going to key west in 3 weeks, need advice

[solarwrx]

hello fellow reefers i havent been on the boards much i kinda been out of the hobby except my 3 gallon pico tank i have on my desk at work

me and my girlfriend are heading to key west in 3 weeks, we are staying at the mariot there i would like to know where is the best place to snoorkle and visit ? i see there are a lot of places to choose,

i wouldnt mind renting a boat or doing something adventerous while im there as well

i remember a while back some one posted that there was a place you can stop by and even colect fish and crabs on the way to key west as well and doesnt require a boat.

any help or sugestions you may have is great

thanks

 

[saltysupply]

on duval street there are quite a few snorkel and booze cruises you can take..they are alot of fun....You can find most of the activities right on duval at the booths they have along the street. here is some good materal for the keys as well http://fla-keys.com/

 

[solarwrx]

thanks salty i saw that, i was just wondering if any one would recomend or not recomend something,

i saw they had boat rentals do they allow you to go off anywere and island hop or is it allprotected and such

 

[skippy823]

last time i went down there i went on a 2 spot snorkle trip and the reef looked dead no color looked striped and abused. it was sad. i heard key biscaine(spelling sucks) was good to snorkle off of

 

[loosbrew]

Nicole and I went there two years ago and did some off shore snorkeling off of Bahia Honda. That was pretty nice. It was a little bit of a drive from Key West, maybe 30-40 mins but worth it. Lots of random patches of coral, tangs, damsels etc... Also, the Looe Key Reef Resort and Center will take you out to some decent reefs to snorkel or dive to over.

Good luck and have fun!

Luis

 

[solarwrx]

thank loos ill check it out, that was the name i was thinking of

 

[teach]

http://www.flkeysdiveshops.com/lkdiveshops/diveshops_info.cfm?shopID=87

They are on Big Pine Key, but are very good.

 

[seafansar]

Here's some pictures of Looe Key from earlier this month.

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[Glove]

I will third Looe Reef. Its a protected area with lots of finger formations, like small canyons and some areas where the reef meets the sand. Its shallow enough for snorkeling too.
There are a few different shops that take divers out there. I have used the Looe Key Resort place and the service was fine.

 

[Mattmcf]

Look for the bridges on the way back up. On low tide you can walk the edge where the rocks are a bit exposed and find as many blue leg hermits as you want. Venture into the water and start flipping the rocks and you can find brittle stars, cucumbers, and turbos. If you want to snorkel around there you can find pairs of coral banded shrimp, mantis, or some really pretty pistol shrimp. I have heard there are emerald crabs there but i have yet to find them. Sea horses are in the grass flats but that is a little further out (you may not want to swim there) and they require special care. Just remember you need a saltwater license and must collect within the guidelines... Good luck and don't forget the pictures. Recreational Bag Limits Florida

 

[solarwrx]

thanks for all the information, the little time we have there i wont get to have much free time to do much, we are staying at the mariot there in key west

sunday we might try this out its a all day trip, has any one been there ?

http://www.nps.gov/drto/
http://www.sunnydayskeywest.com/fastcat.htm

and my gf wants to do this
http://www.hemingwayhome.com/

is there any really nice privated beaches there? if any one seen any of the corona comercials thats exactly what im looking foward to !! LOL

 

[mrcrab]

If you want beaches, the keys might not be the place.

 

[Famous]

This is a pretty cool place in Key West to check out, different but neat!

http://www.thechickenstore.com/