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Recent Crystal River Reviews
Reviewed yesterday

We had a fantastic time on the snorkeling tour we took on Sunday morning, March 17, 2024. The guides from Manatee Tour & Dive led us to Three Sisters Springs, where we had the opportunity to observe two manatees up close. Witnessing these gentle creatures swimming nearby was truly amazing. The dedication and respect our guides showed towards the animals were evident and heartwarming.

Matt enthusiastically answered all of our questions about the manatees and shared stories about the region and alligators, which added to the enjoyment of the experience. We felt safe and well-cared-for throughout the tour, thanks to the attentive care provided by the guides. Steffi also contributed greatly to our positive experience. I highly recommend this company to anyone seeking an unforgettable manatee encounter in Crystal River, Florida.

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Reviewed yesterday

My family had a wonderful time at this attraction. This was a beautiful area and seeing manatees in the wild was amazing!

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Reviewed yesterday via mobile
Review of Backwater Fins

We were searching for a restaurant that was open on Mondays. We went strictly by the rating. We always look for 4 and above. If you like fresh seafood this place is worth a visit! Fish was fresh and shrimp tacos with mango salsa were great. Onion rings, shrimp, crab balls(!) were all very good. Carrot cake is a thumbs up. It was out of the way but we usually end up searching in unfamliar areas as we travel. Reviews 4 and up have always delivered for us!

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Reviewed yesterday

The salad bar is huge and has lots of variety. My wife and I thought the food on the salad bar tasted excellent. One problem: we both had diarrhea within 20 minutes of leaving the restaurant. Not sure what happened but we would be willing to try Bubba again.

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Reviewed yesterday

We enjoyed our meal at the outside bar area, which had views of Kings Bay and the Crystal River. My wife had the coconut shrimp, and I had the blackened redfish basket; both were excellent. The service was very good between Jules and Sydney.

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Reviewed yesterday

Had a really great experience with an 11 AM Manatee Bird's Underwater Swim Tour. The 3-hour + Tour was well organized and well led. The two-person boat guides were excellent and made the extra effort to move and find the manatees when at first they were hard to locate due to spring weather and water conditions. We were able to swim with them and it was a truly memorable experience. Highly recommended especially for families with children.

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Reviewed yesterday via mobile

Megan our dive Master and Ryan our boat Capt were outstanding. Fun to Dive 2 great tour wonderful people. A must to visit here

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Reviewed yesterday

Couldn’t have asked for a better experience. Dylan and Jessica were amazing. They truly cared about everyone getting best opportunities possible to swim alongside and observe these magnificent creatures. Thank you for the wonderful experience and the memories we made today

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Reviewed yesterday

Lovely spot located near Ozello, in the middle of the Crystal Rivers State Park Preserve. Lots of fried options. My Bangin' Ozello Shrimp were tasty as was the coconut shrimp entre. The coleslaw was very good

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Reviewed yesterday via mobile

Once in a lifetime trip! Everything was well organized and our guides had a wealth of knowledge about the area. We saw lots of manatees and our children (8 & 5 yrs old) had a blast, the water was calm and clear, no problem for the kids. They had hot drinks waiting when we got back on the boat and took excellent pictures for us! Reasonably priced for what we received and highly recommended for families!

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Reviewed yesterday

It was amazing. Staff is great. Awesome captain and the Divemaster kendra was just lovely. :) saw 3 Manatees and I loved it

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Reviewed yesterday

It was amazing and the guide and captain was funny and nice overall amazing. I will be back.

Captain: Dylan
Guide: Jessica

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Reviewed yesterday

The tour was amazing we were able to swim with the manatees in three different locations. The owner was super sweet and patience with our three kiddos.

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Reviewed yesterday

Our early morning boat ride was beautiful. Our Captain Tyler and Guide Miranda were great. However, we were told AFTER embarking on the trip that: 1. the water was murky and 2. the manatees have mostly left the springs because the Gulf water had warmed up. I feel we should have been told this BEFORE so we could decide to go or not. We did see a couple snouts poke out of the water and apparently there were 2 manatees spotted near the end of our ride time. We were rushed in the water and also had 3 other boats arguing whose turn it was. The ride was nice but the experience was not as adverised or worth the cost.

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Reviewed yesterday

We absolutely enjoyed our tour with the Manatees! Trish and Wade are top notch guides! You can tell they have lots of experience, and a love for what they do, and their tour did not disappoint. We luckily found the manatees quickly and got a lot of time in the water with them. My little one (7) got cold and went back to the boat early, Wade quickly heated up the boat and served him hot cocoa, and he was comfortable, the rest of us were able to keep floating. Trish was extremely good at always getting us a good view of the manatees and helping my sons stay in the appropriate position for viewing and very encouraging towards them. We also had the treat of seeing 2 large tarpon and hundreds of mullet. I could not recommend this company and Trish and Wade more! We went on the earliest tour for the best results and I feel like it was worth the early wake up and the money. We will definitely be back!

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Reviewed yesterday

We had the best time with Izzy! Even though it was late in the year and we didn’t see the manatees we had an amazing time checking out the freshwater springs and all the wildlife and nature in the area!
Thanks for the best day Izzy!

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Reviewed yesterday

Captain Troy and Guide Marissa made the tour a memorable experience. We were a group of six, two families with two young girls, age 10 and 11. Troy and Marissa were informative and reassuring for the girls. They took us to a cove where we experienced the manatees. Wow! The manatees are gentle giants! The water was pretty clear and the manatees were amazing. We also experienced a swim in a cove with underwater springs with fish and crystal clear water and bubbling sand.

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Reviewed yesterday

Despite poor conditions like murky water and late season John ( guide) and Captain Wayne worked hard to put us on manatees. We did see several surface. Underwater viz was only about 4ft so no pic underwater. One did play footsie with me. Good tour. The wetsuit made the water comfortable.

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Reviewed yesterday

Greta time. Captain Tom had a lot of knowledge. We were able to see at least 3 manatee. Lots of birds. He gave a great history lesson of the area.

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Reviewed yesterday

Derek and Walter were amazing and the best guides and Captain! They made sure we had the best experience and we want to request them when we come back! Thank y'all for everything!

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