Manatees and other dives

[fjpatrum]

The shop I frequent has a trip in early Feb for snorkeling with the manatees followed by a river dive then doing blue hole and another location (devil's something???) the following day.

Right now it's debatable whether I can make the trip dates, but I'd really like to do something this winter. My wife suggested we book a last minute trip over the holiday week next week.

So, with that in mind I'm looking for recommendations on best outfits to go snorkel with the manatees and also other "nearby" locations such as blue hole to dive. Shop recommendations would be good for the diving portion as well, since I don't have a built-in partner.

Also if anyone local to the area is interested in showing a newb around, that would be great.

 

[CaptEsteban]

The shop was probably going to the snorkeling with manatees at Crystal River, then a Rainbow River drift dive, near Dunnellon. Devils Den is a dive in Williston . All are within a 50 mile area.
Crystal Lodge Dive Center , or Birds Underwater are 2 shops in Crystal River I could recommend. They can also line you up for Rainbow River. For that dive , there is not a shop on the river, so you need to bring your own gear or rent from Crystal River. You also need a boat to take you upstream & drop you off for the drift down. I suggest booking with a shop that has the boat staying with you for the drift.
You also need to take your own gear to Devils Den . Blue Grotto is another good dive a couple of miles away from there, too.

 

[porgyhunter]

Hey fj; Had a problem years ago diving solo when ''checking'' into springs. Finally went to Salt Springs to dive with Manatees but they said it was ''hit or miss'' to see them. Evidently kids play with them all the time there ''Its kinda in the middle of nowhere'' No problem solo just need a flag. Good Luck!

 

[CaptEsteban]

Yes, diving solo isn't allowed in Springs & Parks, , but most any time you can tell the clerk that you need a dive buddy & they will ask others who come in. Or ask those already in the area. I have never had to wait over an hour to find a buddy. It is $15 to dive in State Parks & most all commercial spring sites are nearly $40.

 

[RiverVentures]

Lots of manatee right now in Crystal River. Last count conducted in the second week of December showed right around 570 manatees in King's Bay alone with 48 of those being babies. the FWC has installed a webcam at Three Sisters that is accessible by the general public at Start You will have to click on "single" tab at the top of the page to view the live feed and for first time visitors to the cam you may need to install an active-x controller.

This is a busy week for all of us operators here so make sure you call in advance to reserve a tour, you may have a difficult time finding availability on a walk in basis.

Good luck, have fun, just make sure you are aware of the rules, and that you follow them when with the manatees. Enforcement is at an all time high this season.

 

[Katch]

I went with American Pro Diving this past Wednesday. They did a manatee snorkle, and a cavern dive in the same area (finished by noon). We just swam back to the boat and suited up for the cavern. There were tons (literally) of manatees. They come right up to you and will roll over to let you scratch their bellies

For a scuba newbie like me, the cavern dive was pretty cool too. It was only about a half-hour @ 50ft dive, but swimming through the dark caverns was an interesting experience. I see more of that in my diving future. For me, it was a little complicated working a flashlight and camera while paying attention to my buoyancy and not stiring up too much of the bottom. The trick was just to stay relaxed (duh).

Here's a couple pics:

 

[RDRINK25]

We are going diving on rainbow river Jan 1st and snorkeling Jan 2nd in the am. We are using Crystal River Dive Lodge it is $10pp for the rainbow river dive and $15pp for the snorkel. You are more than welcome to tag along if you have nobody to dive with or even if you do.

 

[fjpatrum]

Thanks everyone... looks like we're going to try going at the end of this month instead of this week. I appreciate the offer of a buddy, RDRINK25.

 

[bilsant]

I've only done the manatee snorkel once. We went last February with Bird's Underwater and had a truly fabulous time. I recommend them highly, and as we had new snorkelers with us, the DM went out of her way to make it fun for everyone.