IMPORTANT: You need to come prepared to this key If you expect to enjoy everything it has to share…read more The state park does not treat the island with pesticides. Bring: water, bug spray, and maybe a hat. There are bathrooms past the house on the right with a ramp. COST: $2.50 and $2.00 for access and tour. HOW TO GET HERE: We moored on the other side of the island and took the dinghy to the dock. Their Website has information for transportation to the island. We had a private tour of the island it the history is just unreal. The vegetation is massive and I had no idea how large this key actually measured. Because you can't swim or fish 100' from the dock or mangroves, it acts as a nursery for a ton of fish. I saw barracuda, sheep's head, yellow fin, ciro.

Lignumvitae Botanical state park is one of the last remaining natural keys. This park has a strict…read morepolicy on visitation and only offers restricted access due to its natural preservation efforts. Like others, I recommend to come in the winter months, due to the amount of mosquitos. This island is not sprayed like the residential keys, due to preservation, so you can imagine the number of hungry mosquitos. We came over in late October and it was still pretty buggy. There's a neat old house on the island and the ranger will give you the history of the house and the residents who maintained it. There is a long hiking trail but we only made it about 20 minutes in before turning around due to the bugs. And I do have a fairy high threshold for bugs. We did get to see some Golden Orb Weaver spiders, so that was totally worth the trip. It was cool to get the history of the Key. I'm looking forward to come back hike the entire trail in the winter!

I know what you're thinking.. I'm not interested in diving. I don't particularly care for museums…read more I want to keep driving till I get to Key West and party. Well, big mistake. This place is amazing. What a celebration of human achievement. It makes me respect all of the progress and innovation. Takes about 45 minutes to see it all and it's well worth the admission. Do yourself a favor and stop at this museum. You won't be sorry. Key West will wait!

Great little museum with a big collection of all things diving from over 30 different countries…read more You will see diving helmets, hand-operated air pumps, armored suits, videos, just to name a few things. The Museum preserves and displays artifacts and antiques relative to the history of diving. I highly recommend the museum. It's educational and informative. Opens daily from 10am-5pm Admission Price Adults: $15 Seniors (62+): $13 Children 6-11: $7 Children 5 and Under: FREE US Veterans: $12 US Active Military: FREE College Students w/ ID: $11 NARM Members: FREE SNAP recipients: FREE

Lovely long reef on the U.S.S. Alligator, wrecked in the 1800s. It's not a wreck dive though there…read moreare some remnants of the ship and inorganic shapes. 26' deep. 9:40am, 64 minutes, 75 degrees, 45ft vis 11:00am, 55 min, 77 degs 5' surge at surface, slight current below but good visibility and calm. Not so overused like the reefs at Largo-- theres just 3 dive operators in this sleepy middle key. Saw: huge moray eels, turtles, lobster colonies, grouper, silver barracuda, nurse shark, conch, sea fans, brain coral, coral crab, shrimp, groupers, midnight (blue) parrotfish, squirrel fish. Highly recommend going out to this one with Seamonkeys.

One of the most beautiful reefs I ever dove at. Right below the lighthouse the the middle of open…read moresea lies a huge tropical underwater treasure of healthy fish, corals and predators. I was on my friends boat and we were doing some fishing about three hundred feet from the lighthouse. The fishing was good, yellow tail snappers were in huge schools and my friend was catching them without any wait or hesitation. I decided to jump in the water with my spear gun and take a few shots at the snappers. caught three and a small amber jack, My streak was brought to a heart stopping pause in minutes. I have been around sharks while diving and to be honest with you I am not scared of them. So i dive just a little above the school but remained mostly in the surface to get air (I was not diving with tanks). A huge bull shark came to the site. He was massive, I had never encountered such large animal on the open ocean. He was calm and collected for a while, just circling and acting very territorial. Suddenly something snapped and that beast became extremely possessive and went to a feeding frenzy. Everything happened so fast and I was able to witness first hand hoe aggressive this creatures can be. He destroyed halve the school of fish in one gulp. My friend was reeling in a yellow tail snapper, the shark swam on his back, flipped and gulped the fish without any hesitation, the line was instantly cut. The visibility was so clear that 40 feet of water seemed like 10. My friend saw the shark when he took his catch and the maneuvers that he did to get it. It was great to share the same story but from two different angles. I was scared for my life; Never have I had my heart beat so fast out of my chest, and certainly not for a fish. There is a first time for everything!!! Its incredible how their jaws can extend out of their mouths. The scariest part was when i turned around and my eyes were no longer seeing him, I could feel the scare as if i was being chased by him, So i changed my course and began swimming backwards toward the boat but keeping my eyss locked on the shark. My buddy was waiting for me,ladder down and ready to pull me onto the platform of the boat where i continued watching that monster destroy the rest of the school of fish. Lesson learned; Chum in the water stay out don't go spearfishing. This thing came out of nowhere, definitely a stealth master and one of the top predators in the ocean.

What a nice ride! We were afraid the weather wouldn't let us go! Thanks Mother Nature!…read moreEverything was on time. Clean boat, pleasant guides! In fact, the guide who described the plants & aquatic life while we were cruising over the reef was amazing! Knowledgeable & quick to identify what she saw & its location. They gave lots of info on avoiding seasickness & I didn't see anyone suffering. We took a camera but there wasn't a need. Cell phones are enough. I used my binoculars & only used them a bit to see birds in the mangroves. You can take plastic bottled drinks on board. You might not want to wear a hat. We stood on the front deck & it was perfect. It's with the $36 ticket for a 2.5 hr. excursion. Masks required inside.

We purchased our tickets online for the Glass Bottom Boat Tour which allowed us to pick the day and…read moretime and avoid the check-in lines at the park once we arrived, we also have our Florida State Park annual pass which allows easy entry into Pennekamp Park. We found a seat under the blue tent next to the dock which is used to stage the guess, they start boarding 15 minutes before the departure time and it's really a simple task even though they still manually check-in each guest as you board the vessel verses simply scanning the QR Code on the ticket or app. The 65' Catamaran is clean and spacious and the crew is extremely friendly, the tour guides are very knowledgeable and bubbly so they make every effort to make it fun. You can bring your non-alcoholic beverages on board since they no longer operate the snack bar, they do have (2) heads at the rear of the boat (restrooms). Once the boat leaves the dock it's a slow ride through the mangrove lined canal to the open water, the no wake zone continues until you pass the last navigational buoys, then he kick it up to about 18 knots until he approaches the reef I think that ride was about 25 minutes, it a nice relaxing ride, the interior cabin is air conditioned but the real adventure is on the open air top deck where the breeze is refreshing and you get the real outdoorsy experience. Once the boat arrives at the reef the captain brings the vessel to an idle and the viewing wells turn crystal clear exposing another world, the water depth over the coral reef is between 10' - 25' and the tour guide explains the viewing well numbering system so you know where to look while she explains what the boat is crossing over - she is very knowledgeable and explains everything you see - all the colorful fish and sea-life which is abundant as well as the coral types and objects that rest on the bottom. The tour runs about 2.5 hours and they take no short cuts so you get the total experience. They allow just enough time to get you back to the dock on time and honestly as much as I enjoyed it I was ready for it to be over, the ride back was not as exciting as the ride out and I found myself looking at my watch often - I thought it was a good value and worth the time but once is probably enough for me - the boat was about half filled so it wasn't crowded with about a third being kids and there's no doubt they loved it...

Lovely experience, friendly staff and great for kids! If you not go for the swim option, you stand…read moreon a submerged platform and get multiple options to interact with one selected dolphin. This is great for kids as it doesn't overwhelm them. The trainers are great and ensure you have a great time with the animals. We were a party of five, so we did have the platform for us. If you are fewer people, you will share the experience, yet everybody gets the same interaction with the dolphins.

A lifelong dream of mine happened and it also happened to be with my daughter for the first time…read more We called in an hour before they opened to see if they had any open spots available to interact with the dolphins. It's a great place to come and learn about their dolphins and to see all their fun tricks.

Fun, entertaining, and interactive experience. Great staff and volunteers. Highly recommend…read morevisiting.

First time here. Great for kids and very informative place…read morefor everyone to learn about our reefs and how to protect it. Great cause and highly recommend for all families to visit.

Seamonkey's was a must do dive experience! Family owned, intimate, and they are very knowledgeable…read more Great place that will accommodate any skill level. Dave and Marty are a lovely couple with lots of experience, and they know this spot through and through. RUN, don't walk and enjoy a trip with Sea Monkey's!!

We enjoyed our snorkeling experience so much and hands down recommend Sea Monkeys Divers! They are…read moresuper hospitable and this was by far our favorite experience for our quick getaway to Islamorada! We will definitely be back and next time plan to learn scuba basics with Frank! Captain Ed was amazing as well! Don't hesitate and book with them!

Nice and informative museum about the history of the Florida Keys. They have interactive exhibits,…read moredocumentaries, library, artwork, fish tanks, and much more. Great place to divert from the sun, too! Open Tuesday- Sunday 10am-5pm General Admission = $15.00 55yrs and 0ver Admission = $12.50 Student Ddmission = $6.00 Military = Free Admission.

Looking for things to do on an overcast day in the keys, we found a few museums in the area and…read moredecided to check out the Florida Keys history museum. First thing is that, yes, there's a big sign on the street to enter but, you feel like you're going the wrong direction after you have to navigate through a resort gate and drive-through what appears to be there maintenance area before arriving at the discovery center. The building itself looks newer and is very large and there's plenty of parking. Upon entering, we had no idea what to expect because we couldn't find the cost of admission anywhere so we had to ask and make the determination if we wanted to go. For $15 per adult and six dollars per student we decided why not. The museum itself is set out nicely with the first floor, including a history of the Florida indigenous people, and then the development of the keys. These are lots of computer screens with interactive items but, they need to be locked because we accidentally got to the desktop and saw we went this first with a variety of windows open, various search items and even Roblox and other games open that kids were playing. There is also a small aquarium section with three tanks. Upstairs there is a small art gallery and a theater that plays a rotation of historical movies. We saw one about state parks (1/5) and one about the overseas highway (4/5). So kind of hit and miss there. If you are a history or museum buff or really interested in the keys then this might be worth a stop but, would not recommend for a family with kids as they will get bored easily.