manatees?

I ve also read that breakfast, lunch & a few other tours are inc in the day trip (would be booking with Virgin). Would you say its a worthwhile experience?

Any info is much appreciated

Thankyou

[ErikaM]

Can't say I ever heard of this trip. However PLEASE bear in mind it is ILLEGAL in Florida to touch or harass manatees in the wild, even if they come right up to you. It is very strictly enforced by park rangers(of which one is a close friend)

[feline figaro]

This apparently is a very popular trip that several companies offer in Orlando, i know i ve read a few people on here have booked it. We ve booked it for my mum via Virgin but would like to know more info for us in case we want to go on it

[madmumof2]

I've booked this for October. It's actually a swim where the manatees live tour. They can't guarantee you'll even see a manatee, it's just where they live.

Even if I don't see anything, Istill think it will be amazing. You get picked up from your hotel, have a breakfast in Orlando and have a a tour guide telling you all about the sights you see on the way.

Then swim in Crystal River, with everything provided for you. You have a picnic lunch (I'm assuing buffet) and then go to the Homosassa state wildlife park. You will see manatees here during feeding session including bears, panthers, alligators and even a hippo as you explore the rest of the park.

It's a whole day experience and one I'm sure we'll remember forever.

[DH of dolphingirl47]

[QUOTE=feline figaro;31186054][COLOR="Magenta"][SIZE="3"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Has anyone been on this trip?
Have just been watching some footage on youtube & it looks amazing, my dfs not a very confident swimmer though but by the looks of it the river is nt too deep.

Can anyone give me more info about this trip, do you need to be a confident swimmer? Do you get much interaction with the manatees?

I ve also read that breakfast, lunch & a few other tours are inc in the day trip (would be booking with Virgin). Would you say its a worthwhile experience?

Any info is much appreciated

This is a good tour although the Manatee bit is pot luck, sometimes you dont see them, not sure about the legality bit but I assume its all been cleared with the authorities. ErikaM what is the view on that, I would say we were not too far from cossing the line between swimming with and harasing.

The trip may have changed but the format was breakfast at a breakfast buffet then a coach trip which takes an hour or so. There is an airboat ride which is good fun and a trip to a nature reserve/zoo, watch out for the squirels, if one is standing in front of you looking cute there will be 5 others sneaking up behind to grab your lunches. This was the one and only time I have seen live Armadillos in the wild.

The Manatee bit was in the afternoon, you trundle out on these little boats and if you find them you get to go in the water with them, there are dolphins around too, the water is just about salty enough for the dolphins. Unfortunately when we were there the water was not particularly clear, a hurrican had been through the previous week.

Apparently there are good times and bad times of year to go, something to do with migration patterns, might bee worth checking that out

[madmumof2]

You definitely get to swim there now, and snorkel and I don't think the airboat is included now.

i remember going in 1995, and there was a squirrel who was not one bit afraid of us. we;ve got a home viedo of it crawling all over us and eating crisps out fo our hands. It was with us for ages! Amazing.

[Tiggerbounce24]

We did this in 2004 and it amazing. We bought a video to remember our experience.

[madmumof2]

Oooh, can you buy a video too?? I'll be getting that if I can.