I've owned boats for 50 years. Boats of every size and sometimes three at once! Lived in Florida for more than 20 years. I say this to prove that I'm an experienced boater. I can look at Captain Jeff's boats and see the quality and care. Captain Jeff's boats are clean, run well, and are ready to go. This is a family owned and operated small business. Captain Jeff knocks himself out to give every renter a great experience. The prices are about as good as you are going to get and yes, the law of supply and demand does apply, And no, I do NOT own a boat anymore. (Finally got smart!) At some point it's MUCH better to rent. "Pull it in and walk away" Oh my. read more

Absolutely incredible experience! We rented a standard center console from Jeff. It was only $300 for the entire day with a return time of 5pm. He had bigger boats with radios and bigger engines for a little more, but my husband and I just needed something small for a few hours. Jeff told us exactly where to go for snorkeling above a reef and how to get to the Islamorada sand bar! We saw so many fish at the reef, it was pretty epic! A couple miles out the water turned a beautiful clear turquoise with white sand at the bottom! Jeff provided snorkel gear for free and if you're a fisher he'll provide fishing gear. He was absolutely the most reasonably priced, but was also so very kind and helpful! We can't wait to go back and rent another boat! Thanks for an epic day! read more

TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE, UNPROFESSIONAL, ACCUSATORY AND DYSFUNCTIONAL. THE OWNER, JEFF was out of his mind today. We were charged for existing damage after we got home. There are many other options for boat rentals. ELITE BOAT rentals across the bridge, A-1 BOAT RENTALS, also just across this bridge, anything else, really, but pass this place up. DO NOT RENT FROM THIS PLACE. Its not an upstanding business and the owner may or may not charge you an additional $600.00 to cover existing damage on his boats and blame your party. There are so many dings on the boats, and rusted hinges and dents that its impossible to know whcih one he may try to blame you for. NOT WORTH THE RISK. STAY OUT read more

From what I can gather, this is a very shady operation. My son was there with some family friends and basically this boating company destroyed my son's vacation claiming that they damaged the boat even though they had images of boat damage prior to them renting the boat. Thank God for credit card and credit card disputes. Buyer beware of this place. The owner who charged the credit card wasn't even there for check out. His colleague seamlessly okayed everything. I would consider only using this place if you're not planning any special occasions and you feel like getting ripped off. In the world we live in today I can only hope and pray this wasnt anti-Semitism as my son is Jewish read more

REEF MARINE IS TERRIBLE AND SHOULD FEEL ASHAMED. I am assuming it depends on who you are and what kind of a day Jeff is having, but he obviously saw me as a target he could try to manipulate for another 500-600 dollars, and that's not OK. Jeff offered me a good price for a weekly rental, only to tack on nearly $600.00 to my final bill, AFTER I returned home. His partner checked us out seamlessly when we returned the boat, but forgot to charge us for the fuel we had used. I reminded him that we still owed a balance for fuel, and I paid him in cash. Later I saw an additional charge for $559.00 on my card without any previous authorization. Jeff claimed that I put a baseball sized dent in the side of his boat, dented the aluminum bumper guard and cracked the polyurethane. This damage absolutely is there. And so are countless other dings, scrapes, rusty screws, missing latches, from years of overall hard rental use. Fine, it got us from place to place. However, I was not responsible for any of the damage. I have always taken good care of other peoples belongings. Had we damaged a single thing, I would have taken the high road and acted with accountability... because that is still important to me, and what my spouse and I have always taught our 2 boys (who were present with me ) to do. Jeff made either a false assumption by accident, or a very calculated " hustle" to squeeze an additional $600.00 out of me. Either way, it's not settling well. To just come up with an arbitrary dollar amount for damage that cannot be connected to me feels like it should be against legal practice.. The repair for this damage would likely be much higher than $600.00, and that he's trying to be a good guy by offering a discount is absolutely not the case. This is unacceptable, disappointing, and so not in line with the way respectable business' operate. I don't care if Jeff has been in business 20 minutes it 20 years, the way he handled me was like that of a dysfunctional, angry, exhausted and disgruntled local who can't stand to rely on the very tourism that provides his livelihood. Jeff, I am sorry your boat was damaged, I am assuming it goes with your line of work. Please stop yelling at your customers and making incorrect assumptions, and refund my account. read more

If you are planning a trip to the keys you need to rent a boat! There is so much to see/ do out there. We rented a 22' center console for a week and were able to dive, fish, explore the Everglades and hang out at the sand bar. Jeff (the owner) is great and very laid back. Side note: if you call and Jeff is busy and has to go abruptly- don't take it personally. Text him and he will get back to you right away. He is a small operation. I could not recommend this family owned and operated business any more. read more

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I have been coming with friends to rent a boat from Captain Jeff for 5 years now. My friends have rented from him even longer. Renting the boat from Jeff is always top of our list! A few tips- Be patient, you may have a few people ahead of you also trying to rent a boat. It's a process, they will get to you. :) and this place can definitely get busy. This year we are renting during covid, new experience & we always bring our own snorkel gear- But should you need any, you can rent some as well. Keep in mind, they don't have an unlimited supply. Give them a call ahead of your trip so you can get an idea of what they offer. If you are nervous about taking the boat out, don't worry, they will show you where to go and help you out. This is a DEFINITELY recommend from me! read more

We rented a center console from Reef Marine for 5 days. We had an amazing time! Jeff gave us tips on sites to see and fishing tips to make our trip perfect. We would definitely rent from Reef Marine again! read more

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Look no further!!! We were visiting Islamorada from Kansas and wanted to rent a boat for the day! We drove around to a few places checking out boats and talking with the rental ppl! Hands down Capt Jeff was the most honest and knowledgeable! Highly recommend this company. We had 7 ppl and this was the highlight of our vacation! My husband is very particular w boating as we owned SeaTow Miami for many years! Capt Jeff's boats and knowledge of the area made us feel Safe and knew we were in good hands! He's HONEST and up front about everything from the beginning there were no extra fees ! Great place ,great company and a great captain!!! We will be back!!!! Trust me this is the place to rent from !!! read more

Reef Marine - Went to the sand bar Capt Jeff told us to go to was BREATHTAKING!! - Boating Near Me - Islamorada, Florida

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I was there with AE Miller and I can confirm his experiences were honest. Jeff was shady from the moment we checked in to rent our reserved boat (that ended up being broken and we had to take another boat). But the problem is not the boat, it is Jeff's attitude toward his customers. Jeff started off by yelling at us that "someone had damaged my(his) boat and someone would end up having to pay for the damage." From then on, Jeff spiraled and claimed that he knows every inch of his boats and that he is frustrated that people keep damaging his boats. I can totally understand these feelings considering the boat rental business can be chaotic, but yelling and screaming and pinning the blame on your potential customers is not the way to do it. Because of this interaction, our group was extremely cautious of the boat the whole week and took especially good care of it. However, at the end of the week at lunch, Jeff came by and started yelling at us from his boat screaming "what did you do to my boat." He was extremely rude to us with more yelling and hysterical behavior. Jeff acted like a clown and his business is run like a circus (which is very fitting). Jeff ended up charging AE Miller around $600 for some apparent damage that we did not do. Jeff haggled us from the very start that someone would pay for this already existing damage and he pinned this on us. Jeff is a ridiculous character and deserves no business in Islamorada. Jeff, I hope you figure your situation out because this behavior is unacceptable. read more

There was 9 of us visiting from Houston for a short period of time and our boat reservation cancelled on us the morning of our rental. We called and Jeff was great with getting us hooked up with a boat rental (one of the cheapest around where we stayed). It's hard to find but when we did, him and his wife made sure we had everything we needed. They hustle and seem like hardworking people. Great job! read more

My wife calls to reserve a boat and right off the bat he's rude. He then tells her to text him. She asks if he can price match with another company which states on his website that we can ask him and he says yes. He then Tells us that he has us for the date we wanted. Cool, later on I call to ask questions and I confirm the price match with him and then says that he's not going to price match and to go somewhere else. WHAT?! Then would he had price gouged if we would've showed up on the day of?It's really shady to not have any legit confirmation and it seems like from the other reviews that other people have had similar experiences. Take your business elsewhere. read more

My go-to spot for boat rentals in the keys. They have the best rates and the owner is always so nice and helpful. Pretty self explanatory so I'll keep it short and sweet... read more

Reef Marine - Me jumping off the boat-Islamorada - Boating Near Me - Islamorada, Florida

Booking was easy, just called a day prior and were quoted $300/day. We showed up around 10am, went through a quick training, and off we went. There's a nice sandbar close to the rental location so we headed over there for the day. You can see this sandbar from the main drag so that was our motivation to rent from Reef Marine. Great choice! read more

Rented a 23' Proline to do some fly fishing around Islamorada and couldn't have been happier with it. Jeff was fast to have his guys pull the boat off the rack and get it into the water, the safety walk thru was thorough and the overall service and experience was fantastic. Easy in and out of the marina and in a great location to hit up the flats and several nearby bridges not to mention a beer at the Islamorada Fish Co. (Bass Pro) just around the corner to the north. -Tim, Boston MA read more

Reef Marine - Shot from the 23' Proline 0.5 mi from Reef Marine. - Boating Near Me - Islamorada, Florida

July 2020:  PRICE GOUGING ALERT!!!! We went to Islamorada for the Holiday and as we would expect that to be a busy weekend we booked in advanced. I was quoted a boat for $300 per day which beat other local operators; I was told show up in the morning and we'll have you taken care of. As we got closer to the date, we tried to verify and ensure the reservation was still in place as we had no email, no text, nothing, just a verbal via a phone call. I was a bit skeptical at this point, and we called around and everyone else was fully booked. The day before we called to find out the location and were rudely given the address and told that we had to be there at 8am or wouldn't have a boat, even though we had made a reservation. The next morning we showed up at 7:45am, and the guy said "not sure what I quoted you but my rent went up this week and I have to pass that onto my customers, if you don't like it you don't have to take the boat." What was I supposed to do at that point, I told him the quoted price and he said, 'I understand but you don't have to take the boat'. He knew there were no other options in the area, an my only choice was to pay the price or not have a boat. We planned our vacation around having a boat, so I did not have any options. The boat itself was bare minimum, with a broken gas gauge that showed empty the whole time, a GPS that doesn't have a navigation map, meaning it doesn't show any nautical markers, or depths, and a depth sensor that barely worked. When I pointed the depth sensor not working well, I was told, "yeah don't go by that, just look at the color of the water"..... Really go by the color of the water? No other issues with the boat itself; on the second day of our reservation we were not provided any ropes, which fortunately based on over 10 years of boating experience, I have learned to come prepared and I had my own rope. By the time we noticed we were on the ocean and wasn't going to turn around for the ropes. The other issue with this place was that despite the fact that we rented the boat for 2 days, we had to bring it back by 5pm each day even though there was a dock at the hotel we were staying at. When I booked I was told I just had to bring it by 5pm the last day of the rental, so another bait-and-switch. He said 'I need to touch the boat by 5pm, otherwise a $150 fine'. I had just rented a boat in Marathon earlier in the month for a week and were able to keep it at dock where I was staying, and as such were able to be in the water till about 7:30pm, still before sunset. The operation is sleazy, dishonest and just plain WRONG! Be cautious as you might not get a boat or have to pay a premium to get one, and hope that you can navigate by the color of the sea! read more

Easiest boat rental we have ever had! Captain Jeff was quick on scene and went over everything perfectly. Definitely the best price in the area! We had 6 people in our group and the boat was the perfect size. Jeff even showed us which areas were the best to explore and which ones he recommends to avoid. We even saw a manatee! 5 stars all the way read more

Had a great experience with Capt. Jeff! Busy place for renting boats so bring your patience and breathe.... You're in the Keys! Jeff went through the equipment, boat, safety stuff very thoroughly and made sure we were on our way. They don't take reservations which is understandable in this business. Would recommend showing up early or possibly calling after lunch for what is available. They also have snorkeling equipment and fishing equipment available. Also have an ice machine on site!!! read more

Reef Marine - Boating Near Me - Islamorada, Florida

July 2020: ZERO STARS - BUYER BEWARE - LAST MIN PRICE GOUGING, IRREGULAR PRACTICES, HORRID CUSTOMER SERVICE, INDECENT: My family and I were EXTREMELY DISSATISFIED with Reef Marine Inc., its operator and alleged policies. We booked our 2-day boat rental well in advance. We were quoted $300/day, expensive but it was a holiday weekend. Bud N' Mary's quoted $325 which we would have went with - at least they are reputable. Reef Marine Inc. wouldn't take a deposit despite us asking to put money down to guarantee the rental, so we were a bit weary from the start. There was also no email confirmation; only texts which didn't quote the price. We were skeptical, but rentals were filling up quickly, and they knew this. I suspect this is part of their plan. I called on July 1 as we were picking up the boat July 2, 2020. I was met with harshness and rudeness. The owner told me if I didn't arrive by 8am, he would give the boat to someone else, and that would be too bad for me. I also expressed that my reservation was for two days, and I'd pick the boat up by 8am Thursday and return by their required hours on Friday. He told me absolutely not; I would need to return the boat each day by 5pm and that he isn't allowing overnight rentals. This completely defeated the purpose of a two-day rental; something he never told us despite the several advanced calls. I was very angry as this would cut off boating from 5pm to dusk and dawn to 8am the next day before we had to pick up by 8am (or else he'd give the boat to someone else if we were late). I also asked for the address, and we stopped there on the way to our hotel. Luckily there was a rickety, free-standing booth. At least this place existed. This is the WORST PART. We arrived by 7:45am on Day 1. We went to sign the contract, and he told us he is increasing the price from the $300/day quote to $400/day. He said his landlord upped his rent and that was too bad. That it wasn't right but he didn't care and we could take it or leave it; go somewhere else. Being a holiday weekend, he and we knew full well there are no boats available in Islamorada. This wasn't an option. This is extreme PRICE GOUGING and is WRONG. We sucked it up, paid and tried to forget about it. The two days went fine. The owner's wife at least is nice; tries to make up for his horrid behavior, both lack of customer service and what should-be-illegal pricing practices. This is stealing and no representation of human decency. The average family cannot afford a weekend in Islamorada with this type of pricing and behavior. I don't believe all of these positive reviews; the way in which the owner acted doesn't lend itself to any positive reviews. These definitely seem made up and I'd caution you to book with this company. I've also written the Village of Islamorada, the Islamorada Chamber of Commerce and the Better Business Bureau. read more

Rented a boat for 2 days. Excellen. Jeff was great and gave us lots of pointers. Gave us a cooler and Ice. will rent for Jeff the next time we come. read more

Excellent spot! Been using Jeff for 9 years and as always did not disappoint on this trip! His boat rentals have become a staple on every keys trip. Great service, clean boats and great pricing. Highly recommend for day rentals in Islamorada. read more

Great place to rent! We've been coming back for about 2 years now. Captain Jeff is the best. Always takes great care of us. The boats are always clean and work great. We just went yesterday with the family to celebrate Father's Day. It's a short boat ride to the sandbar and the beautiful lighthouse. Like always, we had so much fun. We always recommend this place to all our friends and family. Will continue to come back! read more

Jeff was amazing! He accommodated our last minute request for 10 people on fathers day weekend. Was super great time !!

I inquired about renting a boat and felt like I was being scolded that the boats aren't allowed in the ocean, only the bay. The "captain" didn't seem very tourist friendly and appeared uninterested in answering any questions. I would not go back to him based on what appeared to be an attitude. Maybe he was having a bad day. read more

The guy was rude and could care less about renting the boats. We called to reserve and he stated a price and said he had a boat, then nearly hung up before we asked if he would want a name to reserve with. His reply, I have more than one boat here and have been doing this a long time. Then hung up. We use maps to get to location. However, the address on maps was wrong and when we call back asking where to park, he claimed he told us that maps has updated and they moved after the last hurricane a few years back. When we get there, he asks if we want to see the boats, they were all old and beat up with no radios, but offered a Bluetooth speaker. His entire demeanor was that he could care less and annoyed. The appearance of the boats and his behavior made us walk away without renting. I have rented boats many times in the keys and my go to place, Elite Boat Rentals was already booked for my last minute decision. I highly recommend using them instead. Just make sure to reserve ahead so you don't go to shady location and boats from a place like Reef Marine. Horrible! read more

Jeff and Mike were very friendly. Mike was especially helpful- gave us some good pointers! Boats were reasonably priced and roomy. We rented a 12 passenger boat and took it to the bay first for fishing. We had a hard time figuring out where to go and water was a bit shallow. It was my first time driving the boat and it was not too bad! We later went to the sand bar- spent most of our time there. It was a Tuesday so crowds were small- maybe 15 boats. The sandbar was nice, great to walk and just hang out. Then we went back to the channel close to the marina entrance and parked the boat to fish. We caught 7 snappers and saw a manta ray. Kids had a blast. Was a great trip and we will definitely go again! read more

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Our family had a great experience. Jeff was so friendly and helpful. He took us out in the boat for a few minutes to make sure we were comfortable with the channel markers. He mapped out Hens and Chicks, Davis Reef and Alligator Reef (our favorite) for us. All great snorkeling spots. He also recommended a great restaurant we could dock at for lunch-Market 88. We will definitely rent from Jeff again. read more

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Jeff was awesome. Took us out and showed us everything we should know. Also, was happy to answer any questions we had. Pleasure doing business with him and will definitely be back!! read more

These guys are AWFUL - steer well clear. Even though they dropped us for a larger group we wouldn't have wanted to go with the guide anyway. I called to book a Jet Ski tour for 4 people. We agreed on 2 O clock. We arrived at 4 minutes past 2. There was a family of 10 filling out paperwork when we got there. The guy behind the counter came out and pulled us aside away from the family and asked us if we were staying at a specific hotel. I said no - as I told the 1st guy on the phone we were at a vacation rental. His manner was abrupt and rude. He said we were late and he sold the boats. He said "we have been trying to get hold of you for 20 minutes at the hotel (which they just made up)" which puts us late enough 16 minutes BEFORE the reservation for them to cancel the party of 4 and sell to a party of 10 instead. When I said we are 4 minutes late, he said "yeah" your late. My sister chimed in "but you made a reservation" he responded "Don't talk to me about a reservation" !!!! He started saying we could wait an hour and go after the larger party which was the point I told him his level of professionalism had a lot to be desired and there was no way we would go out on the water with them. As we walked away my sister said she was glad this happened because she wouldn't have wanted to take our kids out on the water for two hours with this guy. Pass on the "Yellow and Red Shack" that does the Jet Ski tours. read more

Had a great time on the water! This place is friendly and had a great selection of boats and jet skis to chose from. Best rates in the keys! read more

Captain Jeff your the best! We had such a great time visiting the sand bar, stayed all day. The boats were clean and worked great. Thanks for the free snorkeling equipment, water and great places to snorkel. I don't know if you really appreciate how grateful we are to be given honest price with be BS. We're back in Colorado it's 13 here we sure think of those great days in Islamorada thank you captain Jeff see you next year! read more

The 21 foot Pro Line was a great boat for a week of fishing and snorkeling the reefs around islamorada.

we rented a boat for the week and it was awesome! great service and everyone was extremely helpful!!!

Check your fuel before you leave the dock. They charged me for 43 gallons and I only traveled about 30 miles

Called about boat rental prices and the person who answered didn't even give his name. Very short and curt. Informed him on what I was looking for he said he couldn't help me because he was in Islamorada and I was staying in key largo. Didn't offer any suggestions or provide anyone to call up there. Just ended the call. Won't be going there if I ever stay in Islamorada read more