John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park

The snorkeling is the best I have ever experienced! lots of beautiful marine life and the staff was extremely helpful and polite. Definately take a waterproof camera! We rented kayaks upon returning from the snorkeling trip and ventured through the mangroves where we stumbled upon a MANATEE that swam around us for 20 minutes...SOOO NEAT!

we rented a boat here for th day,they were so nice and helpful on where to go,the reefs are beautiful then we went to a island in the gulf,thanks to their directions and mapping it all out for us we never got lost!

This was in the top 3 top 3 things i did in my life! It was wonderful! It was my first time snorkeling and it was over the top!!! I saw lots of fish, sword fish, baracudas, puffer fish and lots of coral reef!! Staff was great and gave us wonderful lesson!! A+

Be sure to arrive early and make reservations. It was very busy when we went. The snorkeling is pretty good there. It does take a while to get to the reefs.

We did both the glass bottom boat and the snorkeling trips. The glass bottom boat is crowded and if you are not strategic you won't get a seat on it. However, the views of the reef are spectacular and would be good for all ages. The snorkeling is probably more condition dependent. We went on a slightly choppy morning. The boat wasn't too crowded and the offered a very brief lesson on snorkeling. I would recommend trying some equipment ahead of time to get the hang of the breathing. The views were beautiful, but on a choppy day, good swimming is needed.

This site is run under private contract from The Florida Gov't. It is a very well run service with extra good and considerate employees. We rented all out gear and appreciated the quality of the wet suits and helpful staff. The reef is 3-4 miles off shore. About 30 of us all went out on this boat and then spent about 90 minutes face down looking at the reef life. We had 12 foot visibility and 75 degree water, not perfect but very nice. Lots of sizable, beautiful fish and coral. There were quite a few other snorkelers over our patch of reef. At times it was a bit crowded but a great day anyway, and Christmas week.

great place to take the younger kids for a nice swim, learn to snorkel. Lots of great things to look at under the surface, lot of fun for everyone

Hello, we visited here 1 times in 2 different visits. The beaches are pretty uncomfortable. You must take a trip out to the reefs, there is no real snorkeling without going off shore. We took Quicksliver out of the Holiday Inn Marina. They were lovely, friendly and knowledgable. The service in the part was crowded, over priced and no where near as nice if you go elsewhere.

I HAD A GREAT TIME AND HOPE TO GO THERE BACK SOON. NATURAL SOURCES ARE GREAT, BEACHES, BOATS, CAMPSITE IS GREAT AND LOVE TO GET IN TOUCH WITH NATURE AND HAVE A GREAT TIME WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS

when we arrived to John Pennekamp, we found out first of all they were the ONLY place in the Keys that does NOT spray for mosquitoes. What a mess! Besides the infestation, the people were rude. the dive shop was unprofessional and was worried more about visiting with each other than helping divers get their tanks filled. Each morning was a guess as to whether they filled our tanks. Several times we were told that the compressor was down-only to find them filling the John Pennekamp tanks. For some reason the people working there seemed to have the idea that everyone wants to be them and have their job! We rented our own boat from another company and had nothing but hassles from the staff. They complained if we unloaded, loaded or tied up for any length of time-even though we were in the docking loading/unloading area. Most of the time, they just ignored us...even when we were paying customers. They were too interested in smoking and talking to each other. Another couple was told on the phone that they have a boat going out, but when they arrived was told that oh, we aren't going out after all. VERY UNPROFESSIONAL! If you have the choice, use another campground and especially another company for diving! The reef is the same even if you don't go out with them!