2 hours
4 PM daily
From $55 per person
Ages 2 and up
Shared boat, 6 guests max
5297 S Cherokee Way, Homosassa
Spend the morning floating with manatees, then spend the late afternoon chasing dolphins. Well, not chasing. Watching. That's the whole point.
We run down the Homosassa River and out into the Gulf of Mexico, where wild bottlenose dolphins feed along the flats. Some days they're cruising. Some days they're feeding, splashing and showing off. Our captains find them on about 8 of every 10 trips, and the river ride out is worth the trip on its own: bald eagles, ospreys, mangrove islands, and shell mounds left by the people who fished this river long before any of us.
We follow NOAA's Dolphin SMART viewing guidelines for watching wild dolphins without changing their behavior. In plain English:
We stay at least 50 yards back and come alongside slowly, never head-on.
We put the engine in neutral when dolphins come near and let them pass.
We don't feed, touch, or swim with wild dolphins, and we never box them in.
We keep it to about half an hour with any one group, then leave them be.
Same idea as our manatee tours: the animal decides how close it wants to get. You'll get better looks that way, and the dolphins get to keep being dolphins.
Bring
Sunglasses, a hat, sunscreen, and a camera with some zoom. The best photos come from a respectful distance.
You stay dry
This is a boat trip, not a swim.
Booked separately
From your manatee tour. Many guests take a morning manatee tour and come back for the 4 PM departure.
No dolphins?
It happens on about 2 trips in 10. You'll still have had 2 hours on one of the prettiest rivers in Florida.
Not the freshwater river dolphins of South America or Asia. The dolphins here are common bottlenose dolphins, the same species you'll find along Florida's whole coast. They live in the Gulf and in bays, estuaries and river mouths, which is why people often call them river dolphins. On this trip we run down the Homosassa River and out to the Gulf flats where they feed.
Close. We leave from Homosassa, about 11 miles (around 20 minutes by car) south of Crystal River, and run down the Homosassa River into the Gulf of Mexico. If you're staying in Crystal River, our dock at Monkey Island Riverside Resort is an easy drive, and you can pair the 4 PM dolphin trip with a morning manatee tour.
That's a Nature Coast day.
Book your manatee tour
Every tour is a small boat with six guests or fewer. Choose a tour to see dates and times.
Private
$450 per boat, up to 6
Groups up to 24 on 4 boats
Departs 7, 10 and 1
Private, more water time
$585 per boat, up to 6
Groups up to 24 on 4 boats
Departs 8 AM and 1 PM
Private, lunch included
$999 per boat, up to 6
Groups up to 24 on 4 boats
Departs 8 AM
Not sure which one? Compare the tours
More than six in your group? Call 352-257-8687
