Judith Pflaumer

Am looking for nature tours to see manatees in natural habitat around Ft. Meyers Florida. during the last week of December.

Diane

We saw those amazing creatures in Tampa Bay, near the power company. Not exactly natural habitat, but they seem to love lazing in the warm water.

Larry

They will be found in/near any source of warm water such as natural springs & power plant discharge/cooling pools. Even though the natural springs are around 72 F, that is warmer than the Gulf. There are tours up near Crystal River but that's too far from Ft Meyers

Sharon

Manatees will be huddled around the Caloosahatchee power plant unless the weather remains warm for the rest of the month. They hate cold water. This morning there were 5 and 3 pups in my marina hanging around the launch ramp. These guys really aren't the brightest. They have been there for years and everyone just works around them. If you want to try to see them in a more natural setting then Pine Island Sound might be a good spot, the water is shallow there and very clear and warmish so there might be a few. There are many naturalist tours leaving from both the Sanibel Harbor resort and South Seas Plantation. There is also a tour group near the power plant but it is sort of lame. The ones in our marina will stick their hairy snouts up in recognition of my dog when we walk there in the a.m. Have fun...there are many other creatures to see as well: bald eagles, the stunning roseate spoonbills, ibis, great heron, white and brown pelicans, and you can see them all at once feeding at the Ding Darling preserve on Sanibel Island at low tide: a fabulous show if the time is right.

kathy

The Only place you can swim with the Manatee is in Citrus COunty Florida. That is the place where Crystal River and Homosassa Sprongs are. The US Fish and Wildlife maintain the area since it is also a Wildlife Refuge.
The area is north of Tampa and west of Orlando. There are several dive shops and motels to take care of you and several wonderful restaurants to enjoy
a quiet end of the day. Family and singles will have a great time there.