Islamorada Snorkeling Tours on the Shallow Reef
Snorkel Islamorada's Patch Reefs on the
Afternoon Trip
If your group wants to see the reef without learning to dive first, start with the afternoon trip from Islamorada Dive Center (IDC). It visits shallow patch reefs off the Upper Keys, where coral sits close enough to the surface that you can easily follow a parrotfish grazing below you with nothing more than a mask. The trip runs year-round.
At A Glance
Price: Snorkelers pay $60 each for the afternoon scuba and snorkel trip, and snorkel gear is included.
Age: Children can snorkel from age 5, and no experience is needed.
Depth: The reefs on this trip typically sit 15 to 30 feet down.
Ride: Most sites are less than 20 minutes from Three Waters Marina at MM 84.5.
Trip: Four hours on the water, visiting two different reefs chosen by the captain that day.
Snorkelers Ride the Same Afternoon Boat as the Divers
Snorkelers and scuba divers share the afternoon boat. It stops at two reefs, with the snorkelers working the surface while the divers go down.
Check in at Three Waters Marina 20 to 30 minutes before departure to sign the waiver, collect your snorkel gear, and get the briefing. The guide covers the day's sites on the ride. The captain picks both stops each day based on conditions, so the reefs you see on a Tuesday may not be the ones your neighbor saw on Sunday.
→ afternoon scuba and snorkel trip
Three Sanctuary Reefs on the Afternoon Rotation
Hens and Chickens, Davis Reef, and Alligator Reef are all afternoon-trip sites, and all three are Sanctuary Preservation Areas, the small zones inside the Florida Keys sanctuary where fishing and collecting are banned. NOAA counts 17 of them, covering about 12 square miles, and prohibits touching or standing on coral inside each one.
→ Florida Keys dive sites guide
Hens and Chickens
Davis Reef
Alligator Reef
Nurse Sharks, Bonnetheads and Other Sharks on the Shallow Reefs
Nurse sharks are the most reliably seen shark in the Keys, and IDC's shark guide describes them as docile, slow-moving, and uninterested in divers.
Look under the ledges. Reef sharks are seen here often too. At Morada, a 10- to 15-foot patch reef on both the morning and afternoon rotation, bonnetheads, the smallest members of the hammerhead family, cruise the sandy edges in small groups, and IDC calls them curious but timid. Lemon sharks often surprise visitors on the shallow reefs of the afternoon trip, especially near sandy patches. Keep your hands to yourself: touching or grabbing any shark is off limits, and feeding sharks is illegal in Florida.
→ Florida Keys shark encounters guide
Book Your Charter Online
Live availability, instant confirmation. Morning and afternoon charters available daily, year-round from Three Waters Marina.