31 days until manatee season
Springs hold 72° year-round. Scalloping July 1 to Sept. 24.
A three-story waterfront family compound about 10 minutes from the manatees. Private floating dock and boat lift in a no-wake tidal canal, with boats 27 ft and smaller recommended. Heated dip pool, full game floor, elevator, twelve TVs. Booking direct is about 5% below the platforms' nightly rate, with no service fee on top. Same calendar, same house, your savings instead of theirs.
5.0/5 from 16 guest reviews across Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com · from $923 total for a 1-night stay booking direct, including the $500 cleaning fee, before 11% lodging tax · Text us
the house
5 BR
five real bedrooms, sleeps eleven
direct-only
~5%
saved booking direct vs Airbnb
the manatees
10 min
to Three Sisters Springs
the season
Nov to Mar
manatee season, peak Jan to Feb
“What a great quick getaway from the city! It was so quiet and peaceful for the adults and plenty of fun in house and water for the kids. The space was ideal for our group of 11 moms and kids! Paddle boards and tours rented from Manatee Paddle, Bayside Craft Kitchen for a dinner out. Lots of grilling and cooking. We could have stayed forever. Thank you Bayshore, we will be back!”
The house
Every room, the dock, the pool and the game floor - 62 photos, sorted by area, with bed counts for each bedroom.
Open the photo tourWhy this house
We bought this place because we kept coming back to Crystal River year after year. Then we set it up like guests, not investors. Here's what that means in practice.
The game floor
Pac-Man, NBA Jam, Big Buck Hunter, Golden Tee, Fast & Furious. Pool table, ping pong, air hockey, and darts. Board games stored on the second-floor desk. A four-TV jumbotron wall plus a bar kitchen with ice maker, microwave, air fryer, and dishwasher. Twelve TVs in the house total.
Five bedrooms, three floors, one elevator
King primary suite on the main floor with double vanity, two-head walk-in shower, soaking tub, and balcony. Two queen bedrooms with their own bathrooms on the third floor. A queen-twin bunk room for the kids. A ground-floor fifth bedroom with full bath.
Working dock in a no-wake zone
Private floating dock, plus a boat lift you can use with prior host approval (boats up to 27 ft and 10,000 lb). Tie up to the dock or lift your boat clear of the water. Bring your own boat or rent one from Plantation Marina about seven minutes away. Manatees gather in the canal from mid-November through March.
The outdoor side
Heated dip pool, tiki bar, gas fire pit, putting green, cornhole, swings, lounge seating. Artificial-turf dog area with bags, trash can, and a hose for cleanup. Wraparound porch with rocking chairs.
Kings Bay, Crystal River
Kings Bay is the spring-fed heart of Crystal River: clear water fed by 72-degree springs, and the winter home of hundreds of manatees. Bayshore Getaway puts your group on the water right off it.
On a canal off Kings Bay
The house faces the Navarre Canal, a no-wake tidal canal that opens onto Kings Bay, the spring-fed bay at the head of the Crystal River, with Gulf access beyond it.
Your own dock and boat lift
Tie up at the private floating dock, or lift your boat clear of the water with prior host approval (boats 27 ft and smaller recommended for the canal). Rentals are at Plantation Marina, about seven minutes away.
Manatees in the canal
From mid-November through March manatees move into the warm canals around Kings Bay, including this one. Three Sisters Springs, where you can swim with them, is about 10 minutes from the house.
Book direct
Same house, same hosts, same self check-in, without the platform's cut baked into your rate. Pick dates on the right for live availability and your exact total.
Heads up
Manatee season (Nov–Mar) books up months ahead. If your dates are tight, text us before you hit checkout — we usually find a way.
Direct booking
Pick your dates
Your exact total updates the moment you choose check-in + check-out.
Live availability
No platform fee
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Live calendar · No platform fees · No charge from this form
A day at Bayshore
Three days, six moments. The honest version of what your weekend looks like.
Sunrise
Espresso machine humming. The canal mirror-flat. A manatee surfaces once, then disappears.
From your dock
Take the boat off the lift (ask us first), idle through the no-wake zone, and you're at the spring in about fifteen minutes. Goggles on, blue water below, manatees most of the winter.
10 min drive
Drive about ten minutes to Cafe on the Avenue or Crackers on the water. Order the grouper sandwich. Save room for key lime pie.
Quiet hours
Pac-Man, ping pong, NBA Jam. Then twenty minutes in the heated dip pool while the kids drain themselves on the arcade.
15 min drive
Fifteen minutes west. The only Gulf beach in Citrus County. Dog runs the tide line; you don't look at your phone once.
Dark sky
Light the gas fire pit. Pour something from the tiki bar. Dock light on, in case a manatee comes to say goodnight.
Book direct
The widget on the right does the math live. Drag the sliders. The savings is real money, and it's yours.
The math
If you book on Airbnb
$3,475
total incl. $500 cleaning, platform fee baked into the rate, before taxes
Book direct here
$3,326
total incl. $500 cleaning, no platform fee, before taxes
You save
$149
Totals include the $500 cleaning fee every booking pays and leave out the 11% lodging tax (Florida sales tax and Citrus County tourist tax), plus the $150 pet fee if you bring dogs. The platforms bake their service fee into the nightly rate; booking direct gets you a 5% lower rate with no separate booking fee. This is an estimate, not a quote. Your exact total, with every fee and tax itemized, loads after you pick dates on the booking page.
The area
Planning help: Crystal River travel guides · things to do · FAQ · all 62 photos · about the hosts
Nov to MarCrystal River is the only place in the U.S. where you can legally swim with West Indian manatees. November through March, hundreds gather in the 72° springs at the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge, about 10 minutes from the house.
About 10 min drive · or by boat from your dock →
Year-roundWe do not keep kayaks at the house and we do not recommend launching from our dock — the canal is rocky and oyster-edged. Better plan: rent from a real launch point a few minutes away.
About 10 min drive to rental shops →
Year-roundBring your own 27 ft-and-smaller boat and dock at the private floating dock, or rent one for the day. Crystal River has flats, channels, and the open Gulf within thirty minutes. Excellent for fishing, scalloping, sandbar days, and sunset cruises.
Rentals about 7 to 15 min away →
From recent guests · 5.0/5 across 16 reviews
"We enjoyed our time spent at Michael’s beautiful home. There was plenty of room for all of us to spread out and then plenty of room for all of us to come together comfortably. Thanks Michael."
"Micheal was top notch. Any questions were answered right away. We needed a later check out and without question he made it happen. Would definitely recommend to anyone visiting the area. More then anything the price point for the home was very reasonable."
"This place was great to stay at with a large group! Great hosts great location."
"We had a great time staying at this beautiful house. There was so much to do and we loved the backyard and game room at the bottom!"
"Beautiful home! Great area, very responsive host. Perfect for large families. We loved our stay here so much. We will definitely be back. Thank you Michael for the hospitality!!"
"Positive: The homs was comfortable and had lots of entertainment areas. The game area was my family's favorite part. The home is in a good location with stores close by but also on the water. Negative: Nothing"
Dates already booked?
Manatee season (Nov to Mar) and scallop season (Jul 1 to Sep 24) fill three to six weeks out. Leave your target window and we'll send a note the day a cancellation opens.