Florida Keys - Good Snorkeling for Kids ?

[aa87]

Hello,

I will be in Miami next week w my wife and 3 children (10, 8 and 6) and want to take them snorkeling in the mid-upper keys (bet Key Largo-Marathon). They are pretty good swimmers but not outdoors types, and little ocean experience. Ideal would be shallow area, lots of fish, close to shore/no long boat trips, calm waters. I know that may be a lot to ask for, but if anyone has suggestions that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks much.

 

[00wabbit]

Key largo has good snorkeling.

You can do a little snorkeling form shore in Pennekamp park but don't expect to see much other than some small fish. This could be a good place though to get them used to snorkeling.
The Reef in Key Largo is 5 or so miles of shore so it is a very quick boat ride. There is excellent snorkeling there. I was scuba diving an area and there were snorkelers near by. Where we were was about 30 ft deep but the snorkeling area was 11-12 ft deep. There are operators that do snorkel trips there. The waters are usually calm because they are inside the reef. Just pick a day that has the least wind. Wind whips up the waves.

I stayed in an RV park there called Pointe of View. They have a small beach on the bay side of Key Largo and I did a bit of snorkeling there when we were home. I saw a lot of small fish, some small barracuda, trumpet fish, and upside down jelly fish. If you have a camper you could go there. Some of the hotels on the bay side may also have little beaches you can snorkel from to get used to it, but get out to the pennekamp reef. It's nice for being in the US.

You can also drive down to Islamorada. There are beach access points all along the way. You can snorkel there. If you are on the bay side there will be no waves. Again you will be seeing mostly smaller juvenile fish. If you go near the mangroves and plants along the shoreline you will find the fish hiding in there.