Guided Kayaking Manatee Tour near Orlando
- 1h 30m
- Free cancellation up to 24h before
- Guided in English
- Instant confirmation
Highlights
Blue Springs is the closest spot for manatee kayaking near Orlando, just about an hour from the airport! Each year, record numbers of manatees (over 600) migrate to the warmer 72-degree waters during the colder months. Join me for a paddle on Florida’s longest river, the St. Johns, as we search for these incredible creatures alongside other wildlife like alligators, turtles, and a variety of birds. From November to March, during manatee season, the Blue Springs run transforms into a manatee sanctuary and is closed to swimmers and paddlers. My sit-on-top kayaks offer the best view of these gentle giants as they glide by. (there is a max weight limit of 250lbs for the single kayaks and 450lbs for the tandem)****Please note if you need a two person tandem****My kayak tours are capped at 6 kayaks per tour, perfect for families and smaller groups!
Inclusions
What's included
- Local Knowledgeable Guide
- Two Person Tandem available upon reguest with 2 single purchase.
- Kayak and paddle, life vest/whistle, dry bags for wallet, keys, and phone
What's not
- Bottled water
- Sunblock
- Tip for you guide(if you had an amazing time!)
- Sunglasses(polarized preferred) to see underwater better
- Hat (there is no shade on the water)
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.
Reviews
5.0
- 539
- 40
- 30
- 20
- 10
Ratings come from 39 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.
Showing reviews written in English.
5Amazing
Amazing and very cool. The location was easy to get to and the guide was very knowledgeable.
5AWA Manatee Tours - Can't wait to do it again!
Aaron was an amazing guide and took my friend and I exactly where manatees were hanging out. Aaron was very knowledgeable of the land, biology, and just a cool guy to hang out with. Highly recommended for anyone wanting an immersive tour and I can't wait to bring my family from out of state to do this again!
5Fun beginner friendly experience
Fun informative trip with a knowledgeable guide. Saw manatees and gators! Recommend!
5Fun experience!
If you want to experience something fun in the Orlando area that's not a theme park, you've gotta try this! I was in Orlando helping my son settle into his apartment for the Disney College Program, and since program participants receive free tickets to visit the parks, he and his friends decided last minute to visit Epcot. That left me with time to myself to have a solo excursion for the day. I found AWA tours on TripAdvisor and booked a manatee kayak tour near Blue Springs State Park for the next morning at 10 am. I received a confirmation text from the tour operator, Aaron, pretty quickly regarding details is what to bring, how to get there and where the closest restrooms were before arriving to the meeting spot. I gave myself 1.5 hours to get to the meeting point but due to morning work traffic, my ETA kept getting pushed back, but I luckily arrived just a few minutes after 10 am. Turns out I was the only one on the tour so I got a personal guide! I appreciated that it wasn't cancelled on me since no one else booked a tour that time. I figured that we probably would not see any manatees because it wasn't high manatee season, but Aaron assured me that we would see some that day. We paddled out around the water and saw a bald eagle as well as many other kinds of birds. I heard crocs croaking at each other. And finally when we reached the other side of the water, we saw manatees! I told Aaron multiple times that he is a manatee whisperer as they would come to his paddle board and play with him. It was so cute to watch their interaction. As we made our way close to the springs, you could see the change in the color of water to a clear green shade. That's where we were able to see a mama manatee and her baby and a few other male manatees. This was definitely a highlight of my FL trip. I loved the serenity of being in the water and surrounded by nature, and especially watching the manatees in their natural habitat. I highly recommend AWA kayak tours if you want to do someone unique in central FL!
5Great Tour with a great guide
We had a great tour. Aaron is a fantastic guide and took care of everything. We saw manatees, alligators, and a wide variety of birds. We never felt unsafe at any point. Highly recommended.
5Stop Looking- Choose This Tour!!
Look no further! We chose this tour because the reviews for the guide, aaron, were amazing. They were so true! Aaron is so knowledgeable about the area and wildlife and he’s just an overall nice dude. Kept us laughing and made us feel so welcome. We just hung out while the manatees were playing right beside us. Saw a few gators as well. Overall the best experience I’ve had on a tour. So much fun.
Know before you go
- Meeting point
- When you put in Blue Springs State park into your maps app, go past the entrance of the park, do NOT enter the park, go to the end of the dirt road where there is a boat ramp. That is our launch location for the tour. PLEASE DO NOT GO INTO THE PARK!
- Pickup
- Everyone meets at the starting point; there is no pickup.
- Ticket type
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Group size
- Up to 9 travellers
- Operated by
- AWA Kayak Tours
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- not wheelchair accessible
How it compares in Orlando
- Its from-price is 53% below the median of the 870 experiences we list in Orlando.
- Its length is typical for the group.
- By number of reviews it ranks 120 of 870.
- The operator lists free cancellation on it.
About Orlando
Orlando is the theme-park heart of central Florida, ringed by famous resorts, water parks and wildlife, with lakes and clear springs to cool off in.
The city's fame rests on its theme parks. Walt Disney World spreads across four parks southwest of town, from the Magic Kingdom's fairy-tale castle to Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. Universal Orlando adds movie-themed thrill rides and immersive themed lands, and SeaWorld and a string of water parks complete the circuit.
Top-ranked sights in Orlando: Clearwater Beach, WonderWorks Orlando, Kennedy Space Center.
Special offers in Orlando
Was/now prices come from the operator, never from us.
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