Manatee Paddle

I had a fun and relaxing time paddleboarding in Crystal River. I found Manatee Paddle online and rented a paddleboard for 3 hours for ~$45. When I showed up at the shop, they gave me a map and marked the spots where I'll see manatees. He even gave me a snorkel mask to use for free, if I chose to swim.

The boat/paddleboard drop-off is about a 5 minute walk from the store. There is also paid parking right by it, but I chose to park at the free public parking spot. One of the employees met me there with the board, paddle, life vest, snorkel mask.

The gear were in great condition. I easily made my way to the Three Sisters area and saw a couple manatees. They were just chilling in the water. It was so exciting to see these beautiful creatures! I can just sit there all day watching them.

I also went for a little swim into Three Sisters Springs. The water was really clear. They provide a rope for you to tie up the paddle board.

I highly recommend renting from Manatee Paddle. Nice guy manning the front desk and great customer service.

Great time with the family, saw lots of manatees in late March. Easy launch, not a lot of motorized traffic

Brought my two young girls (5&7) and it was a lot of fun. It was a bit of work but got to see lots of manatees, fish and underwater spring. Staff and captain were amazing and greeted us with coffee and hot chocolate in the morning. Our kiddos had to come back to boat about 15 mins early as they were tired but captain had more water and hot chocolate and we were able to view more manatee from the boat.

Saturday afternoon family adventure couldn't gave gone better.

Everyone at Manatee was great to work with. The man on the phone was informative and did not get annoyed with my questions. The woman at the register was friendly and knowledgeable. The guys putting us in and out of the water were friendly and helpful.

Great business. We will use again when we are in town.

We rented from Elijah at Manatee Paddle, he was so awesome to work with. Price was very reasonable and Elijah's recommendations were great highly recommended using this shop for your paddle rental!!!

We were greeted warmly upon our entrance into the store. The reservation went seamlessly and I was very happy with the service and product provided.

Original review 2018. Loved our paddle trip today. Manatee Paddle set us up for a 3hr tour. They are super chill and will take care of your crew.

Their place is easily accessed, not far from where you put in at Crystal River. The equipments rented worked great. The staff is very friendly and will answer all your questions.

We would definitely use them again.

Went again in 2019. Still great equipment and service!

Amazing and always kind and loving staff. Always recommending my snow birds for the season.

I originally called with a few questions and the front desk was kind and offered great answers. We went ahead and booked because it was the best price around . When we arrived the front desk told us all we needed to know, again super kind. We parked in the kings bay parking (only 5$) and it's right where you launch. The gear was In great condition! I recommend getting at least 1 snorkel and mask, it's cool to look under the water. We choose to do 3 hours and it was a perfect amount of time to go to 3 sisters and out to a further spring. We were able to see 4 manatees on this trip! Overall a great company!

Went there yesterday to paddle board with my spouse. The front desk lady was very nice and owner as well. No appointment (got lucky) and ended renting a paddle board for a busy day.

I was not cognizant of the time and decided to book 4 hours and paid what was due and they lent us an extra life jacket (no cost) bc we forgot ours. A couple of minutes later the owner came out and asked if my credit card was ran and he realized that I would be in the water for about 3.5 hours which he could've not said anything about but would've been cheaper. The difference in money was an immaterial amount and what led me to write this post. It was his actions and coming back to me to tell me about the discrepancy. He lent me the life jacket and in turn kept the original amount paid. I believe in ethical business practices and this small business owner just earned him a repeat customer and word-of-mouth advertising.

Thank you!!