I am sure many of you have never heard about Crystal River Florida, however it is a place to add to the bucket list! There is so much do and see when you are in Crystal River Florida that it makes for an amazing vacation spot!

Last week we went on an adventure to explore Crystal River and Homossasa Florida. For me there are sooo many memories of when I was a kid there. My grandparents lived in Homossasa and as a kid we went there for vacation. It is such a beautiful area and not many people even know that it is there. I really wanted to be able to share the beauty with my kids and to share with others. It is a vacation spot that is so much fun, so beautiful and one everyone should add to their list. I reached out to the tourism board for Crystal River and partnered with them for our trip.

If you are looking for a great place to stay in Crystal River Florida, check out the Plantation on Crystal River. It is an older hotel, but the charm it has is AMAZING! It is right on the river, you can see the river from your room. When you are swimming at the pool you can see amazing sunsets too! Plus it is super close to just about everything you will want to do!

5 Things you MUST do in Crystal River Florida

1. Eat the local food. Everywhere you look in Crystal River Florida you can find a local place to eat. Go there! Skip the chains and the fast food, and eat locally! Two of the places we ate at that we loved are Crackers Bar and Grill  and Greenhouse Bistro. Both had AMAZING food! Wondering what to get? You want the Grouper, Redfish, scallops and gator! All things that are local to the area! 
2. Swim with the Manatees. This was the kids favorite thing we did the whole trip. It is truly an amazing expierence and one you have to do. You get right in the water with the manatees and get to see them in their natural habitat. If you are staying at the Plantation Hotel then you can just take a quick 30 second walk to the Plantation Adventure Center and get on a boat. They will take you and guide you for the whole expierence. 
3. Scalloping. This was an expierence for sure! While only one of us managed to get a scallop, our guide was amazing and got us 5 gallons worth! You could totally tell he knew what he was doing. LOL. But even with the challenges of the tide and us unskilled in the art of catching our own scallops it was a ton of fun! The folks at River Adventure Tours made is amazing! 
4. Kayaking. There are many places you can rent a kayak from in Crystal River. We went to Hunter Springs Kayaks to get ours. We had never been kayaking before, and it was easy enough that we could handle the adventure on our own.
5. Enjoy the views! It is so beautiful in Crystal River and Homossasa! Every where you look the beauty of nature is right there! The beautiful Springs that you can swim in, kayak in or take a walk around, the amazing sunsets at night and so much more! 

Disclaimer: This post and travel is sponsored by Discover Crystal River. All opinions are 100% my own.