Snorkel Or Dive The Amazing Rainbow River Florida
4.5
Snorkel Or Dive The Amazing Rainbow River Florida
By American Pro Diving Center
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About
Lowest price guaranteeReserve now & pay laterFree cancellation
Ages 1-99, max of 15 per group
Duration: 3h 30m
Start time: Check availability
Mobile ticket
Live guide: German, Japanese, English, French, Danish, Dutch, Spanish
More
- Equipment available for rent.
- US Coast Guard certified captain.
- Available for snorkelers,divers and riders.
What's not included- Gratuities
- County charges fifteen dollars per person for parking and use of facilities.
- Towel and swimsuit.
- Equipment available for rent.
- Vehicle transportation.
- Start:
- 821 SE US Hwy 19, Crystal River, FL 34429, USA
End:This activity ends back at the meeting point. - Wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Infants must sit on laps
- Infant seats available
- Transportation is wheelchair accessible
- Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
If you have questions about accessibility, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 107016P4- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Scuba Divers must present open water certification or higher
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Equipment available for rent at time of check-in.
- Please arrive at our center 30 minutes before your reserved tour time
- Please have your swimsuit on underneath your clothes for a quicker check-in
- Don’t forget your towel and a smile
- Most travelers can participate
- This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
- This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travelers
- For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.
- If you have questions about this tour or need help making your booking, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 107016P4
From
$75.00
per adult
Select date and travelers
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About the operator
Don’t take it from us – here’s what people have to say about this operator:
- 402leonam0 contributionsGetting satisfied with familyI had a great time with dive master Rodney(the big one) #527582 and Jhon #408210 were very nice. Me and my family got dive certified and plan to continue diving bit we need to still buy our own gear so it may be a while but it was a fun experience compared to our last attempt were 3 people in our party drowned and one had to be rushed to the hospital. Rodney helped her tremendously by walking her through it and being positive. It was a worth while experience.Written December 1, 2024
- laylamG4284PK0 contributionsFinishing dive of the marceaux family.The dive masters (Rodney pippenger, and John spann) where amazing teachers. They made us feel safe and much more comfortable than before. I hope to dive with the two again.Written December 1, 2024
- kallie20110 contributionsThanksgiving on Crystal River Area/Rainbow River Drift DiveWe did the Manatee tour with Austin and Abby. It was great. We got to see quite a few of these gentle giants and really had a great morning. The drift dive down Rainbow River was a fantastic experience. John was a great Dive Guide and Aiden did a great job with the boat. Really thought John was great as it had been awhile since our last dives. They got us set up and think it was a great experience. I would definitely recommend using American Pro Dive Center!Written November 28, 2024
- sophiae3740 contributionsChildren’s core memory unlocked!We had a blast swimming with the manatees during our Thanksgiving Holiday vacation. This was our second time, but we had my 5 year old daughter with us this time and it will definitely be a core memory for her. Shout out to our Captain Austin and our diver Abbey! They were great and treated us to a cup of hot cocoa after our swim! Definitely recommend this excursion!!!Written November 26, 2024
- Steve S0 contributionsManatee Snorkel and Rainbow River DiveAmerican Pro has a great crew of boat captains and DM’s. I make it a point to do a dive with them anytime I’m in townWritten November 24, 2024
- I298XPronb0 contributionsManatee swimming“An amazing experience swimming with manatees! Rodney from Pro Dive Center was fantastic—knowledgeable, friendly, and respectful of the wildlife. He made the day unforgettable. Highly recommend!”Written November 21, 2024
- angelawE3231MF0 contributionsOpen Water Scuba Certification Course - Amazing experienceSpecial thanks to Rodney, Bruce, TJ, and Abbey! Wonderful individuals that amplified our scuba experience! Grateful for you all! We’ll be back soon!Written November 17, 2024
- K3582UMchristopherw0 contributionsRODNEY NEEDS A PAY RAISE, DEFINITELY THE BEST INSTRUCTOR.Rodney was awesome. Definitely a top notch instructor with all of the knowledge and skill for diving. TJ and Abby are very helpful with the shop and knowledge of equipment.Written November 17, 2024
- colej4440 contributionsGreat dive guidesWent diving in Blue Grotto and Devils Den with them. Had a great time highly recommended diving with them very knowledgeable.Written November 13, 2024
- Qiqibarr0 contributionsBest way to spend the dayWe had John and Aiden for our Rainbow River Snorkeling/Scuba trip. They were friendly and answered all of our questions, their help with equipment was much appreciated too. The water was perfect and a relaxing way to spend the afternoon, even as beginners in scuba. Purchasing the photo/videos taken is a bit pricey, I believe it was $40, but you do get it on a cute manatee usb so it's very worthwhile if you don't have snorkel or scuba footage already.Written November 12, 2024
- J2250JXbrandons0 contributionsTriple dive excursionRodney and his team really took care of us. Made our experience fantastic. Superior to the local shops. American pro dive center has an extensive assortment of dive gear.Written November 8, 2024
- 654nabihahc0 contributions10/10 Recommend!We had a great time with Captain Rodny and Bruce snorkeling with Manatees! We were inexperienced swimmers and this was our first time snorkeling. We felt super safe and Rodny walked us through every step! Recommend 10/10!Written November 4, 2024
- Arno v0 contributionsGreat tripFlorida Vacation: This morning it was time for snorkeling with the manatees. On advice, we booked a tour at American Pro Diving Center. We were warmly welcomed by John, our captain for the trip. The start is already good, they take their time for you and after the instructional video it is time to go boating and snorkeling. At the boat Ayden was already waiting for us. John and Ayden are very well known in these waters. They took us to a nice place to snorkel, in the clear water we could see the manatees very well. Back on the boat the hot tea or chocolate was waiting. Highly recommended. Best Regards to John & Ayden from Arno, Katerina, Ronald, Manuela & KarinWritten November 2, 2024
- joehN2983AO0 contributionsBlown away!I got my Open Water cert here for scuba diving just a few days ago. I worked closely with Jim Ferrier for the entire weekend but was also greeted by different staff members each day I was there multiple times. Jim did an INCREDIBLE job and has so much experience and knowledge in everything I needed to know (and more) I left the cert feeling extremely confident in my abilities but even more excited to go out and enjoy scuba diving safely now. Thanks everyone - Highly recommend!!Written October 28, 2024
- tbonanno20240 contributionsCrystal River and Rainbow ReviewWe spent a relaxing day with BRUCE & Rod cruising the Crystal River in search of manatees and we did swim with them. BUT the highlight of the day was floating down the Rainbow River checking out the fish and taking in the scenery. It was a great day!Written October 28, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinions of Tripadvisor members and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
69 reviews
Excellent
58
Very good
6
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2
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1
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2
Rebecca H
7 contributions
Jun 2020
Beware about cancellation policy charges. They do not disclose this when you book over the phone. I scheduled a rainbow river drift dive on Thursday to dive Saturday. Found out today (Friday) we could not get pet sitter coverage during our dive since we are from out of town. I called to cancel or reschedule to next weekend and he now informed me that if you cancel within 7 days of a tour, you get charged $20/per person on the credit card you booked with. They would not make an exception even with a reschedule. Cannot recommend this company at all.
Written June 26, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi Rebecca,
We understand you are upset regarding the cancellation policy and we did save your family the seats on the boat. The cancellation amount is not the full amount of the trip and only a seat charge for each seat you reserved. In making every effort to inform the customer of the cancellation notice at booking we hope to see you next year. Thank you for understanding and please feel free to call us anytime to reschedule your Rainbow River experience.
Thank you
American Pro Diving Center
Written June 27, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
KK
2 contributions
Feb 2023
I rarely leave a review but I would like to educate people looking to book with this dive center. I have been diving for over 20 years and have been everywhere around the world from Asia, Europe, Caribbean, Egypt, South America, etc on dive trips. I booked the rainbow river dive online and then wanted to add the manatee crystal river snorkel for the same day am, so I called them to add that. We arrived at 8 am for the snorkel as told. The last member of the group arrived 40 min late, meaning that by the time we got out to the manatees, they had closed the sanctuaries and we saw 3 or 4 random manatees in some very turbid 4 feet of water. Also it was about a 5 minute boat ride after everyone had to take their own cars and pay for parking at the marina.
I was told that because I booked the first dive online for 450$/3 divers 1 snorkler, if both tours were booked together on the phone, it would have been 480$ total. Instead of only charging me 30$ extra even though I called to get added to the snorkel, I was charged another 260$!!! When I asked why, the girl who was ringing me up said that they always charge more for online booking. I have NEVER heard of that in my life.
The rainbow river dive, we had 12 divers, one snorkler (my 13 year old daughter). The boat captain was also the driver and essentially the 12 divers were on a unsupervised dive. We all had to drive our own cars 30 minutes from the dive shop to rainbow river and pay another 20$/person to make the rainbow river dive. The boat captain expected my 13 year old daughter to be the 'dive master' and usher the group of 12 divers underwater to the appropriate places as deemed by him during the drift dive. At one point a couple of motorized boats went a few feet over top of some of our divers and the captain made all divers surface to yell at us for not being in the correct place. Meanwhile the dive was only marked by a flag on the boat and no float in the water. Then at the end, each diver was made to drive out of their way the 30 minutes back to the dive shop to return the dive equipment as the boat didn't have enough weight allowance to take any back. Overall, the rainbow river was amazing but I would highly recommend going with another operation. Extremely disappointed.
I was told that because I booked the first dive online for 450$/3 divers 1 snorkler, if both tours were booked together on the phone, it would have been 480$ total. Instead of only charging me 30$ extra even though I called to get added to the snorkel, I was charged another 260$!!! When I asked why, the girl who was ringing me up said that they always charge more for online booking. I have NEVER heard of that in my life.
The rainbow river dive, we had 12 divers, one snorkler (my 13 year old daughter). The boat captain was also the driver and essentially the 12 divers were on a unsupervised dive. We all had to drive our own cars 30 minutes from the dive shop to rainbow river and pay another 20$/person to make the rainbow river dive. The boat captain expected my 13 year old daughter to be the 'dive master' and usher the group of 12 divers underwater to the appropriate places as deemed by him during the drift dive. At one point a couple of motorized boats went a few feet over top of some of our divers and the captain made all divers surface to yell at us for not being in the correct place. Meanwhile the dive was only marked by a flag on the boat and no float in the water. Then at the end, each diver was made to drive out of their way the 30 minutes back to the dive shop to return the dive equipment as the boat didn't have enough weight allowance to take any back. Overall, the rainbow river was amazing but I would highly recommend going with another operation. Extremely disappointed.
Written February 6, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Katherine M
1 contribution
Jun 2020
This shop was the best of the best in terms of customer service. Stephanie at the front desk is as helpful and professional as could be. Our dive master, John, made the devil's den and blue grotto dives so much more enjoyable than if we'd gone alone. Everything was so well-organized and efficient. Don't bother with any other dive shop.
Written June 24, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
pbl4291
Carlsbad, CA10 contributions
May 2023
The ride up the river to our get off point was very educational, and scenic. if we were just enjoying a boat ride, I would have given this trip a much higher rating. My issue was that I was told through multiple sources that scuba diving this spot was very worth while, so we drive 3.5 hours to get tho this site. After completing the dive, the 3 of us thought that we would not dive this river again. The dive was boring, and the water depth was very shallow. We had a dive float, but we did not feel at all safe because of all the boats buzzing by us. The boat ride was $50 dollars, which was ok, except for the fact that we had to pay $20 each to get into the park. If one want to fresh water dive, I would recommend Devil's Den or the Blue Grotto.
Written May 3, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mike J
6 contributions
Feb 2022 • Solo
Diving the crystal clear water for a full hour was great. Made better by Todd’s assistance and knowledge of the conditions. Very personable. He helped and watched over a diver returning to this activity. I’ve been with American Pro Divers on this and other dive experiences, and they are professional and resourceful every time.
Written February 12, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Getaway48600929540
3 contributions
Mar 2024 • Family
Our group had a great time! Our guide, John, made sure everyone had a great time, was knowledgeable about the area, and somehow managed to keep track of 2 divers and a handful of snorkelers. Wanted to do this trip again, but it was sold out, so I’d recommend booking in advance.
Written March 30, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ktrap
Fort Myers, FL259 contributions
Mar 2022
Tom was our guide. We did the morning manatee swim which was terrific. Great experience for us. Got up close and personal. Did the afternoon rainbow river drift snorkel also with Tom. It was amazing. Will bring the grand kiddos next time. Got to see lots of fish and turtles. Effortless. The boat kept a close eye on the snorkels and the two divers in our boat.
This company had professional grade equipment and supplied everything we needed. We felt safe. A great value for both trips.
This company had professional grade equipment and supplied everything we needed. We felt safe. A great value for both trips.
Written March 8, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
John D
62 contributions
The shop is very clean. The staff was okay. The ladies working there helped my daughter when purchasing a mask. Helpful suggestions. Ultimately my daughter found a good mask and snorkel.
The staff then scrubbed it for me. That was awesome. The “drop” was not putting together the mask and snorkel.
The prices were fair. We had one diver and 2 snorkeling. My daughter opted to stay on the boat. John, boat captain, was okay. I will stay positive and say, he knows the river well.
There was a few issues and they are internal. I would say the processes could use some review. It is a them issue, not a tourist issue.
The issues were then and that is my reason for giving them a bit lower stars. I may go back, but the shop could use some secret shoppers to help them out.
Overall the experience was full of good and a few bumps. It was pleasant. I might go back, especially now I know what to expect. The boat was too crowded and I may look for a more personal experience. I know diving is not cheap, so I was looking for “best value.” I think they could do a bit better. Not my call.
The staff then scrubbed it for me. That was awesome. The “drop” was not putting together the mask and snorkel.
The prices were fair. We had one diver and 2 snorkeling. My daughter opted to stay on the boat. John, boat captain, was okay. I will stay positive and say, he knows the river well.
There was a few issues and they are internal. I would say the processes could use some review. It is a them issue, not a tourist issue.
The issues were then and that is my reason for giving them a bit lower stars. I may go back, but the shop could use some secret shoppers to help them out.
Overall the experience was full of good and a few bumps. It was pleasant. I might go back, especially now I know what to expect. The boat was too crowded and I may look for a more personal experience. I know diving is not cheap, so I was looking for “best value.” I think they could do a bit better. Not my call.
Written August 2, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Melinda T
2 contributions
Aug 2021 • Family
I recently got my 10 yo daughter scuba certified thru American Pro. Colby was an amazing instructor & was extremely knowledgeable & passionate about his profession! I would highly recommend doing your PADI Certification thru American Pro. I took the course with her since she is only 10, & it had been 30 years since I got my cert. We learned so much & Cody made the Open Water at Rainbow River & the whole class an incredible experience due to extensive knowledge & his love of diving…I would highly recommend any of their tours & if you are planning to get certified, request Cody Smith! Thank you all for everything!
Written August 22, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jwatson958
Darlington, SC58 contributions
Feb 2024 • Friends
We visited the Dunnellon, Florida area in Feb.2024. The Rainbow River is always nice to kayak and a stop at Swampys Restaurant topped off a very nice paddling trip. We spent the week at Rainbow River Bungalows which was an outstanding place to rent!We launched at K P Hole County Park and paddled up to the head spring in Rainbow River State Park before heading back down to Swampys. Great day in Dunellon!
Written February 26, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Deborah P
Naples, Florida
Is it accessible to someone that has mobility issues (stairs and steep hills?
Written July 8, 2020
Can 3 adults ride along while 1 15 year old snorkel. What is cost if only ride along 3 adult and 1 teen learns to snorkel and rent equipment?
Written March 4, 2019
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