Weeki Wachee Springs State Park

A very cute day trip experience from Safety Harbor/Clearwater area. We got there at 10:30 on a Saturday and didn't have to wait long for entrance. The lines for the river cruise and mermaid show can get long but luckily we were able to do both. The water is a cool 72 F year round. Bring chairs, towels, cooler, and other beach stuff for swimming in the springs! We were there for about 4 hours but you can spend more time exploring and relaxing by the water.

Unless you have children and perhaps want to kayak, you probably would not need more than 3 hours at this park. A fairly small but very interactive state park. The spring itself is quite pretty and the river boat tour that you can take practically all day is really relaxing and informative. You absolutely have to attend one of the mermaid shows as it is very unique and adorable. The history of this place is really interesting and the way they have incorporated it in their shows and tours is one of a kind. I'd definitely recommend you take a visit!

Affordable and unique location. We enjoyed the mermaid show at the underwater aquarium theater at the natural spring. Seeing the manatees was really cool. They have a playground for the littles and free parking. The food was tasty except my husband said the chicken strips were very dry. The ranger show was entertaining. As for the riverboat cruise - it's a 20 min boat ride and the single boat only holds about 30 passengers. Depending on park capacity, you may end up waiting an hour or more to ride. I wish they provided a ride ticket upon entry with a scheduled time to ride or sell the ride tickets for a couple bucks extra. I was not a fan of waiting so long to get on as my kids were getting antsy. We visited on a weekday just after Christmas so, the weather was nice and the park was only about 500 guests capacity-wise. I would definitely recommend visiting and make sure you get to the mermaid theater at least 20 min before showtime.

Our first Vacation In Florida and this place was definitely on our list as my daughter LOVES mermaids. We started to go one day and soon as we arrived it began raining hard so we decided to try again the next day. We arrived around noon and while waiting in line we were called over to the customer service and gifted admission for our family! This was such a blessing as this trip was a stretch financially anyway but as a mom that grew up not having any vacations, I'm determined to make sure my own children have wonderful memories of them. This place is awesome for a day of fun. Just wished it was open a little later. After we watched the shows and did the boat ride we only got about an hour at the beach before closing so Definitely go early as possible. Still so grateful for our complimentary fun day!! The mermaid show was definitely an awesome experience!