Best Place to see Manatees in Tampa Bay

Prior to moving to Tampa, I really wasn't aware of manatees. Sure, I saw them at an aquarium once. But living in the Northeast, manatees were not spoken about often. So I'm sure you can understand my surprise when I started to hear about excursions where you could swim with manatees or visit a manatee viewing center. So being the FunSized Frolicker that I am, I had to go exploring and see what these manatees were all about. So here's what I did...

Let's talk swimming with manatees first! For this excursion, I booked it through TripShock, which is how I find a lot of my excursions, especially here in Florida! I did this with Crystal River Watersports which is a little over an hour north of Tampa. Prepare to get up bright and early for this excursion because the earlier you get up, the better chance you have to see the manatees. For this 3 hour tour, you are brought out to Kings Bay, where the local guides know the "hot spots" to find the manatees. Throughout the boat ride, they teach you more about these interesting creatures, especially so you know how to treat and respect them in their natural habitat.

This was a really cool experience to have, one that I never thought of doing prior to living in Florida! Watch the video of my swim with manatees below:

The next way to see manatees is a free way, which we absolutely love! The Manatee Viewing Center is a venue located in Apollo Beach that you can visit for free from November to April. Manatees are around the Tampa Bay area all year round, but they specifically come into the canals of the Manatee Viewing Center during this time frame because when the temperature drops in the Gulf, this where the manatees go to warm up.

In the video below, I visited the Center, a little too early and there weren't any manatees there yet, but I've heard how packed those canals can get with them, I just haven't seen it for myself yet. But have no fear, in case you don't see any manatees, you can still touch string rays in their touch tank, and walk on their countless trails and take in the views around the Bay. Then, head on down to Finn's Apollo Beach for their happy hour! I'm not affiliated, I just think they have a great deal, good food & drinks that come with an even better waterfront view!

Sure, you can get lucky seeing them just out and about around Tampa Bay, but these two options give you a more likely chance to see them!

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