Co-Founded by Bret Love & Mary Gabbett, Green Global Travel is an ecotourism, nature / wildlife conservation & cultural preservation magazine. More about us.
Published March 9, 2011 | 
This is our first-ever attempt at doing a National Geographic/Animal Planet-style documentary of our travel experiences. We tried to combine insight into how amazing swimming with manatees in Crystal River felt on a personal level with some information about the species and why they flock to Homosassa Springs, Florida every year. Please leave us a comment below and let us know what you think and, if you like it, please share it with your friends. If response is favorable, we’ll hopefully be doing more videos like this in the future!
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40 Responses to VIDEO: Swimming With Manatees In FL
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Co-Founded by Bret Love & Mary Gabbett, Green Global Travel is an ecotourism, nature / wildlife conservation & cultural preservation magazine. More about us.Help Support Green Global Travel!
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Beautiful video. Are you sure this is your first National Geographic type video because you seem like a pro. I have always wanted to swim with manatees, but more than ever after watching the moving video.
Thanks, Ted! This was our first, but it definitely established the style that wound up earning us a spot on Matador Network’s Best Travel Videos of 2011 list!
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I can confirm you totally have the right voice for a documentary voiceover! Like honey all over my speakers
LOL, thanks Laurence! I’ve always said that I have a face for radio: Glad to hear I have the voice to match.
Goofball is a star. How great that he was ready for his close up!
It was really amazing, especially after the first one we saw swim away with us so quickly. Not sure if you can tell from the video, but he was a good 25 yards away from me (next to the dock) when we started, and ultimately swam over to me, then right over to my daughter and Mary. I’ve seen manatees in the wild many times now, and they’ve always proven to be extremely social creatures.
I live about 45 minutes from Crystal River and Homosassa and visit quite often. Oddly enough, I have yet to actually swim with the manatees, but it is always fun to spot them nearby:)
Oh man, you should totally do it! Apparently it’s even better when it’s really cold– temps were pretty mild when we went. I would love to be able to just drive 45 minutes whenever the weather is nice and visit Homosassa Springs!
This is amazing, what a fantastic experience. I would love to swim with Goofball
Really well made video too!
Thanks, Monica! It’s really special whenever a wild animal chooses to interact with you, but in my experience manatees do it over and over again. Wish more people (boaters in particular) would respect the rules in their habitat, and help protect this beautiful species.
Awesome! I saw manatees at Xelha in Mexico earlier this year but they wanted a few too much dinero to snorkel with them.
Cool! I didn’t even know the manatees made it down that far!
LOVED going to Homosassa as a kid – the manatees are so cute! Takes me back
Glad we could provide the walk down memory lane!
Fantastic! I liked hearing your voice also
Is this filmed using the GoPro?
Thanks, Natasha! No, this one was done on the Flip Camera, just a few months after we bought it. But we did upgrade to the GoPro this year, and have some Amazon videos we’ll be sharing soon that were shot on it. We just have to find a solid editing program.
Loved this. I didnt even know you could swim with manatees. Looks like it was a pretty amazing experience.
It was exceptional. Even though the water was ridiculously cold (around 68º F), I didn’t want to get out. Luckily we ended up doing some kayaking and swimming with one in a different area the very next day.
Super sweet
I’ve been trying to make some videos too, poor results at the beginning, probably (hopefully) will improve 
Yeah, it takes time to learn camera technique, voiceover, editing, etc. We’re still refining our skills as well, but the style came to me naturally after a lifetime of watching nature documentaries.
In 2010 when FL experienced some of the coldest Winter weather in 100 years, we had a cow and calf coming into the dock at the end of our street.
It was super cool and I was sorry when they moved on.
I’m pretty sure it is illegal to mess with the mantees except in designated areas, so we simply admired them.
Anyway, been to the Crystal River many times but could not get past the cold water.
Enjoyed your video very much!
Yeah, you’re definitely not supposed to mess with them, anywhere! When we did our tour, they emphasized over and over again that you are not supposed to follow them or reach out to them in any way unless they come up to you and initiate contact. I was surprised and delighted when Goofball actually did so. There was no doubt that he wanted to be scratched, and he rolled his body to make sure we got all the good spots where the itchy algae was forming.
Unfortunately, as you can see in the video, some people just will not obey the low wake signs and the poor creatures sustain injuries from the boat props.
FL is a lovely state with an abundance of natural beauty.
I hope you return and take more video.
Thanks, Finlay. Living in Georgia, we do visit Florida fairly often. Hoping to return in 2013 to work on a Coral Restoration Project in the Keys, or perhaps study conservation efforts in Everglades National Park.
I grew up in Florida, so I love and am mesmerized by the sea cows!
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All the more reason for us to visit our neighboring state more often! Did you ever swim with them?
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Fantastic video Bret! That’s going on my bucket list for sure!!!
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I would say it’s something every wildlife lover should experience at least once in their lives. It was cool to hear our friend Cristina (from Travel 4 Wildlife) actually saw old Goofball when she went down to Crystal River/Homosassa Springs a few weeks ago. He was such a sweet fella!
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I’m so happy that you tweeted this today,because I missed it when you first posted, and swimming with manatees is at the VERY top of my bucket list. I fell in love with them the first time I went to Florida, years ago, and once we even set out for Homassasa Springs, but never made it (for complicated reasons, we got as far as Tarpon Springs). This is the thing I want to do more than anything else in the world!
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