We visited on a morning in early June and were delighted to several manatees, including a couple of babies with their mothers! Lots of gators, fish, and birds as well. This is a must-do if you are visiting the area or have guests coming into town. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and I learned a lot about the history of the area and its inhabitants. The tour takes you a mile up the river and back and the boats are covered so you will be shielded from the sun. Folks of all ages will enjoy this foray into wild Old Florida and there's no better way to spend a beautiful day outdoors. Being an outdoor activity in Florida it is dependent on weather so make sure you plan accordingly. I'd also recommend booking your tickets on their website ahead of time so you are guaranteed a spot.

Take the boat tour! Get your tickets online in advance. We bought tickets on Thursday for a Saturday tour. They were sold out the day of. Also, get to the entrance at least 30 minutes ahead of your scheduled boat tour. The line to get into the park was long, and you have to find parking and walk a bit to get to the boat dock. From the boat, we saw seven or eight alligators, 4 manatee, many turtles, and birds. Our guide was very knowledgeable about the wildlife and area. Great experience. Definitely worth the price of admission.

I 100% recommend this. We got our tickets the day before. We saw so many birds, alligators and 4 Manatee. Very much worth it. Afterwards we went and checked out the hotel and that was also beautiful. People were swimming in the springs and there was a platform to jump off of.

Beautiful beautiful place. I've never been anywhere like this. All types of wildlife that you may not see elsewhere. The best part is you get up close too. This is a great place for kids, families, older folks, and everything in between. Very very peaceful place too.

Great, inexpensive tour. We had park ranger Johnson A.K.A. the singing ranger and he was fantastic. We saw a lot of great wildlife and it's a nice, peaceful area. Highly recommend this tour if you are in the area and like nature.

The boat tour is always a fun activity - there’s a ton of wildlife to see, my favorite being the manatees. We’ve gone numerous times but when we had Ranger Phil a couple months back & he was beyond fantastic. All the Rangers are friendly and knowledgable, my favorite part is the “total silence” moment you get when they turn off the boats motor.

This was great! We saw alligators, manatees, and so many birds! Our guide was really knowledgeable and funny. After our cruise, we went inside and got a drink from the old fashioned soda fountain. Would go again!

Best roadside attraction in Florida! Cold and sunny is best for gator gawking, but any day you'll see gators. On the other hand manatee are rare. If you do see them, and you're swimming, be advised those manatee aren't shy.