Image of a sea turtle swimming near a reef. Credit Photo by Belle Co from Pexels

Florida Keys snorkeling: beautiful tropical scenes in the continental U.S.

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The Florida Keys are a string of islands stretching 120 mi (190 km) off the southern coast of Florida. Key West is at the southwestern tip and is one of the most popular tourist areas. The Keys’ location and topical waters provide excellent snorkeling and scuba diving opportunities. We took a trip to the Florida Keys & Key West in September 2022 and loved Key West snorkeling and other Florida Keys snorkeling. Let’s talk about what the area provides, some tips on tour providers, and what you can expect!

🤿Want to capture your snorkeling adventures? Read about our snorkeling camera setup using an Akaso Brave 4 action camera. Don’t forget your snorkeling sun protection clothing for your trip.

Types of Florida Keys snorkeling available

A large coral reef system inhabits the waters around the Florida Keys. The reef stretches from Dry Tortugas National Park 70 mi (110 km) from Key West in the southwest to St. Lucie Inlet in Martin County. The Florida Keys reef is the only major coral reef in the continental United States. The reef and nearby shipwrecks provide excellent snorkeling and diving opportunities.

Many of the best Florida Keys snorkeling spots are accessible only by boat as the reefs are at least 1 mile (1.6 km) offshore. There are still a few well-regarded shore snorkeling sites in the area.

Getting there

Getting to the Florida Keys usually involves driving south on Florida Rt. 1 from somewhere in southern Florida like Miami. Check out tips from our friends at The Temperate Traveler for exploring Miami on the way to or from the Keys! Rt. 1 runs the entire length of the Keys from Key Largo to Key West. The drive on Rt. 1 has stunning views and provides access to all the Keys.

Map of the area

Here is a Florida Keys snorkeling map showing the places mentioned in this post

The resources section below has other resources and maps.

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park

Our first snorkeling stop on this trip was John Pennekamp State Park snorkeling. The park is in Key Largo close to where A1A takes you from the mainland to the islands. It is a 1:15 drive from Miami (60 mi / 95 km). The park was the first underwater park in the country and provides attractions like mangroves for kayaking, glass-bottomed boat tours, beaches, tropical hammocks, scuba diving, and snorkeling, of course!

We chose to do a snorkeling boat tour with them and had a great experience! The boat had shade and was in good repair, the crew and divemaster who came with us were helpful, and we saw beautiful corals and colorful fish! We enjoyed our time snorkeling at John Pennekamp State Park. We would recommend it because of the ease of access, beautiful sights, how well-run the trip was, and its relative affordability.

Image of fish and corals seen during Florida Keys snorkeling in John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park.
Matt Kieffer from London, United Kingdom, Fish and corals in John Pennekamp Marine Park (2351507031)CC BY-SA 2.0

Features of John Pennekamp State Park snorkeling

  • The views while snorkeling were lovely with coral and many colorful fish
  • The water was calm
  • The boat ride to the reef is through beautiful mangroves
  • Changing rooms with freshwater showers are available for when you finish your tour
  • We thought that the tour would be great for someone’s first snorkeling boat tour because of the helpful crew and calm waters
  • Reasonable price with equipment available for rental

Tips for your best trip

  • Book online to secure your spot
  • Bring a plastic bag for your wet clothes after you rinse off
  • Bring water for the boat
  • Leave time to explore the rest of the park
  • The convenient location means you could stop by the park on your way into the Keys or on your way to the airport

Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park

Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park is on the southwestern edge of Key West. The park has the beautiful historic Fort Zachary Taylor, amazing beaches, and paddling. It is often cited as having some of the best snorkeling in the Keys without a boat.

The fort began construction in the 1850s after Florida became a state. It saw usage during the American Civil War and the Spanish-American War. It was designated a historic site in 1971. Today it offers the ability to tour the building, learn about its history, and see some of its vast collection of Civil War armaments.

Fort Zachary Taylor State Park snorkeling

Fort Zachary Taylor snorkeling is done right from the shore for cheap snorkeling in Key West! Bring your own gear or rent snorkeling gear at the concession stand on the beach. To find the snorkeling spot, go to the beach and look for the rocky breakwaters. Those will be your target as fish and other life tend to congregate around them. The water is typically clear though there can be somewhat of a current.

We saw several smaller fish, a lionfish, a crab, and got caught in a passing school of tiny fish swimming all around us. That was mesmerizing like driving at night in a snowstorm! We thought this was a solid shore snorkeling site. It didn’t reach the level of our shore snorkeling in Turks and Caicos or the boat trips in the Keys but we got to see some ocean life and spend time in the water. The fort, beaches, and sunset views combine to make the park well worth a visit on your Key West trip.

Arial view of Fort Zachary Taylor State Park showing the fort, coastline, and Florida Keys snorkeling area by the beach.
Snorkeling at the park is off the beach on the right around the rocky areas
U.S. Department of Transportation, Aerial view of Fort Zachary Taylor State Park, marked as public domain, more details on Wikimedia Commons

Features of Zachary Taylor State Park

  • We thought this was a solid place for shore snorkeling. Several sources cite it as the best snorkeling in the Keys without a boat. We preferred the boat tours though.
  • Many fish can be seen close to the shore
  • A few sites (example) mentioned that you can sometimes see stingrays or nurse sharks here
  • The park and snorkeling area are very accessible with good parking
  • There are freshwater showers and changing rooms
  • The park has amazing sunset views. Look at the banner on our homepage!
  • Rental snorkel gear is available
  • The beach and fort provide non-snorkeling attractions

Tips for your best trip

  • Bring sun protection
  • The fish tend to hang out by the rocky areas just off the beach
  • Leave time to enjoy the views. The sunsets here are amazing!
  • Leave time to enjoy the fort

Florida Keys snorkeling tour with Fury Water Adventures

One of the 2 Key West snorkeling tours we did was with Fury on their 2 stop tour. The tour left from the historic seaport in Key West. We were on a large catamaran and made two snorkeling stops at reef sites. The boat and crew were fantastic. We thoroughly enjoyed the trip with them. Rum punch and mimosas on the way home didn’t hurt either! This tour was at the top of our best Key West snorkeling tours.

Fury Water Adventures 2-stop Florida Keys snorkeling

During our time snorkeling, we saw beautiful coral, a reef shark, big parrot fish, a sea turtle, and the typical array of vibrant reef fish! Both snorkeling sites were lovely. There was a larger population of moon jellies around. They took a little care to avoid but were gorgeous! Wearing clothing like rash guards and swim pants can help protect you from Key West jellyfish. Despite that, I ran into one with my unexposed neck while not paying attention. It wasn’t too bad and was only a minor inconvenience. Getting to swim with so many beautiful jellies was still a treat.

Features of Fury’s snorkeling tour

  • Having two snorkeling stops means spending more time in the water!
  • See beautiful corals, reef life, and possibly larger life like sharks and turtles
  • Professional and fun crew
  • Reef-safe sunscreen was provided
  • Comfortable and clean boat
  • Great views on the ride out / home
  • Rum punch and mimosas on the way home
  • Reasonable price for a multiple-hour boat tour

Key West snorkeling tour with Seabago

Our other snorkeling boat tour was with Sebago Watersports. The group we went with on this boat was a mix of snorkelers and folks who went out for the cruise alone. We had one stop and got to see some nice coral, a reef shark, and beautiful fish. The crew was professional and provided soft drinks and adult beverages.

While we had a good time here, we wanted to focus more on snorkeling. The other boat tour had a greater snorkeling focus that better matched our desires.

Dry Tortugas National Park

A unique experience for Key West snorkeling is Dry Torguas National Park. The park is 70 mi (112 km) west of Key West and is mostly underwater. Access requires a ferry or seaplane. Once there, you can tour the beautiful Fort Jefferson and snorkel around the moat walls, coral heads, and wooden piles.

Snorkeling there, we had reasonably clear water and saw a turtle, many varieties of fish, and beautiful corals. Read our guide for all the details about a Key West Dry Tortugas tour! This was a trip that I loved and will remember forever!

Sandy beach with water and Fort Jefferson at Dry Tortugas National Park.
Dry Tortugas beach with snorkeling access

A trip here is admittedly more expensive and time-consuming than other options. Despite that, we were floored after our visit and thought the trip was worth the investment. The gorgeous island and stellar views of the fort enhance the Dry Tortugas experience. TropicalSnorkeling.com cites Dry Tortugas as the best snorkeling in Key West.

Resources and further reading

There are many other areas in the Keys for snorkeling that we didn’t get to explore and you might want to consider. Some trip-planning resources we found helpful were

  • TripAdvisor for Key West snorkeling reviews of tour companies, parks, etc.
  • TropicalSnorkeling.com was a resource we read multiple times while planning. It gives an overview of options around all of the Keys. They cover many sites for Florida Keys snorkeling tours.
  • Our Dry Tortugas guide will give you details about that amazing option.
  • Snorkel Around the World has a great guide I read while researching this post.

Wrapping up

Are you ready to go snorkeling in the Keys? Have you been? Let us know below!

Key West and the Florida Keys provide many options for excellent snorkeling. Most of the great snorkeling is only accessible via boat. However, there are a few solid shore options. We thoroughly enjoyed snorkeling during our visit and hope you do too!

🤿Want to capture your snorkeling adventures? Read about our snorkeling camera setup using an Akaso Brave 4 action camera. Don’t forget your snorkeling sun protection clothing for your trip.

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