Memories of Mohn

Swimming with manatees in Florida

Have you ever seen a manatee in the wild?

Florida is one of the best places to get this experience. So far, the only place Martin and I had seen manatees was in the zoo and to be honest it’s just way more magical watching animals in their natural habitat.

Getting close to the manatees

In case you’re curious or planning a trip to Florida in the winter months, keep reading!

Fun facts about the gentle giants

Manatees typically measure about 2 – 4,5 meters and weigh as much as 200 – 1000 kg. It looks like manatees are fat but they actually aren’t. They only have 2,5 cm of fat on their body and a very low metabolism, which is why they easily freeze. Manatees can’t survive temperatures below 20℃ (68℉) in longer periods of time. Normally they live in the Mexican Gulf but in the winter they seek shelter in warmer areas and swim to Florida’s many springs where the temperature in average is 22℃ (72℉) at this time of year.

That’s why we had very good chances of seeing the big manatees, as we visited Florida in January.

Where to see the manatees?

There’re many different places to spot the gentle giants, both at a distance and also up close. Especially in the area of Crystal River, they offer lots of guided tours with boats or the possibilities of swimming with them. Find your experience here on getyourguide. We had some really cool experiences in the eastern part of Florida though.

We had two different experiences!

Blue Spring State Park

About 40 minutes’ drive north of Orlando is Blue Spring State Park. Here’s a variation of different fish, birds and eagles. In winter season several hundreds manatees gather every single day in Blue Spring.

The day we visited, about 598 manatees were counted. It’s not possible to swim with the manatees here but you can watch them from the boardwalk and you’ll easily spot them, cause there’re MANY and the water is very clear.

Along the water and through the forrest you can walk the 1/3 mil boardwalk. At the end you’ll find a good view of the Spring. The manatees like to stay close to each other, which is why they are mostly gathered in the same place. Not far away from the gathering spot we saw an alligator very close to a smaller herd of manatees.

It really was a nice experience, but be aware that the park quickly fills up, so come as early as possible.

Entrance price: 6$ per car.

The park is open from 8 a.m. to sunset.

Silver Glen Springs

Approx. 1 hour and 10 minutes’ drive north of Orlando you’ll find Silver Glen Springs. We drove here based on a recommendation from a kind lady we met in another park. We drove to the park with very limited expectations, but when we left, we had the wildest energy boost ever. When we arrived we first went on a hike in the forest. It was okay but nothing crazy. BUT afterwards I wanted to take a dip in the water, and below surface, I got a big surprise.

When I got in the water, I saw a manatee peacefully relaxing at the bottom of the lake. I quickly realized that there were MANY more to be found. Especially one was SO curious that it kept following me and swimming into my leg, as it just wanted to say hi. It was the most magical experience and I loved being able to swim with the manatees without a big group of other people.

Of cause it’s important to mention that you must show the animals respect and stay calm while in their territory so you don’t disturb them.

Entrance fee: 8$ per person on weekdays and 11$ per person on weekends.

The park is open from 8 a.m. till 8 p.m. every day.

That's it for now!

I hope this post ‘Seeing the manatees up close in Florida’ was helpful or inspiring.

For me, experiences with wildlife is one of the best things and this one was definitely one of my favorites. Are you interested in other wildlife experiences? Check out our informative post about our safari trip in Kenya!

Have a lovely day!

– Anne Mohn

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