Our family was recently invited to be an Explorer Family for Kids Who Explore, a Social Enterprise of families who share their love for the outdoors and inspire others to explore together! How honored we are to be a part of this amazing group of families! On to some adventure!
We didn't have to travel far for this next adventure. About an hour and a half north of Tampa, is a beautiful hidden gem of Florida, Crystal River! Crystal River is most commonly known for being the 'Manatee Capital of the World,' but there's just so much more to this charming old Florida spot!
Scalloping in Crystal River
It was crazy to think this native Floridian had never been scalloping before our recent family trip in August! I could kick myself that we waited so long because it was an absolute BLAST! Thanks to the amazing Scallop Charter with the Adventure Center at the Plantation on Crystal River for having everything we needed to head out on the water and hunt for those scallops!
Since this was our first time scalloping, we were lucky to have two additional divers join us on the charter so they could help us hunt for those sneaky little scallops, because they were right, the first time searching for those "Easter eggs" under water was tricky, but so fun! Rachel and Lucas, the bonus divers we got were incredible to help us catch so many scallops!
Once on the Gulf, we snorkeled for scallops to put in our nets for about an hour, but sadly afternoon thunderstorms cut our charter short. The amazing crew on the charter still managed to make this adventure special by sharing their finds with us and even treating us to scallops right out of the water! With a few tools and ingredients, the crew showed us how to shuck a scallop and then prepared a sample for each of us, making the most delicious snack! Talk about a fresh catch!
Cook Your Catch
Back on land, we shared a cup of hot chocolate with the crew while we waited for the rain to stop before heading back to the resort. We had a special dinner planned later that evening. Another amazing perk of
Plantation on Crystal River was the opportunity to "Cook Your Catch" with their on-site restaurant. This was such a treat! The restaurant cleaned and prepared our scallops to perfection!
The Adventure Center at the beautiful,
Plantation on Crystal River resort has every adventure available for families to choose from. From manatee tours to fishing charters, there are so many ways to discover this area! We only scratched the surface with the adventure in Crystal River!
Scallop season begins in July and goes through mid September. We have plans to come back to kayak with manatees soon!
Have you been to Crystal River? If you haven't, time to book a trip! Visit our friends at
Plantation and book a fishing charter with Capt. Paul Cross! Your family will have a blast! :)
We were guests of Plantation on Crystal River for our scalloping trip. As always, all opinions and photos are our own from our firsthand experience.
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