3–4 hours
Recommended by 92% of travelers
This number is based on the percentage of all Tripadvisor reviews for this product that have a bubble rating of 4 or higher
from
$57.21
per adult
American Pro Diving Center
American Pro Diving Center
4.5
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7:00 AM - 6:00 AM
Monday
7:00 AM - 6:00 AM
Tuesday
7:00 AM - 6:00 AM
Wednesday
7:00 AM - 6:00 AM
Thursday
7:00 AM - 6:00 AM
Friday
7:00 AM - 6:00 AM
Saturday
7:00 AM - 6:00 AM
Sunday
7:00 AM - 6:00 AM
Full view
About
American Pro Diving Center offers guided Crystal River dive and snorkel Manatee tours for over 29 years in florida. Our snorkel with manatee tours are guided by in water professional divemasters and is just one of the reasons we received many awards from state and local educational systems as well as the National Geographic Dive Center Award from PADI and National Geographic. Experience manatee tours with all the comforts that a five star facility has to offer in Crystal River, Florida.Our trips are successful because the dive masters educate on the manatee and the manners of being in their environment while on the manatee snorkel tours. The guides enter the water with you so that both you and the Manatees have a safe and enjoyable time even if you are new to snorkeling. This can be the experience of a lifetime on our Crystal River manatee snorkel.
Crystal River, Florida
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Awards
Travelers' Choice
2022
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Improve this listingTours and Tickets by American Pro Diving Center
3–4 hours
Recommended by 94% of travelers
This number is based on the percentage of all Tripadvisor reviews for this product that have a bubble rating of 4 or higher
from
$47.95
per adult
3–4 hours
Recommended by 96% of travelers
This number is based on the percentage of all Tripadvisor reviews for this product that have a bubble rating of 4 or higher
from
$74.11
per adult
Travelers talk about
(227 reviews)
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
1,450 reviews
Excellent
1,192
Very good
133
Average
52
Poor
30
Terrible
43
jonathanhK7688PD
Starkville, United States11 contributions
May 2022 • Family
I'm a diving professional, and have been for 30+ years. I've used these folks a couple of times for trips, and both my kids were certified through them. My kids skills and competence are what they need to be safe in the water, and I trust what they learned through classwork and diving with AmPro instructors. The trips I've taken through AmPro in the area springs have always been enjoyable and safely conducted. Their captains and divemasters (John in particular) are friendly and knowledgeable about the area. The shop has reasonable prices on gear and rentals as well as trips and tours. If you have an afternoon free or want you or your family to get certified up through divemaster level, I would recommend them as a great choice or as an experiential travel destination.
Written May 24, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Mindy T
3 contributions
Apr 2022
This was amazing trip from the moment we got there from the staff to the manatees we got to experience a mother nursing her young truly amazing. We had a wonderful instructor he took amazing video that we treasure. We also had alot of fun in there building shopping they have so many great memorie gifts we loved the intire experience great girls trip! I'll be bring my husband in the next Month or so I could swim everyday in Crystal river with those beautiful manatees! Thank u to the hole staff we had the best time!
Written May 1, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
vjyeo
Palm Harbor, FL2 contributions
Jan 2020 • Family
Arrived 30 minutes early but the two groups scheduled for the morning were held up by a few late comers. The outfit should have continued without them. Anticipate driving to a near-by marina to board the boat & pay $5 at the bait house for parking.
The boat was full (20+people) but had enough room to move around comfortably. We had Tom & Jerry as our guide & captain. They were very respectful of the manatees & tried to give everyone an up close encounter. Tom even took our 3 year old who would not get in the water (too cold) to see the manatees. It was a very nice gesture(he didn’t have to do that) & it gave her a chance to see them.
We weren’t in the water long, less than an hour, but I didn’t hear any complaints & it was fine for our group. Figure 3.5 hours start to finish with about an hour in the water. Be prepared to take your own photos/videos.
We did this trip 5 years ago with this outfit as a dive/snorkel experience & it was a better experience. Only 8 people & we didn’t have to concern ourselves with taking pictures & video as the guide did that & sold it to us after the trip.
I would recommend this outfit to others. If they ditched the late comers, provided $5 parking passes at their shop, offered photo/video option, & provided smaller group options, I’d rate them at 5 stars.
The boat was full (20+people) but had enough room to move around comfortably. We had Tom & Jerry as our guide & captain. They were very respectful of the manatees & tried to give everyone an up close encounter. Tom even took our 3 year old who would not get in the water (too cold) to see the manatees. It was a very nice gesture(he didn’t have to do that) & it gave her a chance to see them.
We weren’t in the water long, less than an hour, but I didn’t hear any complaints & it was fine for our group. Figure 3.5 hours start to finish with about an hour in the water. Be prepared to take your own photos/videos.
We did this trip 5 years ago with this outfit as a dive/snorkel experience & it was a better experience. Only 8 people & we didn’t have to concern ourselves with taking pictures & video as the guide did that & sold it to us after the trip.
I would recommend this outfit to others. If they ditched the late comers, provided $5 parking passes at their shop, offered photo/video option, & provided smaller group options, I’d rate them at 5 stars.
Written January 18, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
paulgdavis81
1 contribution
Dec 2022 • Family
Staff in shop were rude, manager was extremely rude. The groupon we were encouraged to get was not working and staff were very rude and unwillingly to assist, stating it was a third party not them so pay the price or dont go. Not family friendly, were given 5 minutes to try everything on and sizes were not correct. Tried to get proper fins and suit and were told we would be fine and dont need the fins which upset our children who really wanted to use the fins. We then had to drive to a peir through construction and pay a fee for parking, which was very limited. Everyone at the dock was waiting for us and our small children due to having to get suits on still. Our diver was very friendly and nice however, he made sure our kids were safe and we had a good time at the dive. Vinny was his name and I would recommend him. He was very knowledgeable and answered our kids questions. After the dive we had to drive to the shop. Very little communication on directions again. Staff at shop was once again very rude to our children wanting to change out of wet clothes before our 2 hour drive back to a hotel. Would recommend finding a place at the pier and one more family oriented with better customer service skills
Written January 1, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Ohlander01
Phoenix, AZ1 contribution
Sep 2022
I had the manatee tour scheduled for 2 weeks, received a confirmation to the date (which was a Sunday so had to pay full price) and 2 days before the tour I receive an email reminder of the appt, then the day before the tour (Saturday) I receive an email saying I missed the tour. WTH? We call them and they said there was a glitch and that the tour for Sunday was full.. Who does that! So last minute we called Sea Daddy's tour and was able to go on their tour with 1 other couple. We saw American Pro Diving on the lake and there were soooo many people on the tour and they were just sitting in the water... Hope you all had fun!
Written September 11, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Jojo
Boston, MA3 contributions
Jan 2023
I signed up for a scuba session with my friends thinking it would be a guided experience and we'd be set up with all the equipment (we even selected that we wanted to rent the scuba gear at checkout). When we arrived, we were told you can only scuba dive if you're licensed. Nowhere on the website had we seen that clarification when we signed up. As soon as he told us this I checked the site on my phone again to make sure I didn't miss this info. I still didn't see it there - it wasn't listed. They told us we could snorkel instead and be refunded the difference, so we went with that. This felt like it was done purposefully to trap tourists into signing up to scuba dive and then downgrading them to snorkeling - a bait and switch.
The next problem was that we were then given wetsuits that were too big for each of us. We were told we could change into them at the water, but I was smart enough to suggest we all try them on before we go. Thankfully we did and were able to exchange them for smaller sizes, but they were still loose on all of us. I ended up being cold during the session because of this. The staff didn't seem to care too much to size us properly.
Next, we were told that the snorkel/diving spot (rainbow river) is a 30 minute drive from the Diving Center. We had already driven 2 hours from Orlando to get here, and we thought the Center would be right where the dive was taking place. They don't even take you in a shuttle bus there, you have to drive there yourself.
THEN you have to pay an entrance fee at Rainbow River to snorkel or dive there, which wasn't told to us until they were giving us instructions at the Center. It was $7 per snorkeler for us, plus a .40 cent credit card use fee. The entrance fee really wasn't a big deal to us, especially because it goes toward preserving the area, but layered on top of everything else that happened, it was pretty annoying that they hadn't been transparent about all these little things that add up.
There were so many things that happened that were not as advertised at this Diving Center, which really bummed us out and took away from our experience. The guide himself was nice and knowledgable, so we tipped nicely, but the Diving Center left a bitter taste in our mouths. I wouldn't recommend this place. I was deciding between 1 and 2 stars because the river was great and the guide was good at his job, but decided on 1 because this review is about the company, not the river or the specific guide.
The next problem was that we were then given wetsuits that were too big for each of us. We were told we could change into them at the water, but I was smart enough to suggest we all try them on before we go. Thankfully we did and were able to exchange them for smaller sizes, but they were still loose on all of us. I ended up being cold during the session because of this. The staff didn't seem to care too much to size us properly.
Next, we were told that the snorkel/diving spot (rainbow river) is a 30 minute drive from the Diving Center. We had already driven 2 hours from Orlando to get here, and we thought the Center would be right where the dive was taking place. They don't even take you in a shuttle bus there, you have to drive there yourself.
THEN you have to pay an entrance fee at Rainbow River to snorkel or dive there, which wasn't told to us until they were giving us instructions at the Center. It was $7 per snorkeler for us, plus a .40 cent credit card use fee. The entrance fee really wasn't a big deal to us, especially because it goes toward preserving the area, but layered on top of everything else that happened, it was pretty annoying that they hadn't been transparent about all these little things that add up.
There were so many things that happened that were not as advertised at this Diving Center, which really bummed us out and took away from our experience. The guide himself was nice and knowledgable, so we tipped nicely, but the Diving Center left a bitter taste in our mouths. I wouldn't recommend this place. I was deciding between 1 and 2 stars because the river was great and the guide was good at his job, but decided on 1 because this review is about the company, not the river or the specific guide.
Written January 23, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
112tamara2022
2 contributions
Mar 2022
This was a wonderful experience. The captain and divemaster guide did a phenomenal job finding the manatees and educating us on keeping the manatees safe. We saw 3 manatees. One resting, one pregnant and eating, and the last one seemed to be very social. It stuck its head out of the water and came face to face with a young lady for a few seconds. I highly recommend this business for an awesome experience.
Written March 18, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Zorgats
Pottstown, PA15 contributions
Nov 2020 • Couples
We had the great privilege to visit Crystal River in November. Originally we were planning to visit a Caribbean island but a late arriving negative COVID test prevented that! So on very short notice we had to plan a backup vacation. Having always wanting to visit the Manatees, I gave American Pro a call. The girl at the shop, Stephanie I think, was so helpful in getting us squared away. We were worried about the tropical storm that was going through just before we arrived (because you know, 2020!) but she assured us that it would have no effect!
We signed up for the Narcosis package of diving, which is their grand tour of the area. Over the course of 4 days we got some amazing diving in. All the dive masters and captains were very good. Austin, John, and Thomas were knowledgeable and a pleasure to dive with. By this point in our dive careers, we can tell when we are with dive masters who really enjoy what they do. These three definitely enjoy their slice of the scuba world down in Florida! They also made sure that everyone felt comfortable during certain dives that might have been intimidating to some. Paradise springs for instance is a deep cavern and they were able to put one of the divers in our group at ease with their attitude and demeanor. Even though that diver didn’t want to do the full depth, divemaster Thomas didn’t push her or pressure her. Another example was Devils Den. Austin lead us through some cavern passages that were about as close as we have gotten to true cave diving but we never felt concerned for our safety and trusted his guidance. At Rainbow Springs, Johns humor made diving under a pool of muck seem like such a great adventure!
All in all, I would highly recommend these guys. Everyone from the shop staff to the dive crew are fun and happy to share the part of the world they dive in!
Chris and Ashley Nov 2020
We signed up for the Narcosis package of diving, which is their grand tour of the area. Over the course of 4 days we got some amazing diving in. All the dive masters and captains were very good. Austin, John, and Thomas were knowledgeable and a pleasure to dive with. By this point in our dive careers, we can tell when we are with dive masters who really enjoy what they do. These three definitely enjoy their slice of the scuba world down in Florida! They also made sure that everyone felt comfortable during certain dives that might have been intimidating to some. Paradise springs for instance is a deep cavern and they were able to put one of the divers in our group at ease with their attitude and demeanor. Even though that diver didn’t want to do the full depth, divemaster Thomas didn’t push her or pressure her. Another example was Devils Den. Austin lead us through some cavern passages that were about as close as we have gotten to true cave diving but we never felt concerned for our safety and trusted his guidance. At Rainbow Springs, Johns humor made diving under a pool of muck seem like such a great adventure!
All in all, I would highly recommend these guys. Everyone from the shop staff to the dive crew are fun and happy to share the part of the world they dive in!
Chris and Ashley Nov 2020
Written December 18, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Lee H
New York City, NY12 contributions
May 2021
We bought the 4 day dive package that included the Manatee Snorkel, Rainbow River Drift Dive—both day and night dive, Blue Grotto, Devil's Den and Manatee Springs. Our divermasters, Tom and John, and boat captains Austin and Jerry were all terrific. Thy were personable, knowledgable and obviously enjoyed their jobs. We did not realize the dive sites were so far apart, so there was a bit of driving, but we liked getting out and seeing all the different areas. Our only suggestion is for the shop to include a small wagon at Manatee Springs to haul gear. One of the divers had a challenging time carrying his gear from the truck to the site. Otherwise, everything was well thought out and ran smoothly. We would recommend the sites and the shop to any divers looking to explore the springs and rivers.
Written May 11, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Paris C
1 contribution
May 2021 • Family
The introduction to the manatee excursion and snorkeling trip was well rehearsed. The staff were knowledgeable and friendly. The sites for both the manatee and rainbow river site were pretty close by and the directions were easy to follow. The excursion itself was amazing. Swimming with manatees and then exploring a beautiful fresh spring river was breathtaking and a memorable experience. I highly recommend it if you have never been! They provide all the equipment and gear you need including wetsuits. Just take a waterproof camera with you or you can purchase the manatee video at the end of the tour for a reasonable price.
Written June 3, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Traci B
6 contributions
Do you go to Three Sisters Bay for the manatee tour?
Lori Hagins
Auburndale, FL744 contributions
Yes we did go (Nov 17th) however they had just closed it the weekend before so we did snorkel around three sisters we just could not get pass the roped off area.
Bill R
Clearwater, FL
What are the logistics of the tour? Specifically where do you embark from & how (boat, amenities), duration of tour, focus on snorkeling or diving, water temp, equipment needed, what expectations to see: fauna & vegetation, particular time of year better than another? thanks, bill ross
ElishaE
Bradenton, FL23 contributions
Hi bill,
The logistics of my tour when I went was it was all about the money. We were told when we got to the shop that we had to bring our own cars to a marina down the street (where we had to pay for parking). They put the boat in right there and we went literally around the corner to the back of the marina...the "ride" took less than 10 minutes and we didn't see much at all in terms of vegetation. It all depends on who is doing the tour. If you want to see manatees definitely go on a cold day during the winter. If all you want is vegetation go anytime of year when the area isn't flooded! It was a snorkeling tour that i participated on and you could rent all of the gear you need but they do also do diving. I personally woukdnt give them my business ever again. It all felt like a rip off. Hope this helps!