Written By: Lisa & Anthony
Have you ever gone out of your way for an adventure you found on social media?
Do you think you would for the opportunity to kayak with manatees, snorkel in a sinkhole, and stay at a campground with back door riverfront views? Do you think you would for the opportunity to kayak with manatees, snorkel in a sinkhole, and stay at a campground with back door riverfront views
Well, that’s exactly what happened on this road trip!
After visiting our kids in Orlando, Florida (our last official stop on our California to Florida road trip), we decided to check off some Bucketlist items on the way home. We knew the adventures we wanted to visit but didn’t know where to stay. I began doing a search and found a small, family-owned campground with availability right on the river and very close to our first adventure, so I booked it immediately. When we pulled in, we weren’t too sure about it. But after seeing the views, and talking to the people camped next to us who stay there annually… we knew it was perfect — a more authentic Florida experience. Obviously nothing fancy (but we’re not fancy type of campers). Give us the wild, wide-open spots and we’re in heaven.
This trip was different. Being unfamiliar with most of the areas, we wanted to make sure we were safe and stayed in campgrounds more than we ever have in our 6 years of vanlife, for safety and convenience.
Let’s start by sharing where we stayed before getting into the incredible, “must experience for yourself” adventures.
📍 Seven Sisters Campground — Homosassa, Florida
It’s a very small, family-owned, peaceful, spring-fed, quiet campground with full hookups and a laundry facility. They offer kayak rentals in amazingly clear water with a famous small underground cave system. Unfortunately, due to time restrictions, we couldn’t explore the campground cave system this trip, but from the pictures we’ve seen, it’s pretty spectacular.
Seven Sisters Campground is only 15–20 minutes from Crystal River, which made it an ideal home base for kayaking, snorkeling, and manatee tours in the area.
But let’s be real… the highlight? Kayaking and snorkeling with manatees in the crystal-clear springs. You’re allowed to be in the water with them as long as you don’t initiate contact — no chasing or touching.
🐋 Where to find manatees:
Three Sisters Springs, Kings Bay, Homosassa Springs, and the Seven Sisters spring itself.
We chose one specific, well-known spot to see manatees up close and personal:
📍 Three Sisters Springs, Crystal River, FL
🌅 Best time to go:
Early mornings are best, especially during manatee season (November–March) during the winter months, when hundreds of manatees migrate here to stay warm in the natural springs — the water stays a steady 72°F year-round!
👉 Respect the manatees:
Don’t chase or initiate contact — just float, paddle, and let them decide if they want to visit you.
⚠️ Important:
You can’t touch the manatees (it’s a protected wildlife area), but they can come to you. If they do — it’s pure magic! More on this later!
We rented from:
📍 Crystal River Kayak Co. & Dive Center – Crystal River, Florida
This rental company is perfectly located where you drop right into the water and paddle a short distance to explore Kings Bay and Three Sisters Springs. They offer both kayak rentals and guided manatee tours, but we chose to paddle on our own (we’re more of the DIY-type of explorers).
💰 Rental Info:
▫️ Kayaks / clear kayak rental / snorkel gear
▫️ Life jackets included
▫️ Parking available on-site
▫️ Tours are also available if you prefer a guide
Decision time! You have several choices, and to be honest, we were going back and forth about what to do. I (Lisa) really wanted to snorkel with manatees, especially after seeing a video of them snuggling on people. BUT — and yes, it’s a big one — we couldn’t get over the fact that there are alligators in the water. Floridians don’t seem to have the same level of fear as us Californians, who love to see alligators at a very safe distance.
The next step after deciding that we weren’t going to snorkel was choosing a kayak. This matters. If you rent a standard kayak, you can choose to pop into the water at any time if you’re suddenly feeling brave and want to snorkel with the manatees. However, if you choose a clear kayak, you cannot exit the boat at any time. We ended up choosing this option and didn’t quite understand the reason why… until we sat inside! They’re incredibly wobbly and feel unstable, like a big ol’ floating bathtub, but the benefits of clear manatee views outweighed the instability.
We booked the first time slot to get right on the water when the rental company opened for two reasons: to beat the crowds and because manatees gather early in the springs to stay warm. It was the right decision! We were literally the only ones on the water for about 30 minutes before the tour groups showed up. They gave us a map of the area and the restricted areas.
We floated past the main area to the open bay first (wish we’d gone right to the crystal-clear springs because it’s a small area and gets crowded, but we didn’t know ahead of time). As we entered the bay, we saw big blobs floating everywhere. Manatees were underneath us, beside us, in front, and behind. It was exciting and terrifying at the same time due to their massive size and proximity to our clear, floating bathtub.
It was the most peaceful, beautiful, amazing experience… until one of the manatees misjudged his dive beneath us. His tail hit our kayak, Anthony got soaked, we rocked back and forth, but thankfully didn’t go in the water! That’s when we decided to high-tail it back to the peaceful, clear, calm cove of Three Sisters Springs. It was a bit more wild than we were ready for out in the open waters (live and learn). Lol!
In the springs… we fell in love! The water is see-through, like nothing we’ve ever seen before. Manatees were everywhere and completely visible, unlike the murky bay water. This is when we were thankful we chose the clear kayak. A mom with three babies swam up to visit.
Then the most incredible, unexpected thing happened. The cutest manatee you ever did see swam toward us. As he passed, he took a sudden interest, turned around, came right up to Anthony, peeked his head out of the water for a closer look, then swam directly underneath and twirled! He chose us! It was the most amazing moment and made this experience better than we ever hoped for.
After kayaking in the springs, we decided we actually would’ve felt safe enough to snorkel in that area (gators are rarely seen here) and plan on doing it on our next Florida trip.
🩵 Add this to your Florida bucket list — Crystal River is the Manatee Capital of the World!
If you’re not comfortable in the water, there are several lookout areas to watch from also. After this incredible experience, we headed back to our campground to do some laundry and hunker in to enjoy our beautiful riverfront back door views. The next morning, we got up bright and early to drive about an hour away to our next adventure… snorkeling in a sinkhole. Yes, you read that right!
Can you believe there’s a Florida sinkhole you can actually swim in?
Of course, we made sure there were no gators lurking down there before we agreed to do this one. Turns out it’s probably the only water in Florida without alligators because it’s an ancient sinkhole!
Here’s the scoop 👇
📍 Devil’s Den Prehistoric Spring – Williston, FL
✅ Reservations required (snorkel or dive only — no general swimming)
💵 $18–$25 per person depending on the day
🤿 Bring your own gear or rent on-site
⏱️ Arrive early — it fills up fast!
📸 Great for photos, but no drones allowed
🐠🐢 There are fish and turtles in there too!
We climbed down a short staircase and were greeted by a turtle scurrying from the platform into the glowing blue pool surrounded by ancient limestone. It seriously felt like stepping into another world. Once again, we purposely scored the early time slot, which had its perks, first ones in / had the place all to ourselves, along with a downside… it was cold outside early in the morning, and the water is a constant 72°F year-round.
We questioned whether to rent a wetsuit but decided to brave it out and took the plunge. We quickly warmed up snorkelling through fossil beds and rock formations as beams of sunlight poured in through the sinkhole’s opening, highlighting the glowing fish swimming beneath us.
We couldn’t believe the otherworldly beauty of this place!
The history is just as spectacular. It’s a natural underground spring and sinkhole that got its name from early settlers who noticed steam rising from a hole in the ground and thought it was smoke and that the devil himself lived down there. It’s actually known as a “karst window,” a place where the roof of a cave collapsed, revealing water beneath. The water is about 54 feet deep and is fed from a deep underground spring. It’s a well-known archaeological, geological, and paleontological area with fascinating prehistoric finds. In the caves surrounding the sinkhole, they’ve found fossils from mastodons, saber-toothed tigers, giant ground sloths, prehistoric bears, ancient tools… divers have even found shark teeth. Many of these items are currently on display at the Florida Museum of History in Gainesville.
It’s wild to think this used to be home to ancient animals.
Would you swim in a prehistoric sinkhole?
This trip was seriously one of the best of our lives. Doing things outside comfort zones and truly experiencing “Life Part II” is what owning our Pleasure-Way Lexor has done for us. Who would’ve thought 6 years ago, taking a leap of faith to purchase a travel van when the world was shutting down…would provide such a profound, exciting, and exhilarating life-changing opportunity?
Well, that’s exactly what happened — and this is just a snippet of the life we’re now living from one simple yes!
We hope this encourages you to get out and see the world with your own eyes!
👉🏼And don’t forget to add these adventures to your Bucketlist.
Happy traveling, and hope to meet you out on the open road! 🚐✨