Manatee Season Clear Kayak Tour of Tarpon Springs
Description
Manatee Season Alert: Cooler days mean better chances of spotting manatees! Adventure through Tarpon Springs in your 100% clear kayak! Start your journey paddling across the scenic Anclote River. Along the way, you’ll learn about the fascinating history of Tarpon Springs’ iconic Sponge Docks and the area’s vibrant Greek culture. The adventure continues with a stop at a serene mangrove island. Here, your guide will help you search for birds, crabs, and other hidden creatures that call the island home. Glide through the picturesque bayous, passing stunning Victorian-style mansions and the charming Craig Park. Your route takes you into Spring Bayou, a warm-water sanctuary often visited by manatees during the cooler months. Keep your eyes peeled for these gentle giants! Your guide will share fascinating insights, answer your questions, and ensure you have an unforgettable experience paddling through the stunning waters of Tarpon Springs!
Tour Options
Itinerary
We'll paddle across the Anclote river and visit a mangrove island that is home to a wide variety of wildlife. Keep your eyes peeled for a variety of birds, crabs, and even a dolphin! We'll also talk about the Sponge Docks and the history of the sponging in Tarpon Springs. If you're lucky, you may even see a sponge boat in the Anclote River! Wildlife sightings are at random and not guaranteed.
You'll paddle through the beautiful bayous of Tarpon Springs, stopping at Craig Park, which is at the very heart of Tarpon Springs. You'll paddle by the incredible Victorian-style mansions from the town's first settlers in the 19th Century.
You'll be on the lookout for manatees as your guide leads the way to Spring Bayou - where you'll take in the views of "Golden Crescent" right from your clear kayak! Be on the lookout for manatees as they surface for air. Manatees use the warmer water of Spring Bayou as a sanctuary during the winter months.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- For your safety, we have a weight limit of 250 lbs per guest, and a combined limit of 425 lbs for two people in a tandem kayak
Reviews(290)
My husband and I had a great time on the kayak tour. We saw dolphins playing in the water by us, flocks of pelicans, and many manatees. Our guide Alex was friendly and knowledgeable, taught us a lot about the wildlife. Highly recommend.
Thank you for the wonderful review! We're so glad you and your husband had such a great experience on the water with Alex. Seeing dolphins, pelicans, and even manatees all in one trip is truly special! Alex will be happy to hear your kind words—he loves sharing his knowledge about the wildlife and making the tour memorable. We truly appreciate the recommendation and hope to see you back for another adventure soon!
We had a great time on our glass bottom kayaking tour out of Tarpon Springs. We saw plenty of manatees, a couple dolphins and lots of pelicans. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable, and I really liked how respectful she was of the manatees. She made sure we stayed a safe amount of distance away from them but still had plenty of opportunities to see them pop up close by. It takes a bit of time to get to the manatees which we expected. The way out was pretty smooth, but coming back, the current and wind made it very difficult. I recommend considering this when booking. Upper body strength is definitely important.
Thank you for the wonderful and thoughtful review! We're so glad you had such a great experience on the water and were able to see manatees, dolphins, and pelicans—that’s always special. It’s great to hear your guide made safety and respect for the manatees a priority while still giving you a close-up experience. We also really appreciate you sharing insight about the conditions. Wind and current can definitely make the return a bit more challenging at times, and that’s helpful for future guests to keep in mind. We're so glad you still had an enjoyable adventure overall and hope to see you back on the water again soon!
Great guide, they were gracious with us arriving a few minutes late. The area itself was a bit underwhelming, given there no were no manatees.
Thank you for your feedback! We're glad to hear you had a positive experience with your guide and appreciate your kind words about their flexibility. Manatee sightings can vary depending on the season and conditions, but we’re happy you still got to enjoy time out on the water. We hope you’ll join us again for another adventure—there’s always something new to see out there!
Raven was the best tour guide ever! Kept the whole 2 hour excursion entertaining.
Thank you for the great review! We're so glad you had such a fun experience on the water with Raven. She loves keeping the tours engaging and making sure everyone has a memorable time. We appreciate you joining us and hope to see you back for another adventure soon!
Great weather and the guide was very friendly and interactive with the group. Unfortunately we did not see any manatees which is why we booked the tour, but overall a good experience.
Thank you for the review! We're glad you had a good experience and enjoyed the great weather and friendly guide. While manatees can sometimes be unpredictable, we're happy to hear the tour was still enjoyable overall. We appreciate you joining us and hope you'll come back for another paddle—hopefully next time the manatees will make an appearance!
Raven was our guide. She was very knowledgeable and made the experience fun and enjoyable. We were able to see manatee and dolphins. This is definitely something I would do again.
Thank you for the wonderful review! We're so glad you had such a fun and enjoyable experience with Raven. Seeing both manatees and dolphins on the same trip is always a special bonus! We truly appreciate you joining us and hope to see you back on the water again soon!
Our guide Raven was so casual & fun to help everyone on our tour feel comfortable & confident in the kayaks. We were fortunate to see four dolphins fishing and playing, even breaching. We got to see one manatee and spent time watching him surface on his good ole time. Much fun!
Thank you for the wonderful review! We're so glad you had such a fun experience on the water with Raven. Seeing dolphins fishing and playing—especially breaching—is always incredible, and spotting a manatee surfacing is such a special moment. Raven will be happy to hear you enjoyed the tour and felt comfortable out on the water. We hope to see you back for another adventure soon!
Raven was amazing! So informative and fun! Would 100% recommend!
Thank you for the wonderful review! We're so glad you had such a fun and informative experience with Raven. She loves sharing her knowledge and making the tour enjoyable for everyone. We truly appreciate the recommendation and hope to see you back on the water again soon!
This was such a great time. Our tour guide Raven was incredible. She was very informative and personable. Not only giving us a great tour where we lucky to see manatee. Highly recommend this tour.
Thank you for the wonderful review! We're so glad you had such a great time on the tour with Raven. She loves sharing information about the area while making the experience fun and personable for everyone. Seeing a manatee is always such a special bonus! We truly appreciate the recommendation and hope to see you back out on the water again soon!
Great trip with Alex. Learned a lot about manatees as well as the local birds. Lots of information, thank you Alex!
Thank you for the great review! We're so glad you enjoyed the trip with Alex and learning about the manatees and local birdlife. He loves sharing information about the wildlife and ecosystem while making the tour a great experience. We hope to see you back on the water again soon!
