River Ventures

498 SE Kings Bay Dr, Crystal River, FL 34429, USA

Address:	498 SE Kings Bay Dr, Crystal River, FL 34429, USA
Phone:	+1 352-564-8687
Site:	riverventures.com
Rating:	4.8
Working:	5:30AM–8PM 5:30AM–8PM 5:30AM–8PM 5:30AM–8PM 5:30AM–8PM 5:30AM–8PM 5:30AM–8PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 9

Nadine Weber

Wir haben die Tour um 9:15 Uhr gemacht und es war einfach ein wunderbarer Ausflug. Sehr empfehlenswert! Das Team ist einfach unglaublich freundlich. Man schaut sich vorher ein Video an, was es glücklicherweise auch auf Deutsch gab. Wir hatten auf unser Tour unglaubliches Glück so viele Tiere zu sehen. Wir haben nämlich ein schwangeres Manatee( war ein paar Tage vor der Geburt)und ein süßes Baby-Manatee mit Mutter zusammen gesehn und sogar angefasst. Zur Krönung der Reise haben wir am Ende noch einen Delfin gesehn, der direkt neben dem Boot rumsprang und versuchte einen Fisch zu fangen. Der Kapitän meinte es ist super selten diese 3 Dinge (Tiere) auf einer Tour zu sehen! Sprich ich fand es einfach nur wunderbar!

Dmitrii Orlov

Покупали экскурсию к ламантинам заранее через их сайт. ответственные ребята, напоминали много раз о дате и времени, описывали, как к ним проехать. Организовано все хорошо. Но был один минус, купались в январе, было холодно +13 и вода мутная из-за большого количества катеров. Так что коров в кристально чистой воде мы не увидели. Ребенок, ради которого сюда ехали вообще не увидел, а взрослые 1,5 тушки в мутной воде. Вокруг заводи, куда возят туристов много частных домой, есть подходы для спуска в воду. Думаю, можно приехать самому на машине к заводи и покупаться с ламантинами не оплачивая услуги компании. Стоит попробовать.

Erin Lucas

If I could give them more than 5 stars I would! We came with a group of 5 on the semi-private tour on the pontoon of privilege with Tanner and Irish Dave and we all had an amazing time! We arrived at 6:30 am for the 6:45 am tour and were greeted with smiling faces, the sweetest dog, and hot coffee! You can tell all of the staff love what they do and have a true passion for it. Everyone was helpful and knowledgeable and got us set up in our wet suits ready to head to the boat. Tanner, our captain, and Irish Dave, our in-water guide/photographer , are awesome! You could tell they wanted to be out there and wanted to give us the best experience they could. They knew loads of information about all the different wildlife and the local springs. The boat was nice, new, and comfortable and also offered drinks (water, pop, alcohol) and snacks! In the water Irish Dave was great. He helped our entire group get close to the manatees and took outstanding pictures and videos that will last forever! We WILL be back this winter when there are more manatees and a bit clearer water and will request Tanner and Dave again and would recommend this company and the staff to everyone. Thank you for the amazing time! (Some pictures Dave took while we were in the water!)

We went on the tour at 7:15 am on a very cold morning. River Ventures gave us great advice ahead of time to go early and that we would see more manatees when its cold out because they migrate to the springs for the warmer water. It was a fantastic experience all around. The staff were all so friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. River Ventures provided our wetsuits, snorkels and we bought an underwater camera. It is difficult to take pictures yourself while trying to float in the water and see the manatees. Its better to just rely on your guide because they are constantly taking pics anyway and have a better camera ☺ Captain Donna was absolutely wonderful. We enjoyed her company as much as the adventure of seeing the manatees. She knows so much about the area and wildlife and we could tell she truly loves the work she does and educating her clients. Tiffany was our in - water guide. She took plenty of photos and like everyone else at River Ventures was so welcoming, friendly and helpful. We highly recommend taking a tour with them. Even if we hadnt seen and swam with manatees (which is amazing), we still wouldve had a great time. ☺

Amber E

This was the most amazing excursion the hubbs and I took while visiting FL from WI. Amanda was a fantastic guide!! She was very knowledgable, friendly and thorough in her instructions and education. She really knows her stuff! Captain Stark was fantastic as well. Ive never seen anyone drive a boat with more skill than he did. He was also very friendly, educational and humorous :) We ended up swimming with 3 manatees at the end of March, so we were very lucky! We would not have had that experience had it not been for Amanda and John. They also took us to see Furbie being released back into the wild- a truly once in a lifetime experience. To everyone at River Ventures- thank you! Everyone we encountered; from the educational video instructor to the guide and driver to the cashier at the end of the day; everyone was friendly, welcoming and truly wonderful to have met. We will gladly recommend these trips to anyone and everyone visiting (or living in) the area and from afar!!!

blue stang

Wir haben am 20.05.2016 an der 6.15 Uhr Tour teilgenommen, es ist empfehlenswert die frühe Tour zu wählen, da die Tiere dann aktiver sind, wir haben bereits nach sehr kurzer Fahrzeit ca. 10 Minuten eine Gruppe von Manatees entdeckt, darunter auch eine Mutter mit Ihrem Jungtier das ca. eine Woche alt war. Es war ein einmaliges und unbeschreiblich schönes Erlebnis, das Personal war äußerst zuvorkommend und freundlich, ein besonderer Dank gilt Kapitän Wade und unserem Guide Scott. 5*

Swell Connections

I didnt grow up on a river but I know etiquette and local knowledge can go a long way. Our captain Dallas King provided all of that and one of the best guided tours Ive had anywhere in the world. One of us in our group wanted to avoid the crowds and as a photographer all I wanted was the excellent water clarity Ive dreamed about for years. My biggest fear before this trip was getting the run around from one of these companies and not making it to my bucket list destination "Three Sisters Springs" thats known for some of the clearest water in the world. What I didnt know is that Crystal River has many springs with excellent visibility and "Three Sisters" is often closed off and has enormous crowds. Thanks to captain King, we avoided all the crowds, we were taken to the local springs with crystal clear visibility, and we had one of the most magical experiences of our lives. Write it down... Captain Dallas King

Samantha Leirsch

River Ventures was amazing! We are visiting from Toronto, Canada and only here for a limited amount of days. I had called a few times worried about the weather (forecasting rain all week!) and the staff was incredibly friendly and accommodating. They discussed options with us and accommodated a last minute date change which I am so grateful for! The weather for our tour this morning was perfect. The guides (we had Scott and Casey) were awesome, very knowledgable and friendly. I had never snorkelled or kayaked before and I felt very comfortable doing both with them. Not only was this a great experience, but I got to experience a manatee and her calf up close! Casey had scoped out the area before we got on the boat and was very respectful of the manatees but also tried his best to make sure we had a great tour and got to see them. Would definitely recommend and will be back again if ever in the area.

A Private User

Disappointing. :-( I had been waiting for swim with manatees for a long time, and I travelled from NY for this tour. Usually I do not complain, but honestly after this tour I was sooooo upset and disappointed. The water and the visibility are not as clear as on the website pictures, and there were 10 people for 1 manatee for 20 minutes in the water when the manatee swam away.Than we got back to the boat and we were boating and wondering around in the wet wetsuit and as I saw everybody was freezing including me and the tour guy. I love animals and respect their wildlife territory so I absolutely understand that we cant chase them, but nobody inform me that there is no guarantee to meet manatees. Swim with manatees is not as fun as the pictures suggest. "your 3 Hour swim with manatees adventure" as you can read on the website is a scam!!!!! :-(