The trip was amazing. We saw a lot of manatees, one mother and baby and even spotted a dolphin! Captain Chris and our guide Mike were brilliant. So helpful and knowledgeable. Was the highlight of our holiday. Word of advice - bring towels and warm clothing for after the swim 😃

We had a GREAT time swimming with manatees at River Ventures! First, they were VERY up front with us that we weren't going to see hundreds of manatees because at this point in the year most of them had headed back to the Gulf of Mexico. However, the half dozen or so I did see were still a highlight of my life so far. Our guide Crosby swam around looking for manatees and then pointed us where to go. I'm telling you, NOTHING prepares you for how huge these beautiful animals are. I think we were in the water around 90 minutes or so, and to be frank, it is quite exhausting. The nice thing is that you are welcome to seek back to the boat at anytime. My 8yo son got in the water and then decided he didn't want anything to do with this, so he hung out on the boat with Captain Emerson (hopefully he wasn't being too annoying for you Cap). Overall I would highly recommend going to River Ventures. I could tell that they care very deeply for the manatees and do their best to prepare you on the dos and don'ts on how to behave around them. My recommendation for anyone that want to see A LOT of manatees is to go in the winter. But yeah, 10/10 experience! Thanks Crosby and Emerson!

My sister and our daughters experienced this tour and had so much fun. Marissa and Captain Chris were amazing, informative, kind, and so fun! Swimming with the manatees was exhilarating. Captain Chris and Marissa knew exactly where to go to give us great views. This was definitely an experience of a lifetime.

The tour was OK I guess. We expected a lot more. It started with the video in the beautiful nature. Unfortunatelly, the Springs were nothing like what we saw in the video. It was crowded (the tour was at 8 a.m.) and the water was not clear at all. The caprain took us a bit further down where we saw two marked manatees. We had to swimm quite a bit, there were three kids on our tour (incl. our 8 and 12-year old) and they had quite enough. The water was not warm and neoprens did not sit well. It was OK for us but all kids were cold. Once the tour quide said the manatees left for the Gulf, it was clear that we will not see anything. It might have been great but not end of March where there are very few left. Plus we were dissapointed while we expected something similar like in the video we saw and not a tiny spring lake full of boots and people. If I knew this, I wouldn’t book the tour for this kund if money. For me and my family, it was only 50% experience. Captain, tour guide and staff were all nice.

Our tour guide Marisa and captain Chris made sure we had a great time! They made sure that everyone in the group was able to see a manatee. It was my first time snorkeling and they made sure the mask fit and that we were all good. Two manatees swam underneath me. I cannot wait to do it again!

Mike and Troy were most patient and excellent tour guides. They made the experience wonderful. Manatees are my son’s favorite animal . A manatee came right up in front of him.

It was a lot of fun! 2 of us went in the water and 2 of us stayed on the boat and was a great experience for all of us. Chris and Crosby made it even better with their jokes

This was an absolutely amazing experience and was definitely worth it! There was wonderful guides/captains (we had Irish Dave and Carlos) who made the experience even better!

It was amazing to swim with such gentle giants and experience it with my daughter. Our captain and tour guides were awesome!

Second time coming to Florida, specifically to swim with the manatees. We came last year but someone had set it up for us so when we bought the tickets online we got the wrong ones and we were supposed to get a private tour because we have a three-year-old. The front desk woman, whose name I did not catch but she had glasses and was super cute, figured it out for us and let us go on a boat with another two groups. I felt so bad, we had just drove an hour and a half and I was going to be devastated if it couldn’t be worked out some way. I was bawling. (Sorry!) I had come last year at the end of September but wasn’t able to see much due to the hurricane that came through shortly before we arrived. We debated one going with a different company but decided to revisit River Ventures. I was trying not to get my hopes up, but we found some right away. A mama and a calf sleeping quietly near a dock. The water wasn’t as crystal clear as it could have been but I got to see them!! With my own eyes! The baby came up over to me and I was freaking out!! It was a better experience for sure. My son has autism and was in the cold water with my husband a bit away so they wouldn’t scare any of the manatees off, but they got to see it too. We got some cool pics off my camera but then better pics from the Go Pro from Mike. Kelley was an awesome boat captain, we had her last time and she remembered us when we got off the shuttle and onto the boat. All in all, I got to see the manatees and that is what I came to Florida from California for. It was a wonderful experience and I am grateful I took the chance to see the manatees again. I’m still fighting stage 4 cervical cancer, so these trips mean so much to us as a family.

My mind is blown! I never actually thought our experience at the end of March could be so amazing! We saw tons of manatees and everything was perfectly organized, comfortable and fun!! Captain Mike and tour guide Mike made our day an absolute blast. I truly can’t recommend this place enough!

A great experience. Marissa is an excellent guide and very knowledgeable on all things manatee! Captain Chris is great as well! Dress warm and bring an extra set of clothes!

We had a great time on the morning trip with Crosby, Jayson and Carlos! They were funny and did a great job making sure everyone had a great time. Thanks guys!! And if you are considering booking a trip--do it!!

I've been on a tour with River Ventures before, but this time I'm not as impressed as before. Our captain was fine but the fotographer who was in the water seemed less experienced. We were two groups on the boat. The other group almost chased the one manatee we saw. Every time it raised its head they swam directly to it and several times into it. They would be on top of it when it came from the bottom. They splashed, stood upright in the water, yelled, swam into us, pushed our group away and did not follow the guidelines. I do not understand why the inwater guy did not ask them to return to the boat. To top it off the guy only took video’s ( no pictures) none of the videos were of the manatee and most of the video’s they showed his fingeres, toes or the other family. So unfortunally, I would if I would return, choose another company. Which is sad cause they used to give the absolutely best experience. But this time it was a waste of money to be honest!

We did a private Manatee swim tour. We were 4 adults and 4 kids but 2 of the kids are special needs. We were with Captain Kelly and a guide- Crosby. The water was cold and we were in wet suits. We were on a pontoon boat that had a top and plastic sides that would roll down. We had a cold snap the day/night before so it was quite cool. We stoped in Kings Bay as 3 sisters was too crowded. We saw numerous manatees but the water was murky. If i did it again I would deal with the crowds at 3 sisters. But the water was so cold the 2 younger kids did not last very long. We appreciate the patience of Kelly & Crosby.

Both Crosby and Chris were very focused on providing us with the best possible experience. We saw a manatee, very clear water and bubbling springs.

Amazing time! This was our first trip with small children, 6 and 8. I was also 5 months pregnant. They had a large size range of wetsuits for us. We were worried about if they had a suit big enough for my husband who is 6’ 6” and usually wears a Xxl in most sizes, and they had a great fit for him as well as a comfortable suit for my pregnant belly. Dani was our instructor and Mike our captain. Both were entertaining and compassionate. My youngest had a hard time getting in the water and Dani made it look like magic as she let him ride on her back to go see the manatees! So awesome! That made a world of difference to the trip for me! Mike was equally patient when he needed to move the boat to get closer to the group so we didn’t need to swim as far! We will definitely request them again in our next tour.

Lyndsay and Emerson make a great team! Lyndsay was passionate and educated about all things aquatic, and Captain Emerson always had a good story to share.

Words cannot express the gratitude I had for the tour guide and boat captain on River Ventures. I had lost my phone while swimming on tour and was freaking out because I wouldn’t be able to leave Florida without it since it had my ID! In under 15 minutes, our talented captain Jason located my phone sitting at the bottom of the murky water about 15-25 feet away from the boat. If our tour guides weren’t excellent divers and hosts, I probably wouldn’t have my phone now to leave this review. They were very kind, knowledgeable, funny, and made my first experience swimming with manatees amazing. Also offered options to swim in clear water or dive for interesting sights as well. Crosby and Jason were awesome. For people who aren’t strong swimmers this tour was very easy to keep up with. I would recommend this to anyone as it is an experience of a lifetime. These guys went above and beyond for our group which I am really thankful for.

This was an amazing experience! We had so much fun! Our guide/in water photographer, James, and I believe his name was Ang?… the boat driver were very knowledgeable and made this experience even better! The best part was definitely being up close with the manatees. I highly recommend doing this through this company because they made us feel so comfortable and everyone was so nice!