Manatees - A must for winter adventure

February 2023, our family went on our first trip to Homosassa, Florida and quickly fell in love with Old Florida vibe. The Homosassa/Crystal River/Yankeetown area is a must visit.

Our first trip was in the middle of "see manatee season" and we stayed at a delightful Bed and Breakfast. The owner was hospitable and the hotel was clean and comfortable especially with three suites for a family of 8. I 10/10 recommend the Chassahowitzka Hotel. Her son owns the neighboring RV park, Seven Sisters Campground, and you can rent kayaks there and explore the local springs in the area. There is also a short little walk around to the boat landing area too.

The easiest way to see manatees is to visit Three Sisters Springs and walk along the boardwalk.

Visiting Homosassa Springs State Park is another great way. Homosassa Springs is a wildlife encounter and manatee viewing area in one location. You can walk the trail back into the park or ride the boat back into the springs area for a more old Florida experience. The state park offers some great animal encounters - wolves, flamingos, an underwater observatory, and a hippo. They often have manatee feeding experiences and have some manatees in rehab so you are guaranteed a manatee sighting.

If you want a more adventurous manatee encounter, book an excursion with Birds Underwater. The eight of us went snorkeling with manatees and it was an incredible experience to swim with these creatures.

The Birds' guides will find them an once your group is in the water, you have that special encounter. There are rules to keep everyone safe and you don't touch them. What I loved about Birds is that they had GoPro footage and I wasn't consumed trying to video and take pictures and miss the experience. I still took my own photos and video with my phone in a waterproof pouch but I didn't have to.

There are lots of great places to eat in the Homosassa area but I will leave that one hanging in the blog world for now. They have it all from tourist eats to off the beaten path places locals recommend.

Homosassa is a great President's Day Weekend getaway but it's also a great anytime getaway. We have a great fishing charter buddy there and scalloping season is a great time to go as well.

Kayaking the many springs in the area is another blog post for another day and gives you another reason to go back to visit.

Don't sleep on visiting the Crystal River area.