I drove through here on the way home from the Panhandle. It reminded me of what I thought Florida…read morewas like when I was a child growing up in Massachusetts. Forrests and springs, fishing, canoeing, swimming, and yes, gators. There are over 400,000 acres in the Ocala National Forest. It needs more than one visit to fully explore this wonder. There are many opportunities for camping and backpacking. I want to come back soon to go on a nature hike. Like Dave O. says, this is the wilderness so don't be naive. You must go in prepared with water, protein snacks, and emergency supplies. This is not Disney, this is the real Florida adventure.

Another spot of beautiful nature in Wild Florida…read more I love going on nature hikes, and this trail has plenty of wildlife and plants to see. Even with the paths seeming wild and free, they're easy to follow and I wasn't afraid of getting lost.

My wife and I dove with Ocala Dive Center twice and had Jeff, the owner, as a guide. We also had…read morethe pleasure of meeting his wife, and multiple people in the shop. All of these folks were amazing and so down to Earth. We had an excellent experience learning with Jeff. We are fairly new to diving and had never dove fresh water. What makes Jeff stand out is his teaching style; calm, observant, and confidence-building. He gives you space to find your own way while subtly guiding you toward doing things correctly. He uses small mistakes as a teaching opportunity and will never let you get in the water without checking that you're sure about what you've done is right. You never feel micromanaged, instead, you feel supported, capable, safe, and empowered. His gentle, relaxed voice and steady presence create the perfect environment to learn from your errors, and truly understand what you're doing. I can't recommend him highly enough for anyone who wants to become a confident, safe, and thoughtful diver.

Just needed tanks filled. The Scuba Shop in Leesburg closed unfortunately. I bought a tank there…read moreand needed my other tank recertified. Got everything I needed!! Thanks!

This company took very good care of us and made sure we had the best experience. Juan and Ralph are…read moreknowledgeable about the manatee and wildlife in the area It was a very chilly morning but they made sure we were comfortable with blankets and hot chocolate! They take care of the photos which means we were just able to take in and enjoy our time with the manatees.

Great experience and knowledgable friendly staff. Gorgeous day and boat was clean and safe.read more

Me and my 14-year-old son signed up and took scuba diving lessons. Our instructor was Paul, and he…read morewas fantastic and knowledge, safety training, pool dives, freshwater dives at devils den, blue grotto, and he was very patient and helpful making sure everybody understood and passed. We really enjoyed this experience, it was once of a lifetime. Paul was just above and beyond and helping my son understand safety, and everything that goes along with scuba diving. Thank you to this facility for all your patience and we had a blast I would definitely recommend this facility. We for sure made everlasting friends.

When coming to florida a big thing my boyfriend and I wanted to do was scuba dive! We came into…read morethis place one day just trying to get an idea of equipment pricing and pricing for Open Water certification. The owner informed us they had a class coming up in a few days and we jumped at the opportunity. Our instructor was Paul and he was incredible. Paul was easy to talk to and made the experience super welcoming and easy. The class size was small (3 people including my boyfriend and I) which i appreciated because it helped us get a more thorough explanation of everything and we were able to have a more personalized learning experience. I can be a bit nervous and he never once pushed me out of my comfort zone and if i felt like something was too much for me he never made me feel bad about it and I'd highly recommend him to anyone.

We had an amazing time on our manatee tour! We got to see several manatees up close. Our guide,…read moreJohn, was fantastic. He was funny, informative, and just an awesome guy who clearly knows how to make the tour fun for everyone. He shared so much interesting information while keeping us laughing the whole time. Highly recommend this tour, especially if you get John as your guide!

We saw the manatees from outside the water and inside the water which was super cool! However we…read moreonly swam one time for about 20-30 minutes and they cut the tour short by about an hour which sucked because we paid like $70 for the whole thing. I would've been happy just swimming for the remainder of the tour

Garrett was a blast! We are just coming into the warm season and most manatees are back in the…read moregulf, he still got us to 7 manatees, 2 gators, and we caught a dolphin in kings bay towards the end. He gave us plenty of time to look for things to come up out of the water which was great for my 2 year old. Boat was shaded and was enjoyable even with a small child. Other tours wouldn't let me book because she was under 3- we brought our own lifevest but they did also have some on board that were her size.

I don't know where to start…read more This was the absolute best day. We started at the River Ventures Dive Center at 6:30AM, where we were offered coffee, tea, hot cocoa and snacks, and spent the next bit with an educational video and a wetsuit fitting. From there, we took a bus to the dock, in the most gorgeous sunrise light. let by our Guide Nat. Captain Emerson met us at the covered, heated pontoon, and our group set off through the water, for the protected manatee zone. The water was FULL of our sweet sea potatoes... in fact, it was difficult to even get off the boat because our new friends swam right up to the ladder. Nat had given excellent instructions. We immediately leaned into our pool noodles and gently followed her lead through the water. It took just moments before manatees were all around us. We stayed calm and quiet, and they either continued snoozing, or swam up to investigate us. Nat was on point with the camera, and with showing us things like the tarpon and sheepshead fish, and she was also shared little details about the manatees as we floated. Of course, with nature, there are no guarantees, and I really had no idea what to expect, but I was absolutely delighted by the interactions we had. The cold snap absolutely played into our favor, and I am so glad we showed up with our adventurous spirit. When we returned to the boat, there were more snacks, as well as hot cocoa, coffee, tea, and a variety of drinks in the cooler (water, beer, wine, soda, and white claws). We were so grateful for the boat covering and heater as we made our way back to the dock, and we had great chats with Nat, Emerson, and the other group on our tour. Was it cold? Sure. But the water felt great at 72ºF, and our wetsuits did a wonderful job of protecting us and keeping us buoyant. Our experience was incredible, from booking, to engaging with the staff with any questions we had, to the actual tour itself. The photos and videos were absolutely phenomenal, as well, and we were happy to purchase the package, as well as some gifts from the souvenir shop. We will be back for more manatee viewing, or to try one of their other tours. Thank you so much for the best day!

Silver Springs State Park was an amazing experience. I came out with a group to kayak, and it ended…read moreup being one of the highlights of the trip. The water is absolutely beautiful and crystal clear, and we saw wildlife pretty much the entire time. We spotted tons of birds, turtles, fish, and even the famous monkeys! Kayaking was a great way to explore the park because you can get surprisingly close to the wildlife while still just enjoying the scenery. Seeing the monkeys out there in the wild was definitely something I won't forget. Beautiful park, plenty to see, and a great place to spend a few hours on the water. I'd absolutely come back.

My parents were reminiscing about when they were middle school aged and came here for field trips…read more I was surprised to find out that Silver Springs State Park and the glass bottom boat tours have been around for that long! It was about a 1.5 hour ride from Orlando. Woke up real early on a Saturday (on honestly one of the coldest days of the year) to arrive at the park around 8am. I highly suggest purchasing glass bottom boat tour tickets online about a week in advance atleast since time slots fill up! We purchased the 1.5 hour tour on the boats. Our tour guide was incredible and shared so much knowledge and facts about the wildlife and park. I got to see tons of manatees! Plus getting to see gators, turtles, birds, and even monkeys! The glass bottom gives such a cool perspective on viewing the wildlife and plants underwater. Aside from the tour, we walked several trails to enjoy the great outdoors. Also, we had coffee in the morning when we first got here and lunch after the tour. The food was pretty good and filling. At the gift shop I made sure to leave with a magnet and Christmas ornament to remember such a great day here.

What an AWESOME day! Crystal River Kayak Company & Dive Center made for such a great experience!…read moreThe staff were friendly and informative, equipment was clean & well maintained, and check-in/out was simple and quick! We rented paddle-boards for 3 hours to go visit Three Sister Springs at the Crystal River Wildlife Refuge, and it did NOT disappoint! You cannot swim at Three Sister Springs unless you arrive by watercraft as the refuge is protected, so going on an adventure via paddle-board was a nice relaxing way to explore the area. We saw multiple manatees and even got to swim with them when they came in the refuge (SUCH A COOL EXPERIENCE)! The coolest thing about the manatees was how much trust they put in the people visiting their home. There was a mom and calf swimming right up to people, and I thought how cool it was that she put that much trust into her surroundings as to show off her baby. I highly recommend checking out this company next time you're visiting the area!

Very friendly and knowledgeable staff, easy entry point for a day on the river. Great time…read morekayaking with the manatees!

One of the best things about the trip was Captain Sean. He was a great guide. He was filled with so…read moremuch information and so many fun facts. He had a great sense of humor. He also knew where to find all the manatees. Also our photographer Serena was great. The photos she took were unbelievable. Well worth the money spent. Which was not a lot considering the amazing pictures we got. It's going to capture our memories at snorkeling with manatees forever. It was on our bucket list of things to do and I totally am amazed by the experience. It wouldn't have been the same without the captain in the photographer. It was just the perfect day.

Awesome adventure they took our time with us and the tour guides really take such special care of…read morethese precious manatees. We loved it!!

Pros: easy online registration and scheduling; Front desk…read moregirl for check in was great super sweet. Very nice and informative. We were a bit late and she extended our reservation. I was quite thankful. The kayaks were fun and we were left to our devices to explore. Isaiah was cool and very laid back. We were also a half hour late coming back and they were totally cool with it. Thank you! I can't believe I saw the baby manatees. I literally cried. Cons: I was surprised they just let us out with no real guide! It was cool but I'm surprised they trusted us. We kinda got lost the first 90mins and didn't know where we going but eventually we got to the area where the manatees were gathering. A bit crowded and I felt bad everyone so close to the protected species. Overall a super a cool experience. We went during manatee festival in January so it was a bit crowded but not overwhelming. It was a beautiful day with beautiful site seeing. Def recommend!

Great spring, summer and fall fun for the entire family even if you are not that adventurous. Make…read moresure to make reservations ahead of time.