Go Local Manatee Tours - Crystal River, Florida

Island G.

If you are looking for a professional, yet personable outfit who goes above and beyond, then book with Go Local. Captain Walt and 1st Mate Josh were very knowledgeable about the area and manatee. They quickly got us in the water with a manatee that allowed us to tag along for over an hour! What a wonderful and informative experience we had. Extra bonus...they only operate 6 people per boat (yes, that REALLY matters) so much more peaceful experience with these gentle "sweet potatoes" manatees when there is not a crowd. We own a small owner operator business ourselves, so we love supporting local experts who are great at what they do. And, they did not disappoint!

Frank B.

Phenomenal experience! Josh and Walter were top tier guys - born and raised in the area! The tour was perfect and I’d highly recommend using “Go Local Manatee Tours”! It was also really nice that the boat was not overpacked like many of the other tour boats we saw. This company is the ONLY local tour company and they do not overstuff their boats. All around perfect excursion!

Robin R. M.

When you want to go swimming with manatees, go local! Go Local Manatee Tours gave us an amazing experience, even though we visited off-season, in the summer. We were lucky to get up close to two manatees, one of which was pregnant. Captain Walt and Josh were great with our 7-year-old, and we got lots of great pics without having to worry about an underwater camera, etc. Because of the time of year, we were lucky to get a private tour, basically, for just our family. They also recommended the best day and time to go, and were very knowledgeable about the area. Definitely would recommend.

Scott M.

Capt Pete and his staff at Go Local made my manatee experience spectacular. They were knowledgeable and helpful in helping me get the very best up close manatee encounter. I love the fact this company is owned and operated by locals. If you want the absolute best manatee experience book your tour with Go Local!

Lo

Did you know that this is the only locally owned and operated manatee tour in all of Crystal river? We didn’t until we booked this! Josh was an amazing tour guide and Marcus did an awesome job navigating us to manatees. We felt very safe and got to see several manatees, including some in Crystal clear water. Josh did great at photographing everything for us without getting in the way. They truly care for the manatees and treat them with the respect they deserve. I’d only recommend them to others. CAMEL.

Andrea L.

Such a great experience. We did the 4:00pm swim and would highly recommend it. We saw so many manatees swimming under and around us. We were amazed. Walter and Josh were so friendly, knowledgeable and found the perfect spot that was not busy at all for us to enjoy the afternoon. To top off our excursion, they made sure we left in time to see a fabulous sunset which made us so happy. Thank you for making our manatee adventure wonderful.

Beth

Go Local tours were fantastic. We did the 10am manatee tour. Small group was wonderful. We saw a ton of manatees. Walter and Derrick were the best guides, they knew were exactly to go to see manatees. Derrick made sure we experienced everything we wanted in the water, Walter had our warm drinks for us after our swim. Highly recommend! We will be back!

Danielle L.

This tour Was amazing! We went early in the morning to three Sister Springs and the manatees were everywhere. There were several that were so interactive, grabbing onto our legs and hugging us. Our swim guide, Josh captured some great photos of everybody and really helped all of us to safely interact with the manatees. Once we were done with the swim, Walter, the captain helped to get us warm and provided us with coffee and hot chocolate and mochas.

The really nice thing about this tour company is that they keep the number of people small. I think it’s under six. You get a very personalized experience. We were one of the first boats out to the springs before it started to really get crowded about 45 minutes later.

I would highly recommend this tour company if you’re going out to see the manatees.