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The Manatee Lodge | Waterfront Escape in Homosassa

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A spacious living area with a stone fireplace, leather furniture, and a large window overlooking a deck.
A balcony with a view of a water body and trees, a grey chair, and a small table.
A bedroom with a bed, bedside tables, a bench, and a view of the outdoors.
A modern house with a dock extending into a calm water body, surrounded by lush greenery.
A kitchen with a stone wall, a bar area with leather barstools, and a framed picture on the wall.

Reviews

10 out of 10
Exceptional

Highlights

  • The great outdoors
    Guests love the outdoor space here.
  • Arcade/game room
    A rare find - fun for all ages with on-site arcade/game room.
  • Centrally-located
    You're never far from where you need to be with this convenient location.
  • Discover nearby landmarks
    Near Crystal River Preserve State Park

Popular amenities

  • Balcony
  • Toys
  • Barbecue
  • Air-conditioning
  • Refrigerator
  • Washing machine

Explore the area

View map
Homosassa, FL
  • Place, Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park
    ‪1 min walk‬
  • Place, Crystal River Preserve State Park
    ‪3 min walk‬
  • Place, Three Sisters Springs
    ‪10 min drive‬

Rooms & beds

3 bedrooms (sleeps 8)

Main floor bedroom

1 King Bed

Upstairs bedroom

1 King Bed

Upstairs bunk room

2 Single Bunk Beds

2 bathrooms

Main floor bathroom

Toilet · Shower only

Upstairs bathroom

Toilet · Shower only

Spaces

Kitchen
Balcony
Number of living rooms
Dining area

Add dates for prices

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  • Kitchen
  • Washing machine
  • Dryer
  • Air-conditioning
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About the area

Homosassa

Located in Homosassa, this holiday home is on the waterfront. Riverhaven Marina and A Crystal River Kayak Company are worth checking out if an activity is on the agenda, while those wishing to experience the area's natural beauty can explore Three Sisters Springs and Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park. With kayaking, scuba diving and snorkelling nearby, you'll find plenty of adventures in the water.
View more Holiday homes in HomosassaOpens in a new window
Map
Homosassa, FL

What's nearby

  • Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park - 1 min walk - 0.1 km
  • Crystal River Preserve State Park - 3 min walk - 0.3 km
  • Three Sisters Springs - 10 min drive - 14.0 km
  • Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge - 11 min drive - 14.3 km
  • Weeki Wachee Springs - 29 min drive - 44.6 km

Restaurants

  • ‪RaceTrac - ‬3 min drive
  • ‪McDonald's - ‬3 min drive
  • ‪Michael Anthony's Pizza - ‬3 min drive
  • ‪The Freezer - ‬6 min drive
  • ‪The Shed At MacRae's - ‬6 min drive

Frequently asked questions

Is The Manatee Lodge | Waterfront Escape in Homosassa pet-friendly?

No, pets are not allowed at this property.

How much is parking at The Manatee Lodge | Waterfront Escape in Homosassa?

On-site parking is available at the property.

What time is check-in at The Manatee Lodge | Waterfront Escape in Homosassa?

Check-in begins at 4:00 PM.

What time is check-out at The Manatee Lodge | Waterfront Escape in Homosassa?

Checkout is at 10:00 AM.

Where is The Manatee Lodge | Waterfront Escape in Homosassa located?

This family-friendly Homosassa holiday home is located on the waterfront, within a 10-minute walk of Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park and Crystal River Preserve State Park. Yulee Sugar Mill Ruins Historic State Park and Old Mill House Gallery and Printing Museum are also within 2 miles (3 km).

Reviews

10

Exceptional

Reviews are presented in chronological order, subject to a moderation process, and verified unless otherwise labelled.
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Rating 10 - Excellent. 22 out of 23 reviews
Rating 8 - Good. 1 out of 23 reviews
Rating 6 - Okay. 0 out of 23 reviews
Rating 4 - Poor. 0 out of 23 reviews
Rating 2 - Terrible. 0 out of 23 reviews

9.8/10

Cleanliness

10/10

Check-in

10/10

Communication

10/10

Location

10/10

Listing accuracy

Reviews

Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy
An unforgettable stay that blends the tranquility of nature with incredible local flavors just minutes away.Kithchen was stocked and coffee bar was greatly appreciated. Host answered all questions quickly. Thank you so much.
Stayed 4 nights in Oct 2026
Response from VrboOwner on 27 October 2026
Thank you for the kind words! come back anytime!
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy
Fantastic property and amenities. This house has everything you could want and then some. Lots of games in the game room for those raining days. Beds were so comfortable. Loved having access to all of outdoor "toys" and not having to bring them down. Great location - near grocery store and the manatees. You could not ask for a better place!!
Stayed 7 nights in Oct 2026
Response from VrboOwner on 26 October 2026
We feel the same way, so glad you enjoyed your stay!
From a partner site

10/10 Excellent

Perfect location...Great property and well appointed.

One of the best values in Homosassa...Beautiful house and grounds. Super convenient with great river "toys"
Verified review

8/10 Good

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy
Great getaway
Stayed 4 nights in Jul 2025
From a partner site

10/10 Excellent

Met all expectations

Excellent experience - met all expectations, great location and very comfortable
From a partner site

10/10 Excellent

Relaxing Family Getaway

We had an amazing time! The location is perfect for families with small children. Every morning we watched manatees from the dock, then jumped in the kayaks and paddled around enjoying the scenery, manatees, and quietness of the area. The house was perfect for our needs and being so close to the state park is a huge perk with little kids-that park is such a hidden gem. Homosassa in general is such a nice little town-we all could envision owning a second home there someday. We'll likely be back as my kids absolutely loved it.
From a partner site

10/10 Excellent

Perfect Location for Manatee Watching!

We spent 4 nights at the Manatee Lodge in January and were able to take a short paddle to see the manatees face to face! The lodge provided wetsuits and boats and plenty of space for our family of 3. We were also able to catch a few fish in the springs and even rented a boat to explore downriver. If we come back to Homosassa we would definitely book here again.
From a partner site

10/10 Excellent

Wonderful relaxing place to stay

Manatee Lodge is the place to stay. Comfortable/homey feel to enjoy with family and friends. There’s no doubt we will be back. Being able to bring your boat and having on site canoes/kayaks to enjoy are the best way to have fun and explore. Also, you can’t pass up MacRae’s ‘The Shack’ just down the street on the water for food & drink. Additionally being able to visit various springs and natural parks near by was also great fun.
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Vacation to fish & paddle

The lodge is clean and comfortable and family friendly. The boathouse offers kayaks & paddle boards so we could enjoy the quiet, morning paddles together. We fished off the dock and kayaks and with Captain Rick Spratt. We enjoyed watching ducks, turtles, and manatees from the dock. We traveled to Three Sisters Springs, Rainbow River & Spring, Crystal River, and to Clearwater Beach.
Manatees from dock (early mornings)
From dock
From dock
Fishing on dock
Stayed 7 nights in Jun 2025
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy
We had a great stay at the Manatee Lodge! The location is perfect for seeing the manatees during the winter months and the manatee themed decor made the stay even more special. We enjoyed fishing from the dock and taking out the kayaks into the springs. We had a manatee swim past the dock one afternoon while we were fishing. In the mornings, we heard and saw lots of ducks and other wildlife from the screened in back porch overlooking the canal. It was a very peaceful and relaxing stay. My son especially enjoyed the bunk beds and the game room downstairs. During our stay, we visited monkey island, swam with manatees at Paddletail Waterfront Adventures, and visited the Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park.
Kayaking in the morning fog
View from the back of the house
Sunset from the dock
Upstairs bunk room
Stayed 3 nights in Feb 2026
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Well appointed manatee adventure.

We could not have chosen a better place to stay. If you are looking for an up close and personal experience with manatees, stay here. The house is very thoughtfully appointed with so much to do inside and out. The kayak and paddle boards made our whole trip. Even though we were late in the season, we still got to enjoy the manatees. Highly recommend.
Stayed 5 nights in Apr 2025
From a partner site

10/10 Excellent

Perfect Florida Fishing Spot!

Manatees literally were swimming up to the dock. Teenage boys caught 13 different varieties of fish and we barely saw them when we were home because they were downstairs in the game room. It’s the perfect family destination if you want that “Old Florida” experience. Everything is there for you both at the house and in the immediate area to have tremendous, slow paced and eclectic time to unplug. We couldn’t have asked for a better experience
From a partner site

10/10 Excellent

Love this place!!

The Manatee Lodge was perfect and was “as described” by Tim, listing all the amenities. We took advantage of kayaking, fishing, the fire pit with s’mores of course, grilling out burgers and dogs, and just sitting on the screened in porch staring at the canal and all the wildlife that cruised by. Even though we were told all the manatee had left, we were blessed by a “chubby” cruising by the back sea wall while fishing! We really enjoyed the kayaks and paddle boards and that there is a safe launch area beside the back garage. We will be back! Thanks Tim!
From a partner site

10/10 Excellent

Absolutely beautiful

Manatee Lodge was so cozy and peaceful. The house was very quiet and comfortable, stocked up with everything we needed. The area is magical with the crystal clear water and the house has kayaks and paddle boards too! Just sitting on the screened porch rocking chairs sipping coffee we saw a manatee, an otter and many fish right in front of the house! There’s also an awesome fire pit with these gorgeous Adirondack chairs made from local wood (gorgeous) where we enjoyed s’mores every night. It was peaceful, beautiful and very clean. Highly recommend!
Response from VrboOwner on 13 March 2024
Thanks so much Gisselle! So nice to hear that you and your family had a good time.
From a partner site

10/10 Excellent

Perfect Weekend

Our friends and us stayed at the Manatee Lodge for a long weekend. We had a wonderful time. The house is beautiful, relaxing and such a get away from it all place to stay. The canal offers sightings of the manatees, the fish (jumping), and even dolphins!! We had a fire pit fire, roasted marshmallow, melted chocolate and laughed ourselves silly over nothing but fun. The house had everything we wanted kayaks, paddle boards, many games in the basement room and comfy beds. We had a fabulous weekend!! Thanks for offering such a nice place to stay to have a fun time.
From a partner site

10/10 Excellent

Perfect for our family.

The owner was so quick to answer any questions we had. The house was so nice and directly on the canal. And there were wet suits in different sizes and there were canoes and paddle boards and a few fishing poles for our use which was so convenient! We had everything we needed to enjoy the water and see the manatees including a mom and baby. And the life jackets very provided. The washer and dryer down stairs was so convenient. I would recommend this place to anyone. Also, we all enjoyed the screened in porch.
Response from VrboOwner on 10 April 2024
You guys were great! Look forward to having you back anytime.
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Dreamy!

This place was just amazing. Our family of 5 (big kids age 19, 16 and 13) had plenty of space to spread out. Very comfy beds and excellent bathrooms - outdoor shower was super handy too! The best part is the location…we couldn’t have known that we would be a short kayak trip away from crystal blue water and manatees! The state park (“sanctuary”?) was right around the corner from the house, so we took the kayaks and paddle boards out several times to wade, explore and even swim pretty close to manatees! Folks from an overlook at the Homosassa State Park (which I also recommend!) were watching us in the water with the beautiful creatures…pretty cool. Thanks so much for providing kayaks, a great game room and awesome fire pit for the evenings. This place is wonderful. Great family memories!
Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2024
Response from VrboOwner on 13 March 2024
"Dreamy" is such a perfect description. We can not wait to have you back again. And you are correct... I wish words could describe how special our location is!
From a partner site

10/10 Excellent

Great time

What a little gem! This house was perfect for our 2 families to gather and share a super fun weekend for my daughter’s birthday. I’ve never been to a place in Florida where you can swim in cool refreshing FRESH water and not have to worry about alligators. It’s so beautiful to just take the paddle boards or kayaks out and Tim’s house is very well equipped with all the toys for a fun vacation. We loved sitting around the campfire at night and having a glass of wine and kids making s’mores. We went out scalloping with capt Rick and his wife and had so much fun with them (highly recommend that adventure) we saw sea turtles and swam with dolphins and learned all about the area and got to hunt a few dozen scallops as well. All in all it was a blast. We’ll be back for sure.
From a partner site

10/10 Excellent

Magical place

Spent 13 nights at Tim's wonderful place. Took full advantage of the Kayaks, SUP's, snorkeling and fishing gear and spent hours out on the water. Met Manatee's every day and got to recognize a few regulars including mums and calfs. We swam with them most days in the springs and they were regular visitors to the canal. We also saw loads of osprey and even a bald eagle plus snakes, cormorant, otters and pelicans. Another highlight was seeing dolphins chasing mullet a couple of times in the river and springs. Homosassa Springs park was great, visited Crystal River and kayaked down Rainbow River where we saw alligators and otters. Inverness was worth the trip to walk round the lake and see the old town etc. The house was perfect and we spent hours in the shade on the netted balcony. Plenty of restaurants within a few minutes drive and I can recommend The Shed at mcrays, they even cooked the fish we caught of a fishing charter. It went down well with their margaritas. All in all if you like a nice quiet relaxing place with access to the water The Manatee Lodge was perfect. Tim's communication was great and couldn't have been more helpful
From a partner site

10/10 Excellent

Magical place

Spent 13 nights at Tim's wonderful place. Took full advantage of the Kayaks, SUP's, snorkeling and fishing gear and spent hours out on the water. Met Manatee's every day and got to recognize a few regulars including mums and calfs. We swam with them most days in the springs and they were regular visitors to the canal. We also saw loads of osprey and even a bald eagle plus snakes, cormorant, otters and pelicans. Another highlight was seeing dolphins chasing mullet a couple of times in the river and springs. Homosassa Springs park was great, visited Crystal River and kayaked down Rainbow River where we saw alligators and otters. Inverness was worth the trip to walk round the lake and see the old town etc. The house was perfect and we spent hours in the shade on the netted balcony. Plenty of restaurants within a few minutes drive and I can recommend The Shed at mcrays, they even cooked the fish we caught of a fishing charter. It went down well with their margaritas. All in all if you like a nice quiet relaxing place with access to the water The Manatee Lodge was perfect. Tim's communication was great and couldn't have been more helpful
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy
Tim was an excellent host! He has a quick response time whenever you need and his house is great for a family of 6-8. It’s a great spot on the river to paddle down in his kayaks or paddle boards. We had a great stay!
Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2026
From a partner site

10/10 Excellent

Great time

What a little gem! This house was perfect for our 2 families to gather and share a super fun weekend for my daughter’s birthday. I’ve never been to a place in Florida where you can swim in cool refreshing FRESH water and not have to worry about alligators. It’s so beautiful to just take the paddle boards or kayaks out and Tim’s house is very well equipped with all the toys for a fun vacation. We loved sitting around the campfire at night and having a glass of wine and kids making s’mores. We went out scalloping with capt Rick and his wife and had so much fun with them (highly recommend that adventure) we saw sea turtles and swam with dolphins and learned all about the area and got to hunt a few dozen scallops as well. All in all it was a blast. We’ll be back for sure.
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Stayed 8 nights in Jun 2026
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